ROSENFELD RESTAURANT REVIEW – FABIEN’S BISTRO

ROSENFELD RESTAURANT REVIEW – FABIEN’S BISTRO

While I like to promote good news, let’s face it, the news is not always good. Such is the case with the reborn Fabien’s Bistro. I have a lot of connections to this place, located in a shopping center on 18^th Street in Boca Raton where I have done the leasing for years called Village Tower Shoppes. At one point I replaced the longtime operators called Fleming & Else Bistro, who had an amazing place. It stayed with the same name until it became Village Bistro at Fleming and now is Fabien’s Bistro after they sold it. I didn’t know any of this Saturday night, I was just hoping to have the same menu they used to have when it was Flemings, like I did the last time I was there 6 months ago. Those days sadly are over. My wife started out with a Caesar’s salad, and they said they couldn’t put the dressing on the side, the first time we had ever heard of such a thing. I started with a French onion soup, which was good but not well done enough on top. My older daughter had the same, which they were kind enough to do without cheese. Then for the entrees, we tried to order 2 coq au vins, and were told at 6:20 that they had run out and only had one left. Irate, I agreed to give that one to my daughter and went with the sea bass blackened instead. My wife got the crab cake and my little one went with pasta, as usual. My wife’s crab cake was terrible, filled with vegetables and smothered in a mustard sauce. My sea bass was terrible, and not prepared the way I asked. I sent it back after eating just 2 bites. My little one loved her pasta and my older one loved the chicken. Fortunately she is always watching her weight these days (not that she needs to, unlike me) so I had the opportunity to have some of it and it was excellent. But the damage was done, we didn’t like the attitude and I just couldn’t get past the fact that they ran out of chicken at 6:20 on Saturday. We passed on the deserts and instead went to Yogurt Emporium next door, which has the best yogurt in town, so there was a happy ending. I would love to hear about a great restaurant that you have tried or one of your favorite places. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

ROSENFELD RESTAURANT REVIEW – SAPPHIRE INDIAN CUISINE

ROSENFELD RESTAURANT REVIEW – SAPPHIRE INDIAN CUISINE

It has been a long time since we have had one of these and this is a good one to get back into it with. Anyone that knows me knows that I like a wide variety of foods, especially exotic ones. One of my favorite foods is Indian food, and I do frequent several Indian restaurants each month. So you can imagine how excited I was to find that a new one was opening in my hometown of Boca Raton! Finally I went there with a friend last week. It is located in Royal Palm Place in Boca Raton on Federal Highway South of Palmetto Park Road. This is a very upscale place, with white clean décor, and a small bar. They have a couple of lunch options, a 3 course with an appetizer, entree and dessert and then a multi dish option that comes with 3 dishes and other stuff. For that you can choose vegetarian or non-vegetarian, and there are no substitutions of any kind (which precluded me from this one!). My friend went with the multi dish and I had the 3 course. I started with a tomato covered cauliflower, which was absolutely delicious. Then I had the boring chicken tikka masala, which came with rice and naan. It was excellent. My choice for desert, rice pudding, was too hot to serve since it just came out of the oven so they offered me a small donut with a honey sauce that was served warm. It was excellent and small enough so that it didn’t make you feel too guilty. My friend’s order was much more interesting looking. It was served on a large tray with many small cups on the perimeter and a large naan in the middle. He had his meats first, then a lentil sauce, which could be a soup, and various other sauces. His meats were shrimp, lamb and chicken. I was very impressed with this place and look forward to my next visit. It is a little pricey so be forewarned, but you do get a lot of food for the money and it is very high quality. I would love to hear about a place you have tried or one of your favorite places. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

IS ALL ABOARD FLORIDA FINANCIALLY VIABLE?

IS ALL ABOARD FLORIDA FINANCIALLY VIABLE?

That is the question, and it is sort of crazy that it is still being asked at this point. This was supposed to be a private funded initiative that was to stretch from Orlando to Miami. There were plenty of problems along the way with regards to planning and the proposed stops the trains would make but since it was privately funded no one really cared. All of a sudden now that All Aboard Florida is seeking a $1.6 billion dollar federal loan to fund their shaky plans lots of people care. The loan is being sought from the Federal Railroad Administration, and this is the largest amount ever applied for. The total cost of the project is $2.5 billion and counting. Two U.S. congressmen, Patrick Murphy, D – Jupiter and Bill Posey R – Rockledge, are calling for independent review of the project to determine whether it is worth spending tax payer money on. If All Aboard were to get the loan and the project fails the taxpayers would pick up the bill. Specifically, the nonpartisan Government Accounting Office will be investigating how much the cost is to taxpayers, the amount of risk for potential default and the interest rate being charged on the loan. This is a painful situation indeed. Florida is badly in need of more mass transit, especially to airports, stadiums, etc., and this is a step in the right direction. But from the start it seems like this project has been badly planned. It has been fought by many residents whose homes are close to the rail crossings (they planned to have 32 trains running per day), and by many other cities who wanted to have stops there and have not been able to get them. How can you get to this point and not have the routes already planned out and agreed to by the respective cities? All Aboard has already bought the land for the train stops in West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, which is valued at $730 million dollars. While I hope that All Aboard can be successful, I really don’t think the public should be paying for its business/plans. What do you think? As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Congressmen question All Aboard's viability

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/morning-edition/2014/08/congressmen-questions-all-aboards-viability.html?ana=e_sflo_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2014-08-19&u=imWEgan6Mo2Fr8QCA5ZmD1rCrgv&t=1408460302

30 STORY PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL TOWER WOULD ALTER BOCA RATON SKYLINE & MORE

30 STORY PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL TOWER WOULD ALTER BOCA RATON SKYLINE & MORE

Every once in a while there is a proposed project that is so large that it could drastically change a city or village. I think this is one of these for Boca Raton. Boca is a city that favors low rise (100 – 140 feet high) Spanish-revival style buildings, and that is what is provided for in city codes. Now a company called Elad National Properties is proposing a 500 unit “ultra luxury” 30 story condo building. The property would be called New Mizner on the Green and would be built at 210 SE Mizner Blvd. where 244 town homes are currently built. They would be demolished to make way for the new tower which would be at least 300 feet high. There is only one building of this height in Boca now, the 27 story Boca Raton Resort & Club. Elad claims the new building would add $5 million dollars to Boca Raton’s tax base, almost doubling the current amount. They argue that it will draw very high net worth buyers to the area which will support the retail and restaurants in the neighborhood. It should be noted that a public relations firm has been hired to push the project, unlike most projects up for approval. If this project gets approved, it opens the door for more projects like it. All of a sudden we are creating a Collins Ave./Biscayne Blvd. in Miami, or an A1A in Ft. Lauderdale situation, areas where residential high rises cluster along the ocean. Is this good for Boca? On the one side you say this is growth, if the demographics support it then do it. On the other, you say the city is losing its identity with this one and if it happens it will forever change the look and feel of the city. Clearly the members of the City Council are divided on this subject and a battle over it is looming. I can promise you when a decision is made you can read about it here. I would love to know how you feel about this issue, so please let me know if you can. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Boca on the rise? Proposal would double downtown building height limit

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-08-19/news/fl-boca-big-building-20140819_1_downtown-boca-raton-glenn-gromann-new-mizner

THE OTHER SIDE OF PORT EXPANSION: DAMAGING THE ENVIRONMENT

THE OTHER SIDE OF PORT EXPANSION: DAMAGING THE ENVIRONMENT

It is true I have been quite bullish on the area ports expanding, and the exciting economic prospects that will bring, but there is another side to this. This article details the environmental collateral damage that is created by this expansion. All the port expansion we have been writing about lately are proposed, to the Port of Palm Beach and Port Everglades. But there is dredging taking place now in Miami at the Port of Miami, so this is what can also be expected at other ports once they expand. And what they are finding is exactly what opponents of port expansion claimed, that the dredging of the sea floor would smother coral and damage sea life. The problem is the amount of sediment that is being churned from the dredging, which prevents oxygen from reaching the bottom and kills coral reefs, sea grass and sea life. Now the Department of Environmental Protection has accused the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the entity that is overseeing the work, of violating state permits and gave them 2 weeks to respond. State inspectors have confirmed that the monitoring of the dredging work is not working. This is a $205 million dollar project and like most construction jobs there are probably incentives for getting the work done quickly. It sounds like that is what is happening here, and the environment is the one who is suffering from it. This kind of damage can be long lasting, and affect the many pursuits that draw people to the area like fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, etc. But I am afraid there is too much money and potential economic benefits to stop this work. But it can certainly be done better, more responsibly and more safely. One of the ways that was discussed to accomplish that would be to have divers in the water at the bottom measuring the amount of sediment created rather than relaying up sophisticated equipment like they do now (which is clearly not working). All of this is really important because it will serve to guide the other area port expansions, and it seems like Miami is a testing ground for it now. Sometimes being first doesn’t have any benefits, but time will tell. What do you think? As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Miami port dredging damaging sea life, state inspectors say

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/19/4298352/miami-port-dredging-damaging-sea.html

FINLLY THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR THE METROPICA PROJECT IN SUNRISE

FINLLY THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR THE METROPICA PROJECT IN SUNRISE

We have been waiting for this one for a long time, over 10 years in fact. This is the mixed use project that is to be built in Sunrise just West of the Sawgrass Mills Mall at the northwest corner of 136^thAvenue and Sunrise Blvd. It will have 1,250 condos and apartments, 485,000 square feet of retail space and 150,000 square feet of office space. And that is just in the first 2 phases! There is no detail on the development in later stages of the project. It is a 65 acre site, so I am sure that there is room for more building if this is successful. And that is in question given the proposed pricing of the residential units: from $300,000 to $1,000,000. The argument is who is going to spend that kind of money to live next to the Sawgrass Mills Mall when they could be by the water? We will see. But this Metropica is really the ultimate mixed use community and I really hope it works out. Residents have all of their shopping needs, have access to office and parks, all within walking distance. Yet it is not an urban setting and without all the problems that come with that like crime, traffic, pollution, etc. The project is being built by the original owner, Joseph Kavana, who is partnering with Scott Leventhal. Their company name is The Thrillist Cos. It sounds like they are considering a different name for the project, and other minor details are still being worked out. But finally it looks like this exciting mixed use project will be built, a little mini city next to a mall. I wish them the best with the project and know an excellent real estate broker who can help them with the retail and office space there! As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Metropica condo sales expected to start this year

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-08-05/business/sfl-metropica-condo-20140805_1_metropica-joseph-kavana-k-group-holdings

ANOTHER LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST JIM BATMASIAN

ANOTHER LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST JIM BATMASIAN

Jim Batmasian was back in the press again, on another wrong end of a lawsuit. This one was brought by the condominium association of Palmetto Place at Mizner Park who contends that Batmasian benefitted from “top city staffers” who made the condo association give Batmasian 100 free parking spaces. The suit is looking for compensation for these parking spaces, and the allegations are putting more unpleasant information into the public eye. For one, it seems like there is a constant struggle between Boca Raton city officials and Batmasian. Batmasian is the largest owner of real estate in the City and as such he pays the most property taxes. Those taxes pay the salaries of the City officials. If he ever decided to not pay them, it would create a difficult situation for those people. Now eventually he would have to pay the taxes or lose the properties, and he would, but not before showing them who the boss was. You get the impression that he likes to throw his weight around with them, and you can see why he feels like he has leverage over them. Specifically, the lawsuit accuses the City “and its staff have gone so far as to fabricate public records, including a land use order… that takes Palmetto Place’s property without compensation,” according to lawyer Robert Hackleman who represents the condo association. This is going to be an interesting one and I will be following it closely. You will be able to read about the results here, as you might have already guessed. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Lawsuit alleges Boca developer Batmasian got city favors

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/lawsuit-alleges-boca-developer-batmasian-got-city-/ngxfq/