The Rapoport Restaurant Group: Deck 84, Followed by Burt & Max's

When I visited Florida several weeks ago with my boyfriend, and now fiancé, we wanted to check out two of the restaurants that were part of the Rapoport group. We had met Burt when he came to the James Beard House this previous May to introduce a "Fresh From Florida" theme. We loved our experience at the James Beard House and loved the menu and food that his chefs served that evening. We promised Burt we would visit his restaurants next time we visited Boca, and that he would "take care of us" if we mentioned his name and how we knew him when we made the reservation. 

We were really excited about visiting his restaurants and experiencing his fine cuisine again, but were also very excited to get special treatment. When we made our reservation at both restaurants we made sure to mention where and when we had met him, and also mentioned this when we checked in with the hostess. Neither the hostess, nor waitress at either restaurant showed any care of what we said and kind of just shrugged it off. It was a little disappointing to be promised something and not receive it. 

We went to Deck 84 first, and really enjoyed our experience with the outdoor seating along the Intercoastal and fresh Florida themed menu. There was a lot of seafood and fresh fish on the menu. We went to Burt & Max's a few nights later and loved the even more unique menu that it had with short ribs, and other glutinous items that are usually part of a bar themed menu. When we were paying our bill at Burt & Max's, we were offered to join the rewards club for the Rapoport group for guests who come often and can eventually get enough points for free entrees or appetizers, etc. We were kind of disappointed that we were not even offered this rewards card at Deck 84 a few nights previous, since we could have had over 100 points from that meal alone added to our card. When I mentioned this to the waitress, she gave me the business card of the corporate office to get our bill from Deck 84 added to our account. I emailed the address on the card, and still haven't heard back three months later! 

We did however enjoy our meals and will definitely return! We just won't expect special treatment in the future! My parents go to Burt & Max's regularly since they live nearby and I would have loved to give them all our points from our two visits, but oh well.... 

Now onto the important stuff, the food! 

Deck 84

840 E. Atlantic Avenue
Delray Beach, FL

We learned while sitting at our table that the restaurant offers BYOB. We watched as another table brought their own bottles of wine and they were uncorked. Good to know for next time! :) 

Another plus to our experience was our waitress Alexis, who was very thoughtful and acknowledged that we ordered 2 appetizers, a flat bread, and 1 main dish and didn't want us to be overwhelmed with dishes and food all at once. She told us she was going to put in the flatbread and main dish ten minutes after our appetizers so that our food would be spaced out. Thank god she did! Although, I wish she had told us we over ordered, because our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs that night and we had tons of leftovers! 

Our Very Yummy drunks - Passion Fruit Mojito & Deck and Stormy

Passion Fruit Mojito-

Don Q Passion Fruit Rum, Passion Fruit Puree, Lime, Mint

Deck and Stormy - 
Goslings Dark Rum, ginger beer, lime

Chef's Daily Ceviche 

Coconut-citrus marinade, mango, avocado, bermuda onion, red pepper, crispy yucca. 

We didn't love the consistency of this ceviche. It was more of a guacamole consistency because it had WAY TOO MUCH avocado in it! There was also a lot of fish in it, which at least made up for the overload in avocado. Ben and I both wished it was a little more citrusy like ceviche is supposed to be. Ultimately, we enjoyed the dish. 

Conch & Shrimp Fritters 

Served with tequila-lime cocktail sauce, chipotle remoulade. 

The conch & shrimp fritters had corn kernels inside which was a very nice surprise and added to the texture and crunch of each bite. A very nice touch! One negative about this dish was that it was too similar to a crab cake consistency. We would have preferred if they were a little more crunchy like fritters should be. All in all we enjoyed these thoroughly!

Roasted Vegetable Flatbread

Roasted vegetables, san marzano tomatoes, goat cheese & herb cream. 

We definitely enjoyed this flatbread! It was overloaded with vegetables in a very good way. This is one of those meals I could eat every day. It was just as good as leftovers too :) 

Key Lime Mahi Mahi 

Caramelized pineapple rice, sautéed spinach, citrus butter, crispy plantains. 

This fish was cooked perfectly. It was flavored and seasoned to perfection and even though we were both so full, we finished every bite! The rice was sweet with pineapple flavoring and definitely a great accompaniment to the amazing Mahi Mahi to make this dish truly tropical.

Seasonal S'mores 

This dessert was definitely rich and overwhelming. Based on the original description of it, I had hoped for more of a traditional S'more. The peanut butter toffee in the middle of the plate was definitely too hard to eat, which was disappointing because I ordered the dish because it was peanut butter and also S'mores in one dessert!  Dipping the graham crackers into the pot of melted S'more mix was pretty tasty, very messy, but definitely delicious! 

Burt & Max's

9089 West Atlantic Avenue

Delray Beach, FL 33446

Burt & Max's definitely had more of a casual feeling that was good for families, groups, and just overall comfortable. They have a woodfired oven which was pretty nice addition to the menu since many of the items could be made in the oven. 

We were seated right near the oven and the kitchen which normally I wouldn't enjoy, but I loved the view of all the food coming out and being able to see the inner workings of everything going on. 

The Cure & The Delray Derby 

The Cure-

Absolut Berri Acai, Pomegranate Juice, Blueberries, Simple Syrup, Fresh Lemon 

Delray Derby-

Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Peach Preserve, Campari, Ice Tea, Thyme, Fresh Lime 

Heirloom Tomato & Local Burrata 

Balsamic glaze, Hawaiian sea salt, chiffonade basil, California olive oil. 

This dish had the taste of summer in it! It was so refreshing. The texture of the burrata was perfect because it broke apart and released all the cream as soon as you cut into it. The balsamic glaze added exceptional flavor to the extremely fresh tomatoes. The tomatoes tasted as though they were hand picked off a tomato plant a second before they were served. Definitely a winning dish! 

Onion Soup Dumplings

If only words could describe this dish. I love soup dumplings normally, but have never had fried ones, and especially onion ones! We were instructed by the waitress to make sure to put the whole dumpling in our mouth all at once, or otherwise we would end up losing all the soup. Glad we listened! The melted cheese and surrounding onion soup broth really soaked into each dumpling and gave it that extra added flavor. This dish was definitely a unique and different take on French onion soup because it turned French onion soup into individual bite size dumplings with all the same flavor as a whole French onion soup. This is definitely winner of all soup dumplings! 

Short Rib Empanada- 

Manchebo cheese, salsa picante, ahi crema 

These were very tasty and enjoyable, but not as unique and interesting as the other items we ordered. It is pretty rare to feel that empanadas are the less exciting item on the table, but all the other appetizers were just that good. They definitely had a good helping of short rib, and were definitely savory. 

Corn Bread :) 

Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs

Whipped potatoes, bacon brussel sprouts, pearl onions, and wood roasted mushrooms, in a red wine mushroom jus. 

We had the red wine mushroom jus on the side because Ben is allergic to mushrooms. Posted below. 

With or without the red wine mushroom jus, this dish was exceptional. The meat was extremely tender and shredded easily with a fork. The vegetables and the mashed potatoes were deliciously flavored. 

The Red Wine Mushroom Jus for the Beef Short Ribs 

I loved the mushrooms in this sauce! I was happy that they were not pureed into a sauce, but actually were whole mushrooms to bite into. I am deprived of mushrooms since Ben can't eat them and we share all of our meals out. When I get to have mushrooms it is definitely a special occasion :) These ones were definitely great mushrooms!

Mahi Tacos 'A La Plancha

Salsa verde, aji crema, shredded cabbage, pickled onion, jalapeno and carrots, fire roasted salsa. 

These tacos were spicy and refreshing at the same time. The jalapeños, and pickled onion mix clashed in a good way because the spicy was mixed with a pickled flavor. The only negative to this dish was that we were dining as a group of 4 people, and they only brought 3 tacos to the table. The waitress should have warned us of this, and asked if we wanted to order one extra taco so we all could have one. After it arrived at the table we asked the waitress to put one more taco in so we all could enjoy. We were then left waiting for it to arrive at the table so we could all each the tacos together. 

Overall, the two restaurants that I dined at from the Rapoport Group were exceptional with menu choices, food, and service. Even though Burt & Max's isn't situated along a beautiful waterway like Deck 84 is, I much prefer it. Every item on the menu at Burt & Max's was mouth watering and made my eyes larger than my stomach. I can't wait till I go back to Boca to visit my parents so I can visit this restaurant again.