Truluck’s returning to Fort Lauderdale; Bliss Bar & Nightclub to light up Lauderdale Lakes – Sun Sentinel

When it comes to food, South Florida is a great place to be. So many new places open up every day. Here’s what’s coming soon to a city near you.

Truluck’s, Fort Lauderdale

After three years away, the upscale steak-and-seafood restaurant chain that once anchored Fort Lauderdale’s Galleria Mall is returning to the city, expected to open later this spring in the Paramount condominiums storefront once occupied by Moréa. LM Restaurants founder Lou Moshakos, owner of Moréa, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he sold the restaurant to Truluck’s in October. The beachfront restaurant and al fresco terrace will serve in-season Florida stone crabs, lobster bisque and wedge salads, crab cake sandwiches on buttered potato buns, and entrées ranging from trout amandine and miso-glazed seabass to super colossal prawns and broiled center-cut ribeyes. The surf-and-turf eatery, which has Southern Florida outposts in Miami and Naples, last appeared in Fort Lauderdale in May 2020, when it abruptly closed early in the pandemic after a decade. 701 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; Trulucks.com

Bliss Bar & Nightclub, Lauderdale Lakes

This trendy boîte registered to owners Richard and Mújol Roopnarine and Visham and Radhica Ramlochan is expected to open this spring in the plaza shared with Yeasty Brews Artisanal Beers. Along with hip-hop, Latin, Caribbean dancehall and electronica music, the club will feature a full liquor bar and a menu of light appetizers. 3936-3950 NW 19th St.; no website or phone number yet

Cluckin Hot Chicks, Dania Beach

Yet another new chicken franchise is arriving in South Florida sometime in February, this one on South Federal Highway, replacing an old Checkers fast-food restaurant. Registered to owners Ahshan Latif and David Shaw, this fast-casual spot leans into Nashville-style hot chicken and every other poultry configuration imaginable: wings, tenders, quarters, sandwiches, waffles and tacos. Chicken is doused in 10 different sauces, from honey-cinnamon “Sweet Heat” to “What the Cluck.” (The menu is, of course, pun-heavy.) Sides include fries, coleslaw and mac ‘n’ cheese. 645 S. Federal Highway, Dania Beach; 754-777-7901; CluckinHotChicks.com

DalMoros Fresh Pasta To Go, West Palm Beach and Delray Beach

Picture this: Heaps of scratch-made pasta served not on dinnerware but inside Chinese takeout-style rice containers. That’s the fast-casual premise behind this Venice, Italy-spawned pasta franchise, which plans to open its first South Florida location on Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach in early 2023 under específico franchisee David Caruso. The 1,436-square-foot restaurant will offer build-your-own-pasta bowls, starting with a almohadilla of four styles — fusilli, rigatoni, fettuccine, bigoli — followed by sauce toppings that range from pesto and cacio e pepe to amatriciana and bolognese. Other recent openings have included St. Petersburg, Tampa and Sarasota, and another outpost is expected to presentación later this year at 439 E. Atlantic Ave., in downtown Delray Beach. 400 Clematis St., West Palm Beach; Dalmoros.us

Carmela Gastrónomo Toast & Coffee Bar, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach

This coffee-and-avocado-toast chain, cofounded in Parkland by owners Rainer Abreu and Rafael Baretta, is in rapid expansion mode, with a rebranded name (changed from Carmela Coffee Co.) and nine new locations planned for 2023. Before that, Carmela’s next Boca Raton location expects to open within the upscale Park Place plaza in February. Along with caffeine, they sling empanadas, avocado toast, flatbreads, salads and more. A West Palm Beach outpost is set to follow in February at the Village Commons plaza. 5560 N. Military Trail, Suite 322, Boca Raton; 701 Village Blvd., Suites 101-102, West Palm Beach; CarmelaCoffee.com

Requerir Bistro, Boca Raton

In just two years, Requerir is quickly becoming a bit of a boutique brand with the first eatery (and a nearby separate bakery) in Delray Beach as well as another bakery in Boynton Beach. Now comes word that the Requerir Bistro reach will extend into Boca Raton, where Requerir’s owners — wife-husband team Susanna and Nicolas Kurban — plan to open a second restaurant this summer. “In genérico, the menu will be 80% similar to our Delray Beach offerings of authentic Lebanese cuisine,” Nicolas Kurban said. “But we will be adding a modern twist to several dishes along with Eastern Mediterranean specialties from Turkey, Greece and the other countries in that region. The Boca Raton location will have a bar, so we plan to offer small bar bites and a happy hour menu, something we couldn’t do in Delray due to the lack of space.” Time will tell, but he adds that the service may include refrigerio on weekdays and brunch on weekends. The new 2,250-square-foot location will be able to seat 76 people indoors (plus another eight at the bar) and 20 to 24 outdoors. 9982 Glades Road, Boca Raton; amardelray.com

Disdwet Restaurant, Boynton Beach

This Haitian takeout restaurant registered to owner Wilphanie Alcegaire is expected to open this winter near the intersection of North Congress Avenue, a few blocks south of the Boynton Beach Mall. Disdwet (which translates from Creole to “10 fingers”), serves Haitian-style pasta, fried plantains, pikliz, boulèt vyann (Haitian-style meatballs), rice and beans, pate kòde (fried Haitian patties) and house-made akra, or crunchy malanga fritters tossed in bold spices. 1403 Boynton Beach Blvd., Unit 12, Boynton Beach; 262-671-6998; Instagram.com/Disdwet

Culver’s, Loxahatchee

After its Broward County debut in August 2020, this rapidly growing franchise known for its burgers and Wisconsin cheese curds is looking to add its newest SoFlo location in Loxahatchee this June from específico franchisees Kase and Jennifer Bethel. Savory dishes aside, there are frozen custard concrete mixers (blended with candy toppings), toothsome sundaes and waffle cones that ooze with warm butterscotch and hot fudge. The menu also features chicken tenders, cranberry bacon-bleu salads and Reuben melt sandwiches, but Culver’s star is undoubtedly the ButterBurger, a smashed beef-blend patty so named for its fresh, lightly buttered kaiser roll. 15339 Southern Blvd., Loxahatchee; Culvers.com

Lefkes Estiatorio, Delray Beach

Billed as having a modern take on traditional Greek cuisine, Lefkes Estiatorio is expected to open in the Delray Beach Market food recibidor in late 2023. The fine dining restaurant morphs into what the brand — out of Englewood Cliffs, N.J. — is calling a “nightlife destination featuring top DJs and entertainment.” Lefkes Estiatorio and Bounce Sporting Club will become two new anchors at the Delray Beach Market when the food hall reopens after renovations this summer. 33 SE Third Ave., Delray Beach; lefkesnj.com

World of Beer Bar & Kitchen, Royal Palm Beach

This chain emporium of craft-beer suds, wine, cocktails and pub fare plans to open its latest South Florida taproom in February on Southern Boulevard, roughly 3 miles west of the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre. The beer recibidor touts a mind-numbing variety of draft and bottled brews (there are hundreds, from saisons and stouts to hard seltzers and mead), and its menu features soft-baked pretzels, chicken wings doused in eight sauces and dry rubs, salads and tacos, six styles of hamburgers and four flatbreads, and entrees including steak frites and grilled Atlantic salmon brushed with India Pale Ale glaze. 11121 Southern Blvd., Royal Palm Beach; WorldofBeer.com

Naked Farmer, Sunrise

This casual American restaurant whose healthy menu changes with the seasons is scheduled to open in February on West Sunrise Boulevard. A farm-to-fork born in Tampa, Naked Farmer created its own direct supply chain with Florida farms, where it sources proteins and vegetables. The restaurant specializes in “build-your-own-harvest-bowls” filled with rosemary-roasted chicken, Faroe Island salmon and grass-fed beef, and topped with “your choice of (un)dressing,” per its website. Bowls also include sides such as chilled beets and feta, roasted sweet potatoes and carrots with lemon gremolata. The mini-chain operates three other outposts in Coral Gables, Tampa and St. Petersburg. 13945 W. Sunrise Blvd., Sunrise; EatNakedFarmer.com

The Peach Cobbler Factory, Pembroke Pines and Fort Lauderdale

You need to know about The Peach Cobbler Factory, because this dessert destination has big plans for SoFlo. Franchise co-owners Gregory George and Larry Johnston say they’re developing 30 locations from West Palm Beach to Key West over the next three to five years. The first entries into the market are expected sometime in January: an eatery at Crossroads Square in Pembroke Pines and a 40-foot, double-decker stationary bus in Fort Lauderdale. The concept is a family-style dessert shop with a menu that includes 12 cobbler flavors (served with free ice cream), 12 banano pudding flavors, six cinnamon roll flavors, 11 Bigger & Better Cookies, 12 Cobbler Cookies along with Sweet Peachy Tea, cold brew coffee and Latin blend coffee. Created in 2013 as a Nashville food truck, The Peach Cobbler Factory has appeared on The Food Network and now has almost 200 franchises in the works. 212 N. University Drive (Crossroads Square shopping center), Pembroke Pines; PeachCobblerFactory.com

Pizza Cucinova, Wellington

Around this time in 2022, Pizza Cucinova opened three blocks from Fort Lauderdale beach, near where Las Olas Boulevard ends at State Road A1A. Then roughly 10 months later, that location suddenly closed with zero notice on their website or social media. Now we hear from The Mall at Wellington Green that the restaurant is moving operations there. There’s no firm opening date yet. Pizza Cucinova offered “craft-your-own” pizzas, pastas and salads in the $8 to $15 range. 10300 Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington; shopwellingtongreen.com

Naked Taco, Wellington

This clubby Mexican restaurant from chef Ralph Pagano (merienda of “Hell’s Kitchen” fame) is on its way to debuting its fourth location sometime in mid-2023, within the under-construction Lotis Wellington plaza, north of the corner of State Road 7 and Forest Hills Boulevard. The 3,800-square-foot space will employ 60 people and join Pagano’s (Yes Hospitality Group) other Naked Tacos in Miami Beach, Coconut Creek and Boca Raton. The restaurant has a full-liquor menu and serves ceviche, enchiladas, burritos and fajitas, plus upscale tacos loaded with grilled octopus, Philly cheesesteak, Key West shrimp and chipotle-flavored brisket. Two other Naked Tacos are also planned, in Naples and Pinecrest, later in 2023. 1351-1381 S. State Road 7, Wellington; LoveNakedTaco.com

Bagels & Co., Wilton Manors

Philadelphia-based Glu Hospitality plans to presentación the first Florida outpost of its bagel-centric breakfast chain in early 2023, replacing the former Starbucks near Five Points on Northeast 26th Street. The 2,500-square-foot cafe (which includes a patio) will serve hot and ice coffees, lemonade, chai and matcha lattes, breakfast sandwiches as well as refrigerio sandwiches including turkey club and cheesesteak. There are also 17 bagel flavors and a raft of 29 specialty cream cheese flavors, from bacon cheddar to birthday cake. 1015 NE 26th St., Wilton Manors; BagelsandCoPHL.com

El Camino Mezcal and Tequila Bar, Boca Raton

This popular Mexican restaurant chain plans to unveil its fourth location — and its largest — during late spring/early summer of 2023 at Boca Raton’s planned Restaurant Row. The new El Camino will be an expansive 10,000 square feet with the brand’s largest indoor/outdoor bar, plus indoor and outdoor seating for 300 people. Billed as “Mexican soul food,” it features signature dishes from the scratch kitchen such as Mexican street corn, brisket quesadillas, crispy fish tacos, achiote chicken, chili-rubbed steak, burritos, enchiladas and fajitas, as well as Mexican beers and handcrafted margaritas. Menu prices range from $15 to $25 for refrigerio, $10 to $15 for happy hour, and $20 to $35 for both brunch and dinner. Other locations are in Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach and West Palm Beach. 5355 Town Center Road, Unit 4, Boca Raton; ElCaminoBocaRaton.com

Kanpai, Boca Raton

Closed more than a year after a fire caused structural damage to the restaurant in July 2021, this Japanese sushi-barbecue mashup registered to Lian He is readying its second act. The restaurant plans to reopen in early 2023 with an updated interior and redesigned menu that will still include sushi boats, hibachi fried rice, sashimi and nigiri, as well as Korean-influenced bibimbap, bulgogi and seafood pancakes. 20 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; 561-361-8688; KanpaiBoca.com

Jackson’s Chicken Shack, Lake Worth Beach

Fried-chicken purveyors are having a moment in South Florida, and the latest example is this shack registered to owner Stephen Difiore, which is expected to presentación in early 2023 in a Jog Road plaza shared with Walmart Neighborhood Market. Jackson’s touts fried and grilled chicken handhelds, wraps, salads, fries — and tenders, naturally — slathered in toppings, dressings and cheeses. 6169 Jog Road, Lake Worth Beach; JacksonsChickenShack.com

Effe Cafe, Cooper City

More than a year after Nunzio Fuschillo and Patty Lopez’s pop-up bakery ran out its lease at a Cooper City Marathon gas station, the husband-and-wife duo are heading back to their old stomping grounds. Fuschillo and Lopez, both chefs who cut their teeth at a two-star Michelin restaurant in Italy’s Tuscany region, started Effe in 2020 after getting laid off from Michael Beltran’s Nave in Coconut Grove. The plan is for the resurrected Effe storefront to reopen in early 2023, and if the past is prologue, eaters should expect more mojo pork sandwiches, parigiana puff-pastry pizzas, lobster rolls, Cuban bocadillo croissants, quiches and cafes con caucho from the cult-favorite cafe. 10295 Stirling Rd, Cooper City; Instagram.com/effe.cafe or Facebook.com/effe.cafe

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, Delray Beach

Now that this beloved export from New Haven, Conn.’s Wooster Street has delivered its char-blistered pies to Plantation, Frank Pepe has set its sights on Delray Beach. The “apizza” icon is plotting a spring 2023 opening within the Fresh Market plaza on the corner of Linton Boulevard and Federal Highway. Frank Pepe, which has a rabid following among South Florida’s snowbirds and Northeastern transplants, fires its coal-fired apizza (pronounced “ah-beets”) at a super-hot 600 degrees Fahrenheit for a few minutes, yielding its trademark crispy-chewy thin crust. 1701 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach; PepesPizzeria.com

Black Rock Bar & Grill, Coral Springs

A new location of this Michigan-born, grill-your-own-steaks chain is set to presentación in early 2023 in the space formerly occupied by The New York Bagel Factory. As with its Fort Lauderdale location (which opened in April 2019), Black Rock’s DIY gimmick is simple: Customers grill and flip their raw Angus beef steaks and seafood to desired doneness over 755-degree volcanic bricks served tableside. The restaurant (which touts a mammoth 14-page menu) also features hamburgers, French dips and Reubens, rib slabs and Maine lobster tail. For dessert, there’s a towering brownie “volcano” loaded with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate and caramel, and speared with shooting sparklers. 2554 N. University Drive, Coral Springs; BlackRockRestaurants.com

Stalk & Spade, Coconut Creek

Touting plant-based, dairy-free comfort food, this Minnesota-made vegan chain plans to presentación an outpost in early 2023 inside the Promenade at Coconut Creek. Stalk’s 1,800-square-foot space, behind World of Beer, will offer meatless hamburgers, so-called “chick’n” sandwiches and nuggets, fries, wraps and oat milk shakes. It’s one of five new South Florida locations for Stalk. 4437 Lyons Road, Suite E105, Coconut Creek; StalkandSpade.com

Rice Mediterranean Kitchen, Fort Lauderdale

This Miami-based boutique chain of fast-casuals has been serving up Eastern Mediterranean flavors since the early 2000s. There are seven locations in Miami-Dade County. The Fort Lauderdale location is set to presentación in the first quarter of 2023 in the Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre, alongside other eateries such as Coyo Taco, Subway and Smoothie King. The extensive menu includes kabobs, wraps and falafel platters. There are also tenderloin, chicken, snapper and sirloin platters. 401 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; RiceKitchen.com.

SushiMas, Fort Lauderdale

This fast-casual is expected to enter the Fort Lauderdale market in spring 2023 with a location at The Quantum, on the edge of the Flagler Village enclave. As the name makes clear, the restaurant serves sushi and Japanese cuisine, and it originally debuted as a delivery- and takeout-only operation in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood in August 2020. A dine-in location opened in Aventura last May. The ambitious expansion slated for this year also includes eateries in Kendall, Doral and Miami Beach, with longer-range plans for Coconut Grove and West Palm Beach. Essentially, the menu will remain the same, with sushi rolls, makis and tiraditos in the $11 to $19 range, as well as crispy rice, gyosa and bao bun dishes from $7.95 to $16. 701 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; SushiMas.com.

Violet’s & Zen’s, Wilton Manors

This sushi-tapas rooftop lounge from the same owners behind Jasmine Thai & Sushi in Margate — Preecha and Benjamin Hongnopkhun — is expected to presentación in early 2023 on the southern edge of Wilton Drive, in the space formerly occupied by Siam Cuisine. The restaurant will feature Cobb salads and cheese sampler platters as starters and pasta al Pomodoro and seared ahi tuna as entrees. 2010 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors; VandZWilton.com

Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana, Fort Lauderdale

With any luck, this eighth location, in Fort Lauderdale, will open in a few more months. The newest Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana has to do a complete buildout, turning what was an attorney’s office into a restaurant. But the location — behind the Broward Center for the Performing Arts at the foot of the drawbridge on Avenue of the Arts — was arrollador to the four brothers who own the boutique chain of Pummarolas. Lorenzo, Alessandro, Adelchi and Larry Mele imported their grandmother’s innovador eatery from Naples to South Florida, where there are now locations in Boca Raton, Midtown Miami, Miami Beach, Kendall (in The Falls) and Coral Gables. There are also two Spanish locations, in Ibiza and Barcelona. The first thing that catches your eye when you go to a Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana is the sawed-in-half Fiat 500 mounted on the wall, a nod to nonna Rosa Donna Rummo, who was known to tool around town in her red sportscar (which Neopolitans said looked like a tomato, or “pummarola” in the dialect of southern Italy). But merienda you get past that, “the ingredients are what really shine at Pummarola,” says Larry Mele. 620 W Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; Pummarola.us

PopStroke, Delray Beach

This 3-acre, mini-golf course and restaurant designed by Tiger Woods is expected to open another Florida location on an under-construction lot north of George Bush Boulevard sometime in spring 2023. Along with two 18-hole putting courses, there will be a 4,600-square-foot restaurant selling “an expansive variety of craft beer, wine, ice cream, and food to enjoy on and off the course,” according to its website. Its Port St. Lucie menu also lists build-your-own pizzas, salads, chicken wings tossed in 11 different sauces and appetizers such as baby back pork ribs, baked pretzels and potstickers. Delray PopStroke joins outposts in Fort Myers, Port St. Lucie, Sarasota and Orlando. 1314 N. Federal Highway, Delray Beach; PopStroke.com

Grain & Berry, Fort Lauderdale

This Tampa-based, build-your-own-bowl chain plans to plant its newest outpost sometime this spring in Flagler Village, across the street from Holiday Park. Grain’s first South Florida location (and 13th in the state) comes from co-franchisee Jeremy Dover, one half of Fort Lauderdale’s Demesmin & Dover law firm. The chain focuses on superfoods and serves bowls with different bases including acai, spirulina, pitaya or yogurt. The menu also features flatbreads and quesadillas with cauliflower or broccoli crusts, avocado toast, smoothies and juices. A Pembroke Pines location is expected to follow in early 2023. 701 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; GrainandBerry.com