(Michelle) This week on check please South Florida homemade pasta and wine welcome us in Palm City.

All my life I've been chasing this dish and it was just perfect.

A farm to table menu like no other in downtown Stuart.

You just have that coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas vibe when you walk into that restaurant.

And a river dream awaits in the sailfish capital.

The ambiance and the real estate is probably my favorite thing about the restaurant.

(Announcer) Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

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

(music) 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 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, health care IT analyst Lexine Carter wants us to join her at her favorite spot.

She says that this restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy a delicious meal with family and friends.

Boasting an eclectic selection of spirits, she says this Stewart pick should be your next destination for a delicious culinary experience.

Retired high school teacher Pat Sydlo-Arshan says that her pick will inspire all foodies thanks to their farm to table menu and fun dining experience.

Fresh food and a great time are guaranteed at this downtown Seward spot, but first, financial advisor Codie Thomas is ready to share the perfect portions of his pick.

He says that their commitment to delicious food and family oriented service is what's made this spot his favorite go to.

It's located in Palm City and it's called Ristorante Claretta.

(music) Ciao my name is Christina Ingegnoli Maresca, and that's my restaurant.

Restaurant in Palm City.

Hi, my name is Francesco Ingegnoli.

I'm a co-owner of Ristorante Claretta with my sister.

Restaurante Clarita is 27 years in business.

We come directly from Italy.

And the idea to open a real Italian restaurant.

(Christina) The name started with my mama Clarita, which is a real name is Clara.

But because she is petite, we call Little Clara so Claretta (Francesco) Ristorante Claretta is very unique.

It's very different the restaurant, because we research the product we're going to use in our restaurant, most of the product we we have in the restaurant, they are imported directly from Italy.

We want to test the product, the simple dish.

(Christina) I'm in front of the house, all the people, they come inside, they see me.

They really enjoy to see me and I enjoy to see them.

For me, Ristorante Claretta is and I will use an Italian word Unico means it's just one of the kind.

(Francesco) for me I would say is a two word.

And they say, if you must, if you must, you need to stop by and try Ristorante Claretta.

(Michelle) So what a total surprise this place is, right?

Can you tell us why that is?

Yeah I mean, it's really unassuming location.

It's in a public shopping center, kind of on the end corner.

And Yeah, like you said, or like someone.

Said, sneezed.

You miss it.

You miss it.

Exactly, exactly.

But if you miss it, you're really missing a special restaurant.

It's a family-owned restaurant with Christina, and her brother is the chef.

And it's just they go back to Italy for three months, I think, every summer.

(Michelle) Oh, wow.

And they close up.

(Codie) Exactly, exactly.

(Michelle) That's so smart.

(Codie) Yeah, it's really cool.

(Michelle) And they probably go and get all kinds of, like, exciting ideas and flavors and come back with it all right.

(Codie) Yeah different Italian inspiration I guess.

And yeah, bring it back to for us to enjoy.

(Michelle) So Pat first thoughts.

It was spectacular.

We go to Italy every year and they had one dish that I only had once.

And I all my life I've been chasing this dish and it was just perfect.

(Michelle) I have to hear what that dish is.

(Pat) It's ravioli with roasted butternut squash and amaretti cookies.

Now you think actually.

Oh do you I do, yeah, (Michelle) it's one of my favorite Italian dishes.

(Pat) Oh.

It is great.

It's so great.

(Michelle) Lexine, what did you think when you went in?

I know you couldn't find.

You didn't even know it existed, right?

I did, not about that.

It's funny, because I have a girlfriend that lives literally across the street.

And we do that walk over the Roosevelt Bridge like every Saturday.

We pass by that public every Saturday.

And I've never looked over.

But for me, what I loved was I had a pasta dish.

It was a special that they were doing, and it was pink pasta.

It was made from purple potatoes and it was pink and it was just refreshing.

(Michelle) Codie, let's hear what you had this last time you went.

(Codie) Sure we started out with the risotto with truffles, and it was the first time I've ever had white truffles, and we just had the tasting portion of it.

Real truffle.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

It was like a dish that I've never experienced before.

(Michelle) Did they shave it at the table?

(Codie) They didn't.

It came already shaved, but it was fantastic.

And we just had a tasting portion of that one.

(Michelle) Okay.

(Codie) Which was the perfect amount.

My girlfriend and I shared it.

I think more would have been too much, but it was just the perfect amount.

(Michelle) It's all rice.

Yeah.

No doubt.

And then you had a fillet with peppercorn sauce.

(Codie) Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

It was one of the best cuts of meat that I've ever had.

And I wouldn't think going to an Italian restaurant.

Oh it was the best fillet I've ever had.

But it was fantastic.

(Michelle) And then you had it came with a pasta, I believe.

With more truffles.

(Codie) Yes.

And speck.

Yes.

Um, I have no complaints about that restaurant whatsoever.

Um, the family-oriented kind of nature.

(Michelle) Yeah.

(Codie) With all the pictures on the wall of their family and growing up.

Um, yeah, it's just unexpectedly wonderful.

(Michelle) That's lovely.

Pat, tell me about the veal scallopini.

(Pat) Oh delicious dishes.

Really a nice portion.

Maybe a six small slices.

But we also had the half portion of pastas, so we had two half portion of pastas, then the veal, then the dessert.

And so it was out of this world.

It's almost.

(Michelle) Tell me about your dessert.

(Pat) Pannacotta.

It's my favorite.

And a creamier panna cotta than I've had with a raspberry reduction on it.

Oh, that was special.

(Michelle) So panna cotta is a custard, but made without eggs, right?

Using gelatin to.

(Pat) Gelatin and a heavy cream.

But again, the cream tasted different than I've had it in other places.

And I could they bring Italian cream?

I'm not sure, but that's what they did like.

Yeah.

(Michelle) Lexine you had a, like a vanilla sorbet or gelato.

Excuse me.

With chocolate.

(Lexine) Gelato.

With chocolate cake.

Yes.

It was amazing that gelato was rich.

And it was really, really good.

The cake was very moist I loved that.

(Michelle) How was service for you?

(Pat) Spectacular.

Because the owner takes your order and then she guides you through what it is.

You know?

What experience do you want to have tonight?

And then our waiter made suggestions and the next thing you know, I would have had everything that was on the menu because everything sounded so good.

(Michelle) And what do you think about the prices of wine and food and value?

(Lexine) So their price range is a little bit up there, but considering that they closed for three months and they import most of their ingredients, I can understand why that happens.

(Michelle) Okay well Codie Ristorante Claretta was your pick Sum it up for us, please.

(Codie) Yeah, it's a treat.

You're going to pay a little more than you would at a typical place, but you're going to get so much more value for that for those dollars.

(Michelle) Pat (Pat) I thought it was a great value because it's so much less expensive than.

Going all the way to Italy.

And it's the same quality, the same, same magnificent evening.

(Michelle) Lexine (Lexine) I love the food quality.

I love the flavors and the profile there.

Everything is distinct.

(Michelle) For delicious Italian cuisine, you can visit Ristorante Claretta, located at 1315 Southwest Martin Highway in Palm City.

They are open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday.

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

(music) Have you ever looked at a beat in a grocery store and thought, I just want to, don't want to go through the trouble.

I don't even know what I'm doing.

Well, I'm here to make things a little easier for you.

And just so you know, roasted beets don't really need anything.

Um, they're so good on their own.

So real quickly, this is what I do.

I'm going to put some beets and aluminum foil, add a touch of whatever cheap oil you've got around, throw some salt in.

I don't really know if it actually seasons it, but I feel like it does.

And when we make a little pocket in the foil, I feel like that salt just kind of starts to be soaked up a little bit by the beet.

Throw this into a 400 to 425 degree oven, and it takes one hour for these big ones.

If you only find the little baby beets, don't go more than about half an hour for those.

But this is what the beets look like.

After they're cooked, they become beautifully moist and they're just so creamy and delicious.

Now they still have their peel on, which is really essential to cook a perfect beet.

What you do is you take either a towel or a paper towel like this one.

You don't have to cut off the skin.

You peel off the skin, just rubbing it gently with this paper towel.

Check this out.

Let’s cut these down.

As you can see, they're just incredibly creamy.

So beautifully cooked.

Put them on a plate.

Now, I don't know how I got so lucky, but my son absolutely adores beets, so I'm adding just some really good extra virgin olive oil.

This one's a little bit spicy.

Made with arbequina olives.

The tiniest, tiniest bit of balsamic.

The beets are so incredibly sweet that I feel like I just needed a little tiny splash of vinegar on them.

And then, rather than kosher salt, I go ahead and grab some Maldon crunchy salt right over the top.

And there you have it.

Absolute perfection in a roasted beet.

(music) (Michelle) Now retired high school teacher Pat Sydlo-Arshan is ready to tell us why her pick has received an A+ with a delicious menu that focuses on locally sourced ingredients.

This spot has become a favorite with locals and visitors alike.

It's located in Stuart and it's called Colab Kitchen.

(music) Hi, I'm Laurrie Wood.

I'm the general manager of Colab Kitchen.

One of the owners has a local farm here, and she loves fresh produce.

And she used to go to our sister restaurant which is District Table.

And she really loved the food there.

So the owner of District Table and the owner of Hill Lab Farms, they came together and they wanted to have a space where we could both sell the produce and then represent it in food.

That was delicious.

(music) We are a part of downtown Stuart and downtown Stuart.

For those of you that don't know, we're like right in the center of the Treasure Coast.

We’re close to the beach, which is one of the best parts of Florida.

And our space we put together because we thought that we wanted a space kind of like a community living room for people to hang out in, especially people with kids.

They felt comfortable coming to listen to music, having a space to eat great food, relaxing, maybe on their sofas to have coffee, maybe they're here for a drink after work, or they're just looking for some fresh produce.

We kind of wanted to have all of that available to as many people as possible.

We want guests to feel really comfortable.

We want them to feel relaxed in our space.

We want them to have had really delicious food and a great experience, super good service and enjoy the cocktails as well.

Colab is fresh local food.

(music) (Michelle) So this is not an average dining experience.

It is not.

As soon as you walk in, it's almost as if you're walking into a French market.

There is a bakery on one side, cold case on the other, and the lettuce looks like bouquets of flowers.

It's they're huge and all kinds of prepared foods are available for purchase.

(Michelle) Codie, what do you think when you walked in?

Yeah, it's a really neat entrance, you know, going through the market and all of the fresh produce.

I think they actually do it.

Hydroponically on the location, at least a lot of the lettuce, and I think they even source it to some other like local restaurants in the community.

(Michelle) Lexine what did you think?

I loved it, that location.

It's funny that you've mentioned that one because it's like my second time being there.

And when you walk in, it opens up to a huge backyard and you just have that coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas vibe.

When you walk into that restaurant, it's really, really nice.

(Michelle) Okay, so Pat, tell me what you had this last time you went in.

(Pat) I had the arugula salad with a watermelon and feta cheese.

And then of course, I had the brisket because it's like perfume when you walk in there because they're smoking the brisket out back, and then they have two different sides, it doesn't stop.

(Michelle) Codie, what did you have?

(Codie) We started out with the blue crab as an appetizer.

(Michelle) It's like a dip, right?

(Codie) Yeah.

It almost comes in like an escargot kind of dish with those dimples on it.

And it was spectacular.

That was probably the highlight of my meal, was that that blue crab.

(Michelle) Lexine tell me about your experience.

(Lexine) to start I had the hummus.

It was great.

It was light, it was airy and it was citrusy.

That hummus had a different flavor and a different texture that I've never had in that I enjoyed.

Oh they're amazing.

(Michelle) Oh, it had pickles.

(Lexine) It had pickles and pickled French beans in the hummus with.

Yeah, it was good.

(Michelle) Then you had.

Something called a cheese for.

(Lexine) Yes, I did though.

The cheese for options.

It's four of their sides where I got their smoked.

Sweet potato casserole.

Sweet potato casserole.

(Michelle) You had a chickpea.

(Lexine) Yes.

Oh I had that too.

I had that.

Too.

(Michelle) Okay.

You had an eggplant.

Like a roast.

(Lexine) A roasted a smoked roasted eggplant.

They smoked it, they roast it and then they brought it out.

(Michelle) And then there.

Was a fourth thing.

(Lexine) The macaroni.

Yes.

That's the macaroni salad.

Yeah, it was good.

I had leftovers.

(Michelle) And you had something called a mango madness cake.

(Lexine) Yes.

(Michelle) Tell me about that.

(Lexine) That Mango Madness cake.

It was slivers of cake in between mango jam.

And then you had it topped with your sugar cream topping.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

Your sugar icing.

Frosting.

Yeah, but.

That sounds delicious.

The mango is like, just straight pureed mango.

Not watered down.

Not.

It was very clean, very flavorful.

(Michelle) Pat, tell me about your banana cream pie.

One of my favorite desserts.

(Pat) Oh so good.

And they make their own vanilla wafer.

Is that the step too far, I think.

No.

It's perfect.

Yeah.

No, that was that was delicious.

And it was meringue on top.

So that was a little different than we usually have.

But between that and the drinks.

(Michelle) Tell me about what did you have for drinks.

(Pat) Oh.

Porch pounder.

(Michelle) What's that?

(Pat) It's passionflower, gentian and citrus.

It was huge.

It was a. Bowl and had vodka and honeydew.

As well.

Yes, it did okay.

And my husband had a vodka, cucumber, you name it.

Drink.

And it was delicious.

(Michelle) Tell me a little bit about service, Codie.

(Codie) Our service was spectacular.

Our waitress was right there.

We were greeted right when we walked in.

No wait or anything.

You know, it's Stuart, It’s not as busy as some of the cities.

But no, it was wonderful service.

No complaints.

(Michelle) Parking.

(Lexine) Parking was great.

Yeah.

They have their parking in the front of the building and then there's like a parking off to the side.

So there's ample parking.

Yes.

(Michelle) All right Pat.

Well, Colab Kitchen was your choice.

Sum it up for me, please.

(Pat) I think I'm the luckiest girl in Florida for finding it.

And I would say that this is so unique.

It's for everybody.

You bring your whole family, every friend, and you could just sit there by yourself and enjoy it.

(Michelle) Codie.

(Codie) Yeah, it's a great family environment.

Having the kids run out in the back is a lot of fun.

You can just enjoy the food and enjoy the drinks, and you're going to be coming home with a lot of leftovers as well.

(Michelle) Lexine (Lexine) it's a really, really nice place to be.

Once you go there, you feel at home, you're very comfortable and there's something for everybody.

(Michelle) For a delicious farm to table experience, you can visit Colab Kitchen, located at 100 southeast MLK Junior Boulevard in Stuart.

They're open Wednesday to Sunday for brunch and dinner.

Reservations are accepted where the average price for dinner without drinks is about $45.

(music) (Michelle) Finally, health care IT analyst Lexine Carter says that her picks menu offers something for everyone to enjoy.

You'll be more than impressed with their beautiful intracoastal location, fresh food, and fun tropical decor.

It's located in Stuart and it's called Hudson's on the River.

(music) Hi, I'm Benjamin Foster, director of operations for Hudson's on the River.

Hudson's is located in the Treasure Coast in downtown Stuart, Florida, right underneath the historic Roosevelt Bridge.

We are right on the Port Saint Lucie River.

Our goal was to create a restaurant with fresh ingredients, sustainable ingredients where we can showcase that with 360 views of the water.

I think there's been a lot of great additions to the restaurant scene here in Stuart and the Treasure Coast over the last couple of years, with us being one of those places and other restaurants also.

It’s kind of allowed us to be competitive to a degree and also allow the guests different options in dining.

One of the things that we think makes us different is we focus more of the Caribbean and Asian style flair to seafood and waterfront dining.

We just opened an outside tiki bar that has been a fantastic addition for us, and I think continuing to evolve the concept and being open to new ideas and refreshing the menu seasonally really helps us to drive the concept forward.

Hudson's on the River is a celebration of life with friends and family that can come in and get a culinary experience and great vibes.

(music) (Michelle) So tell me about this absolutely beautiful place, please.

Yeah.

I stumbled on Hudson's from a friend.

When you walk in, it's just complete open air there.

Right on the corner of the Hudson River, just over the Roosevelt Bridge.

You're basically almost sitting underneath the bridge.

Their food is amazing.

I've never had a bad experience with their food, and it's just fun.

(Michelle) Codie, you like the lively liveliness of the atmosphere, right?

Yeah, the atmosphere is wonderful.

It's a newly constructed building.

It's right on the river, right underneath the Roosevelt Bridge.

Yeah, it's just the ambiance and the real estate is probably my favorite thing about the restaurant.

(Michelle) Pat, do you agree?

Oh, I just thought the location was so perfect.

It's almost like going on a vacation.

(Michelle) All right, Lexine, tell me a little bit about what you had this last time.

(Lexine) For this particular trip.

I had the fried calamari to start.

Yes.

How were they that was very good, very fresh, very crisp, very light.

Greasy, no.

Okay.

Absolutely.

(Michelle) Mushroom tacos.

(Lexine) Oh, yes.

Those are my favorite.

The mushroom tacos.

I always, always get the tacos.

They're like a crispy wonton with, you know, a glaze.

And it was super, super delicious.

(Michelle) And then you had a snapper.

(Lexine) I had a lot to eat.

(Michelle) Okay.

We like that here at check please.

We're good with that.

(Lexine) I did have a lot to eat.

(Michelle) If you don't.

Have enough to eat, I get a little upset.

So yeah, this is good.

(Lexine) I did I had their snapper dish and that had a mango coulis mango and I think passion fruit coulis with coconut rice and not too sweet.

Not too sweet at all.

It was great.

Yes.

(Michelle) And then finally, I think a couple of you had this dish.

You had a sandwich of shrimp and scallops.

Yes, yes.

Yes, please.

(Lexine) We did.

We split.

My guest had the shrimp and scallop sandwich.

And we did a split.

That sandwich is very good.

(Michelle) Let's start with the short ribs sliders.

You had a.

(Pat) Short rib slider with caramelized onions.

We had beef shrimp and we also had chicken.

So name a food group.

We had them all.

And shishito peppers gigantic bowl with ponzu sauce.

I thought oh I can't possibly finish that.

Oh yes I could.

(Michelle) Codie, tell me what you had.

(Codie) We started out with the mussels and coconut cream, coconut curry, mussels and they were delicious.

Like the curry sauce was really good.

Fantastic.

I mean, the restaurant does do a lot of different things.

I mean, they have sushi and like, just kind of traditional seafood like place.

(Michelle) But you had meat.

(Codie) We did.

You know, I probably strip, right?

I had a New York strip.

And for the value, I just don't think it was quite there.

Uh, the first I very rarely return food, but I ordered it medium rare, and it was more medium for sure.

And we brought it back and they came out with another one.

They were very nice about it and gave us a free round of drinks, so that's nice.

I probably wouldn't order the steak again, but the seafood we had was fantastic.

(Michelle) You had a snapper.

(Codie) We did.

We had the snapper as well and it was the same one.

It was the same one with the mango.

Yes.

It was very.

Good.

You got a flan?

Oh yes, we had a flan.

We had a chocolate flan which is very nice.

(Michelle) Oh a chocolate flan.

That's yummy.

I've never had a chocolate flan.

(Codie) Yeah, I never had either.

It was good.

Yes.

(Michelle) Tell me a little bit about service, Pat.

(Pat) Service was excellent.

This is the type of place where as soon as you come in, somebody sees you want water.

Whatever it is that you need, you can order right away.

When you want more of something, they're right there.

(Michelle) Like with Cody, you had an issue and they seem to have gone over.

(Codie) There very attentive.

(Michelle) Yes, over the amount that they needed to take care of you 100%.

Tell me a little bit about pricing.

(Lexine) Um, pricing is reasonable for the portion that they give you, and you can always know that you can take something home.

Something will be left for you to take home.

(Michelle) Okay Sounds lovely.

Well, Lexine Hudson's on the River was your pick.

Summit for summit for me.

(Lexine) It's just the place to be.

(Michelle) Cody.

(Codie) Yeah, it's a great location, great ambiance.

It's a perfect date night.

Um, get some appetizers and some drinks and enjoy the view.

(Michelle) Pat.

(Pat) I'd say it made me proud to be from the Treasure Coast.

(Michelle) For flavorful dishes and a breezy good time, you can make your way to Hudson's on the River.

Located at 351 Southwest Flagler Avenue in Stuart, they're open daily for lunch and dinner.

Reservations are accepted where the average price of dinner without drinks is about $60.

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

I want to thank my guests Codie Thomas, Lexine Carter and Pat Sydlo- Arshan 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 chickpeas fl.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.

Thank you.

Salud.

Salud.

(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 homemade