5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Lauderdale Yacht Club; $150, $225/VIP; jackandjillcenter.org

6:30 p.m.; Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six; $250; pawsbroward.com

Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.; Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center; Tickets from $35; lynn.edu/events

5:30 p.m.; Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six Pier Top; $55; sota.org

6 p.m.; JA World Huizenga Center at Broward College; $250; jasouthflorida.org

noon; Fort Lauderdale Country Club; $275; birchstatepark.org

6 p.m.; Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club; Tickets from $150; bocahelpinghands.org/monopoly

7:30 a.m.; Huizenga Plaza; $35; walklikemadd.org/fortlauderdale

4 p.m.; Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall; free; lynn.edu/events

Paul Labrecque utters, “You are about to receive the most delicious hair treatment,” in his new Paul Labrecque Salon and Spa, located at The Royal Poinciana Plaza. What he’s prefacing is the eucalyptus and lemongrass conditioning treatment—a luxury hair reviver so amazing it will turn any dry, brittle hair into soft, silky strands. 

The new Palm Beach boutique location marks Labrecque’s second salon and spa opening outside of New York, following a salon in Philadelphia. 

While he was born in Massachusetts, Labrecque says his opening in South Florida is a homecoming. Having gone to school to become a teacher in Miami, he later decided to switch career paths to follow his passion for styling and opened his first salon with his personal and professional partner, Brian Cantor, in 1988. “When I was a boy, 20 years old, working here in the school systems, I always dreamed of living in Palm Beach,” he says. “I would drive up from Miami and say, ‘Palm Beach is the prettiest place I have ever seen.’” Fast forward some decades later and for a special occasion (Keith Frankel’s 50th birthday party) at The Breakers, he says it was as if time stood still. “It was just as beautiful as it was 30 years ago, and I said to my husband, ‘This is it. We’re going to buy an apartment. This is where I want to grow old,’” he says.

The stylist who believes in a “simple, sexy approach” to hair plans to split his time between New York and Florida. To kick start local influence, he offered us advice on how to treat the most common South Florida hair complaints. 

Frizz

“Fizziness is frizziness. If you leave here with a beautiful blow dry and you used all the right products, but it’s 100 percent humidity outside, my suggestion is always to allow your hair to be a little bit more wavy when you style it,” Labrecque says. Instead of trying to master a polka straight look, choose a more natural style so that when humidity hits, the disheveled look isn’t as harsh. “You can’t fight mother nature—short of Keratin,” he says. “Keratin does work. Works great. Brazilian blow-dries, Keratins, amino acid treatments—they all take out 50 percent of the curl and all of the frizz, and they last two to three months.” 

Dry Hair/Scalp

Labrecque recommends a deep conditioning, like his eucalyptus lemongrass treatment, to help heal dry hair and scalps. A therapeutic eucalyptus menthol mask is put on the scalp first, followed by lemongrass oil that’s applied from the roots to the ends of hair. “Very few products do that to you where you feel cold and warm at the same time,” he says about the two ingredients working together. “That helps regulate your sebaceous glands, stops the flakes and gets the oil to run more efficiently.” 

Color Fading

“The most amazing thing is called color oxidation. It’s when color changes from the time we leave the salon to a month later our color looks totally different,” Labrecque says. “We didn’t leave the salon with that brassy look, right?” He suggests using products with sunscreen to help protect against the sun’s rays. (He and Cantor created a hair care line of products with built-in SPF that is available at his salon.) And another piece of advice: “Always finish with a cold rinse. When you finish with a cold rinse after you shampoo and condition, you’re locking the cuticle down, you’re making it much more difficult for color to slip out.” 

Paul Labrecque Salon & Spa, 340 Royal Poinciana Plaza, Palm Beach; 561.402.8207; paullabrecque.com

The trip begins with a cucumber jalapeño margarita. Why not? Especially when it’s made with freshly hand-pressed juices and spiced, chili rum.   

Nestled between the dense Riviera Maya jungle and Playa del Carmen’s longest stretch of beach is Mexico’s Mahekal Beach Resort. Built more than 50 years ago by a local family, this gem is basking in the glow of a three-year, $16 million re-imagination. But while the Playa del Carmen resort celebrates what’s new, it continues to be deeply rooted in the tradition, providing an incredibly authentic experience.  

The tropical resort was built with accommodations including palapa-style casitas, treehouse bungalows, plunge pools and moon showers. Rather than a high-rise, think thatched roofs and garden pathways.

After settling in and exploring the tranquil property, I was amazed to find that just around the corner are the bustling Fifth Avenue shops and restaurants.  

Mahekal is a perfect spot for personal retreats and ideal for destination weddings. Beyond the beautiful beach there’s much to choose from. Head to the Revive Spa and indulge in its signature massage Angel Veil with Crystal Quartz, or take a bicycle ride into town with the Pedal Playa program. Try the Mayan cooking class held in an authentic culinary casita within the lush gardens.  While sipping xtabentun, a tasty Mexican liqueur, participate in a private ancient Mayan ritual and watch chefs prepare Fish Tikin-Xik, steamed to perfection inside a heated pit oven. Follow the festivities with a nap in your casita hammock.

My favorite experience of all started at Vida Aquatica, an on-property dive shop. We geared up for a snorkeling expedition and set out to a wild bush scrub area. After a short walk down a hidden pathway we came upon a cenote (pronounced cey-NO-tay), a secret underwater pool filled with stunning turquoise-colored fresh water so clear you could see tiny fish frolicking all the way to the bottom. Swimming in these magical caves gives you an “otherworldly” feeling, as though you’re lost in another time. Nearly 7,000 cenotes exist in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, which are part of a massive underground network of rivers and caves to explore. 

Special Packages: 

Moon Over Mahekal– Watch the moon, stars or meteor showers in your private ocean view palapa, private terrace and hammock, including a Startini cocktail; couples massage at Revive Spa in the VIP couples cabin; dreamy alfresco dinner on the beach; and Once in a Blue Moon snorkel trip.

Amor Aficionado – a getaway engagement-cation, including Marry-Me Margarita “on the rocks” garnished with a glittering diamond; “toes in the sand” dinner on the beach with a private musician and white-gloved waiters and a photographer, or an epicurean engagement with a traditional Mayan blessing and private lunch at the Mayan Culinary Casita.

Mahekal Beach Resort, 77710 Playa del Carmen, Mexico; mahekalbeachresort.com

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is wine, and it was flowing in grand style at Boca Center’s Total Wine and More when reality star and vino maven Lisa Vanderpump hosted a Vanderpump Rosé tasting and bottle signing. I had the pleasure of spending some time with her, her husband, Ken, and their precious pup, Giggy! Boca Center was abuzz with excitement as boutiques and storefronts transformed into “Windows from Around the World” with each participating retailer featuring a unique theme of international flavors and fashion to showcase their newly transformed boutiques.

We all have to eat—some of us just enjoy it more than others. I happen to have an abundance of favorite spots to meet up with friends throughout Boca and Delray for my coveted culinary indulgences. Check out the newest food trends around town and see what gets your mouth watering.

With my hectic schedule, I usually dine out for almost every meal. From a casual bagel and coffee, to a sizzling steak with all the sumptuous sides, I know where to go to satisfy my every craving. It is especially nice when I occasionally retreat to my fridge at home and find the perfect ingredients to make a home-cooked meal. Take a look at 10 South Florida chefs who invited us into their own kitchens to talk about how they cook for themselves, the must-have ingredient in their fridges and more. Now, if only they made house calls...

In almost every fridge you will likely find a carton or two of orange juice, most of it produced right here in the Sunshine State. In the face of land loss to development, a citrus greening disease, damage from hurricanes and the rise of Brazil as a citrus giant, can our state’s $10 billion citrus industry survive? We look at the future of the industry.

Wishing you foodies all things delicious, and the best of the Boca Life.

Enjoy your April, no fooling!

Michael Schwartz is the type of chef who enjoys sharing his food. I mean that literally—he split his own dinner with me.

During the opening of the James Beard Award-winning Miami chef’s Fi’lia restaurant at SLS Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas, when a colleague brought him a plate of food, he insisted a second fork be brought for me as we settled into the end of a couch. Schwartz balanced the plate in one hand while we picked at zucchini and prime rib coated in a parsley sauce, chatting about his first restaurant to open in this Caribbean country.

Schwartz’s flight to the Bahamas was delayed from South Florida, and he unfortunately turned up an hour after the ribbon cutting. He also showed up hungry, which was not unfortunate. Carving stations, meatball dishes, passed hors d’oeuvres, and even the Fi’lia brand’s famous tableside Caesar salad, were all being prepared for guests.

“Fi’lia checks a box the other restaurants don’t,” says Schwartz of his Italian restaurant concept, which complements a roster turning the Baha Mar mega-resort into a foodie destination.

If you think you’ve dined at Fi’lia before, you likely have. It’s part of the sbe brand and opened its first location inside SLS Brickell two years ago. While the chef and restaurateur is best known for Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami’s Design District, and his latest launch of Amara at Paraiso, Fi’lia pays homage to the beginning of Schwartz’s career—bussing tables at an Italian eatery in Philadelphia. It’s also a tribute to his family, as “fi’lia” loosely translates to “daughter,” and Schwartz is the father of two.

His restaurant at Baha Mar joins other sbe brands familiar to South Floridians, like the Japanese restaurant Katsuya and Mediterranean restaurant Cleo.

“The Bahamas is one of the most beautiful beach destinations on earth, and we’re excited to make it one of the best dining destinations,” Sebastien Silvestri, senior vice president of food and beverage at sbe, said in a statement after the Fi’lia launch.

New to Nassau

The Baha Mar is a $4.2 billion beachfront resort comprised of three hotels—the Grand Hyatt, SLS and Rosewood—all connected to the Caribbean’s largest casino.

The property had a bit of a rocky start with its initial opening planned for 2014. However, a bout of lawsuits, bankruptcy and a change in ownership delayed its launch.

Now, much of the mega-resort is open—the Grand Hyatt (launched last spring) and SLS (opened during fall)—with the Rosewood planned to celebrate its debut during the coming months.

Amenities that are up-and-running include the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course; Baha Mar Racquet Club; 100,000-foot casino; convention center; and BOND nightclub. When all is said and done, there will be more than 30 luxury retail outlets, 2,300 rooms and 30-plus restaurants and lounges. That’s not to mention the family- and adult-only pools, and the 2-mile span of white sandy beach, lapped by clear, blue ocean water, tucked behind the resort.

Tour for the Taste Buds

The day should start with coffee and a freshly baked pastry from Café Madeleine, meant to mimic a Parisian eatery with wicker bistro chairs and ceramic tiled tables. “We call it the luxury of choice,” says Baha Mar PR manager Vanessa Christie of the around-the-world dining options spread along the perimeter of the casino, including a Pan-Latin eatery called Drift and a buffet experience with an array of global fair at Regatta Food Hall.

A standout in the Baha Mar repertoire is Shuang Ba, a luxury Chinese restaurant adorned with hand-woven silk tapestries and multi-ton dragon marble pillars. Try the “cherry” foie gras or the signature barbecue Peking duck, served with steamed spinach pancakes, scallion, cucumber and a secret sauce.

And for a taste of local cuisine, the Conch Shack by the pier preps a citrusy conch salad to be washed down with a Bahamian Kalik beer. Or, at the Out Island Bar, which stands in place of the 1950s Nassau Beach Resort, order a Bahama Mama—the cocktail was allegedly first concocted at the site.

Food & Wine magazine recently posed: “Is Nassau the next culinary capital of the Caribbean?” With the arrival of celebrity chef brands to an extensive assortments of ethnic eats, we venture a “yes.”

IF YOU GO

Stay at the SLS Baha Mar, the resort’s chic, mature property with nearly 300 guest rooms set in a pastel-pink building. Each room uses white-on-white decor with light blue accents and comes accessorized with tablets to simplify the making of dinner and cabana reservations. At ground level, visit the lobby’s Monkey Bar to order cocktails like the Lotus Flower, which mixes Grey Goose, blackberries, St. Germain elderflower and fresh lemon. Or step outside to access the SLS’s two designated pools, the Bungalow Pool and Privilege Pool; slshotels.com/bahamar.

Dine at Fi’lia, James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz’s second location for the restaurant brand created for sbe. The meal starts off how any Italian dinner should—with a basket of bread to dip in olive oil and oregano cut right from the stem (the waiter will snip a piece off the plant at the center of the table). Interaction doesn’t end there, as guests who request the Caesar salad get to see it prepped tableside with Parmigiano and toasted garlic croutons. For the main course, it may feel banal to order Sam’s Chicken Parm, but do it anyways. And remember, the gym at the Grand Hyatt is open to anyone staying at the resort, so don’t feel bad about licking the plate; sbe.com/restaurants/locations/filia-at-baha-mar.

Play at Bahamas Jet Boat, a touristy water experience. While the resort offers complimentary kayaking, paddleboarding and sailboating, you may just want to instead board this speedboat and be told to throw your arms up roller-coaster style while crashing into your neighbor. If you’ve ever done doughnuts during a blizzard in a parking lot up north, this is a similar thrill—but on the ocean. It’s also a great way to see neighboring resorts; bahamasjetboat.com.

Easter is a beautiful time of year when we look forward to getting the family together, eating lots of chocolate and chasing the kids through egg hunts. We found nine Easter celebrations happening in the area that are perfect for everyone.

From buffet brunch deals to competitive egg hunts, here are a few Easter events being celebrated in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. 

Brunch at The Addison

Looking for an elegant setting to celebrate Easter brunch? Check out The Addison. It's serving a crafted buffet-style menu for $89.95 per person. It includes a garden green salad station, a raw bar and a breakfast station that serves made-to-order omelets, roasted leg of lamb, crab cakes and plenty more delicious options. The best part? It includes unlimited mimosas and Bellinis. The Addison will also provide live music and kids activities. Reservations start at 10 a.m. on April 1.

2 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton; 561.372.0568; theaddisonofbocaraton.com

Easter Bunny Festival at Delray Marketplace

Delray Marketplace is hosting two hours of Easter festivities on March 24. Wake up early and take the family to the shopping center for a morning filled with games, face painting, bounce houses and an Easter egg hunt. The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to noon.

14851 Lyons Road, Delray Beach; delraymarket.com

Brunch at Tanzy

Make reservations at Tanzy Restaurant for a decadent brunch on April 1. It will have a massive buffet, an unlimited bloody mary bar, an Easter egg hunt and a hipster bunny photo opportunity priced at $48 for non-members, $42 for members and $12 per person under the age of 12. 

301 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 561.922.6699; tanzyrestaurant.com

iPic Theaters

Heading to the movies this Easter? Consider iPic Theaters as the place to take the family. Every movie ticket holder is entered for a chance to win the ultimate iPic Easter basket. The basket contains goodies such as a $50 iPic gift card, a $50 Tuck Hospitality Group gift card and sweet treats. 

301 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 561.299.3000; ipictheaters.com

Easter Sunday Brunch Cruise

Do something different this Easter and book a spot on a brunch cruise. Step on board the Lady Atlantic and Lady Delray, which will take you through the canals of Delray Beach, Highland Beach and Boca Raton. The cruises will be serving a tremendous Easter Sunday brunch buffet with foods like honey-carved ham, cheese tortellini with pesto sauce and cinnamon French toast for $60 per person. The cruise hits the open water from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on April 1.

801 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; 561.243.0686; delrayyachtcruises.com

Kids Easter Celebration

Grace Community Church is throwing an Easter celebration on March 31. The free event will have a petting zoo, egg hunt, arts and crafts and a photo booth with the Easter Bunny before he hops away. 

600 West Camino Real, Boca Raton; 561.395.281; graceboca.org

Pellegrino Dining Easter Brunch

Enjoy Easter brunch with Pellegrino Dining Concepts. Both restaurants—Prime Tuscany Steakhouse in Delray Beach and Baciami in Boynton Beach—are hosting brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 1. Baciami is serving brunch for $39.95 per person, which includes food options such as carved baked ham, prime rib carving station, tortellini with pink sauce and mahi-mahi with lemon beurre blanc. Prime is serving a special a la carte menu where you can select one of seven entrees that come with juice, coffee or tea and a bakery basket for $29.95 per person. 

Prime Tuscany Steakhouse, 29 SE Second Ave., Delray Beach; 561.865.5845; primedelray.com

Baciami, 1415 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach; 561.810.5662; baciamiitaliano.com

Easter Bunny Photos at Town Center 

Snag a pic with the Easter Bunny at Town Center at Boca Raton before he hops away. He’ll be hanging out in his garden at Nordstrom Court until March 31. Go online to book your family’s reservation with the Easter Bunny so that you don’t have to wait in line. He’s a pretty popular bunny.

6000 Glades Road, Boca Raton; 561.368.6001; simon.com/mall/town-center-at-boca-raton

Sardinia Enoteca Easter Brunch or Dinner

Make your way to Sardinia Enoteca Ristorante for a taste of Italy this Easter. It will be serving a feast of a menu for brunch and dinner on April 1. From 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sardinia is serving brunch with a menu that includes zucchini tart, spaghetti carbonara and custom-made omelets. Brunchers can also enjoy Prosecco mimosas and bloody marys for $6 a glass. Dinner is served as an a la carte menu from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and includes a mozzarella bar, seafood paella and roasted leg of lamb.

3035 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach; 561.332.3406; sardinia-ristorante.com 

Want to be in the know about all the best events, restaurant openings and more in Boca Raton and Delray Beach? Sign up for our Boca Agenda, a biweekly newsletter that lists things to do in the area. Want a print subscription? Click here.

A Night with Stars

Experience the best talent U.S. figure skating has to offer at Stars on Ice on April 8 at the BB&T Center. With performances by U.S. national champion Nathan Chen, world championships  silver medalist  Ashley Wagner, three-time world championships medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani and more, Stars on Ice will be a night to remember. (Tickets from $25; starsonice.com)

Tortuga’s Back

Returning to Fort Lauderdale beach April 6 to 8, Rock the Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival will feature some of country music’s hottest artists, including Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban and Eric Church. The three-day, multi-stage concert supports Rock the Ocean Foundation, which raises public awareness about ocean preservation efforts. (Ticket prices vary; tortugamusicfestival.com)

Delray Affair

Celebrating its 56th year, the Delray Affair brings together artists and crafters from across the nation and around the world at one of the largest arts and crafts festivals in the Southeast United States. The event will be taking place from April 13 to 15 in downtown Delray Beach, and guests will have the opportunity to stroll through 12 blocks of fine art and funky products. (free, delrayaffair.com)

Connect, Reflect and Learn

The Yoga Expo returns to the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center on April 14. This year’s event will feature more than 40 teachers, from local studios and around the world, in eight different styles. Guests will have access to classes, a marketplace, live music, and aerial and acro yoga shows, in addition to a local, sustainable food court. (Ticket prices vary; theyogaexpo.org)

Wicked Book Weekend

Those who love romance novels can attend Wicked Book Weekend hosted by Coral Springs blogger Ana Ivies at Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale Beach from April 20 to 23. The event will include book signings by more than 50 writers, including best-selling authors Lisa Renee Jones, A.L. Jackson and more, as well as dinner at Lips and a sunset water taxi bar crawl. (Ticket prices vary; wickedbookevents.com)

On the Road to Hamilton

Listen to and trace the course of Broadway’s musical history that has led to today’s era of “Hamilton” at “On the Road to Hamilton: From Gilbert & Sullivan to Rap” during select dates from April 2 to 12. Guests will hear some of the greatest pieces from Broadway performed by singers and an orchestra at the Delray Beach Playhouse. ($35, delraybeachplayhouse.com)

Young Talent

Enjoy classical music and celebrate young talent as the Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County performs at Mizner Park Amphitheater on April 29. The Youth Orchestra’s mission is to provide young musicians with music education while developing an appreciation for classical music in the community. (free; myboca.us/calendar.aspx)

When it comes to fashion, Paris is a destination that first comes to mind—and for good reason. Its reputation as a thriving industry hub dates back centuries and is where many look to for the latest in trends. For anyone in South Florida who loves Parisian fashion, the boutique Pascaline Paris delivers on providing French picks for locals.

Owner Pascaline Elsair first opened her store on Rue des Martyrs in Paris in 1996. In 2011, she uprooted her life and moved to San Francisco, where she spent several years styling West Coasters.

This past fall, she made the move to Fort Lauderdale where she opened the doors to Pascaline Paris at the Gateway Shopping Center in Fort Lauderdale as a pop-up boutique for shoppers to view her curated selection of high-end, “must-have” Parisian pieces.

Being on the East Coast has its perks, of course. “I’m [now] closer to New York and Europe,” she says. “For someone working in fashion it’s the two places you want to be.”

The Collection

Pascaline Paris is home to a blend of hippie, rock and chic styles for men and women, balanced with timeless pieces. Past collections Elsair designed include clothing with natural fabrics of silk and cotton. Her collection is a go-to for anyone freshening up their wardrobes while also taking on a Parisian sense of style.

“Whatever I pick from Paris is what I think will become successful because of the style, because of the quality, because it’s unique,” Elsair says. “I am a good buyer. I’ve done that for over 30 years in France. When I pick a brand, it’s for a reason.”

In terms of brands, there are several exclusive lines Elsair is excited to share with her South Florida clientele. First are Bosabo sandals that feature a latex sole for flexibility. “It’s the most comfortable type of shoes you will ever wear,” she explains. “I think everybody needs this shoe. Whether you are fashionable, not fashionable, old, young, you need a nice pair of comfortable and feminine sandals, and this line in Paris—I don’t know any fashion victim that doesn’t have at least two or three pairs.”

Additional lines include Atelier Voisin Paris, Denim Studio, Pain de Sucre swimwear and Serge Pariente for top-notch leather jackets. Plus, shop accessories, including Schade jewelry, handbags and more.

At press time, the Victoria Park resident planned to keep her pop-up shop open through April with plans to focus on her online store and future pop-ups in South Florida.

Pascaline Paris, 1932 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale / 415.954.2743 / pascalineparis.com

Spring trends to try:

Right: MILLY Accordion Pleat Maxi Skirt, $595; Plaid Floral Silk-Blend Bustier, $250; Available at Saks Fifth Avenue at The Gardens Mall; PROVIDENT Emerald and Enamel Dogwood Flower Earrings in 18-karat Yellow Gold, $1,500; Oval Link Necklace in 14-karat Yellow Gold, $3,885; Orange Sapphire and Diamond Bee Necklace in 14-karat Yellow Gold, $595; Available at Provident Jewelry in West Palm Beach

Right: ZIMMERMANN Kali Ruffle Silk Romper, $695; CULT GAIA Small Gaia Ark Bag, $298; Available at Saks Fifth Avenue at The Gardens Mall; PROVIDENT Citrine Earrings with Topaz Drops Accented with Diamonds in 18-karat Yellow Gold, $4,495; Citrine Link Bracelet in 14-karat Yellow Gold, $5,500;Available at Provident Jewelry in West Palm Beach

PhotographyByIan Jacob

Production ByAlyssa Morlacci & Melissa Puppo

Styling ByJulie Manganelli

Hair And Makeup ByValunthinee Phoung

Modeling By Chelcie May And Abigail Zientek Of Elite Miami

Jewelry ByProvident Jewelry

Fashion Provided ByThe Gardens Mall

Food Provided ByThe Regional Kitchen & Public House

Picnic Staging ByPicnic Fashion

Shot On Location At Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens

The term “gastropub” was coined in the late ’90s when the words “gastronomy” and “pub” were combined. Put simply, gastropubs are not your typical pubs. Rather, they are casual bars and eateries, but with quality, highly regarded foods and pours.

Seeing is believing at Batch Gastropub in Delray Beach, where an enjoyable gastropub experience awaits in an industrial, old-fashioned setting.

Owner Kevin Danilo opened the first Batch Gastropub in downtown Miami in 2012. “Our name comes from our ‘batching’ process for infusions, barrel-aged cocktails, house-made sodas and carbonated tap-cocktails,” he says. He expanded to Delray Marketplace during the summer.

What's on the menu

Casual dining is kicked up a notch at Batch where culinary creativity takes precedence. “The cool thing about being modern and serving ‘American’ cuisine is that there are literally zero rules,” Danilo says. Each plate is different from the next. “We can have a table that has a dish with classic Latin influences, next to a dish that’s contemporary Asian, next to a monster burger with our propriety beef blend,” he says. “Who else can serve food like that and not get criticized for a confused concept?”

Plates are as imaginative as they come. The Korean Short Rib Flatbread is topped with house-smoked cheddar, Gochujan barbecue sauce, scallion, peanut and sesame, while the Huntsman Burger features an elk patty, wild mushrooms and arugula with Gruyere cheese.

Classic favorites are taken to the next level, including the Mac Attack gnocchi with Gruyere cheese and “Dorito Dust,” but you can also add in toppings like rosemary fries, roasted corn and fried chicken. For those with heftier appetites, we recommend the Wild Mushroom and Parmesan Risotto with grilled chicken, or the Hatfield Farms Lollipop Pork Chop served with roasted sweet potatoes and roasted garlic cauliflower.

Drink up

Center stage for all to enjoy is the beverage program. “We’re truly a scratch bar, and if you come in before we open you’ll see us juicing pineapples, boiling simple syrup or even batching our house-made tap cocktails,” Danilo says.

Those tap cocktails are worth ordering. After made in small batches, they are put in kegs and carbonated, then connected to a draft system and poured like beer. Each drink has its own individual flair.

Try one of the signatures: the house-made gin and tonic, coined “Tonic #22” because it took 22 attempts to finalize the recipe. The cocktail, which even “gin haters” will love, features hints of citrus, real cinchona bark and lemongrass.

What’s more are the desserts that incorporate spirits. Options range from a cast-iron chocolate chunk cookie with house-brandied cherry and copper point stout chocolate sauce, to a Key lime pie parfait with rum-infused whipped cream, to an apple cobbler topped with a whiskey caramel sauce.

Batch Gastropub, 14813 Lyons Road, Delray Beach/ 561.877.0000 / batchgastropub.com/delray

Alyssa Morlacci,

Managing Editor

The thing about the Cobia “Rosa” Ceviche at Bazaar Mar in Miami is there’s a right and wrong way to eat it. We ate it the wrong way. It was during Miami Spice, and while every dish by chef José Andrés arrived looking like art, this dish was especially stunning, with cobia, sweet potato and corn nuts arranged in the shape of a rose. We used our forks like surgical forceps, careful not to mess up the masterpiece—until the waiter informed us we were supposed to mix up the ingredients before digging in. Bazaar Mar by José Andrés; 1300 S. Miami Ave., Miami; sbe.com

Holly Gambrell,

Web Editor

Appetizers are a beautiful concept—the ability to pre-game a meal with more food is one of my favorite parts of a full-course dinner. At Costa, a Mediterranean eatery in Palm Beach, the tapas-style appetizers were the most memorable. I raved to my coworkers the following day about the house hummus, served with house-made naan bread. While hummus isn’t anything new, Costa offers the option to customize it with add-ins like toasted pine nuts, feta and pomegranates. Costa, 150 Worth Ave., Ste. 234, Palm Beach; costapb.com

Melissa Puppo,

Associate Editor

Anyone who knows me knows I’m game for Italian food anytime. So, of course, there was no refusal during a trip to Orlando with a special stop at Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek to try out the signature restaurant, La Luce. The pasta dishes keep me daydreaming about La Luce still to this day. Go non-traditional and order the light, airy gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce, pears, toasted walnuts and black pepper. It’s everything you hoped a pasta dish could be. La Luce, 14100 Bonnet Creek Resort Lane A, Orlando; laluceorlando.com

Vero Beach’s Riverfront Packing Company is in the heart of the Indian River District—a 200-mile-long swath of land from Daytona Beach to West Palm Beach that Riverfront’s president and CEO Dan Richey calls “the ultimate grapefruit land in the world.” 

From November to March, the packing house’s loading bays receive truckload after truckload of freshly picked grapefruit from Scott Family Citrus’ 4,000 acres of nearby groves. The machinery and employees inside the A-frame steel building are busy as they size, grade, polish, dry, wax, label, pack and ship what looks to the untrained eye like an endless supply of grapefruit. It’s an industrial setting, but the smell is heavenly—a zesty, verdant sweetness hangs in the air as the freshly picked fruit bump and roll along conveyor belts, chutes and lanes, traveling through a streamlined process that relegates small or blemished fruits to the juicing trailer, and sends larger, more eye-pleasing fruits into cartons that will carry them to fruit markets worldwide. 

While the supply looks endless, to Richey, the inventory of grapefruit is anything but unlimited—and thanks to citrus greening disease, it’s getting worse by the year. 

“In the late 1990s, we were shipping 10 million cartons of grapefruit a year to Japan, nine-million cartons to Europe. But this year,” Richey says, shaking his head, “we’ll be lucky to ship 700,000 cartons to each of those markets.”

Take a closer look at the fruit rolling by on Riverfront’s machinery and you start to see what Richey means: small grapefruits that you’d swear are limes, pouring into a bin destined for the juice plant. Richey pulls one out, holding it up between his thumb and forefinger. “This is the effect of citrus greening right here,” he says. “It’s irregular shaped. It’s green. It’s tiny.” He tosses it back to the bin. “This one never had a chance,” he says.

That steadily filling bin is a troubling symbol of the existential threat that Florida’s citrus industry faces today. Growers and researchers agree: If a cure for citrus greening isn’t found soon, it could mean death for the state’s most iconic industry.

Fruitful Beginnings

Florida grows more oranges than any other region, except Brazil, and leads the world in grapefruit production. There are nearly 4,000 citrus groves comprising more than 74 million trees on 437,000 acres of land across Florida, and the fruit produced is processed by 19 citrus packing houses and 12 juice plants. Each year the industry notches out around $10 billion in revenue and generates close to $1 billion in tax contributions that help support schools, highways and health care.

Beyond mouse ears and palm trees, the orange is Florida’s most beloved symbol. But despite its iconic status, citrus is not indigenous to Florida. Spanish sailors traveling with Ponce de León planted the first orange trees in St. Augustine in the mid-1500s. A French count named Odet Philippe introduced the first grapefruit seeds near Tampa in the early 1800s. 

Florida’s sandy soil and tropical climate suited the transplanted trees. Like the snowbirds that would follow them in the centuries to come, citrus put down roots. By the late 18th century, you could find wild citrus in any Florida forest, and in newly cultivated groves from the Gulf of Mexico to the Treasure Coast. By 1950, citrus had become Florida’s signature industry, turning out more than 100 million boxes of fruit annually. By the 1990s, the harvest regularly surpassed 200 million boxes, with an all-time high of 244 million boxes in 1997 to 1998.

Citrus in Crisis

Today, the state’s citrus crop is less than one-third of what it was 20 years ago. Private estimates had predicted that Florida’s groves would turn out 75 million boxes of oranges and six million boxes of grapefruit this past season—slated to be the best crop in a decade. The actual numbers fell far short of that forecast: 45 million boxes of oranges and 4.5 million boxes of grapefruit, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). That’s the second worst season on record for oranges, since the 1944 to 1945 season produced just 42 million boxes. Grapefruit growers aren’t faring much better, with the worst production on record since the 1918 to 1919 season.  

“Florida continues to face its lowest citrus production in more than 75 years,” says Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus—a state agency that handles the marketing, research and regulation of all things citrus. “This industry remains in crisis.”

A portion of that crisis is due to Hurricane Irma’s September 2017 landfall.
The storm knocked unripe fruit to the ground, uprooted trees and left groves in standing water for weeks—resulting in a $760 million loss in revenue, according
 to economists at the University of
Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

However, the longer-term problem is citrus greening: A disease so deadly it has decimated every other citrus region where an outbreak has been diagnosed. But Florida’s growers—long known for their grit and resilience—are doubling down on the industry they love, betting that with the help of science, their groves will be the first to survive.

Bugging Out

Chinese citrus growers who identified the disease in the early 1900s called it Huanglongbing (HLB), or “yellow dragon disease” because of the distinctive yellow leaf color it causes. The disease is spread by the Asian citrus psyllid: a sap-sucking insect the size of a grain of rice. Like the citrus trees they feed on, psyllids are not Florida natives, landing in the U.S. around 2000 as stowaways on plants shipped through the Port of Miami. Psyllids aren’t fast fliers, but they can float on the breeze as easily as pollen does, and some scientists think their rapid spread across Florida may have been boosted by the winds generated in the 2004 quadruple punch of Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne.

When psyllids feed on citrus shoots and leaves, they inadvertently infect trees with the HLB-causing Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus bacterium. It invades a tree’s vascular system, constricting key nutritional pathways like an arterial plaque, wasting root systems and preventing fruits from accumulating sugar. Trees with advanced HLB yield stunted, shriveled, sour fruits, producing juice that’s unpalatably bitter. Without specialized nutritional support and care, an infected tree will die in three to five years.

“We knew we were probably destined for HLB when psyllids were discovered in Florida. But we didn’t know what the impact of that would be.”- Dan Richey

Sour Market

It was the middle of 2005 when citrus workers near Homestead began noticing small yellow leaves on the new growth in their groves. Soon, other leaves lost their waxy green complexions, giving way to a variegated display known as “blotchy mottle.” By August, scientists with the USDA diagnosed the blight as the first Floridian case of HLB. Three months later, the disease was confirmed in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Hendry counties. By 2011, HLB had infected groves in 37 out of 67 Florida counties—every county with a commercial citrus grove.

“We knew we were probably destined for HLB when psyllids were discovered in Florida,” says Richey, who is the former chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission. “But we didn’t know what the impact of that would be.” 

What Richey and his fellow citrus professionals now know is that Florida’s citrus groves were probably infected long before anyone realized it. “HLB is a latent disease, and it takes time to express itself fully,” Shepp explains. “By the time you know you have it in a tree, it’s already done a lot of damage.” 

Since that first diagnosis in 2005, HLB has cut the state’s citrus industry’s output in half, reducing revenues by $4.54 billion, according to data from the USDA. 

Jobs are down by about one-third, too. Florida’s citrus industry generates roughly 45,000 jobs statewide. Dr. Jacqueline Burns, director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, says the cost of the industry’s downturn has severely impacted workers who make their livelihood tending to the state’s groves. “Citrus greening has cost the state $1.76 billion in labor income and more than 3,400 jobs,” Burns says. 

As production wanes and workers are laid off, groves, packing houses and juice plants have been forced to consolidate. “It’s a phenomenal amount of loss,” says Richey, whose Riverfront Packing Company employs 110 workers. “Whole economies of cities and communities have been adversely affected.”

It’s Not Easy Being Green

To keep the industry afloat, growers are trying everything from chemical cocktails that boost a tree’s nutritional base, to intensive heat treatments that reduce bacterial loads, to acid-based injections that lower soil PH. While not a cure, these targeted interventions are helping citrus trees cope with HLB’s symptoms and survive in spite of their infection.

Such methods are both time-consuming and expensive, with growers spending on average $1,800 more per acre to grow less fruit in the 2016 to 2017 season, according to research by economists at the University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC). 

Case in point: Richey says that pre-HLB, an acre of successful grapefruit trees might turn out 600 boxes of fruit. With grove care costs of $1,500 per acre and profits of about $7 per box of grapefruit, that’s a net revenue of $2,700 per acre. However, today the Scott Family groves are producing around 300 boxes to the acre. Market price has increased, averaging a return of $15 per box. But the added HLB treatments have caused grove care costs to reach nearly $3,500 per acre, leaving a profit margin of just $1,000 per acre. “That’s not a good equation for economic sustainability,” Richey says. “We’re not far off of break-even right now.”

When the treatment protocols fail, growers must replace exhausted or dead trees with new stock. “We’ve got multi-generation growers whose grandfathers planted trees that should’ve borne fruit for 60 to 80 years,” Shepp says. “Now they’re lucky if they get 20 productive years out of them.” Still, Shepp says, there’s hope, emphasizing that in the 2016 to 2017 season, growers invested in replanting at a rate 16 percent higher than previous seasons.

That increase in demand for seedlings—plus newly imposed HLB-limiting nursery protocols—has made it difficult to get hold of fresh stock quickly. Orders that used to take three to six months for delivery now take 18 to 24 months. Add the three to five years it takes for a tree to bear fruit, and you begin to see the time crunch that Florida citrus growers are facing.

“This disease is really a question of economics,” says Fred Gmitter, a professor of citrus genetics and breeding at CREC. “We’ve got to keep growers and processors in the game as we continue to look ahead for silver bullet solutions. If we don’t give them a way to make money in the short term, there won’t be anyone left to plant and produce the long-term solution once we find one,” he says.

At Scott Family Citrus, the short-term hedge looks like HLB-tolerant Valencia oranges and lemons. Later this month, they’ll remove 800 acres of dying grapefruit trees and replant the land with what they know they can grow and sell: lemons and sweet oranges. “Even if infected, these varieties seem to show a tolerance enough to be economically viable,” Richey says. A recently-inked 15-year contract with Coca-Cola guarantees a price that escalates over time. “Now all we have to do is grow them,” he says. “What we have to do today is not plant what we can market, but what we can grow.” But long-term, Richey says Scott Family Citrus is committed to getting back to growing grapefruit—assuming they can.

“It’s like we’re in a car traveling over a bridge,” Richey explains. “But the bridge is still being built and it doesn’t yet reach the other side of this gorge. If the construction of that bridge doesn’t speed up, the car is going to go off the end.”

A Concentrated Effort

To try to complete Richey’s figurative bridge, the USDA has invested more than $400 million to study the disease. At CREC’s 600-acre research facility in Lake Alfred, some of that money is being used to find an answer to HLB’s challenges. Research projects include gene splicing to create HLB tolerant or resistant trees, netting structures to keep psyllids off trees and insect traps that use everything from pheromones to sound recordings. “Whether you’re a physiologist, a pathologist, a plant breeder, a food scientist or an economist—whatever you do with citrus, it’s all about HLB these days,” Gmitter says.  

Gmitter’s work at the UF-run center east of Lakeland is in genetics. He and his colleagues are making headway using CRISPR, a gene-editing tool that has been compared to the “find and replace” function in a word processing application. Using CRISPR, scientists can change a gene or delete it entirely. “If we can identify a citrus gene that interacts with the HLB bacteria, we can learn about the cascade that leads to a diseased tree. Then we can use CRISPR to do something about those genes and prevent that cascade from taking place,” Gmitter explains.

What makes the high-tech work unique is that CRISPR leaves no foreign DNA behind. That’s why the USDA recently ruled that fruits produced using CRISPR won’t face the same regulation as earlier generations of GMOs. 

That last bit is key: transgenic fruit would likely be required to carry a GMO label. Because CRISPR doesn’t borrow genes from other species, the method provides a potential solution that avoids GMO regulations, retains consumer confidence and gets HLB-resistant options into growers’ hands sooner rather than later.

One option that many orange growers are banking on is called Sugar Belle. “It really appears to be the most HLB-tolerant variety in Florida,” Gmitter says of the mandarin hybrid he developed using traditional horticultural methods. Because it transmits its HLB tolerance to some of its offspring, Gmitter is working to cross Sugar Belle with other citrus varieties in hopes of developing an even stronger tolerance. “We’re beginning to have options for growers to plant something other than the same old stuff that died out on them,” he says. 

For grapefruit growers, a dark red grapefruit called Star Ruby is showing promise in the face of HLB, despite being the first variety in the Scott Family Groves to show serious decline. Today, those trees have bounced back; whether that’s due to treatments or luck, no one can say for sure.

“We’ve doubled our production from last year to this year with this variety,” Richey says as he navigates his truck between two long lines of healthy-looking Star Ruby trees in Scott Family Citrus’ Wescott Grove in Fort Pierce. “We’re trying to determine why they’re responding and the other varieties aren’t.” 

One theory: Star Ruby is highly vegetative, rapidly pushing out new leaves and shoots. “It’s very prolific,” he says. “We think that it’s possibly outrunning the bacteria’s effect.”

But the question remains: how long can the industry hang on to the hopes of pampering certain varieties of HLB-tolerant trees until they die, and replanting new ones when the old ones fully succumb to the disease? Richey says the answer is “not very long.”

“If there is not a remedy found for grapefruit in the next three to five years, it’s going to be a massive challenge for the industry to survive,” Richey says. “The long-term sustainability without a real HLB remedy for grapefruit is questionable.”

Room to Bloom

Back in the heart of Wescott Groves, Richey hits the brakes, sticking his hand out the window to point to an explosion of tiny white blossoms he has spotted. “Look at that bloom coming off those trees,” he says excitedly. “This is what gives you optimism when you’re in this business.”

Florida’s citrus industry has weathered its share of hurricanes, freezes, droughts, pests and diseases. Mother Nature puts groves and growers on their knees, and in time they recover. For a state whose identity and economy are so deeply entrenched in citrus, Richey says losing the battle with HLB is not an option.

“Florida is what it is partly because of this industry,” he says. “You don’t want to lose that heritage. It would be the equivalent of Washington without apples. Georgia without peaches.”  

And so, like many citrus growers, Richey says he and Scott Family Citrus are in the HLB fight for the long haul. “We stick with it because it’s what we do, it’s who we are, it’s our culture.” He pauses, surveying the grove around him through the windshield of his truck. “It’s going to be a risky venture to stay in this business,” he acknowledges. “We’re not fools, but we do have optimism. Sure, we have gotten our teeth kicked in. But Florida has the best conditions in the world to grow citrus. That hasn’t changed, and it never will.”

Get Into The Grove

It’s not just a slice of Old Florida; grove stands support the modern citrus industry. Some even offer grove and packing house tours or fresh fruit picking and juicing. 

Al’s Family Farms

2001 N. Kings Highway, Fort Pierce; 772.460.0556; alsfamilyfarms.com

Bob Roth’s New River Groves

5660 Griffin Road, Davie; 954.581.8630; newrivergroves.com

Hale Indian River Groves

1650 90th Ave., Vero Beach; 772.581.9915; halegroves.com

Robert Is Here

19200 SW 344 St., Homestead; 305.246.1592; robertishere.com 

Spyke’s Grove

7250 Griffin Road, Davie; 954.583.0426; spykesgrove.com