8/12 Isabella's Pizza and Pasta

I went back to Isabella's Pizza and Pasta on US1 just north of 17th St. Causeway. I ordered the Chicken Siciliano, which is basically chicken Parmesan with a slice of eggplant under the cheese. $8.95. It came with a side of penne which I took home and garlic rolls for the table. The chicken was excellent and a very generous portion. The service at Isabella's is always fast and friendly. 8.5/10

8/10 Skyline Chili

Ventured up to Skyline Chili on US1 between Sunrise and Oakland Park Blvd today. I hadn't been here in years but was in the area. I ordered the regular size Chili 5 ways, which was Chili served over spaghetti, with cheese, onions and beans. $6.45. Although far from the healthiest lunch, it was quite tasty and the service was extremely fast. Again, I won't be making this a regular lunch stop because the amount of fat and carbs left me unable to do much work the rest of the day, but once in a while its an interesting item for lunch. 7.5/10

8/5 Texas Hold 'Em BBQ

I went around the corner to Texas Hold Em BBQ and picked up the 1lb brisket dinner with two sides and brought it back to my office to split with a co-worker. $15.95. I got the mac and cheese and Collard greens as sides and they accidentally gave us an order of fries too. In my previous review of Texas Hold Em, I noted that the food was excellent but the portions on the lunch deals were rather small and when you get BBQ, you aren't looking for small portions. By getting the 1lb brisket dinner and splitting it, we definitely solved the small portion issue as there was plenty of food for both of us and leftovers. The brisket was excellent. As a certified Florida BBQ Association Judge, I can tell you that brisket is the hardest of the categories to cook. It often comes out very dry and tough. The did a great job on the brisket as it was quite moist and very tasty. The mac and cheese, though very heavy, was great too. My only complaint was the collard greens. They were way to salty and contained to many stems. Although I do not typically put a lot of sauce on my BBQ, they make an excellent sauce that is both bold, sweet, and spicy all at the same time.

As mentioned above, I would recommend avoiding the small portions of the lunch specials and just spend a few more dollars and get the dinner portions. 8.5/10

8/4 Mermaid Cafe in Neiman Marcus Galleria

While doing some shopping/returning at the Galleria Mall, we stopped in for a quick lunch at the Mermaid Cafe inside Neiman Marcus. Many people do not even know that this place even exists so they go to the food court while shopping in the Galleria. That particular food court is terrible, so the Mermaid Cafe is a great alternative. It is a classic luncheonette, with just a few tables but then about 15 seats around the lunch counter. They offer a number of different sandwiches and salads and soups. I got the double grilled cheese with tomato soup. $8.95. Both were excellent. Pictured half eaten below. I highly recommend trying this place if you are in the Galleria during lunchtime. Stay away from that food court. 8.0/10

8/2 J Marks Fort Lauderdale

I visited the new J Marks in Fort Lauderdale, in the place formerly occuppied by Bennigans on US1 just north of Sunrise Blvd. This is the 2nd location for J Marks as they also have a location in Pompano. J Marks is very similar to places like J Alexanders and to a lesser extent, Houstons, where they have a large menu and a large range of prices on their entrees. I usually don't care for places like this as I find they all offer food that is decent to good, but never great. I would classify my meal at J Marks as exactly that. It's a nice place to go with a group that can't agree on a place and everyone will at least be satisfied with their meal, but its nothing really worth going out of your way for.

I ordered the fish and chips, which was a plentiful portion of cod fish, lightly battered and deep fried. The very friendly waitress told me that the chips where the kind of very skinny/stringy fries that I don't particularly like, so I substituted mashed potato's, which was pretty good.

Overall, J Marks is a decent choice for predictable food and an easy compromise for a group.