This week on check, please.

South Florida, a mediterranean hotspot in Pembroke Pines.

We were just very happy with the presentation of the food.

Traditional Thai cuisine in Fort Lauderdale.

I would.

Definitely recommend it to anybody that I know.

And an authentic Italian experience in Dania Beach.

It was fantastic.

Both entrees, we were just really in heaven.

Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

We have a passion for blending ingredients and seasonings from around the world.

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South Florida is provided by George and Helen Weaver and the Friends of South Florida PBS.

I was like, wait, if Tennessee was a drink, this is it.

Everything was meant to be a certain way and it was beautiful.

It just tasted very light and milky and delicious.

Nice food, spicy food.

And the beignets were the best.

Honestly, like, the best I've ever had.

Hello, I'm Michelle Bernstein and welcome to check please, South Florida, the show where regular people from all over South Florida recommend and review their favorite restaurants.

So this is how the show works.

Every week we have three guests.

Each recommends his or her favorite spot, and then the other two go to check them out and see what they think.

This week, behavioral health clinician Eric Segal invites you into his quaint, family-owned pick.

He says that their commitment to consistently deliver perfectly cooked and savory dishes is what keeps bringing him back.

You'll be won over by the charm of this Dania Beach staple.

School counselor Sara Quinn says that you'll be blown away by her picks, diverse flavors and upbeat authenticity, with dishes rooted in regional and family tradition.

She says, you won't get enough of this Fort Lauderdale go to, but first, digital creator Sai Ali is ready to introduce you to her stylish pick.

She says that the warm decor, social atmosphere and delicious food create a dynamic experience for all to enjoy.

It's located in Pembroke Pines and it's called Sirocco Mediterranean Restaurant and Lounge.

Hi, my name is Batoul Younes.

I am co-owner of Sirocco Mediterranean restaurant.

The idea came because I grew up in my grandma's house and I love cooking and we love food.

Food is a big part of the Lebanese tradition and culture you can lose with this location.

This location is an icon for this area, and there's a lot of professionals, a lot of young people, people they love to eat healthy.

Mediterranean is becoming a trend.

I wanted to bring a little piece of Lebanon here.

I wanted to bring a little piece of my grandma's balcony.

The area in the Mediterranean, not only Lebanon.

Everything you see in a restaurant is literally was designed by me and my partner, and we really try to bring the essence of the Mediterranean and a family atmosphere.

Our menu is different because it's authentic Lebanese.

Everything you see on the menu is what my grandma used to cook and it's mouthwatering.

It's inviting, it's mixed.

Sirocco does it best because we do try our best every single day.

Okay, Sai, tell us why you love this place so much.

I love Sirocco because they have excellent food.

Absolutely phenomenal food.

Really big plates.

Also so perfect for sharing with a group of people.

Or just two.

Sara, what did you think when you walked in?

So we got there at six.

It was not busy at all that we were served right away, and I was really excited to try the shawarma because I hadn't had in such a long time.

And so we were just very happy with the presentation of the food.

My husband ordered an old-fashioned bullet and the presentation it came smoked and my son loved the little smoke show there, and they were very quick to serve my son first before we got our food.

She loved that.

Yeah, it's.

So great when people understand what it's like to dine with children that they have to eat.

Yes, because things change very quickly.

There's a lot.

Of families there.

Too.

That's wonderful.

That's one good family restaurant.

Yeah.

Eric, tell me a little bit about the location of the restaurant.

It's a great location.

It's in a really nice shopping center in Pembroke Pines Shoppes at Pembroke Gardens, which I'm familiar with.

I grew up in Pembroke Pines, but I hadn't been to Sirocco, so I was excited to go.

First thoughts when you walked in?

Really nice.

So tell me what you had this last time you went.

So I go a lot, so I wanted to try something that I haven't.

So I tried the appetizer, a rice kofta, which just looked like a mediterranean style quesadilla.

It was very simple, but the flavors were just so good, seasoned really well.

The meat that was in there delicious.

And then I had the fried halloumi.

Oh halloumi cheese.

Yeah.

Which was a little on the salty side, but I think halloumi calumniously salty.

But did they.

Serve it with anything sweet?

We didn't.

But I asked for honey.

Oh, smart.

And it was so good.

Go well together.

Yeah, it was really good.

For entree I had the fillet kebab.

So it's like filet mignon skewers have really big pieces of kabobs.

Sara, tell me a little bit about what you had.

So we had for appetizer the Lebanese cheese rolls which were delicious.

Tell me a little bit about that.

So it almost looks like a spring roll.

But when you bite into it it is just different cheeses I think like a goat cheese or and it had I think parsley in it, one of those green, one of the green things and it was just delicious.

So it came three on the appetizer.

So it was enough for all of us to share.

And then I had for my entree the beef shawarma.

It was very flavorful.

It was very pickled.

I wasn't expecting that because I had previously had shawarma and it wasn't pickled.

So I wasn't expecting.

Pickled or cured.

No, it was pickled.

It had like pickled radish inside.

So it came in a pita and.

It had pickled ingredients on it.

Ingredients.

Yeah.

So I just wasn't expecting all that flavor.

But it was so good.

And it came with tahini sauce that we dipped it in.

Yeah.

Eric, tell me, what did you have for appetizer?

I got the assortment because I couldn't decide on one.

So I just got four.

I did the the falafel, grape leaves, the hummus and the fried kibbeh and they were all amazing.

I loved the.

Apps.

Let's talk a little bit about what everything is.

So kibbeh is usually a canal, which is like a football shape of ground lamb with bulgur.

Yeah, usually really crusty and crunchy on the outside and delicious on the inside.

Yeah.

Then you had grape leaves.

Grape leaves?

Yeah.

Stuffed with, I would imagine rice and ground.

Possibly beef.

Or lamb.

Lamb.

Ground lamb.

Yeah.

And then the hummus.

How was that?

Was it nice?

That was great.

Yeah.

With whole chickpeas.

And how was the falafel?

Fantastic.

Was it bright green?

Yes.

Just the way I like it.

I'm just going to fill everything.

And the sauces were were great.

Oh, good.

Dipped.

How was the Sirocco Grill that you had for your main course?

It was great.

I did the same thing.

The three skewers, the lamb, the fillet and the chicken.

Really, really good.

Sometimes when you have skewers, they can tend to be a little dry.

Um, these were it sounds like these are the opposite of that.

Yeah.

We're not.

Yeah.

It was really good.

We're not dry.

Very flavorful, nice spices and herbs on them and came with some jasmine rice.

All of you had dessert.

So let's start with you, Sara.

So I don't.

Know what it was called, but it was like a pistachio.

Baklava, baklava, baklava.

Thank you.

It was delicious.

Very flavorful.

I'm not normally a pistachio lover, but it was really, really good.

I think the fact that the vanilla gelato was in there made it really just pop.

It's really good.

The two of you had the same dessert.

I believe I had baklava, too.

Oh.

You did?

Oh, so you all had baklava.

How was service?

Um, I went on a really busy day, so it wasn't super quick or anything, but, I mean, with the entertainment and everything was pretty distracting.

And we were still taking care of pretty well.

And it sounds like a beautiful place to just look around and find a lot visually, right?

Yes.

Yeah.

You really didn't feel like you were waiting long for the food because of the atmosphere and because of everything you could look at?

Yeah.

That sounds delicious.

All right Sai.

Well, Sirocco Mediterranean was your pick.

Sum it up for me, please.

It's a very lively place with delicious food, big portions and a great, um, evening out.

Sara.

Very, um, welcoming, warm, comfortable, family friendly.

Eric, sum it up for me.

Very nice.

Modern, classy restaurant.

Good food, good service, good prices.

I'd recommend it to anyone who likes Mediterranean cuisine.

You can enjoy the warm atmosphere and kebabs at Sirocco Mediterranean Restaurant and Lounge, located at 521 southwest 145 Terrace in Pembroke Pines.

They're open daily for lunch and dinner.

Reservations are accepted where the average price for dinner without drinks is about $65.

Now school counselor Sara Krinn is ready to guide you to her pick, offering an unfussy approach to traditional Thai food.

This spot has been garnering some much deserved buzz with its local community.

It's located in Fort Lauderdale and it's called Larb Thai Isan.

So my name is Pui.

I'm one of the owner at Larb Thai Isan.

We grow up in Isan cuisine, are from the northeast Thailand and our cuisine is very unique, flavourful and we would love to introduce that to our customers and foreigners here to try the food.

We would like people when they come to the restaurant and they feel as they in Thailand already by the music, by the smile of the service and all the service.

They have knowledge about the food, so they always explain to you and going to help you the best they can.

So many customers the first time and then they come back in like couple of days.

So we're very happy.

We use of the knowledge since we was young until now, to make the food, and we put all the heart in there.

Love, Pakistan.

It's authentic food and make with love.

So tell me a little bit why this Thai restaurant is your favorite.

So I've been to many Thai restaurants and this one just we always continue to go back.

I just really love it.

It's a lot for locals.

Um, you see, you know, everybody is just very welcoming.

And they recognize you when you go.

Sai, tell me what you thought about, first of all, the decor your first time walking in.

And I don't think Thai is your favorite type.

It's really not food.

Okay.

Don't love Thai food.

I'm just because like, every time I've had it, it's just like the same old thing.

Nothing surprising, nothing exciting.

But after visiting this restaurant, what do you feel now about Thai food?

I have changed my mind about Thai food.

Um, yeah.

That's a big statement.

Yeah, larb is really, really good.

I would definitely recommend it to anybody that I know looking for a Thai food, whether they're in the area or not.

I would say it's worth the trek.

Okay, Eric, first thoughts?

We love.

That.

I went with my wife.

We were looking forward to it because we both love Thai food, and we knew right when we walked in we were in the right place.

How did she know?

Open kitchen.

And we just kept catching a lot of smells coming in.

They were all great.

Gotcha.

The staff was very inviting, really nice.

They were energetic and happy.

You could tell that they were genuinely happy to be there and serving the food.

But it feels like a mom and pop.

100%.

Yeah, I agree 100%.

So tell me about this.

Last time you went, what did you have?

I love chicken pad Thai, so I got chicken pad Thai.

I ate probably half of it because the portion was so big and took the rest home with me.

Just the portion size is amazing.

You also had a calamari spring roll?

Yes.

No calamari, calamari and spring rolls both.

Okay.

Okay.

So was it fried calamari?

It was.

Fried calamari.

It was delicious.

I'm not much of a seafood eater, but the calamari was.

To die for.

I feel like calamari is a little bit on the safe side, because it doesn't really taste too much like the sea at all.

No.

Right.

It's just really good.

Fried.

Yeah.

It was amazing.

I don't think we had one piece left when we were done eating it.

Yeah.

And spring rolls.

Spring roll.

You can't go wrong with the spring roll.

It was great.

So let's go to you.

Sai, tell me about your meal.

What changed your mind about Thai food?

Tell me.

Um, okay, so I went with my brother and he just ordered regular old red curry.

Okay?

And I was like, kind of annoyed with that because I was like, let's order something different.

But I just wanted to try something different.

And because I don't like Thai food and I already know what it tastes like, you know, but that was the best red curry I've ever had.

Eric, tell me what you.

Had that night.

We started off with the the larb appetizer and.

Then you had a house salad, I think.

Peanut, the house salad with the the peanut dressing, which was great.

Okay.

And we got the spring rolls as well, which were delicious.

Wonderful.

Main course.

Main course.

We did the crop Pao, which was the minced pork with a bunch of delicious herbs and spices, and then jasmine rice with a fried egg on top.

And it was.

Yeah.

And and also just to the right spice level.

They asked us how we liked it and we loved it.

We loved it.

And then we also got the Thai coconut curry chicken dish, which they serve to you in a soup bowl, but it's not.

There's soft noodles at the bottom and then chunks of white meat chicken and then crunchy noodles, and then like a quarter chicken on the bone just sitting on the top.

Wow, that sounds delicious.

I would go for that.

Yeah.

It was, it was fantastic.

Both entrees, we were just really in heaven.

So you both had coconut ice cream on some kind of bread, I think.

Yeah, like.

A hot dog bun.

It did.

Right.

Yeah.

It did.

Yeah.

Was it good?

It was.

Yeah.

It was.

Very very.

It was good.

It sounds weird, but it's delicious.

Yeah.

Um.

Huh.

Uh, what did you have for dessert?

So we normally get the coconut, but unfortunately, they only had one item for dessert that night.

Okay?

And it was fried banana.

It was delicious, but there was a lot of it.

So by the time we got to the dessert, I was so full that I only had a few pieces.

But it was really, really delicious.

Tell me a little.

Bit about prices.

The prices were very reasonable given the quality and quantity of the food and the portions.

Very happy.

Oh good.

Well, Sara Larb Thai Isan was your pick.

Sum it up please.

Delicious authentic Thai food that you can't go wrong with.

Sai I would agree with all those things.

Um, authentic Thai food that you have to try.

Eric.

Sum it up for me.

Great food, great service, very reasonable prices.

We can't wait to go back and try more items on the menu.

For a unique and delicious culinary experience, make your way to Larb Thai Isan, located at 6234 North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale.

They're open Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner reservations.

Are not accepted where the average price for dinner is about $40 without drinks.

Who doesn't love calamari?

I mean, it is so good.

It's so addictive.

Um.

It's interesting, you know, calamari doesn't have a huge amount of flavor, especially when you fry it.

But there's something so just absolutely delicious.

So let's just make some.

It's so easy.

I already had a pot of oil, um, heating up.

We want that to be at about 300.

Anywhere from 350 to 365 is a great temperature for frying a lot of different things.

Some I am there.

I'm just going to turn this down just a touch.

All right.

So let's make the flour mixture first for the fried calamari.

And this comes out really nice and crispy in here I have a bowl of all-purpose flour.

To that I'll add a little bit of cornstarch some cayenne pepper a little bit of paprika mainly to get the flour to color the batter a little bit more and look a little bit better after it comes out.

And just a touch of baking powder.

Let's season that with a little bit of salt and go ahead and mix.

Now the calamari is already in rings.

It also has some tentacles and it's sitting in some buttermilk with a little bit of salt in it.

And you can even do that overnight.

It actually allows to macerate and tenderize the calamari a little bit.

So let's go straight from the buttermilk.

You want to strain out as much buttermilk as possible and add that to the flour.

Then you want to make sure that that gets really packed in.

So what I'm going to do is if you have a glove, it really helps a lot.

Or even your hands are fine, but you really want to pack that calamari into that flour as much as possible.

When you're done with that, go ahead and strain into a basket again, or any kind of a colander will work well.

So shake off all the excess.

Once you've shaken off all that excess, you're really going to want to put that onto a rack and allow that to just sit on this rack, just like this one.

You can even let that go overnight, believe it or not, in a fridge, you want it to hold on to that amazing breading and then we can start frying.

So let's go ahead and do that again.

Set your oil temperature to approximately 350 to 365.

It's all good.

So let's start pulling off some pieces of calamari and adding them to the flour.

Now, you would think it takes a while for fried calamari to be ready, but it's actually really, really fast.

What we're doing here is working on the breading, getting super crisp and delicious.

That's the most important part of this.

And believe it or not, it's actually ready.

So I have a little bowl here.

Ready.

I have a little paper to soak up any excess grease, but this is really not greasy at all because we have this great flour mixture and we're going on to really hot oil.

And then I like to use some big salt over the top, because you have to make sure that this has that beautiful bite that we always get in our favorite restaurants.

Enjoy it.

Fried calamari.

And finally, behavioral health clinician Eric Siegel is ready to provide us with a full assessment of his traditional pick.

It's located in Dania Beach and it's called Mundi's Italian Restaurant.

Hi, my name is Lisa Krumsieck and I'm the owner of Mundi's Italian restaurant in Dania Beach.

Mundi’s has been around for over 30 years.

I took ownership from a very dear friend and he was ready to retire, and I did not want to see Mundi’s go away.

There's a legacy to carry on and I wanted to carry it on.

With Mundi’s, I feel like when you walk through the door, you just feel comfortable.

It's cozy, it's comfortable.

Everybody is pleasant, excellent service, great food, and everybody just keeps coming back because they love and a new experience every time they come.

It's a great location.

Everything is growing up around it.

As Dania was a sleepy little town for quite a while.

I've been here for many years and I've watched it grow and I'm just going to continue to grow.

And I just love the location.

The decor is nothing over the top.

I just feel it's just enough to make people feel comfortable.

The colors aren't too grand.

Just feel like you're at home.

That's what I want you to feel like.

It's family.

It's family.

It's family and family is important.

At Mundi's Italian restaurant, I want you to feel like you're at home.

But you don't have to do the dishes.

You've been going here a long time, Eric, huh?

I've been going to Mundi’s ever since we moved out to Dania Beach.

That's been our go to Italian spot.

Tell me about what you thought of it when you walked in.

I was blown away.

Actually.

I didn't expect it to be as small as it was, but driving up to it because it's like in the corner of, like, just a random shopping center, you already kind of felt that it was definitely going to be a hidden gem.

Mhm.

Um, and then you walk in and it's so tiny and cozy and intimate.

It's dark.

Sara I was pleasantly surprised.

I knew as soon as like you said, as soon as I drove in that this little kind of hole in the wall was going to be amazing.

We walked in.

There were probably like, what, 6 or 7 tables?

Um, and just very welcoming.

You could tell it was family owned.

Um, and it was just great.

That's awesome.

Well, Eric, tell me a little bit about what you had this last time you went, um, and why you love it so much.

Well, I think I've probably had about everything on the menu, but my go to for an appetizer, the meatballs Howe specialty meatballs.

Okay.

Which I love.

It's just two meatballs in their delicious sauce with a scoop of ricotta cheese.

And by the way, the only way I'll eat meatballs 100%.

It's the best way.

Ah.

Sar, tell me what you had.

Skirt steak and peppers and onions on top of pasta.

Linguine.

It was really, really good.

The sauce was so flavorful and it was actually like a sweet sauce and it was just delicious.

The peppers, I'm guessing.

Yeah, it was amazing.

Tell me a little bit about your Caldo Italiano that you had.

That's my favorite dish there.

Tell us about it.

It's spicy Italian sausage and shrimp chopped up into little pieces, mixed together on top of a bed of spaghetti.

I love it, the flavors of everything together.

It's just the best.

That's wonderful.

Anybody get dessert?

Yes.

I got the cannoli.

And it was the first time my son had ever had a cannoli.

And I think he ate more of it than we did.

He just, like, took one bite and was like, give me more.

It was so good.

That's so.

Good.

That's lovely.

You know, I don't think you told me your entree.

Your main course.

Yeah, we had two.

We had the spicy Lisa, which is like their take on chicken parm.

Okay.

And then we had the penne alla vodka.

Well, Eric, Mundi's was your pick.

Sum it up for us, please.

I love this place for great authentic Italian, reasonable prices, a nice, warm, welcoming environment.

Definitely give Mundi’s a try.

Sai.

Mundi’s is a great place for comfort.

Italian food.

Really nice vibes.

Um, perfect for a casual date night or just hanging with some friends.

Sara.

Perfect family atmosphere.

Um, very reasonably priced.

Great music.

I would definitely go back.

For a captivating family dining experience.

You can make your way to Mundi's Italian restaurant located at 330 East Dania Beach Boulevard.

They are open Tuesday to Sunday for dinner.

Reservations are accepted where the average price for dinner without drinks is about $50.

We've had such a wonderful time.

I want to thank my guests Sai Ali, Eric Siegel and Sara Krinn.

For more about the restaurants and recipes featured in the show, or if you'd like to apply to be a guest reviewer, visit us at check please.

Com and as always, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram.

Join us next time for three new guests recommending three of their favorite restaurants right here on check Please South Florida.

I'm Michelle Bernstein and I'll see you then.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Just from way up here.

Yeah.

Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

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