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Dining & Spirits
Bon Appetit, Bon Voyage, Robert Tolf!
It's been a wonderful 34 years. Now, it's time to take a step back.
Tolf Unveiled: After 34 years of silhouetting our restaurant editor, Robert W. Tolf, Florida Trend can take him out of the shadows. |
Another early restaurant discovery, one with direct links to New York’s legendary Café Chauveron, had more staying power, but the last of the five Frenchmen who worked wonders at Fort Lauderdale’s Trois Mousequetaires just recently retired and closed his splendid Café Claude in Deerfield Beach — to be replaced apparently by yet another Italian operation.
Trattorias and ristorantes grande and grandissimo are a constant on the restaurant scene, and so too are steakhouses — rugged and otherwise. Remember when Ruth’s Chris was a pioneer, all alone? Now there are close to 130 of them, all white tablecloths and formally clad servers with impressive wine lists and staffers knowledgeable about what they’re pouring.
What a joy it has been to participate in the fantastic fullness of the wine revolution and to witness the tremendous expansion, the overall improvements of all aspects of this most challenging of trades. This is my last column, but I’m remaining in the Trend family, advising on the south Florida restaurant whirl and consulting on the all-important Golden Spoon awards. Thanks to the unstinting support and direction of that family, it’s been a most rewarding if not incredible 34 years!