Jan Norris: Food and Florida

Early next month, a new entry in the American mid-scale casual grill opens in Boca — the Copper Canyon Grill is a chain from the Blue Ridge Restaurant Group. It’s their second in Florida – the other is in Orlando. They’re going into the old Rascal House location on Glades Road.

They started in Oklahoma City as Redrock Canyon Grill, then expanded into the Mid-Atlantic region. This year, they renamed the regional group Copper Canyon Grill.

Copper Canyon Grill

Dark woods, brick and stone – the new formula favored by places like J. Alexander’s, Houston’s, and Seasons 52 (all neighbors in Boca) – signal a comfortable, casual atmosphere. A full bar is set to the side and  an open kitchen for watching chefs at work add to the “eater-tainment” value.

It has a fireplace, too – cozy, we suppose, though a tough sell in the summertime in SoFla.

The menu is focused on the wood-burning oven, where chickens are roasted on a rotisserie, and steaks and ribs are cooked over a wood-fired grill.

American food of all stripes

Sushi is now considered American, so it seems – it’s on the “bold, all American” menu, along with barbecued ribs, chicken pot pie, seared tuna, beef tenderloin tips, meatloaf, salads, and the Delmarva crab dip – to name a few.

Learn something: If you know that the area where Delaware, Maryland and Virginia converge around a bay has a number of regional dishes named for it, you’ll get the “Delmarva” connection to the crab – it’s a smash-up of the three states’ names.

Desserts are big on the menu – among others: chocolate uprising, pineapple upside-down cake, and another “signature Key lime pie.”

Prices are said to be family friendly; their web site wouldn’t take us to the menu to verify that, however.

Copper Canyon Grill

• 2006 N.W. Executive Centre Circle, Boca Raton
• No phone yet; web site: www.ccgrill.com
• Open daily for lunch and dinner beginning Sept. 7, 2009

Fire at Sprinkles Ice Cream, Palm Beach

A favorite Palm Beach ice cream and lunch spot has succumbed to a fire. Sprinkles Ice Cream in Palm Beach had significant damage to the interior Friday, purportedly caused by an electrical foul-up in the back room. It happened early afternoon, and there were patrons inside — luckily they, along with the staff, got out with no injuries.

A private party for a “Make-a-Wish” recipient was planned that day; though the firefighters offered to save the party by moving it to their fire station, the party-goers decided it was best to postpone it till the eatery reopens in fall.

We’ll keep you posted on its progress and hope to see it back in action soon. (We love their sandwiches!)