The Discerning Palate
Taste History Culinary Tours of Palm Beach County, Florida
Lori J. Durante Tour Guide Extraordinaire
By Sandy Axelrod
Palm Beach County is quite rich in history and culture which include all of the arts – culinary, music and art. A really fun and delicious way to learn and experience all of it in a nutshell is to take one of the Taste History Culinary Tours. In fact, you could take a different one each weekend and no two would be the same! On Saturday, December 5th, my husband and I had the privilege to experience this first hand and I would love to share that journey with you.
We started by meeting our beautiful tour bus at Macy’s at the Boynton Beach Mall at 10:45 am and left promptly at 11. Our fabulous and enthusiastic tour guide Lori Durante gave us a rich history lesson as we rode to our first destination, The Dispensary, at 416 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach. Christian Wiebel’s new American diner is in a very old pharmacy, hence the name. The space mixes old rich woods with modern black and white checkered tables and bright cherry red chairs. For our tasting the chef prepared a grilled chicken taco with the fresh acidic hit of grilled lime and a very savory mahi-mahi reuben on marble rye. Both dishes reflected the freshness of the ingredients. When we finished our first tasty dishes we climbed back on the bus to head to our next destination, Northwood.
The Northwood Village neighborhood has been undergoing a fantastic revitalization over the past several years. The main focus seems to be the arts and food; and the businesses are all independent private owners. It gives the area a warm cozy feel that makes you want to return over and over to discover what is new. With a stop at Olivia’s Special Teas at 22320 N. Dixie Highway, where we sipped several varieties of organic herbal teas, we started our mini walking tour of Northwood Village.
Our next stop was Table 427 at 427 Northwood Road where Chef Roberto Villegas and his wife Maria treated us to a delectable shredded mojo pork taco accompanied by a refreshing arugula, cantaloupe and crushed mint candy salad with a glass of guanoabana juice to wash it down. The atmosphere is cozy, eclectic and artsy and we are told that a new courtyard will expand their seating capacity. I can’t wait to return for their “no menu” experience of being served all of the chef’s special dishes from his native Mexico.
Just a few steps away from Table 427 at 524 Northwood Road is Northwood Glass Art and Gifts. Here you enter into a small store filled with lovely hand made objects for sale. Then onward to the back of the shop is a studio where owner Karen Campbell teaches the art of fused glass and mosaics. Another short stroll and we were at the Apothecary Gelato and Sorbet Providers at Bohemia AG. Located at 536 Northwood Road, Paul Agnirucklov has put together an adorable art gallery/ice cream parlor! The taste we had of the bittersweet chocolate mind sorbetto was so delicious that we just had to buy a large one to share. It was so creamy, chocolatey and refreshing that just a spoonful was no where near enough!
Next on the agenda was to learn about the Canvas Outdoor Museum Show from muralist Craig McInnis who met us in front of his Metamorphosis mural. There are 20 murals in total throughout downtown West Palm Beach. And after our tour of the Center for Creative Education at 425 24th Street, where we experienced some amazing artwork and also got to hear the philharmonic rehearsing, we boarded the bus for another stop to view one of these spectacular murals – Albert Einstein – by Kobra, which is on the side of the Habitat Gallery Florida at 513 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach. Owner Lindsey Scott explained how the gallery evolved into one that highlights glass artistry along with mixed media. This was truly the highlight of the art portion of the tour. The artwork was truly spectacular and breath taking!!! My personal favorite was the work of Binh Pho who combines intricate wood carving and delicate glass to create exquisite and colorful pieces.
Again we boarded the bus for a short drive to Lake Worth for the final stop before heading back to Macy’s. We arrived at Blue Front BBQ and entered the very cool art deco building through the keyhole door entryway. Once seated we were treated to some of the best barbecue I have had in the area. In fact they were won the award for Best Barbecue 2015 in Palm Beach County. The General Manager Rodney Briguglio explained how the establishment began over 50 years ago on Tamarind Avenue, moved to Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard where they began bottling their fabulous zesty barbecue sauce and now opened at this fabulous location at 1132 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Our pulled pork sliders, coleslaw and ribs were tender and succulent. And since I am a lover of all things spicy I added a drizzle of their Hot BBQ Sauce which made the perfect compliment to the sweet meat.
Our tour ended up back at Macy’s at around 4:45 pm after a wonderful day of touring, tasting and art gazing with a delightful group of bus mates and a fabulous tour guide. This is a not to be missed trip that I highly recommend to everyone looking for something special to do on a Saturday. But be sure to make a reservation because they sell out quickly every week!
Here (below) is the list and links for the places visited on the tour.
The Dispensary (Arts & Entertainment District in West Palm Beach )
Olivia’s Special Teas ( Northwood Village in West Palm Beach )
Table 427 ( Northwood Village in West Palm Beach )
Northwood Glass Art Gallery ( Northwood Village in West Palm Beach )
Apothecary Gelato & Sorbetto Providers at Bohemia AG ( Northwood Village )
Marjorie S. Fisher Gallery ( Northwood Village )
Habatat Galleries (Arts & Entertainment District in West Palm Beach )
Blue Front Barbecue Bar & Grill ( Lake Worth )
Murals featured:
Craig McInnis at the Metamorphosis Mural he designed in Northwood Village
Eduardo Kobra’s Einstein Mural created for the Canvas Outdoor Museum in the Arts & Entertainment District in West Palm Beach
Here are links for the districts visited:
Northwood Village
West Palm Beach Arts & Entertainment District
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Chef Sandy Axelrod has a Grand Diplome from “le Cordon Bleu” and more than 40 years experience in the kitchen. Sandy and her husband Steve have been living in Florida for more than 30 years. She was owner and Executive Chef of Affairs to Remember Catering for 18 years with events such as the Grand Opening of Saks Fifth Avenue at the Gardens Mall, opening parties at The Mall at Wellington Green, SunFest, opening season at International Polo and assorted private parties throughout South Florida to her credit. Now, in addition to writing a blog about food, restaurants, travel and life experiences at and writing cookbooks she teaches private hands-on cooking classes, does small catered parties, is a free-lance food writer and photographer. Her passion and love of food never wanes.
Also, please look for her work at the following links: