This week on "Check, Please!

South Florida", a rotating menu featuring creative combinations in Jupiter.

I figured an appetizer of brussels sprouts might be a little plate or something.

It was the size of a bathtub.

[michelle] Traditional Lebanese dishes and authentic desserts in Pinecrest.

It was frankly, among the best I've ever had, if not, certainly I've never had better.

[michelle] And Asian street food paired with craft cocktail in Delray Beach.

It's all about getting together and celebrating and sharing the food.

[narrator] 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.

You will look at food differently when you leave.

One didn't really help the other.

And I just know it was just the best.

It was just the perfect dish.

Prepared to perfection.

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 restaurant.

So this is how the show works.

Every week we have three guests, each recommend his or her favorite spot and then the other two got to check them out and see what they think.

This week, banker Felipe Basulto is signing the check for traditional Lebanese cuisine.

He says the authentic flavors, excellent service and big portion sizes are always bringing him back to try more.

And Regional Philanthropy Officer, Greg Goodman is volunteering his pick as a top spot for Asian street food in South Florida.

He's all about their good vibes and dishes to share at his downtown Delray pick.

But first CEO David Samore is offering the stamp of approval for his Palm Beach County pick.

He says the food here is off the chain and their mastery of seafood is simply spectacular.

He especially loves how all their dishes are made from scratch daily.

It's located in Jupiter and it's called Leftovers Cafe.

I'm Gary Benedict and I'm one of the managers here at Leftovers Cafe.

We opened up 12 years ago as a part of our sister restaurant, which is the Food Shack.

Leftovers Cafe came up when the owner and one of his executive chefs were in the walk-in cooler at the Food Shack and were trying to think of names and they saw all the inventory in the walk-in cooler and said, "Oh, we should name it Leftovers Cafe."

And it was just a play on words and it just stuck.

Somebody was asking about our menu and what kind of cuisine it is.

It's kind of hard to describe because it's kind of an Asian, Caribbean, American twist.

Creative with all those different cultures that we have that work here, we let them be creative with that.

So signature dishes, as far as starters are tuna & basil roll is one of our signature appetizers.

The sweet potato encrusted fish, you know, if you go to our Yelp, you will see thousands of pictures of sweet potato encrusted fish and all kinds of different fish.

Our daily catch, which is usually like eight or nine different fish in a day.

Leftovers is all about our community, our staff and our patrons.

Everybody's been here a long time.

So when people come in the door, our clients have been here for a long time, too.

Our patrons come often three times a week, four times a week, some of them.

So if you're new, coming through the door, we want you to feel like them.

You know that you're gonna have a great experience and you're gonna feel welcomed.

So David tell us what you love most about Leftovers.

In a word, everything.

But the beauty of the place is that it's unremarkable from the outside but you walk in and you're transported to a very relaxed, casual sort of place with a menu that is, there's a standard menu and then there's a menu that changes everyday.

Literally top to bottom, from appetizers to drinks, to main courses and to desserts.

David, what did you have the last time you went in?

We tend to get some kind of fish, either corvina, grouper, dolphin in some sort of crust.

They have a sweet potato crust, which is always our favorite.

And then that is normally put on greens.

So the creativity that's involved in the combination of flavors they put, and I know Michelle you would know the Asians look to include five different senses that are typically in the best food.

And you find that in their meals, there's the crunch there's the hot, the heat and all the rest of it.

And it looks spectacular.

Felipe, what did you think?

I absolutely loved Leftovers.

It was quite a drive for me.

I live in South Miami and went all the way up to Jupiter.

It was worth the drive.

Leftovers has a very creative menu, that's the best way to describe it.

I had muscles and muscles are almost always the same when you go to a restaurant but this had little chunks of pineapple in it along with the tomatoes that just gave it the right flavor to those muscles.

They switched it up but made it outstanding.

And you had an adult mac and cheese, right?

Oh, that was really, really good.

Very filling, very tasty and it had a nice little kick to it.

So that was nice and there was definitely a leftover.

I bet.

Greg, what did you think about Leftovers?

I walked into that place and I was immediately overwhelmed by the set menu and the daily menu but there was a staff member, team member that came up to me and really guided me, guide to the two, I was with a friend of mine, guided the two of us to make our choices and to give us some options.

One of the first things that I saw right away was the fried brussels sprouts.

And I figured an appetizer of brussels sprouts might be a little plate or something.

It was the size of a bathtub.

There were two of us, it could have served six people.

It had gorgonzola, it had greens and peppers and it was just so delicious.

And of course I had the sweet potato encrusted corvina on greens with green beans and grapes and just so much to it.

And it was gigantic, it was this gigantic piece of fish.

I had to take half of it home.

It was delicious.

David and Felipe, you both had the Coconut Tres Leches.

Do one of you wanna jump in?

That Coconut Tres Leches was so good, so good.

It was a great great flavor.

And it's funny 'cause I not normally like coconut in my dessert but I had to say it really went really well with their Tres Leches and it was a great portion, great size, yummy.

David, do you wanna tell me a little bit about the vibe of Leftovers?

Yeah, the vibe is, I don't know if I'd say it's key west but it's definitely got sort of a beach vibe, very casual.

You can't help it relax when you're there and the people because they're friendly across the board and helpful, you feel like you're in good, capable hands.

And so the vibe is very relaxed, all the food and the drinks all reflect that vibe.

Felipe, tell me about the, is the Stoner's Delight, it's a dessert?

So, yeah, the name caught our attention.

We were like, okay.

Michelle, that Stoner's Delight is decadent but it is so good.

It's got chocolate, Nutella, marshmallow, the crust.

It is so so good.

We shared it and we were done.

And then the gentleman, who by the way, Anthony the waiter that was there, was amazing guiding us through it.

He brought us the Coconut Tres Leches, by the way, and then we ate that too.

Well David, Leftovers Cafe was your pick.

Can you sum it up for us?

Wherever you live, it's worth the drive.

Find a way, time, space, go there, where you have at the end of that drive, a guaranteed delicious meal that you'll remember for a long time to come.

Greg, can you give us a summary?

I wanna eat more there.

There's a lot on the menu that I just wanna discover.

Felipe?

Lots of originality, creativity and great flavor profiles.

Well worth the drive.

Well, get your doggy bags ready for Leftovers Cafe, located at 451 University Boulevard in Jupiter.

Open for lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday.

Reservations aren't accepted and the average price for dinner without drinks is about $40.

Okay, well now banker Felipe Basulto is saving up his appetite for authentic Lebanese fair.

He's a regular at this pick where he always orders his go-to favorite dishes.

From the great portion sizes to the welcoming atmosphere, he says this place is a must try for everyone.

It's located in Pinecrest and it's called Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine.

My name is Tony Sammour.

I'm the Chef and Owner of Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine in the heart Pinecrest, Florida.

First of all I was born in Bethlehem, in Palestine and I start cooking when I was eight years old.

My specialty at the beginning was hummus and falafel.

And with time my hobby became a business.

Shaddai is a blessing from the skies.

Shaddai was a God-given name to my wife, Elizabeth, in a dream.

Shaddai means God almighty.

When Shaddai was born, everything fall in the place.

The location, the crew, the business, the customers, everything was falling perfectly.

There's a say back in the Arab world say, "Greet me before you feed me".

Everything we cook here is from the heart.

And a specialty here is tapas which is called an Arabic mezze, where customers walk in, they order a few different plates and they make as a meal.

The hummus, the falafel, the grape leaves.

Everything I do, I do myself.

When the customer walk in through this door they're automatically feel like their family.

They feel like the blessing.

I have customers telling me, "I feel like I'm at home.

I feel the energy when I walk in your restaurant.

There's something so special about the restaurant here."

And I told her, "This is Shaddai" Felipe you've been a regular there for a long time, huh?

Many years.

So tell us about it a little bit and tell us about the last thing that you ate.

The last thing I ate is actually my favorite dish overall.

It's a lemon chicken and it is served with the rice with the vermicelli, Lebanese rice, and I just love mixing it all together and soaking up that garlic and lemon all together with the chicken, it's fantastic.

I really really enjoy that food.

All of it.

And the appetizers, the kibbeh, the grape leaves, the labneh.

Kibbeh, I find it like, not like a croqueta but it almost is in the sense that it's a fried little meatball, if you will, but it's got like pine nuts and meat and the flavor inside is just outstanding because of the spices.

My favorite, kibbeh nayeh.

Okay, and then let's talk about labneh.

It's a strained yogurt and it's just fantastic because I love it with the pita bread.

Just to dip it in there, they have the warm pita bread.

We alternate between the labneh and the hummus and it is fantastic.

Both of them, they have some za'atar and some olive one on top.

So let's jump right into Greg.

Greg, tell us about your experience at Shaddai.

At Shaddai, well I love Mediterranean food.

I've been eating Mediterranean food, going to Mediterranean restaurants since I was 17, 16 or 17.

It's a little bit of a drive for me but I wanted to go a little bit around lunchtime and I really just went to get the things that I like.

I always loved getting a Jerusalem salad, chopped cucumber, chopped tomatoes, onions, a nice light salad, crunchy.

I just loved eating it anywhere I ever go.

Just love it.

Just a nice light salad.

And you had grape leaves.

I did, I could not leave, you know, I was getting really full but I had to get my grape leaves because I love grape leaves, really nice.

The rice and the meat grape leaves, delicious.

With a nice lemony sauce.

Just delicious.

Love the grape leaves.

So David, they didn't have outdoor seating and you didn't wanna eat indoors so you took takeout food, correct?

Correct.

Right.

And you know, it's quite a drive from where we live but Lebanese food is hard to come by.

And I figured if this has been recommended, let's do this.

To me one of the metrics of a good Lebanese restaurant is can you make hummus or not?

This was, I think, the best I've ever had and that's saying quite a bit 'cause I've tried it in many places.

It was wonderful.

And half of my family is Lebanese so I grew up, my aunts made this food for my cousins and for my brothers and me.

So it brought back a lot of great memories because these are the flavors and the labor that goes into making these things that we grew up with and frankly, have a hard time truly finding this stuff.

The chicken shawarma is, the chicken is tender.

It's perfectly prepared because, again, it takes time.

Very healthy portion.

These are things that, frankly, it took us twice to eat through all of this stuff because the portions were so large.

It was frankly among the best I've ever had, if not, certainly I've never had better.

So tell me a little bit about the location.

The location is comfortable.

It's open.

You don't have the outdoor seating as we stated.

However, inside it is very spread out during this COVID time in order to accommodate its guests.

Okay, well Felipe, Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine was your pick.

Sum it up for us.

Home cooked Lebanese food with great flavors and great portions.

Greg.

Ample portions, a little bit of a schlep for me from Delray but worth the schlep.

I love Mediterranean food.

This did not disappoint, loved it.

David.

Delicious, subtle, authentic and varied.

I could go there 20 times and I don't think I'd eat the same thing each time.

Well, that's great.

Yeah.

For authentic Lebanese dishes and other Middle Eastern specialties, head on over to Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine located at 9519 South Dixie highway in Pinecrest.

Opened daily for lunch and dinner, reservations are accepted.

And the average price for dinner without drinks is about $35.

We are going to make chicken shawarma.

So it's usually rather difficult to make shawarma.

It goes on a spit like those beautiful lamb spits when they make yeeros or as Americans like to call it gyros.

And so chicken shawarma, we're actually going to do the marinade for it.

And we're gonna simply cook it in oven in a really clean way.

We have sumac which is a Middle Eastern spice and it's really tangy.

Turmeric which really adds more than anything a beautiful golden hue color.

A little bit of cayenne pepper.

Ras el hanout, a delicious spice mixture.

R A S Ras el hanout.

It's really what I like to call one of the best warm spices because it really just makes you feel warm when you eat it, just delicious.

Some paprika, Cardamom, delicious.

Also another warming spice.

Then a little bit of chopped garlic.

And then of course some fresh squeezed lemon juice and some oil.

I would prefer you to use some nice extra virgin olive oil.

Go ahead and mix all this up.

Now the chicken can be grilled.

It can be baked.

It can be sauteed, pretty much anything.

It's really up to you.

I'm gonna hand you this recipe and you can make something delicious out of it.

But the one thing, when you do marinade this chicken I suggest you do it at least overnight to give it the most amount of flavor.

You can cook it, as I said, anyway you'd like to, mine is in the oven.

So these are just some simple chicken thighs.

I'm gonna place them just like this.

And I love starting it with a beautiful herb salad.

So here I have some mint and dill and cilantro and I'm just gonna throw that right over the top.

Next to it, I have something called labneh which is a Middle Eastern yogurt which is basically a strained thickened yogurt.

And then just a little bit of some crunchy sea salt.

And you have yourself a beautiful meal for the whole family.

You can make chicken shawarma in your own kitchen.

Just got to CheckPleaseFL.com for the recipe.

Well, finally, Regional Philanthropy Officer, Greg Goodman is donating his dinner time to a trendy spot for Asian street food.

He says he's willing to consistently give this place a 10 out of 10 for their tasty dishes, ample cocktails and youthful vibe.

It's located in Delray Beach and it's called Hawkers.

Hi, my name's Brett Hessler.

I'm the Executive Chef at Hawkers Asian Street Food in Delray Beach.

Hawkers is, I guess you would call, a Pan-Asian style restaurant.

It's fun, shareable, smaller portions that are great for groups to be able to try a lot of different things and a lot of different flavors and profiles.

It's a great fun way to come in and experience Asian cuisine that hasn't been Americanized and that's what's really great.

We've got generational recipes here that need to be honored for what they were.

They've been passed down from one generation to the next.

Like most places that have Pad Thai on their menu.

Pad Thai is one of our signature dishes but the Twice Fried Korean Wings are a huge hit with people.

And our Roti Canai which is kind of a flat bread with a curry dipping sauce is, I see it on almost every table.

It's one of our biggest sellers.

It's fun and lively, engaging, energetic.

It's there for everyone.

And I think that we've got things for everyone.

You know, when you look at our patio, you look inside, you see neon, it's fun musical playlists.

Hawkers engages all five senses.

It's taste, it's sight, it's sound, it's flavors.

It's unlike anything else that you're gonna find out there.

So Greg, tell us about the food at Hawkers and they're pretty much all about Asian street food, correct?

Absolutely and I go off and I go for lunch.

I go for dinner.

I've tried almost everything on the menu from the standard types of Thai food, like Pad Thai to really different things that I've tried as well.

When I go to Hawkers, I always start with warm flatbread which has a delicious sweet curry sauce.

It's really wonderful.

Then I move on, I always get a summer roll.

Summer rolls are basically cold rice wraps with sprouts and basil and you can get it with shrimp and you dip it in a nice kind of peanutty sesame sauce.

Just love it.

Love it so much.

You also had a Tom Yum.

I had Tom Yum, yup.

I like spice.

I like heat.

It's a lemon grass broth with lots of vegetables and shrimp, really has a nice bite to it.

Really just keeps me wanting to drink because it's so spicy.

Love it so much and I really enjoy that all the time.

David, you started with the same flat bread, the Roti Canai.

Did you like it?

Absolutely loved it.

And that Curry sauce you dip it in there it's delicious.

Again, I think the highlight of the restaurant is that everything is so fresh.

And as Greg just said, share your tapas.

This is something like in Spain, having tapas it's what you do, especially in the evening.

And this restaurant is kind of the Asian version of that.

Very fresh, very quick turnaround.

So when you've kinda finished up one tapas or one dish, you order the other one, two or three minutes later there it is.

Tell me what else you had.

Do you remember?

Well, we did try the bao and bao is everywhere.

Theirs were particularly fresh, delicious.

It was a fried pork sort of thing with some vegetables in it.

Nice combination of flavors and textures.

My wife got a- [michelle] She had a Singapore Mei Fun.

Really good.

A great combination of vegetarian sorts of things vegetables, a nice portion.

And then we finished the meal with roti but it was a dessert.

It was cinnamon roti with a scoop of ice cream, a la mode and it was delicious.

Again, everything came fresh, hot, very tasty, the kind of place you'd like to go back for if you're walking down in the evening, maybe coming back from the beach, this is a place you stop at.

Felipe, what did you think of Hawkers?

I loved Hawkers.

Hawkers is a great place to go with your friends or family because it's all about getting together and celebrating and sharing the food.

Felipe you had a few things.

You had Pad Thai.

Fantastic, really good Pad Thai.

I love Pad Thai and that's a common plate that I love having at restaurants that offer it but theirs was very good.

The Korean Twice Fried Wings, oh my God, those things were so good, so good.

The batter was really crunchy.

The chicken was great and the flavor sauce that they had on top, outstanding They say that you know a good Korean fried piece of chicken when the sound is like cracking glass when you bite into it.

David, how were the prices, David, at Hawkers?

Very reasonable and as everybody has said, you share.

You're there to experiment, to share.

Nothing will disappoint you.

Prices are great.

Greg, Hawkers was your pick, sum it up for us.

Great youthful vibe, really comfortable outside seating and inside seating with an open kitchen.

Really knowledgeable staff.

Just love the food, love going there multiple times a week.

David.

Great place, casual, quick from order to table in moments.

You'll never be bored and the food is varied and fresh.

Felipe, give me your summary.

Fun time.

Good time.

Go with friends and get ready to share lots of great food together and enjoy a great vibe.

Experience Asian street food with a laid back vibe when you visit Hawkers.

Located at 640 East Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach.

Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Reservations are not accepted.

And the average price for dinner without drinks is about $30.

We've had such a wonderful time and I wanna thank my amazing guests, David Samore Felipe Basulto and Greg Goodman.

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 CheckPleaseFL.com.

And remember to find us on Facebook and follow us on 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.

Salut everybody.

[narrator] Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

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