(Michelle) This week on Check Please South Florida the flavors of India come alive in Fort Lauderdale.

It was so well seasoned, so savory and yummy.

A unique steakhouse in West Palm Beach.

So delicious.

I have to go back.

And tacos will talk in Wellington.

So just a chill place to hang out and have tacos.

(Announcer) Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

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

Additional funding for check please.

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 shot I've ever had.

(music) 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, Director of Memberships Lila Greenidge wants us to head over to her favorite pick.

She says this spot will impress you with its eclectic ambiance and delicious Mexican fare.

You won't want to miss the colorful surprises served up at this Wellington gem.

Database developer Anuj Patel says that his pick offers one of South Florida's most exquisite and unique dining experiences.

This traditional steakhouse will sweep you off your feet with perfectly aged meats, intimate ambiance and superb service.

Get ready for char grilled cuts and a dance at this Palm Beach staple.

But first account manager Jaan DeVito is ready to introduce us to her picks.

She says this spot is the most authentic Indian cuisine you will ever have, offering quality food that will exceed your expectations.

Not only will you enjoy a terrific meal, but the cool decor will also make for a perfect Instagram moment.

This fabulous spot is located in Fort Lauderdale and it's called the Indian Harbor.

(music) My name is Dilip Hedge.

I'm one of the co-owners of the Indian Harbour restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.

I've been in this industry for almost 15 years.

We're all about celebrating this different cuisines of India from different regions of India.

All we wanted to create is a different dining experience for our customers here.

We named it Indian Harbour since we are so close to the port here.

We wanted everyone that wanted to have an authentic Indian cuisine to have an amazing Indian experience.

We designed Indian Harbour to be a modern and an upscale dining restaurant here.

Our aim is to create a nice, fantastic dining experience for our customers.

Our menu here at Indian Harbour is a mix of traditions cooked with a modern technique.

Lamb chop masala is one of our popular dishes.

It's cooked in a clay oven to perfection.

The butter chicken and the garlic cheese naan is one of our top favourites here in our locals.

Indian Harbour is a classic yet contemporary Indian food cooked with passion.

(music) (Michelle) Okay, Jaan, you say that this is like, real deal Indian.

Absolutely.

(Michelle) Tell me why.

Well, I used to live in India, so I lived there when I was a young child.

And I actually had the best tandoori chicken when I lived there.

And it had been a while since I had ordered tandoori chicken.

And I thought to myself, okay, I'm going to go here, I'll order it, I'll take a risk.

And I was blown away.

I was blown away by the food, by the service.

Um, just the incredible marinade and mixtures that they offered and how welcoming they were as well.

(Michelle) Okay.

Anuj, what did you think when you first walked in?

I thought the vibe was really cool.

They got chic little like three-person bar, nice to core, very contemporary.

I liked it.

(Michelle) Okay what about you, Lila?

Um, so I really loved, like he said, the decor.

And they were really welcoming when we came in.

All the staff was super nice and welcoming and sat us right away.

(Michelle) Jann, tell me a little bit about the location, please.

(Jaan) So the location is in Fort Lauderdale, and one of the wonderful things about it is after you park, it's right near where all the yachts are created, you can see the model yachts, and then you enter and you feel like you're in luxury.

I loved entering it.

I loved seeing all of the different artwork and how modern the installation was.

But the service, the people were just so welcoming.

(Michelle) All right, so I'm already hungry.

Let's start about talking about what you first had.

I think you started with mimosas.

Is that correct?

Samosas.

Forgive me.

(Jaan) I started that to delicious.

I started with the samosa chat.

The samosa chat is essentially chickpeas and different flavors.

A little bit spicy, a little bit sweet.

But what they do there is the staff will walk you through your spice level.

And when it came out, it was so yummy.

It was hearty.

Right on.

Delicious.

Yes.

(Michelle) Okay.

What else did you have?

(Jaan) I had the chicken tandoori and I wasn't sure what I would expect.

And when it came out, my jaw was dropped.

I could not believe how tasty it was.

It was the perfect amount of spice and the perfect amount of moistness in the chicken itself, but not too moist.

So I needed to take some home.

And I also had the kadhai paneer and the carabinier is something that I haven't ordered in quite a while.

(Michelle) Do you want to tell people what paneer is?

(Jaan) Yeah, so paneer is tofu and paneer is a type of cheese.

And usually you would eat palak paneer which is a little bit of a greenish curry.

(Michelle) Like a spinach.

(Jaan) Yes, like a spinach.

And the kadhai paneer was more of a stew and it was light and I just couldn't believe how the marinade was melting together.

And you know, I'm not one for two spicy food.

I really challenged my palate and I went for it, and I wanted to take some home with me for breakfast as well the next day.

(Michelle) It sounds like it.

It sounds delicious.

Okay.

Anuj, what did you start with?

(Anuj) So we started out with the pakora appetizer.

(Michelle) Tell me what that is.

(Anuj) So basically, they're like a fried onion fritters with a little bit of seasoning on them, a little chopped masala seasoning, and they were fried to perfection.

Nice and crunchy.

Had a great coriander chutney to go with it.

(Michelle) Usually I guide people through the spices and you all seem to know exactly how these things are made.

I love this all right, keep going.

Sorry.

(Anuj) And it was just fried to perfection.

It was very good, quite enjoyable.

And after that we had I tried the chicken chettinadu as well as the lamb chops.

(Michelle) Tell me about the chicken.

(Anuj) Lamb chops.

(Michelle) Okay.

Tell me first about the chicken.

(Anuj) Chicken was very moist.

The gravy was, uh, outstanding.

Had a very good taste.

You got a good punch of the clove and the cardamom.

Very nice gravy, good spice level.

(Michelle) and then lamb chops.

(Anuj) The meat was very tender.

The lamb was kind of like, you know, falls off the bone, kind of.

And, uh, very, very flavorful.

(Michelle) Okay.

Lila, I think you had Tinder as well correct.

(Lila) I did, I did.

We actually started with naan bread and some I had some lentil soup, so I dipped that in there.

It was delicious.

And then we moved on to the chicken tandoori and it was spicy.

And I'm very sensitive to spice, but it was so well seasoned, so savory and yummy.

If you are a fan of spice, please do the chicken tandoori.

It was delicious!

(Michelle) Did you have Dessert?

(Jaan) I did, I did have dessert, so I did go for the gulab jamun and the gulab jamun.

Are these little, I would say syrupy honey balls and they're served quite warm.

(Michelle) And you had a pistachio kulfi.

(Anuj) Yeah, exactly.

So we had the pistachio kulfi comes on a plate very nice hard, cold little rose syrup on it.

And it was a quite good way to end the meal.

(Michelle) Lila, tell me a little bit about the service.

(Lila) I love the service.

I mean, I the fact that they went out of their way to, like, cater to me and say, hey, listen, if you're sensitive to spice, we'll get you the side yogurt sauce.

Always checking in on me, making sure that I didn't have, like, fire coming out of my mouth or any.

Right, right.

I really appreciated that because, you know, they really were mindful of like me saying, hey, listen, I'm sensitive to spice.

Can you please.

Recommend something that you know wouldn't be as spicy, but it was super flavorful and yummy.

(Michelle) Sounds like they're good at guiding you through your meal.

Yeah, 100%.

It's a good thing to listen to them.

Absolutely.

All right Jaan Well, Indian Harbor was your pick.

Please give me a little summary.

(Jaan) I thought that the food was fresh.

It was flavorful.

It was absolutely delicious.

And I can't wait to go back.

(Michelle) Anuj.

(Anuj) Great flavors, bold spices and service you really can't beat.

(Michelle) Lila (Lila) Indian Harbor really surprised me and my palate.

(Michelle) For rich and traditional Indian flavors and a modern design, you can visit the Indian Harbor located at 1515 southeast 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale.

They're open daily for lunch and dinner.

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

(music) (Michelle) Now, database developer Anuj Patel is ready to introduce us to his cozy pick.

For almost 50 years, this spot has been delighting Palm Beach diners with perfectly executed cuts.

Traditional, intimate vibe.

Get your steak knives ready for this classic pick.

It's located in West Palm Beach and it's called Raindancer Steak House.

(music) Hi, my name is Jodi Ham and I'm the beverage manager for the Raindancer Steak House.

I am Nicky Kanakis, the general manager.

(Jody) The Raindancer Steak House has been here for nearly 50 years.

We're located in West Palm Beach.

(Nicky) It's an original.

It's an authentic steakhouse, a classic American Steak House.

And throughout its life for nearly half a century, has kept the quality and this originality.

We have Midwestern prime and premium cuts that we bring the beef here, we age it in house and we cut it by hand.

(music) (Jody) Some of our most popular items are the filet mignon, the bone in cowboy ribeye, and the bone in New York strip.

(Nicky) We want the guests when leaving from here to say that they have good food, great steaks, excellent seafood, fantastic service, family atmosphere and be satisfied that we manage their expectations and be able to say to their friends and family and whoever they know, that they had an excellent, fantastic experience at Raindancer Steak House.

(Jody) The Raindancer Steak House is a unique, classic American steak house.

(music) (Michelle) So this is like really well known, right?

This place is award winning.

Yeah.

It's iconic in the Palm Beach area.

It's been around for, you know, many, many years now, uh, 50, 60 years, something like that.

And it's been a staple in the area from, you know, before I was born.

(Michelle) Jann, tell me what it's like when you walk in.

When you walk in, you're transported into this, I would say 60s, 70s steakhouse vibes.

It's so cool.

I've never been in a steakhouse atmosphere like that, and I thought it was awesome.

(Michelle) Lila, what did you think walking in?

I thought it was like a really cool, moody and dark interior vibe.

Definitely felt like a steakhouse to me.

(Michelle) Okay, yeah.

All right, well, let's get into what you had.

Tell me this about this last time.

(Anuj) Yeah, sure.

We started out with the thick cut bacon appetizer, which had this go wrong.

With thick cut bacon.

You can't go wrong.

It's got a nice glaze on it.

It was just so good I would go back there for that alone.

(Michelle) Okay.

(Anuj) Uh, we started off with some house salads, which were very fresh greens, very vibrant.

For my entree, I got the bone in New York strip.

It was cooked to perfection.

(Michelle) Jann.

(Jaan) So when we ordered, we started with the escargot.

And I have to say, the portions for the escargot were awesome.

It was big, it was perfect.

It was juicy.

A lot of garlic and butter puff pastry.

Right?

It did.

It did come.

It wasn't your typical little round dish.

Exactly.

And so you had the puff pastry.

You could dip it in.

I thought it was really good.

And then I went for the Delmonico steak.

I thought that was so tasty, so delicious.

I can't I have to go back.

(Michelle) Tell me about your house salad.

(Lila) The house salad was delicious.

It actually had a very cool, like, unique green sauce to it.

Like a green dressing, maybe a green goddess.

It was like a creamy.

Yeah, it was very creamy, very garlicky, but tasty.

And it actually was a great starter to my meal.

(Michelle) And you had a chop steak, right?

Yeah Chop steak.

If you kind of think sort of like, um, they took a deliciously grilled steak and they chopped it up, um, it kind of reminded me a little bit of, like, very savory.

Yummy mushroom covered, like hamburger meat in a way, but really tasty.

Very savory and yummy.

(Michelle) Okay.

You had a Belgian chocolate mousse cake, I think.

(Anuj) Yeah.

For dessert, we had the Belgian chocolate mousse cake.

It was very fluffy, decadent, rich and wasn't overly sweet, but it really was just like.

Incredibly, I don't know how it wasn't.

Nice.

Yeah, and it was delicious.

(Michelle) Didn't you have the same thing?

(Jaan) I also Had it.

And I was like, I could go for another one.

(Michelle) Nice Okay.

Drinks, cocktails, anybody?

(Jaan) Yep.

I actually went for the Rain Dancer.

Rum runner.

Oh it was.

(Michelle) I haven't heard a rum runner in years.

Yeah, that's so 70s today.

(Jaan) Exactly.

And I thought that the bartender did a great job with that.

It was perfect.

Delicious.

And it was awesome.

(Michelle) Okay, how about you, Anuj?

(Anuj) Yeah, I had an old fashioned to start with, and it was made very well with a nice bourbon and later on went to one of their, uh, cabernets, which is also very nice.

(Michelle) Sure.

Lila, you know, we always know steakhouses to be a little bit higher priced.

So compared to value, what would you consider?

(Lila) I thought it was really great value.

Um, you know, the food was delicious.

Super quality.

Um, I thought the service was great too, because when you're not just always paying for the food, you are paying for that high level service.

And we definitely receive that for sure.

(Michelle) Is it easy to find?

(Jaan) Very easy to find parking.

Parking was good.

Parking was great.

Um, I've probably gone past Rain Dancer for many, many years and I'm just so glad that I was able to try it.

(Michelle) Okay, well, Anuj Rain Dancer Steakhouse was your pick.

Give me a summary, please.

(Anuj) Great Thick cut bacon, nice char on the steak.

Good service and a great vibe.

(Michelle) What else would you want?

Jaan (Jaan) Absolutely delicious.

Wonderful service, great meal and conversation.

(Michelle) Lila (Lila) Raindancer Steakhouse was flavorful and thick cut.

Uh, steaks and bacon were very delicious.

(Michelle) For exquisite quality meats and an intimate ambiance.

You can visit Raindancer Steakhouse, located at 2300 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard in West Palm Beach.

They are open daily for lunch and dinner.

Reservations are accepted where the average price for dinner without drinks is about $80.

(music) (Michelle) Welcome to Taco Day.

And it's not even Tuesday.

Is it Tuesday?

Anyway, whatever day this is, it's always taco day at my house.

So I'm going to teach you how to make these gorgeous steak and melting cheese tacos.

So we marinated our churrasco steak, which is skirt steak, one of my favorites for tacos.

And this is marinating in some fresh squeezed orange a little bit of chipotle, just the adobo from the can of chipotles, a little bit of cumin and coriander and some brown sugar just to kind of soften the blow a little bit from the Chipotle.

I'm going to turn on my griddle, which we're calling a plancha today.

And this is a great griddle.

It's cast iron.

And I just put it over my burners.

And it works really well.

Okay.

At the same time we're going to be melting some cheese on our tortillas.

Let's just put everything on the griddle.

So I'll start with the meat.

I love a little bit of onion cooked into my meat, so I'm just going to slice a little julienne of some red onion.

Not too crazy thin because I want it to cook along with the meat.

We're going to start melting the cheese on the tortillas.

I have some grated mozzarella cheese here.

You can use whatever cheese you like.

You can use that grated Mexican style cheeses that good blend um jack cheese, cheddar cheese, whatever it is that you like always corn tortillas for these kinds of tacos, as far as I'm concerned.

But if you like flour better, you make your taco the way you like it.

I'll add some cheese right in the center.

Let's go ahead and season our meat with a little bit of salt, because I forgot about that.

And let's start moving the meat around.

I'm going to place my cheesy tortilla into my taco holder like so.

Getting ready for the meat.

As far as I'm concerned, this meat is almost fully cooked.

Top off your tortillas with your gorgeous marinated meat.

Now, if you're not into marinating your meat, then you can just do plain seared steak or grilled steak on them.

Take a little bit of fresh cilantro.

And top your tacos with some fresh cilantro.

You've got your salsas on the side, your sour cream on the side, and I think we are absolutely ready for taco night.

(music) (Michelle) And finally, Director of Memberships Lila Greenidge is ready for a relaxing time at her pick.

She says casual Mexican fare has never tasted this good.

It's located in Wellington and it's called Talkin' Tacos.

(music) Hi, my name is Imad Hamzy.

I'm one of the owners and the operator of the Talkin' Tacos here in Wellington.

My brother-in-law Omar and his childhood friend Muhammad decided to open a Talkin' Tacos food truck in Miami.

During the pandemic, lines were just wrapped around the plazas.

Didn't make any sense.

We're the home of the taco.

They're the first ones to bring the birria taco to South Florida.

It wasn't popular anywhere except for LA and obviously Mexico.

They brought it to South Florida and it was a huge hit.

This Talkin' Tacos location is the fifth one to open.

It's the first one in Palm Beach County trying to work our way north.

We have a few down south.

We know the demographics.

We know that the people in Wellington would be receptive to the concept.

It's good food, good quality.

Our generous portions and the ingredients are pretty creative.

So our most popular item is birria.

It's a pulled shredded beef.

It's cooked for over eight hours and we use it on a few different menu items.

I think it's been a huge success because anyone can come to Talkin' Tacos and have a good time.

Enjoy food, Talkin' Tacos.

Is halal Mexican cuisine fast casual, good quality, generous portions and very tasteful.

(music) (Michelle) So you really love this laid-back vibe, right?

Yes I do I think Taco Tuesday always ends up being Taco Wednesday and Taco Thursday in my life.

I love it.

It's right near my house.

It's located in Wellington.

It's definitely a very casual vibe, but it's I love the artwork inside, I love the ambience.

And if you just want to grab a taco and have like some friends together, it's a perfect spot in my opinion.

(Michelle) Sounds easy.

(Lila) Yeah, it is super simple to find.

It's actually near the mall so you don't have to like super search for it.

It's not like off the beaten path and the food is really yummy and they serve it to you pretty quick.

You know?

Not a lot of fluff and frills, but definitely tasty.

(Michelle) Jaan first thoughts?

I loved walking in to like an EDM, EDC, Mexican culture place and it was great.

(Michelle) Okay, nice Anuj.

Yeah, when you walk in there, it's a really relaxed vibe.

They got the nice lighting, good decor and it's really just a chill place to hang out and have tacos.

(Michelle) Okay Lila I'm ready for some tacos.

Tell me what you had this last time.

(Lila) So I actually got a drink that my Six-year-old has been telling me, mommy, order the Black Panther drink.

And it's basically just a really tangy grape juice.

Super refreshing.

We started with that just to sit and wait for our food.

And then we I had the birria tacos.

So if you've never had them, it's really cool because you dip them in this yummy birria sauce.

And the best way for me to describe those tacos is like, it's very yummy, kind of flaky, fried, but also in the middle.

It's like, I don't know, not melty, but melty, I don't know, is that a.

Word you can now use?

Yeah.

(Michelle) I think you all had birria tacos, right?

(Anuj) Yes, I had the birria burrito.

Oh, okay.

(Jaan & Lila) How was that?

(Anuj) It was really good.

Uh, wrapped in a nice flour tortilla.

You could tell the lettuce was really, really fresh, but you.

(Michelle) Still dipped, right?

I mean, it was still birria or it was all in there was the juiciness in there, okay?

(Anuj) The juiciness was inside the burrito.

And it was it was actually really good.

(Michelle) Okay.

How about you?

(Jaan) I had the birria tacos.

Awesome.

So flavorful.

Tasty, melting off the mouth.

And I actually also had the horchata drink.

It was really creamy.

It was perfect.

Cinnamony you had street corn, I.

Had the street corn and I would wish I could have it right now.

It was on or off the cob.

It was off the cob.

It was in a cup.

It was.

Yes, yes.

So it was so yummy.

(Michelle) Um, you want to tell.

People what was on it?

Do you know.

(Jaan) It had queso.

It had queso, it had crema, crema.

And it also had a bit of the takis.

Oh.

Crunched up.

Really?

Yeah.

That's so crunchy.

Takis.

That is very cute.

So yummy.

And it was spiced perfectly, but also it felt like eating something that was homemade, I really loved it.

(Michelle) You also had dessert?

(Jaan) I did, I had the Oreo tres leches.

(Michelle) Oh, wow.

What was that?

I've never heard of that either.

(Jaan) I had never had it before.

My husband said, let's, let's try it.

And so it's just a crumble of Oreos right on top of the tres leches.

And it was still so yummy.

It was wet, yet it was crunchy.

Perfect.

(Michelle) Well, Lila Talkin' Tacos was your pick summed up for me?

(Lila) Talkin' tacos.

Flavorful, colorful fun.

(Michelle) Jaan (Jaan) So Talkin' Tacos A lot of fun.

Really yummy.

Can't wait to go back.

(Michelle) Nice.

How about you Anuj?

(Anuj) Yeah, that was a great place.

A great place to hang out, have some friends and a couple tacos and just relax.

(Michelle) To give your palate something good to talk about.

You can visit, Talkin' Tacos located at 10140 Forest Hill Boulevard in Wellington.

They're open daily for lunch and dinner.

Reservations are not accepted when the average price for dinner without drinks is about $45.

(music) (Michelle) We've had a wonderful time.

I want to thank my guest, Jaan DeVito, Lila Greenidge and Anuj Patel.

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 checkpleasefl.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 will see you then.

Thank you everybody.

Salute.

(upbeat music) (Announcer) Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

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

(music) (upbeat music) (Michelle) This week on Check Please South Florida the flavors