I was on the 91 Train out of Tampa to West Palm Beach on Wednesday, and wound up having a delightful conversation with my ‘chance,’ (there are no accidents) train mate.  Turns out we had so much in common; it was like we’ve known each other for years.  Anyway, during the roughly three hour ride, we had a delightful conversation and talked about just a ton of stuff; and don’t you know, the subject of my dining reviews came up.

She visits her daughter in the West Palm Beach area with some frequency and mentioned a place down on Clematis Street that might make a good subject to review.  She described it as having great burgers with reasonable pricing; it not only sounded good, it got me in the mood for a burger, and since 'Grease’ is just down the street from the train station, I decided to check them out.

I’m very glad I did.  First of all, the location is excellent; right at the bottom of Clematis, a short walk from the Inter-coastal, parking was easy, and the approach and entryway are very inviting.  So, I went in and right away got caught up in the very comfortable atmosphere.  It was still early so it wasn’t real busy, and the staff was very attentive and courteous.

Who loves Chocolate?  Admittedly, I have a sweet tooth and a weakness for chocolate; I love the word chocolate and the way it sounds when spoken.  It even sounds delicious in other languages.  It doesn’t even matter to me if it’s dark or milk chocolate, and even white chocolate is wonderful.  The versatility and uses of chocolate, including medicinal, is amazing and limited only by one’s imagination and culinary expertise.  

It’s great all by itself, and enhances just about anything it gets near, be it fruit, nuts, Ice Cream, Red Wine, other types of chocolate, or anything else you might consider.  As yucky as it might sound to some, it is considered a delicacy in some cultures to cover certain varieties of insects with chocolate.  Personally, I’ll pass on that.

Being from Boston, I have a thing for pizza.  If you’re from there or almost anywhere in the Northeast, you can appreciate my frustration at not being able to find a decent pizza in Florida or almost anywhere else in the country; sorry Chicago.

I moved to Florida a number of years ago, and I do love living here, but I have say, no matter where I’ve travelled in the state, good pizza is a rare find.  I don’t understand this either, because I know that enough really good pizza chefs from up north have moved down here.

I had a chance to walk up and down Atlantic Ave. in Del Ray Beach last night.  We weren’t sure where to eat, but we wanted a place that was decent and quiet.  So, my very lovely date and I did a sort of eeny, meeny, miney, mo and decided to visit Vic and Angelo’s.  It has an inviting entrance with gas lit torches, and the aroma emanating from within was enticing.

We both immediately liked the ambiance and we were shown a comfortable and quiet table.  Our waitress, Debbie, was very pleasant and attentive enough to make sure we had what we wanted and needed without pestering us.  In a word, she was excellent.

It was sort of late when we arrived and neither of us was starving so we both opted for the Spinach Salad with Cranberries and Gorgonzola Cheese, and we ordered a stuffed Artichoke.

The salads were proportioned perfectly and the presentation was great.  We both liked the dressing and were doing okay until we realized, at the exact same moment the only problem with the salad; the mushrooms were canned.  I found that very surprising for a restaurant on the Avenue.  While a tad on the dry side, the artichoke was reminiscent of those prepared by my mum way back in the day, and I liked it for the memory.

Vic’s is set right at the busy RR Tracks and during dinner, two fairly long trains rumbled through.  For me, this wasn’t a problem at all because I’ve always liked trains and I’m still very much a kid at heart.  However, if trains aren’t your thing, this could be an issue since there is a lot of activity.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience and plan on revisiting in the coming months to try a pizza and a meatball.  Definitely a nice place for a family and the prices won’t set you back a whole lot.  I would recommend this place, however, because of the mushrooms, I give Vic and Angelo’s a 3.8 on my scale of 5. 

You’ll find them at 290 East Atlantic Ave., they can be reached at 561 278 9570, and their website is www.vicandangelos.com.