Gainswave Therapy in Palm Beach, FL

These two other popular restaurants on the island debuted lunch service in December after having been dinner-only hot spots.

Special to the Palm Beach Daily News

Two planned high-profile restaurants expected to open in the next 12 months — including one helmed by superstar chef Thomas Keller — earned town approval for main aspects of their projects as they move closer to their much-anticipated debuts.

Plans for Keller’s 6,253-square-foot Worth Avenue restaurant, a revival of the now-shuttered and famous-for-decades Ta-boo, were approved in March by the Town Council, including expanded space for back-of-the-house operations.

The new Ta-boo’s concept is “a classic approach” with “a nod to the bygone era Ta-boo represents,” Jennifer Ottmann, the Director of East Coast Operations for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, told the council.

“We’re not really looking to change the legacy of the iconic Ta-boo,” she said, noting menu items will include New York Strip steak and lobster thermidor. “We’re just looking to bring it back to life.”

Now the council awaits the completion of a traffic study in order to determine whether to approve the new Ta-boo’s proposed declaration-of-use agreement governing its hours of operation and entertainment schedule, among other things.

Keller, who grew up in Palm Beach County, owns the esteemed French Laundry in Napa Valley, California, and Per Se in New York

Both of those restaurants are three-Michelin-star awardees.

Meanwhile, Palm Beach’s soon-to-be first lakeside waterfront restaurant also has received various approvals by the Town Council, including its request for additional parking.

The 8,390-square-foot 200-seat Mediterranean restaurant, called Tutto Mare, is slated to open in late 2024 in Royal Poinciana Plaza. It’s owned by New York-based Tutto Il Giorno Restaurant Group.

Thomas Keller joins renowned chefs on the island

While dining enthusiasts await Keller’s arrival, other renowned chefs remain busy in Palm Beach.

The patriarch chef of a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy joined forces with Le Bar a Vin in March to create a new menu for the wine bar and nightclub on South County Road.

Antonio Mellino introduced a small-plates menu at Le Bar with dishes such as steak tartare and lobster-cake slider.

Though he has returned to Italy and his famed Amalfi Coast restaurant Quattro Passi, Le Bar continues to serve the small-plates menu (most items are around $20 to $40) and Mellino is slated to return in the fall to amplify the menu.

Another chef armed with Michelin stars was in Palm Beach in January to headline two dinner events at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach’s Florie’s restaurant.

Internationally renowned Mauro Colagreco, who’s involved with several restaurants around the world, is a partner in Florie’s, where the day-to-day culinary scene is led by chef de cuisine Nino La Spina.

The January dinners Colagreco spearheaded were themed “A Taste of the French Riviera” and “A Truffle Symphony.”

Busy debut season for Mandel Recreation Center’s eatery

The first full-service café at the Mandel Recreation Center completed its first full season after debuting in May 2023.

Along with rec center-goers enrolled in adult programs, Seaview Café has become “a popular spot for kids after school for gelato and snack boxes (with crackers, cheese, hummus and grapes),” the café’s owner Monika Meic Capin told the Daily News in April. “I can’t wait to see what this summer brings.”

Seaview Café, which is expected to remain open until it takes an August hiatus and then reopen with the new school year, serves mostly grab-and-go and made-to-order takeout fare, including organic eats, smoothies and coffee drinks, and occupies roughly 300 square feet.

Dinner-only restaurants debut lunch

Two popular restaurants on the island debuted lunch service in December after having been dinner-only hot spots.

PB Catch, the 12-year-old Sunrise Avenue seafood restaurant and raw bar, launched both lunch and late-afternoon menus.

The fare: gazpacho ($14), rock shrimp salad ($25), grilled chicken sandwich ($22) and Cobb salad ($28), among other things conceived by chef de cuisine Kevin Sawyer.

Acqua Café, located in the South End on South Ocean Boulevard, debuted both weekday lunch and weekend brunch menus in December.

The restaurant — known for its seafood dishes and house-made pastas by executive chef and Italy native Pierangelo Badioli — had been serving dinner only since it first opened its doors on January 2020.

“Adding lunch and brunch was always part of the plan,” Acqua co-owner Jose L. Duran told the Daily News. After many guests this past season repeatedly asked when lunch and brunch might debut, “I knew the timing was right.”

Wine dinners replace stuffy with fun at Café L’Europe

A new energy hit the island’s wine-dinner scene when Café L’Europe began wine dinners this past season with a new twist: trivia quizzes.

Along with multi-course dinners paired with wines extolled by Café L’Europe sommelier Sergio Cuadros, the restaurant’s co-owner Emanuela Marcello emceed trivia quizzes at each event, with fun questions related to wine, wineries and more. Prizes were awarded, too.

Marcello said the trivia component now is a “signature” for Café L’Europe, which plans to host monthly trivia-spiced wine dinners throughout the summer.

Chik Monk expands

Having earned a loyal following since its first stand-alone storefront debuted in 2021 in the Paramount Building, Chik Monk Coffee in mid-January opened a second Palm Beach location in Midtown.

The pop-up is expected to remain open through most of May at 208 Brazilian Ave., where patrons can enjoy and buy, among other things, Chik Monk’s specialty: freshly roasted coffee made from sustainably harvested beans sourced from co-owner Nandini Jayaprasad's family coffee estates in Chikmagalur, India.

“We wanted to offer our coffee and other products to the community around Midtown and cater to those shopping at and working with local business on South County Road,” said Jayaprasad’s husband, business partner and co-owner David Bell.

At both Chik Monk locations, look for bagels, vegan items and offerings from Field of Greens, Aioli and other local eateries.

Weekly specials become mainstays at La Goulue

After starting a Sunday and Wednesday carved-tableside Prime rib special a year ago, La Goulue this past season successively introduced other weekly specials that now also are mainstays.

Among them? A showstopper typically reserved for holidays: Beef Wellington — beef filet cradled in a decadent mined mushroom mustier, foie gras and golden puff pastry — that’s now served on Tuesdays.

Others include frog’s legs on Fridays and Couscous Royale on Thursdays.

After slow start, outdoor seating bustles again

Outdoor restaurant seating — a savior during the pandemic — was menaced throughout the fall and holidays this past season by a series of cold fronts that ushered in rain, wind and/or chilly outdoor temperatures.

The then-dreary weather, which restaurateurs countered by adding portable heaters outside, prompted dining-out enthusiasts to ask: Where did the Sunshine State go?

But after the holidays, Palm Beach’s enviable winter-and-spring weather flourished and al fresco seating boomed once again.

A young boy, aged 6, showcased bravery amidst a domestic dispute by dialing 911 as gunshots rang out at his grandmother's Palm Beach County residence this past Sunday night. As reported by CBS12, the distressing call captured a man in the background threatening, "I'm going to kill her!" while the child informed the dispatcher that his uncle was firing a gun and arguing with his aunt.

The tumult unfolded just before 8 p.m. at a home on Kumquat Road where, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by WPTV News Channel 5, deputies discovered spent shell casings upon their arrival at the scene. The altercation stemmed from, a seemingly trivial dispute over cooking and the aunt's consumption of wine. The aunt, who asked not to be identified or shown, relayed that the suspect, Davidson Dulcio, 24, has a history of anger problems that escalated during the incident.

In an emotional interview with CBS12, the victim expressed her devastation over the incident's impact on her young nephew, saying, "I cried hysterically. I felt like I am a part of that little boy's life being disastrous if he ever had a malfunction in school. If he ever messes up, I feel like it will be because of this." She recounted fleeing the house and hearing gunshots as she drove off, thinking that "These people could be dead all because I wanted to know why my air fryer was unplugged."

The child, when questioned by deputies, indicated with a hand gesture that his uncle had fired the gun toward a stop sign where his aunt had been escaping toward. This account was corroborated by video evidence from a neighbor's Ring Doorbell camera, which captured the sound of two shots as the aunt's vehicle left the property, WPTV News Channel 5 reported.

Dulcio was apprehended on Wednesday, facing multiple charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a gun in public. He is currently held at the main Palm Beach County jail on a $40,000 bond. When asked by CBS12 whether his detainment provided relief, the victim responded affirmatively for her and her nephew's safety, while also lamenting the potential future her nephew faces, caught in such a traumatic ordeal.

There were two significant events at the end of April that have the capacity to transform the character of Palm Beach.

The first was the groundbreaking for Phipps Ocean Park, which begins the revitalization of 18 acres of land from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean, donated to the town in 1948 by the Phipps family.

The second was the approval by the town for a sustainable living shoreline along the Intracoastal on the North End of the island across from the Palm Beach Country Club.

After 75 years, Phipps Ocean Park will be transformed by the Preservation Foundation into a powerhouse of environmental education. The master plan incorporates educational facilities with native landscaping to restore, protect, and preserve the coastal and intracoastal vegetation and natural habitat for future generations.

Unique, diverse and extraordinary spaces will inspire visitors to understand and appreciate the importance of environmental sustainability. Incorporating landscape architect Raymond Jungle’s vision to promote the park as a nature preserve, it will be planted with only native species, capturing the original spirit of the land as the Phipps family knew it. Visitors will then learn how they can incorporate these valuable and essential species into their own landscapes and gardens.

Curvilinear paths winding along the ocean and Intracoastal will add exceptional beauty and interest to the new features and diverse habitats of the area, offering pleasant surprises around each bend.

Native plants will replace the invasive species that have choked out existing native habitats, allowing birds and wildlife to return to the area.

Mangroves will be added along the Intracoastal to provide a living sustainable shoreline, promoting protected nurseries for juvenile fish and marine life, while shielding the coast from storm surge and destructive winds. Demonstrating how mangroves can be a fundamental defense against hurricanes and tropical storms while contributing to the health of our fisheries and aquifers will hopefully encourage their continued use along the intracoastal further north.

Phipps Ocean Park will also include a coastal restoration center dedicated to growing additional native species for the park and for the Town of Palm Beach.

This nursery/propagation facility will provide hands-on activities to teach children and adults how to restore coastal ecosystems throughout the island and in their own backyards. Rain gardens will provide models for flood control, mitigating the effects of storm water runoff by filtering harsh chemicals and waste residue.

And no toxic pesticides, fungicides or herbicides of any kind will be used, rendering the park and its wonderful dune playground a safe haven for children. Phipps Ocean Park will be a model for Florida and for the entire country on ecological restoration and education.

Open tract of land won't be an embarrassing eyesore anymore

Meanwhile, the approval by the town for a sustainable living shoreline along the Intracoastal on the North End will make a huge impact. This open tract of land has been an embarrassing eyesore to the community for the last decade or more.

Huge swathes of invasive Sansevieria, native to South Africa, were planted here years ago and they are as ugly as they are unmanageable. Spreading by underground rhizomes, this plant has taken over vast swatches of this once beautiful coast and it is ripping up the bike path as well.

A living shoreline project will incorporate native plants such as mangroves along with other natural elements to stabilize, increase, and reinforce coastal resilience while providing habitat for fisheries. The shoreline will not only be beautiful, it will benefit the environment by buffering floodwater, reducing erosion, storing carbon, purifying water, increasing biodiversity, and providing wildlife habitat.

Living shorelines have proven to perform far better during major storms than hardened shorelines and they cost much less to establish and maintain. The approval of the much-needed pilot program should create lasting positive ramifications for the fragile barrier island.

Why mangroves are essential for both projects

Mangroves are an essential feature of both projects and, thanks to their branching and root systems, create remarkably diverse ecosystems.

Red, white and black mangroves, all native to Florida, contribute to the overall health of our waterways by filtering water through their root systems. The resulting ecosystem traps and recycles organic materials and important nutrients, providing food for fish and thousands of marine species. These roots also provide attachment surfaces for marine organisms that filter water through their bodies, restoring water quality and clarity.

Above the root system, mangrove branches serve as rookeries, providing essential nesting areas for beautiful coastal species including egrets, herons, kingfishers, pelicans, ibis and roseate spoonbills. And mangroves sequester two to four times more carbon than mature tropical rain forests; they store more carbon than any tree on earth and contain the highest carbon density of all terrestrial ecosystems.

We should recognize these vital plants as part of our state heritage, as well as one of our most valuable natural resources.

Buttonwoods are the final plant in the living shoreline succession, with red mangroves closest to the coast, followed by black mangroves slightly farther inland and then white mangroves, all combining to create dense thickets with their tangled roots.

Buttonwoods are salt, wind and drought tolerant and with their open, spreading canopies, they make beautiful specimen trees while providing important wind and flood barriers. And as Palm Beachers are aware, they can be pruned into formal hedges as well.

The relationship between mangroves, marine life and water quality cannot be overemphasized. They are incredible plants as part of our state heritage as well as one of our most valuable natural resources.

Songbirds are starting to fill the skies and trees

Another positive for the community is the growing number of songbirds we have seen this spring. But this really depends upon where you are. My live oaks, gumbo limbo and sabal palms are so full of birds — it’s a delight to wander past the garden and listen to the cacophony of birdsong at any time of the day.

But farther north along the ocean or the Intracoastal, beside the giant ficus hedges, the stench of pesticides lingers in the air and all is quiet. It’s quite eerie if you’re on a bike to experience the total lack of birdsong in these areas, but where there are pesticides, there are no insects; without insects no bird food exists and consequently there are no birds.

There are so many native plants in bloom now, and many more about to open. Jamaica caper will soon be covered with its sensational pink and white starburst blooms, and Spider lilies will be sending up their tall stalks of fragrant white blossoms.

Wild coffee is now covered in white clusters of fragrant flowers and firebush is awash with orange/red tubular blooms. Beautiful blue Stokes aster will be opening any day, and tradescantia’s violet blossoms are about to appear.

Fragrant tiny white flowers are opening on Simpson stopper and salvias are ablaze in pink, white, red and blue. Butterflies are everywhere and pollinators are visiting all the native blossoms. Get out and enjoy your gardens, but avoid toxic pesticides. There’s nothing sweeter than the smell of fresh spring flowers, untouched by chemicals.

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Floridians are being warned against offshore swimming in two locations after health authorities discovered "fecal pollution" in two bodies of water.

The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County has warned residents and visitors not to swim or enter the water at Midtown Beach and Dubois Park, Jupiter. In an advisory issued on Tuesday, April 30, officials said water in the two areas has tested positive for high levels of the enterococcus bacteria.

The advisory comes as Florida's swimming season gets underway, when waters around and in the Sunshine State are typically warm enough to swim in from April through to October. In the Palm Beach area, which is a popular destination for upmarket vacationers, there are currently two other bodies of water that are rated "poor" according to Florida Health—Phil Foster Park and Latana Municipal Beach.

"The presence of enterococci bacteria is an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage," the department said. It advises any prospective swimmers that entering the water will put them at an "increased risk of illness."

In both locations, water levels are recorded as "poor" according to data issued on the Florida Health website, which means authorities have measured 71 or greater enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water. Exact measurements do not appear to be available at this time.

The advisory will continue until bacteria levels are below the accepted health level, which is 0-35 enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains that enterococci are bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts of humans and warm-blooded animals. Waters can become contaminated in a variety of ways: through wastewater treatment plant effluent, leaking septic systems, stormwater runoff, sewage discharged or dumped from recreational boats, and domestic animal and wildlife waste, among other reasons. The cause of the contamination is currently under investigation.

"Following a poor beach result, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) contacts local water and wastewater utilities to identify any operational malfunctions such as sewage spills that may have contributed to the poor beach water quality and reports the results of their investigation to Department of Health-Palm Beach," a spokesperson for Florida Health told Newsweek.

Infections from enterococci "are typically not considered harmful to humans, but their presence in the environment may indicate that other disease-causing agents such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoa [a microorganic parasite] may also be present," the EPA explains. "Overabundance of fecal bacteria in the water can cause beach closures, swimming and boating bans and closures of fishing and shellfishing areas."

Another two beaches, Riviera Municipal Beach and Carlin Park, both have a "moderate" rating, but do not have an advisory in place at present after being lifted earlier this year.

Enterococci has been discovered in Palm Beach waters several times this year already. According to a report by WPTV, seven advisories were lifted in March this year at the following locations:

Update 5/2/24, 4:31 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Florida Health.

The Earth turns, the sun rises and sets and, yes, sometimes restaurants close.

Occasionally there's wailing, rending of garments and cries of "NO!! I loved their super something that only they did right." Other times there's smug cheering before the digital wolves proceed to savage the eatery in the comments section of loosely-monitored websites.

Though a culinary destination, Palm Beach County is not immune to this phenomenon and recently lost several eateries. Diners from Jupiter to West Palm Beach, out in Royal Palm Beach and Wellington and south from Boynton Beach to Boca Raton have all felt the sting.

Here's a list of a few that are now only a faded memory of culinary glory (or disaster):

Several Palm Beach County Tijuana Flats closed

This Central Florida-based chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 19 and announced a new ownership group had acquired the brand, according to a press release posted on Businesswire. The press release also stated that they had closed 11 of their locations that week. One of them was in Virginia, the other 10 were in Florida. According to the Tijuana Flats website the only remaining locations still operating in Palm Beach County were the Jupiter, Royal Palm Beach and the Lantana-Lake Worth Beach restaurants. Former locations in the county included restaurants in Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, Wellington and West Palm Beach. The fast-casual, Tex-Mex chain was founded in Winter Park, Florida in 1995. The new ownership group is Flatheads, LLC.

Information: 13860 Wellington Trace, Wellington; 2089 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., West Palm Beach; 390 N. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach; 20401 State Road 7, Boca Raton

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen

This restaurant chain, known for American comfort food and cocktails with a Texas twist, closed its Wellington location in late 2023. If you've got a hankerin' for Cheddar's buffalo beer-battered shrimp, country fried steak or chicken pot pie the two nearest locations are in Port St. Lucie and Pembroke Pines.

Information: 925 S. State Road 7, Wellington

Cookie Plug

This shop, known for its vibrant colors and for delivering one the thickest, tastiest cookies anywhere, has closed. Their cookies, described as "cookie on the outside, with part brownie/cake batter inside," included varieties like the firecracker (s'mores in cookie form), pixie junkie (their sugar cookie) and purple haze (red velvet cake only purple).

Information: 105 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach. cookieplug.com

Popular sandwich shop PB Wraps ends run in West Palm Beach

After 23 years, this longtime sandwich shop on South Dixie Highway served its last customers on April 21. Opened just after 9/11 by Rene Richthofen and his wife Jane, the popular restaurant was known for their quesadillas, bowls, burgers, chicken wings, fried green beans and, of course, wraps. Jane Richthoven said COVID-19 ultimately was the beginning of the downfall for the restaurant. "Unfortunately, we just haven't been the same," she said. "We've weathered a few rough years since then, and with the price of food and the competition, we just haven't been getting the business. It's time." The Richthofens aren't sure what is next for the location, which is owned by Palm Beach County businessman Andrew Roddy. "It's been a really good run," She said. "We had exceptional employees and I'll miss them the most. That, and I have no idea where I'm going to go for lunch now."

Information: 2409 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach

Ocean One Delray Marketplace, Royal Palm locations close

A cornerstone at the popular Delray Marketplace, the once-popular restaurant closed in late 2023. With dozens of diners inquiring why they had shut down on one of the restaurant's social media accounts, the operator of the account confirmed Ocean One had permanently closed. As for why, they said "for reasons we prefer to keep private." Further down they added that all of their Florida locations were closed. This included their location in Royal Palm Beach. They were known for their $6 lunch menu.

Information: 14851 Lyons Road, Delray Beach; 1111 Southern Blvd., Royal Palm Beach

Lionfish Delray Beach

This coastal cuisine restaurant, which focused on sustainability, has closed. Twice recognized by the James Beard Foundation as a Smart Catch Leader, it finished it's last dinner service on April 13. Lionfish in Delray Beach opened in September 2020 and battled gloriously through the pandemic. The restaurant did not close for lack of business said co-owner Andy Masi. Instead, he said he found operating a restaurant to be too intense and wanted to return to his roots in real estate.

Information: 307 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach

BurgerFi, Harbourside

Though serving a ridiculously tasty burger, the restaurant at Harbourside closed in late 2023. A representative from the company said "this closure was a strategic decision based solely on business demands." Fans of their burgers, fries and shakes need not cry out to the heavens "Why?!!," they can still get their fix at the location at 6230 W. Indiantown Road in Jupiter or find the nearest location here. For those considering a different, healthy route, a new restaurant called Pura Vida opened in the space on April 10. They feature breakfast items, organic acai bowls, smoothies, salads, bowls, wraps, empanadas, large main plates (featuring free-range chicken, wild tuna, oven-roasted salmon and fixings), specialty coffees, teas, lattes and frappes.

Information: 147 Soundings Ave., Jupiter

Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

Kimberly Miller

Twinkling rubble from Earth's most famous comet will rain into our atmosphere during the early morning hours of Saturday, May 4, Sunday, May 5, and Monday, May 6 with weather conditions in South Florida mostly favorable to see the show.

Halley's comet, although not visible again until 2061, reminds us of its existence twice a year with the Eta Aquarid meteor shower in May and the Orionid meteor shower in October.

Although the Eta Aquarid shower is active from mid-April through the end of May, the American Meteor Society says the peak this year is May 5. Mornings bookending the peak are also a good time to look for the speeding pieces of space debris.

Solar eclipse 2024:Palm Beach County sees rare sun event. 'A life-changing event.'

The National Weather Service in Miami predicts mostly clear skies during the weekend, and the moon will be nearly new, meaning less light pollution from Earth's only natural satellite.

South Florida is in a better position than most areas of the country to see the Eta Aquarid shower as it favors the southern hemisphere. That's because the point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from is in the constellation Aquarius, which is higher in the sky in the southern hemisphere.

In the southern reaches of the U.S., Earthsky.org says 10 to 20 meteors per hour may be seen.

"Farther south, at latitudes in the southern hemisphere, you might see two to three times that number," EarthSky notes.

In the northern hemisphere, NASA says the Eta Aquarid meteors are often seen as "earth grazers" that look like they are skimming the planet's surface at the horizon.

Photos:SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rises above West Palm Beach

Because Eta Aquarid meteors are traveling at a swift 148,000 mph into Earth's atmosphere, they are known to leave glowing trains of light in their wake that can last for several seconds to minutes, according to NASA.

Halley's comet was discovered by Edmund Halley in 1705 but is believed to have been recognized for millennia.NASA says the comet is featured in the Bayeux Tapestry, which is an embroidered cloth that depicts the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The meteors will be visible throughout the night sky, so there is no need to look in one particular area.

Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and weather, and has a certificate in weather forecasting from Penn State. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism; subscribe today.