Harvest | Your Delray Boca

Marie Horenburger was a Delray city commissioner, Tri-Rail board member and former Boynton CRA commissioner.

Things we loved in November

Well it was a busy month and this month will only be busier. We wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season…

Good to see former 32 East and Tryst chef John Thomas resurface at a new restaurant in West Palm Beach.

While he will be missed in Delray, it looks like his latest concept Sassafras, which features southern cuisine has great potential.

It’s the latest offering from the always interesting Sub Culture Group and is located on Narcisssus Avenue.

Sassafras also features sous chefs who have worked at Dada, Farmer’s Table and 32 East.

The first and hopefully annual 65 Roses on the Avenue event to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was a smashing success.

The event was held at the Old School Square Fieldhouse and featured catering by Jimmy’s Bistro.

I’m proud to note that our companies; CDS International Holdings and Celsius were presenting sponsors.

The event was an eye opener about a disease that affects tens of thousands of people. Researchers recently made a major breakthrough which is validation that support of the foundation’s efforts makes a big difference.

Kudos to the Delray Chamber of Commerce for featuring western businesses.

The 2019 West Delray Business Expo held in November at the Big Apple Shopping Bazaar is an important step as the chamber has long sought to include and represent businesses in the greater Delray area. Bravo.

Welcome aboard Shannon Eadon.

Eadon took the reigns as the new CEO of Old School Square after a successful stint as Development Director at the Bergen Performing Arts Center.

OSS has been without a CEO since May 2018 when Rob Steele resigned.

We’re looking forward to seeing Ms. Eadon take Old School Square to new heights.

Congratulations to Joe Hart on his retirement after 30 terrific years as a Delray Beach Police Officer.

Joe has made a tremendous difference in our community and will be missed. Just a nice guy and a super cop. We wish him well on his future endeavors.

Congratulations to Ron Tarro for being awarded Maverick Mentor of the year at FAU Tech Runway, a startup incubator in Boca Raton.

Ron is a tech veteran, Delray resident and all around nice guy.

We continue to be impressed with Elisabetta’s.

We celebrated several birthdays there this month. Excellent service, great food and the atmosphere can’t be beat.

Congratulations to the three newest members of Boca’s Walk of Fame.

Philanthropist Arthur Adler, former Fire Chief Kerry Koen (who also served as Delray’s Chief) and Florida Atlantic University which was represented by President John Kelly are the newest honorees.

There are now 81 members of the Walk of Fame which is truly a terrific idea.

We were terribly saddened to learn about the passing of former City Commissioner Marie Horenberger.

Marie was a bright light, always so friendly and positive.

She was deeply interested in local government and was a fixture at the Palm Beach County League of Cities. She was deeply involved in both Delray and Boynton Beach serving on that city’s CRA.

She was also a lobbyist with a gentle touch. A kind woman who always asked about your children and family. Regardless of what was going on in her world she always found something positive to focus on.

We will miss her smile and kindness.

We were also touched by the loss of a special young man that we learned about. Here’s the story from a gofundme campaign set up in his memory.

“On Wednesday, November 13th at around 7 am the world lost a truly special soul. Rodney Cox Jr. passed away just feet away from his bus stop as he was on his way to school. Before he could make it, he was tragically struck and killed by the Brightline Train. We will miss his joyful spirit and his contagious smile will remain in our hearts forever.

To show our Love for Rodney and his family Directors from 505 Teen Center, EJS Project and Milagro Teen Center came together to create this GoFundMe to assist with expenses while allowing the family the opportunity to support each other during this difficult time.

Rodney was such a talented and kind young man with an infectious positive attitude towards life. His family held a candlelight vigil and a large crowd showed up to pay tribute to his life and to support his loved ones. There were so many great memories shared about the type of person Rodney was and the lifelong impressions’ he left during his short time here in the physical.

Rodney aka @foreign.rich3 (his artist name) was an extremely talented artist with a gift of turning his lived experiences into stories through his music. He always talked of being a star one day to share these stories but most importantly he wanted to “Take care of my family, we are going to be Rich one day”. To know him was to believe him because he put in the work and stayed committed toimproving his craft.

Even though we all mourn during this difficult time we must reflect on his memory and smile because that’s is exactly what he would have wanted!

Amen…

We finally went up on the roof, with a visit to the rooftop bar at the new Courtyard Marriott on US 1 just south of Atlantic Avenue.

The rooftop features a great happy hour from 4-7, picturesque views looking west, fire pits and friendly bartenders.

Really cool addition and they make great margaritas.

Dishes We Dig

We remain fans of the pecan crusted chicken at Sazio. It has been too long.

Love the southern chicken sandwich at Granger’s, which is fast becoming my go-to place. Great food, wonderful service, easy parking and fair prices. Bravo.

Three vegetarians and three carnivores walked into Harvest…

Sounds like the beginning of a joke but it’s a true story and all six of us came away happy with our meals.

Harvest on Linton and US 1 remains a really great and healthy dining option for palates of all persuasions.

We enjoyed an amazing Thanksgiving at the wonderful La Cigale.

Great food, attentive service and a wonderful ambience made for a terrific holiday. P.S. There is no better biscotti in all the land.

We also recommend Baciami in Boynton Beach.

The Italian restaurant is owned by a Delray family and features a large menu, great service and ridiculously good cannoli cheesecake. Just a fabulous experience.

We also dined with friends at City Oyster and enjoyed the ambience of the avenue a few steps away not to mention some really great food. It’s good to rediscover a long time favorite.

Have a great December and thanks for reading.

Don’t miss the latest exhibit in the Cornell Museum. Seven Solos is awesome.

Things we loved in July

Coco Gauff’s magical run to the round of 16 at Wimbledon won’t be soon forgotten.

The budding Delray Beach legend acquitted herself with grace and courage on the grass at Wimbledon thrilling fans around the world.

We can’t wait to see her play in the U.S. Open next month.

CanCode is a really cool concept we learned about last month.

CanCode is a group of high school students in Palm Beach County, committed to teaching elementary school students computer programming through engaging workshops. The effort is funded by the Philanthropy Tank and was recently featured on Channel 25 news. We were thrilled to see CanCode working with the Summer Camp Program at Delray’s Achievement Center for Children and Families.

July 4th is always a highlight. After years of braving the crowds at the beach we have settled into a routine where we eat dinner with friends and watch the fireworks far away from the hustle and bustle.

On America’s 243rd birthday, I found myself still marveling at how lucky we are to live in America. My grandparents fled persecution and almost certain death so that future generations could enjoy freedom, opportunity and the pursuit of happiness. I’m grateful for their journey and for a country that would take them in and give their children and grandchildren and now great grandchildren a chance to enjoy all that America has to offer.

We had a chance to see The Spy Behind Home Plate at the Movies of Delray.

It’s a terrific new documentary that tells the remarkable story of Moe Berg, a major league catcher who went on to play a key role in World War II as a Spy.

It’s an amazing story. Don’t miss it.

Restaurants

We really like Wood & Fire on West Atlantic and Military.

Very lively atmosphere, good food and a nice drink menu.

The Paradise Sports Lounge also on West Atlantic and Military got some great national press as a result of the Coco Gauff Wimbledon run.

NBC Nightly News and other outlets captured the raucous scene of fans rooting for Coco at the restaurant/sports bar which is owned by Coco’s parents.

Just a great feel good story.

Great to see Troy’s Barbecue open a second location in Boca on Dixie Highway.

The restaurant on US 1 in Boynton is fabulous.

Delray’s Harvest continues to delight with some of the healthiest meals you can find.

We enjoyed a terrific happy hour at Vic & Angelos.

Inexpensive drinks and half price food from 4-7 makes this an extraordinary deal. The bar staff is terrific.

La Cigale remains a favorite.

We had two wonderful large parties in July with candidates for the CEO job at Old School Square.

The food is always sensational as is the service and ambience. Congratulations to the great Francis Toboul and his wonderful staff.

On a sad note, we were disappointed to see Sardinia on South Federal Highway close. Boca lost the Tilted Kilt on Airport road.

Congratulations to the Chris Evert Pro Celebrity Classic which announced that Chase Private Client Group is the new title sponsor for the event’s 30th anniversary this year.

The two day event is set for Nov. 22-24 at the Delray Tennis Stadium. Celebs include Carson Kressley and Jon Lovitz among others.

Boca’s Chris Evert did a great job giving color commentary at last month’s Wimbledon. We also recommend her entertaining and often funny Instagram feed.

It was great to see Jonathan Burns on America’s Got Talent and on the cover of the Lifestyle section of USA Today.

The talented contortionist and comedian recently performed at Old School Square.

The Seven Solos exhibit at Old School Square’s Cornell Museum is a must see.

Unique installations using light, salt and other materials makes for a fun visit. Don’t miss it.

While at the Cornell, we also enjoyed the terrific 6×6 exhibit featuring a slew of local artists. More than 700 pieces this year.

Marusca Gatto and Melanie Johanson are doing an amazing job at the museum. We’re grateful.

Congratulations to Coach TJ Jackson and the Atlantic High School football team.

The Eagles are the subject of an upcoming documentary produced by the Sturdy Group.

The documentary will emphasize the team’s devotion to academics and community service. TJ has been a game changer.

We had a blast at the Arts Garage’s summer fundraiser featuring several magicians including headliner Gary Goodman.

If you haven’t checked out the Arts Garage, please do. You won’t regret it. World class talent served up several times a week in an intimate venue. It’s been really great for Delray.

Welcome to Atlantic Avenue Elisabetta’s.

After a long wait, Big Time Restaurant Group parent of Rocco’s Tacos and Louie Bossi, debuted Elisabetta’s Ristorante Bar and Pizzeria at 32 East Atlantic.

At 7,800 square feet, the eatery is big and beautiful. Welcome to the Ave.

Two local companies were among the top 10 South Florida venture capital investments in Q2.

Coming in at number 5 was Boca based software management platform Pixeom which raised $15 million.

In 7th place, Delray Beach based health care software firm Sunwave raised $6 million. Keep an eye on both the ecosystem is growing.

Finally, July saw the 85th birthday of a special friend, the high Commissioner himself, Mr. Bob Costin.

Bob is somewhere out there with his lovely wife Sonya riding in his rock star RV. We miss him and will buy him his favorite Chinese food upon his return this fall.

Things We Loved in November

Things We Loved In July