This week on "Check Please South Florida," a spot for PanAsian Latin fusion in the heart of Fort Lauderdale.

A nice surprise when they show up with the check and then that nice beautiful pink swirl of cotton candy.

[Michelle] A Mediterranean delight tucked away in Weston.

You don't even need a knife.

I mean, we took the fork and it was pure butter.

[Michelle] And an ode to tradition and authenticity in Davie.

I had the tomato bisque soup was the soup of the day.

It was really good.

It was very hearty.

[Announcer] Cultural, culinary secrets and global flavors.

We have a passion for blending ingredients and seasonings from around the world.

[Announcer] Additional funding for "Check Please South Florida" is provided by George and Helen Weaver and the Friends of South Florida PBS.

You just wanted to savor every bit of that dessert.

It's delicious.

The best tiramisu I've ever had.

There's nothing else like that in South Florida that I know about.

You'll pull the cheese and it'll be all the way up to here.

Hello, I'm Michelle Bernstein, and welcome to "Check Please South Florida," the show where regular people from all over South Florida recommend and review their favorite restaurants.

So this is how the show works.

Every week, we have three guests.

Each recommends his or her favorite spot and the other two go to check them out and see what they think.

This week, retired educator Cindy Faerber says that her pick is a traditional deli lover's dream.

From mouthwatering soups to sizeable sandwiches and fresh salads, this spot has been serving delicious meals to locals and visitors for more than 25 years.

Located in Davie, it's all your comfort food served by an attentive staff.

Banking and finance specialist Aaron Dever advises you to deposit your culinary trust on the quaint family owned restaurant that serves amazing Sardinian cuisine and whose traditional bistro decor offers the perfect photo op.

You'll always receive a warm welcome in this tucked away gem in Weston.

But first, special needs teacher Brenna McAteer says that when she wants to get a feel for Venice in South Florida, she heads over to the waterside paradise that serves delicious Pan Asian Latin fusion dishes.

From their complimentary popcorn and cotton candy, nothing is ordinary at this dynamic house.

It's located in Fort Lauderdale and it's called Casa Sensei.

My name is Will Reyes.

I'm one of the executive chef here at Casa Sensei on Las Olas.

We are a very successful Pan Asian Latin restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.

They start back in Peru, you know, to combine both cuisines and they just put it together, you know, flavors and ingredients together to come up with this type of cuisine.

He's been training for the past seven years.

We are very famous.

We're well known for the, you know, we welcome our customers with a popcorn with kimchi butter.

So that's something we've been doing since we, you know, open.

And people love the popcorn with the kimchi butter.

And then we finish up with like the cotton candy to make you remember of your childhood, you know, and to have a memory of Casa Sensei.

Casa Sensei is located in the heart of Las Olas, as you can see here.

I think we have one of the best waterfront dining experience in Fort Lauderdale.

People just love to come here, you know, sit by the canal, by the water, and they have the best experience.

Casa Sensei is mesmerizing, amazing, and the best in Fort Lauderdale.

Tell me a little bit about the area.

It's a cute little restaurant.

My cousin and I, we ate outside.

And beautiful lights, the atmosphere was great, and you almost feel like you're in Venice.

We just love it there.

We started off with pork bao buns and they were amazing.

I mean, the buns were soft.

[Michelle] Is it a pork belly?

Yes.

Okay.

[Brenna] Nice and crispy.

[Michelle] And bao buns are really, it's rice flour and and it's a little bit sweet, right?

And it just melts in your mouth.

They were to die for, I mean, it was I had the shrimp one.

Okay.

Oh, you did?

You had the bao bun with shrimp, okay.

[Cindy] Yes, and I had to ask how to pronounce it.

I didn't know.

[Michelle] The bao?

Yeah.

The bao.

Delicious, right?

Yes, excellent.

Absolutely delicious.

Aaron, what'd you think about the ambiance?

I thought it was very unique in the fact that it had several different seating options.

There's the main dining room and it curves around the bar.

And my wife and I ended up sitting halfway back and we had a window seat that actually overlooked the patio, the dock, and the waterway.

Oh, pretty.

So it was very pretty.

We were the only ones in the room at the time.

What did you have?

We had the bao buns as well.

[Michelle] Which one?

I had the pork belly.

My wife had the tofu.

I had the Korean bulgogi.

[Michelle] I love bulgogi.

[Aaron] Which was almost like lettuce wraps with romaine and string mushrooms.

And you could either eat it with a knife and fork, chopsticks, or actually make lettuce wraps out of it.

[Michelle] Beef bulgogi?

[Aaron] Correct.

It's the ribeye.

It was shaved ribeye bulgogi.

Cindy, what'd you think?

I loved it.

I thought that the ambiance was just...

It was hip, it was happening.

We went on a Saturday night, we went with another couple.

My girlfriend and I shared the crispy chicken and sesame seeds and it came in a caramel sauce over rice and it made the rice like a sticky rice.

It was just delicious.

And sharing was perfect because we did have the bao buns and we saved room for dessert.

I know you weren't drinking that night.

Anybody else have cocktails?

I had a Thaitini.

What's that?

Like the name.

[Aaron] On the advice of our server.

I'm not too much on cocktails but I went with what he had recommended and it turned out to be a great complement.

Did you have any kind of No, but I just love the plays on names, so that's a cute name, Thaitini.

Okay.

Dessert?

I had dessert with my group.

What'd you have?

[Cindy] We shared the lava cake and it was a really generous portion 'cause the four of us were able to have it.

And it had, you know, that hot thick chocolate that kind of pours out and there was a nice dollop of cream.

[Michelle] Ooze is the word that you really wanna use.

Oh, ooze.

Yes.

It's all about the ooze in the lava cake.

Yes, it was oozing.

And then there was the whipped cream.

I would've probably liked ice cream on that too, 'cause it was warm.

It traditionally is served with ice cream.

Yeah, but it was very good.

The first lava cake, which was served in New York, was served with vanilla ice cream.

Many, many, many years ago.

Yeah, I'm big on something sweet after dinner.

Even if I'm full, I love a little something sweet.

There's a different stomach for that, isn't there?

I think so.

Cotton candy and popcorn.

Definitely.

Hold on, I have to hear about this.

Did you have both?

We did, we had both.

We had the popcorn at the beginning and it was very flavorful.

We were trying to decide what the topping was on the popcorn.

Kimchi.

And my wife ended up asking the server and it's kimchi butter.

And it's super flavorful and it was just a very unique complement with a Thaitini and as an appetizer.

I wonder what flavor was your cotton candy?

It was like a strawberry.

Is it made in the kitchen, I guess, in the back?

I think it's made in the back.

It's just a nice surprise when they come out with it, you know?

Yeah, no doubt.

Does everybody get their own little cotton candy or is it one big one you can kinda pick at?

[Cindy] No, you can just kinda like share.

Okay, I like it.

Brenna, Casa Sensei was your pick.

Sum it up for us.

Casa Sensei, I would say, is a nice restaurant to go to with, you know, significant other, friends.

Make sure you sit outside to just enjoy the view and have a great, great time and with great food.

Lovely.

Aaron?

A true fusion experience in the heart of Las Olas.

[Michelle] Cindy?

I think Casa Sensei is a wonderful mix of PanAsian and Latin.

Some really nice surprising flavors and a beautiful ambiance.

Well, you can enjoy unique dishes and otherworld atmosphere at Casa Sensei, located at 1200 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale.

Open for dinner on Mondays and for brunch, lunch, and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.

Reservations are accepted and the average price for dinner without drinks is about $70.

Shrimp tostones.

How delicious does that sound?

So we've got some delicious tostones that you can either fry or bake.

And by the way, you can find them in a freezer section or make them fresh.

Really up to you.

I'm gonna show you the shrimp part 'cause that's really my favorite part.

It's always the toppings.

So let me heat up, a little olive oil is in here already.

I've cut some shrimp lengthwise so that they're a little thinner and they sit really nicely on the tostones.

Let's go ahead and put the tostones already on the plate.

So let's go ahead and put the shrimp into the pan already.

And they are gonna cook up really quickly.

This whole thing will be very fast.

So what I have here is a little bit of minced garlic, a little fine thin strips or julienne of fresh chili.

You can use serrano or jalapeno.

What's great about this is I took the seeds out so it's not as spicy.

Shallots, which is a cousin of the onion.

And let's go ahead and cook that together.

While it's cooking, I'll season that with a little bit of salt and pepper.

I'm just gonna add a little lime zest.

And then we're gonna finish this with a little bit of butter and the juice of half a lime.

So I'm gonna just put in one tablespoon of butter.

Squeeze a half a lime in there.

And then to finish it off, I'm gonna cut a little bit of cilantro leaves.

Like so.

Go ahead and throw these in there.

Shut off your heat.

Let's mix all this together.

Smells so good.

So rather than using these things, I think I'm gonna use a spoon.

Make sure you get a little bit of everything.

The onion or shallot, the chili, the shrimp.

And the reason why I cut the shrimp lengthwise like that was so that it sits more delicately on the tostone.

I wish you all were here.

This smells so delightful.

Get all that goodness right over the top.

Beautiful.

And there you have it, my recipe for shrimp tostones.

Now, banking and finance specialist Aaron Dever advises you to get acquainted with his pick for authentic Sardinian food.

He says that they make their fresh homey dishes with a great atmosphere and broad selection of wines.

The authentic gem will leave you with a Mediterranean wanderlust.

It's located in Weston and it's called Zona Blu.

Hi, my name is Deborah Marras Bautista and I'm one of the owners of Zona Blu Weston.

Hi, my name is Sheila Marras David, and I'm one of the owners of Zona Blu Weston.

Well, Sheila and I are not restaurateurs.

We were stayathome moms for about 15 years and our partner Andrea had the idea to open a restaurant in Weston.

So we thought this would be a great opportunity to open something that showcased our beautiful island of Sardinia.

[Sheila] Our love of our Sardinian culture and growing up spending summers in Sardinia is really what inspired us to open a Sardinian themed restaurant.

The name Zona Blu came about because Sardinia was voted one of the top five blue zones in the world.

[Deborah] We definitely are not your typical Italian American restaurant.

Zona Blu is Italian cuisine Sardinian style.

So first of all, this is on the corner of a little plaza.

Is that correct, Aaron?

My wife discovered this restaurant during the pandemic.

We had known of it, but we were looking for an experience.

My family is always looking for an experience.

Did you know Sardinian food before this?

We were aware of it.

I guess it's the Sardinians and the blue zones throughout the planet are some of the healthiest foods and some of the longest living people.

Brenna, I loved what you had written because you went the first time with your dad and you made him try octopus for the first time.

Yes, he's never had the octopus.

And we had the Mediterranean octopus.

It was charred and then lightly fried and it came with olives, tomatoes, potatoes.

And it was so tender and our server, Pasquel, was telling us that the octopus came from Morocco.

And you don't even need a knife.

I mean, we took the fork and [Cindy] Butter.

But it was pure butter.

And my dad was like, "I love octopus.

I have been missing out."

And I'm like Yeah, but don't let him have it anywhere but there because you never know.

I don't think I wanna get it anywhere else either.

It was... And I get octopus when I go places.

It was absolutely amazing.

What else did you have?

So we saw the Zona Blu pizza and we thought, well, that looks kind of interesting.

And I noticed they didn't have a lot of red sauces on the menu, I guess 'cause they're not Italian.

The Zona Blu pizza had a light red sauce, mozzarella.

It had shrimp and bacon and it also had a spicy honey to top it off.

And it was... That sounds good.

It sounds really good.

[Brenna] It was so great.

Cindy, how was service?

We had a very bubbly server, Maria, and she was so knowledgeable about the menu, which I love 'cause they have a lot of specials there.

What did you have?

Well, I went with my brother and his wife and my girlfriend Lisa.

And we do what my family calls a divvy.

We each got something and shared.

And so my brother and I shared the short rib special, which was rich and delicious.

And instead of getting it with pasta, we got it with the rosemary potatoes because we knew we were gonna share a pasta dish.

And the potatoes were fabulous.

They were crispy with just enough rosemary.

And in the short rib sauce, dipping the potatoes, it was perfect.

And then we had, which I thought was so special, I'd never had this before, a fettuccine that was cooked in a bowl of Parmesan cheese.

[Michelle] I saw that one.

[Cindy] And it's fun.

They twist it and they swirl it and they put it on your plate.

[Brenna] It's my son's favorite thing in the whole world.

[Cindy] It's delicious.

How can you go wrong with homemade pasta?

I mean, amazing.

Our last visit there was for my mother-in-law'’’s birthday and we did something very similar to what you did.

We ordered several different things off the menu and they have what's known as a grigliata di pesce, which is a platter of fresh seafood.

And it serves two or it serves four.

So we ordered the grigliata di pesce.

It had langoustines, salmon.

My favorite.

So good.

[Aaron] Branzino.

[Michelle] And it's all grilled.

And it's all grilled.

It's slightly lightly breaded in some corn starch or something and grilled.

We had the cacio e pepe.

And one thing that Tell people what cacio e pepe is.

[Aaron] That's where they wheel the Parmesan wheel to your table and swirl it and serve it tableside.

The two of you had the same dessert.

You want to talk about?

Oh, the profiteroles?

The profiteroles.

So tell me a little bit about the profiteroles.

I thought that they were delicious.

They give you three large, almost like an empty donut, and inside filled with cream.

But what was so delicious was this thick, rich chocolate almost like a mousse on top.

And they were floating in chocolate sauce and they were very delicious.

Profiteroles are always good.

In addition, we had a big party, so we had a limoncello tartufo [Michelle] And what was that like?

[Aaron] That is lemon cream with a bread crust underneath.

It comes in a rectangle with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

I mean, you had me at limoncello.

Tell me about your pistachio sorbet.

I wasn't even a pistachio lover.

It came out almost looking like a muffin.

It was gelato but then it had pistachio crumbs on the outside.

It literally, it melted in your mouth.

I mean, as soon as it touched your mouth, it just melted.

And how are the prices?

Because this kind of food, I mean, the ingredients are expensive.

And I know this because this is what I do.

It's a specialty restaurant serving specialty foods.

And the prices are priced accordingly.

But for what you get, it's a good value.

Anybody drink any?

Well, you're not drinking.

I usually do wine by the glass.

It's often a Barolo or an Amarone.

Now you're talking my language.

I wanna go out to dinner with you.

[Aaron] They make a great espresso martini also.

[Michelle] Oh, delicious.

[Aaron] With Mr. Black's Liqueur.

Oh, sure, yeah.

Very trendy right now, the espresso martini.

But a great way to finish your meal.

Well, Aaron, Zona Blu was your choice.

Please sum it up for us.

Creative cooking with passion in a family environment.

Brenna?

It was first class all the way.

[Michelle] Cindy?

You are in for a very big treat at Zona Blu.

Your taste buds can travel to Sardinia and enjoy authentic Mediterranean cuisine at Zona Blu.

Located at 189 Weston Road in Weston, they are open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.

Reservations are accepted, where the average price for dinner without drinks is about $75.

Well, finally, retired educator Cindy Faerber wants you to make your way to her authentic pick for New York style deli, where generous portions and a friendly staff will keep you going back.

It's located in Davie and it's called Tower Deli.

Hi, my name is Bennett Wajsblat, and I'm the owner of Tower Deli in Davie.

Tower Deli was originally opened in 1989.

I always wanted to have a New York style deli in South Florida.

We have people that have been coming here for 30 years.

We are in existence for 32 years and we've seen families grow up.

It's not just about the food, it's about the experience coming into Tower Deli.

Tower Deli is family, tradition, and authenticity.

So you've been going to Tower for years, right?

I have, I have.

I was a teacher and I had a sixth grade student who came in and said to me... A sixth grade student, I love this.

A sixth grade student who he said, "My mom works at a restaurant and it is the best food in South Florida."

So I said, "That's quite an endorsement."

My son would never say that to anybody about his mother.

I love that.

So I went to the restaurant, and you know what?

He did not steer me wrong.

It was fabulous.

You know, everybody needs a good deli.

And I know we talk a lot about upscale restaurants on this show, but you can't go to upscale restaurants all the time.

There has to be a little deli in your life.

Well, I went with my aunt and uncle and my niece and my brother.

So we started off with a potato latke appetizer, which is potato pancakes.

They are flash fried, so they're really crisp and [Michelle] Big, little, medium?

[Cindy] They are big.

And so it was plenty for us.

And we had it with sour cream and applesauce.

I like both.

[Brenna] I had that too.

Very good.

You did?

Great.

And then I had matzo brie, which is just fluffy eggs cooked with the unleavened bread, the cracker, matzo.

And I like it with like a dollop of applesauce 'cause I love that sweet salty taste.

And my brother had matzo ball soup and corn beef sandwich.

He went old school.

They've got really fluffy matzo balls in soup that is fabulous.

No one in my family gets sick without having a delivery of Tower Deli matzo ball soup.

Before we get into the food, I'd love to talk to both of you.

Let's start with you, Brenna, about the location and what you thought when you walked into Tower Deli.

We actually got delivery.

My husband and I got delivery and it was great because they deliver themselves.

It was not an outsource, like [Michelle] Oh, that's great.

Yeah, so I almost wanna say the chef delivered the food.

Yeah, I mean, he Is that a possibility?

It could.

He was dressed in chef attire.

It was very friendly.

I mean Interesting.

okay.

It came within 30 minutes of ordering it online.

[Michelle] So how was it?

It was great.

It's probably five minutes from my house, so I wasn't concerned with it being cold or not fresh.

It was hot still.

And we got everything from the 222, which is the pancakes, eggs, and bacon, to the potato pancakes like you got.

How about you, Aaron?

What'd you feel about the ambiance and everything?

I've known about Tower Deli for years.

We've been going there for a long time.

My son used to go there before... My son loved to go there before school.

This time, I went with my father-in-law.

We went for lunch.

We did go traditional.

I had a tuna melt.

I wanted to try the tuna melt because I make tuna melts at home for my daughter and I wanted to see how, you know, a deli did the tuna melt, and they put grilled onions on top and they used rye bread, which was really good.

So you're gonna up your tuna melt.

I'm going to up my tuna melt.

I think I am.

I might give that a try.

[Michelle] I like that.

I had the tomato bisque soup was the soup of the day.

It was really good.

It was very hearty, very peppery, very strong, very good soup.

Dessert, anyone?

Yes, of course.

We had the rugalach.

They brought a plate of them out, all assorted.

Rugalach are like crescent rolls.

It's like a It's a cookie.

[Cindy] But it's more than a cookie because it's [Michelle] Well, it's softer.

[Cindy] So chockfull in the moist center with like either nuts or cream cheese.

[Michelle] If it's well done.

They make them homemade there and they had like a nice crisp bake on the outside.

They're just delicious.

Yeah, rugalach are really good.

[Cindy] Yeah, really good.

That and a good black and white cookie and you're all set.

I had a black and white cookie.

[Michelle] Did you have a black and white?

And got one to go.

That's great.

Was it yummy?

[Aaron] It was soft, frosting was good.

[Brenna] My aunt was able to get a diet black cherry cola and she was so happy about that.

Tower Deli was your choice.

Please sum it up for us.

Yes, okay, so Tower Deli is an authentic New York deli with an extensive menu and lots of specials on the weekend.

And the food is beautifully presented by a super friendly staff.

Lovely.

Aaron?

Fresh, hot, local, attentive.

Okay.

Brenna?

Tower Deli had fresh food and I will definitely be back.

I'm glad I was able to experience it again.

For a homey and authentic meal, make your way to Tower Deli, located at 2315 South University Drive in Davie.

Open daily for breakfast and lunch.

Reservations are accepted and the average price for lunch without drinks is about $30.

We've had such a wonderful time.

I wanna thank my guests, Brenna McAteer, Aaron Dever, and Cindy Faerber.

For more about the restaurants and recipes featured in the show, or if you'd like to apply to be a guest reviewer, visit us at CheckPleaseFL.com.

And as always, find us on Facebook and Instagram.

Please join us next time for three new guests recommending three of their favorite restaurants, right here on "Check Please South Florida."

I'm Michelle Bernstein and I will see you then.

Cheers, everybody.

Cultural, culinary secrets and global flavors.

We have a passion for blending ingredients and seasonings from around the world.