boca raton restaurants

The iPic Movie Theater in Boca Raton

/ Casey / 2 Comments

I love the iPic movie theater in Boca Raton.  Between the soft, leather, reclining Lazy-Boy chairs, the provided blankets and full food and beverage service that it offers, I never want to see a movie anywhere else.

This luxury movie experience is somewhat affordable- tickets run from about $14 for the premium seating to $24 for the premium plus seating.  While you can get in the door for a little as $14, I highly recommend spending the extra $10 on the premium plus seats.  These are the ones that recline and have the full food and beverage service throughout the entire movie.  It’s a life changer.

At $24 a ticket, I think it’s affordable, but once you factor in the snacks and cocktails, the iPic movie experience can get a little pricey, especially if you’re a movie buff who goes often.  If this is the case, I recommend that you become an iPic member to score some discounts.  Unlike most of East Boca Raton, the iPic members club is not snooty, limited or expensive- you can simply sign up online for free to receive great benefits such as discounted pricing, advanced on-line purchasing of tickets, access to blockbuster films before the general public and other special member-only offers.

My favorite food and drink-related perk of being a member is “Members Get More Tuesdays.”  Every Tuesday, iPic members can enjoy a specially-priced menu that includes discounted food, $2 select beers and $5 house wine.

When we saw Iron Man 3 last Tuesday, I was happy to see that my Hess Select cabernet was the $5 house red wine special.

ipic boca

The iPic’s Tuesday discounts

As you can see in the picture, the discounted food menu includes a little bit of everything- a variety of flatbreads and sliders if you’re in the mood for an appetizer, fish and chips and a smoked turkey, brie and apple butter Panini if you want something bigger, and red velvet pudding for dessert (which is amazing by the way).

The iPic Theater is located at 301 Plaza Real  Boca Raton, FL 33432; (561) 299-3000

Ninja Spinning Sushi Bar in Boca Raton

/ Casey / 2 Comments

I want to be careful about how I write this review.  When I started this restaurant blog, I told myself that I would not use it to tear restaurants apart with negative comments.  I’m not here to complain and bash the places that I didn’t have a good experience at. If I have nothing nice to say about a restaurant, I’d rather just not write a review at all and never go back.

In the case of Ninja Spinning Sushi Bar in Boca Raton, I have some good things to say, as well as a few things that I hope they’ll read and take as constructive criticism.  It’s a new restaurant with a cool concept, great location and tasty food.  The potential is definitely there, and I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that they just haven’t worked out all the kinks yet.  The service is where the Ninja Spinning Sushi Bar needs improvement, but I think they have the potential to get it together and grow.

Me, my boyfriend and another couple showed up to Ninja Sushi around 7 p.m.  I tried to make a reservation earlier that day, but they don’t accept reservations which is kind of annoying.  I was excited about how it was Boca Raton’s first “kaiten sushi,” or revolving sushi bar like the ones I’ve been to in Japan. But when we walked in the door I noticed that the conveyor belt only went around the bar, rather than extending between the tables.

“So how exactly does this work,” I asked the (very) young hostess.  “Since there’s four of us, could we sit at a table but still enjoy the revolving sushi bar?”

The hostess mumbled some kind of response that didn’t answer my question at all, but I let her seat us thinking that we’d just ask our server.  Our server also looked like he was in high school and wasn’t much more helpful.  He wasn’t able to answer a majority of our questions about the menu, so we just gave up and ordered what sounded good.  When our drinks took about 10 minutes to arrive, he explained that they didn’t have a bartender so he had to make the drinks himself.  I’m not sure whether the bartender called in sick that day or if they never have a bartender there, but I’ve never been to a restaurant that has a big specialty drink menu and no bartender.

Our food took another 30 minutes, but at least it was good.  I really liked the lemongrass shrimp soup and all of the sushi tasted really fresh.  In all we tried a tartare appetizer that had tuna, salmon and hamachi and four rolls: the Snow White, Red Ninja, 911 (super spicy) and Crouching Tiger.  All of the rolls were good but the Crouching Tiger was my favorite- tuna, salmon, white fish, and asparagus, topped with avocado, tiger shrimp, jalapenos and kimchee sauce.

Would I go back to Ninja Spinning Sushi Bar?  Yes, I’d probably give it one more try in hopes that they staff a little better and the service improves.  I’d prefer to go there on a Groupon or when someone else is paying though, as it is not a cheap meal.  I figure that if I leave disappointed, at least I didn’t also spend a lot of money.

My advice to Ninja Spinning Sushi Bar: hire some more staff and provide better training on the menu.  You could have a good thing there so make it work!  Good luck!

Food- B

Drinks- B

Service-D

Overall- C-

Rebel House in Boca Raton

/ Casey / Leave a comment

A few weeks ago Jeremy and I checked out Rebel House, a gastropub-style restaurant in Boca Raton, and really enjoyed it.  The menu is creative and exciting and the environment is upbeat and fun. Located on the north side of Palmetto Park Road just south of Mizner Park, it’s definitely not your grandma’s Boca restaurant.  Instead, I felt like I was at a really cool party with yummy food and drinks.  The staff of tattooed hipsters played their rock music loudly (think Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Misfits, The Ramones) but it was still possible to have a conversation and hear each other.  I’d say it’s a good place to bring a date or get together with a group of friends.

When we arrived around 9:15 p.m., the place was jammed.  Luckily we made a reservation for 9:30, so we didn’t have to wait that long.  I strongly recommend making a reservation if you wish to go and actually get a table on a weekend.

Before I talk about the food, I must first rave about the cocktails. The bartenders were slammed when we first walked up to the bar, but that was fine because it gave us a few minutes to go over the drink menu.  I guess the bartender felt bad about keeping us waiting, because when he did finally greet us he poured us a sample of the Gonzo Berry, a vodka drink with muddled strawberries, lemon and simple syrup.  It was tasty, but a little too on the sweet side for me.  I ordered the Sweet Revenge, a mix of vodka, fresh watermelon juice, simple syrup and some jalapeno that made it really spicy.  It was so delicious that I ended up ordering another one with dinner.   Jeremy tried the Rebel House’s take on the Old Fashioned- the Bee Sting, which mixes bourbon with honey, a sprig of rosemary and a hint of jalapeno.

The food is just as creative and great as the drinks with the way the ingredients are cleverly mixed.  Something as simple as guacamole had chunks of lump crab added to it and was served with three types of chips.  The beet salad, mixed with arugula, candied pecans and grapes, came with these fried little nuggets of hot brie that oozed out of them.  Drizzled over the salad, it was delicious.

Our server also started us out with a bowl of their popcorn of the day, which was a nice substitute to the typical bread.  That flavor that day was salt and vinegar, and I swear they sprinkled some crack in there because it was addictive.

My personal favorite menu item was the Spinach & 4 Onion Dip.  If spinach dip and French onion soup got together and made a baby, this would be it.  Mixed with gruyere and parmesan cheeses, topped with a pipperade and served with garlic toast, it was absolutely delicious.

The service was a bit slow, but our server was very friendly and helpful with food recommendations.  As I mentioned before, the place was packed so I understand that she was busy. Before leaving, I knew that I’d want to come back for more someday, so I asked her about happy hour.  The good news is that they have one on weekdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and it cuts the price of well drinks to $4.  The bad news is that there’s no food included during happy hour.

All in all, I really liked the Rebel House.  Happy hour or not, I will definitely be back for more Sweet Revenges and to try more items off the menu.

Overall- B+

Food- B+

Drinks- A

Service- B-