West Palm Beach Essentials

By Matt Prichard, FrontDoor.com | Published: 2/23/2009

A waiter serves sangria at Cafe des Artistes in Jupiter, the best place to get away to a French cafe in the West Palm Beach area. Matt Prichard

Food and Drink Essentials: Best Places to...

BUY GROCERIES

Carmine's Gourmet Market
2401 PGA Blvd., Suite 172, Palm Beach Gardens
Carmine's, a full-scale specialty market, has a huge coffee bean selection, catering service (including yacht provisioning) and both exotic and traditional prepared foods, and they make their own tomato sauces.

Village Marketplace
220 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan, across State Road A1A from the Ritz Carlton
Village Marketplace has been listed by a local TV station as the "Best Gourmet Market in Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast" for two years in a row. Their Web site has a "Killer Juice" wine newsletter, and food experts answer questions by email.

BUY FRUIT AND VEGGIES

West Palm Beach GreenMarket
2nd St. and Narcissus Ave.
Open Saturdays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., mid-October through mid-April. Started in 1994, this is the granddaddy of local greenmarkets. There's live music at the GreenMarket cafe, and it's dog friendly.

Dekker Family Farms
4823 Shinn Road, Fort Pierce
U-pick places are great, but at Dekker everything grows hydroponically, so no more bending. They have strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, spinach, kohlrabi and lettuce varieties.

GET AWAY TO A FRENCH CAFE

Cafe des Artistes
318 S U.S. Highway 1, Jupiter
Bakery and bistro serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The view of million-dollar yachts on the Intracoastal is grand, as is the ambiance and the food. Dust off your best French and try the homemade sangria.

SAVOR GOURMET ITALIAN

Evo
626 N. U.S. 1 (in County Line Plaza), Tequesta
Always ask for reservations at this popular eatery, where executive chef Erik Pettersen, a fourth-generation chef, is helping Italian and Italian-American cuisine evolve in a gourmet way. This isn't your typical Italian joint.

DINE WITH GUESTS

The River House
2373 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens
This classy restaurant, a staple of high-quality steak-and-seafood dining for 25 years, makes sure your guests don't end up with mediocre food just to get waterfront scenery. You can dine downstairs without reservations but you may have to wait. The prime rib and the grouper are good.

Six Tables
112 N.E. 2nd St., in Mizner Plaza, Boca Raton
They offer a gourmet, continental-style six-course dinner in an unhurried atmosphere. There is one seating per night, a fixed menu for $90 a person not including beverages, and reservations are required. Guests will appreciate the fine china, crystal, linen, candles and soft jazz.

GRAB A LATE-NIGHT BITE

Havana
6801 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach
Open until 1 a.m. Fri.-Sat. and 11 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., but has an always-open takeout window. This reasonably priced, unpretentious restaurant, run by the Reyes family, is a West Palm institution and serves the best Cuban food in town. The delicious pressed sandwiches and potent cups of cafecito are authentic.

GRAB BREAKFAST

John G's
10 S. Ocean Blvd., Lake Worth
Open at 7 a.m., serves breakfast until noon on Sundays and until 11:15 a.m. other days. Come early because there's usually a line, and when breakfast service is over, it's over. Credit cards aren't accepted. John Giragos opened the place more than 30 years ago, and it's still a family thing. It's a must for French-toast lovers.

Dena's Cafe
3825 NE Indian River Dr., Jensen Beach
A breakfast institution that also serves lunch, this homey eatery doesn't take credit cards. Also, it's much better when the weather's cool: there's no air conditioning. Sitting out on their deck on the Indian River while you dive into their hearty fare makes breakfast a real treat.

SIP A LATTE

Mother Earth Coffee and Gifts
410 2nd Avenue North, Lake Worth, 561-586-0025
Formerly Les Beans Coffee House, Mother Earth has not only great organic fair-trade coffee but also a personality. Proprietor Patti Lucia bills it as a good place for "progressives, radicals, anarchists, bohemians, environmentalists... and all those on a spiritual journey." Live music on Friday and Saturday nights.

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