Jan Norris: Food and Florida

A new upscale Mexican restaurant from Dallas, Uncle Julio’s, opens in Boca’s Mizner Park next week. The restaurant started in Dallas in 1986; this is their14th restaurant but first in Florida.

The menu is a mix of traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex- enchiladas, tacos, flautas and platters, but also starters and entrees like ceviche, grilled frog legs and marinated mesquite grilled quail or a mesquite grilled salmon (on their heart-healthy choices).

The prospect of a lemon-orange flan or crispy churros for dessert may bring in the sweet-tooth diner.

Choose your tequila from 15 types, and mix and match flavors for a “custom” Margarita, or go with their signature “swirl” — a frozen margarita swirled together with housemade sangria in a tall mug. They do a hand-made sangria on the rocks as well.

There’s a children’s menu available, too as well as a weekend egg brunch.

Seating available in the hacienda-styled restaurant with bar, or on the patio.

I’ll be going to a preview lunch here, so check back over the weekend and see what I think.

Uncle Julio’s

• 449 Plaza Real (Mizner Park), Boca Raton
• Phone: 561-300-3530; www.unclejulios.com
• Hours: Sunday-Thursday,11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Weekend brunch served Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Opening to public Tuesday, March 31.

CityPlace Adds Thai Jo

Joe Clark and partners have opened Thai Jo in CityPlace — it’s a mix of both Thai dishes (pad Thai) and the sushi for which he’s well known. You can read much more about it in a previous post here.