By Thom Smith
In many ways, it seems like forever, and in others like only yesterday, but after two years away, Dak Kerprich is back in action on Ocean Avenue in Lantana. In early June the veteran restaurateur unveiled his newest concept, Pizzeria Oceano, at 201 E. Ocean, just a half-block east of Federal Highway.
It’s a no-frills pizza house. No frills, that is, in the décor. All the frills are on the pie, and even those are limited.
“I want to keep it simple,” Kerprich said. “You won't see any drawings or designs zig-zagging on the plates. Just good, natural food. We’re trying to be as organic as possible.”
Minimalist cuisine is nothing new to Kerprich, who cut his South Florida restaurant teeth in Dennis Max’s operation in the 1990s. He opened Kyoto in Delray Beach, then Suite 225, a hip sushi shop just a few lots east of his new pizzeria, before leaving two years ago to open Miss Marsha’s Pizzeria on Singer Island.
“It’s great to be back; I think we’ve got a winner in this one,” Kerprich said, although some customers may need some educating about wood-fired fare. “One woman complained about black marks on her pizza, but I explained that’s the way they come out. And they may not be perfectly round either.”
The charring comes from glowing coals of Georgia oak inside the oven, which was built in Italy on a scale slightly smaller than the Pizza Hut variety. But everything about Pizzeria Oceano — the pizza, the antipasti, the stromboli — is basic, and that's just what Kerprich wanted. All the produce is fresh, supplied by farms in Loxahatchee, Lake Worth and Boynton Beach. The sauce, a margharita base, is organic. Kerprich makes his own mozzarella and sausages. All the cured meats are natural — no steroids, no antibiotics, no nitrates. If Kerprich puts a special on the board, it’s because he was able to find an unusual product, not because of price. One recent offering was Key West “Pinkies.”
“They couldn’t have been fresher,” Kerprich said of the jumbo shrimp. “They were great on pizza or just tossed into the oven and roasted with a little olive oil and lemon.” The interior features a wood bar, a half-dozen stools, pots and pans hanging from the ceiling, and the centerpiece oven. A few tables on the front porch finish it off.
“I wanted to make it like a bar,” Kerprich said. “Good food, good times. It’s best to have it right out of the oven, still sizzling when it’s served.”
Pizzeria Oceano is open daily from 5 p.m. ’til whenever. Call 561-429-5550.
Across the Intracoastal bridge at Plaza Del Mar, however, the mood is much less confident. The hardest blow was struck in early spring when The Epicurean market closed, only six months after it opened.
“It's dead since The Epicurean closed,” an employee at Mail & More +, a sundry and shipping store tucked into a corner behind the former market, said. “We're just holding on. It's always better during the season. . . if we can get there.”
Advance sales for Florida Stage'sSome Kind of Wonderful (July 1-Aug. 30) are ahead of those for last summer's musical. This production features the music from 1960-65, but Producing Director Lou Tyrrell already is looking to the future. The fan base has been loyal, but in these times Tyrrell is already pressing to boost winter sales.
Similarly, business at Aqua, a women's clothing shop has stayed strong, an employee said, largely because the Ritz Carlton has completed its major renovation.
The Ritz, however, doesn't attract many surfers, and Aqua's next door neighbor Coastal Surf & Ski couldn't stay afloat. “Stay stoked! We will!” the nevertheless upbeat owner Mike Baer wrote in a farewell message posted next to the door. “See you in the water!”
Down in Delray Beach, the awning is gone, the bar made from car ramps has been dismantled, and the service bays are gutted. The building that for nearly two decades housed Elwood’s once again looks like a gas station. The new owners, also rumored to have bought the space next door formerly occupied by Aspen Jack’s, say a new, better restaurant and nightclub will open in the fall. But it won’t be Elwood’s, and Delray skeptics, including some former employees, say the earthy charm that characterized the barbecue-and-blues hangout is likely gone with the ramps. All we can do now is wait and see.
But if anything is constant in Delray, it’s change. As Elwood’s leaves, two more arrive. Just to the west, on the south side of Atlantic Avenue, work continues on two new spots from the cold north that will make their Southeast U.S. debuts in August or September.
Ask anyone to name two attractions in Maine and you’re likely to hear lobsters and L.L. Bean. With Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll, you get a cozy sit-down cafe from the already legendary granddaughter of the legendary outfitter. Topping the menu will be Bean’s version of a quarter-pounder — four ounces of fresh-from-Maine lobster meat, with no fillers, on a toasted bun. You can also get shrimp rolls, salads, hot dogs (for landlubbers), and Maine microbrews and sodas.
Linda Bean has been lobstering all her life and is spearheading the trap-to-table branding of Maine lobsters — as opposed to the generic New England crustaceans. The live lobsters in the take-home tank even bear tags certifying the exact Down-East traps they had the misfortune to occupy.
Why Delray? “Linda's been there and she liked it,” company spokesman Al Casucci said. “No. 1, it’s a great location, and a lot of snowbirds down there are familiar with real Maine lobsters and with us and with what we’re trying to do.”
Atlantic already is home to two Starbucks, but Spot Coffee, a block west of Bean’s, has grounds to offer some stiff competition. In addition to the usual espresso bar, the Buffalo-based chain boasts a full kitchen offering everything from full breakfasts to late-night pizzas, plus sandwiches, wraps, focaccia and pastries — all prepared fresh from organic ingredients. Look for a late summer or early fall opening.
A word to the wise: News doesn’t always travel quickly or accurately on the Internet. The Omphoy Ocean Resort in Palm Beach is a good example. Several Internet sites, including Yahoo and AOL, already list booking options and Trip Advisor even offers guest reviews, even though it won’t open until the newly announced date of July 31.
The confusion may arise because the 134-room luxury resort at 2842 S. Ocean in Palm Beach is rising at the site formerly occupied by the Palm Beach Hilton, but any relation to the old Hilton is purely coincidental. For example, Ceebraid Signal, which also owns The Brazilian Court in Palm Beach, paid $42 million just to buy the property, then poured $55 million into redoing the 134 units. That’s nearly three-quarters of a million per room. In more comprehendable terms, if they charged $500 a night per room and sold out every night, they would take in that much in … hmmm … about four years.
Of course, with former ballerina turned Miami restaurant legend Michelle Bernstein lording over the kitchen, plus the latest addition to Annbeth Eschbach's international chain of Exhale Spas, Omphoy will not just be charging for rooms. Add to that the appeal of a short limo drive to Worth Avenue and the luxury traveler/shopper/diner couldn’t ask for more.
By the way, for those wondering about the name Omphoy, it’s a hybrid. Om, from the ancient Sanskrit, means spiritual, and phoy is Scottish for gift. Omphoy General Manager Deborah Carr is promising a pre-season, trial-run rate of $149. Look for some preliminary reviews in late August and September.
As summer heats up in Boynton Beach, life keeps moseying along. But it does have its cool spots, especially on the Intracoastal near Ocean Avenue. For years, it’s been a great place to eat and party at the Banana Boat and Two Georges or charter a sportfisherman or take a drift boat out of the marina. Now the area is changing, thanks to the completion of Marina Village, the twin 15-story condos. Shops eventually will fill the ground floor, but with the economy in its present straits, entrepreneurs aren’t exactly clamoring for space. An ice cream shop that made its own product on premises is for sale. Currently the only soul in business is Beth Domino, who runs Pilates Body. But closer to the water, you can find a little gem that few people know about — Mangrove Park.
Easily accessible by a traffic circle, this passive boardwalk/nature path snakes through the mangrove hammock to the Intracoastal. Interpretive panels describe the flora and fauna; benches, water fountains and a restroom provide respite for the weary. Check it out. In the winter, you might even spot a manatee.
Comments