“Lolita was originally conceived to be a burlesque or bordello Mexican spirit and we wanted to take street food of Mexico but keep it simple,” said owner Jody Pennette.

It’s not your typical Mexican eatery; serenading Mariachi Bands are not on the menu. Lolita Cocina and Tequila Bar is the third take on a concept started in Boston and Connecticut.

As for cost, customers can pretty much determine their final check by the bountiful offerings and price ranges in the menu

“You can come out and get a couple of taquitos and tacos and come out light and then we also have tequila at $100 a shot,” said Pennette.

Lolita Cucina and Tequila Bar is opened 7 days a week.

Danny Server has been a chef and executive chef, but always working for someone else. Blue Collar, located at 68th and Biscayne in Miami, is his first attempt at running the whole show, and two weeks after the opening, he’s starting to hit his stride.

“We’ve had tremendous support from  the neighborhoods; the place fills up every night and it just stays busy,” Serfer said.

He said the restaurant’s title is simple. He grew up a nice Jewish boy in Miami with friends who became doctors and lawyers, while he stuck with the food they like to eat.

“My friends  would ask what I thought  about a certain thing they were talking about and I  would answer I don;t know what your talking about, I’m just a blue collar cook!” laughed Serfer.

He may be blue collar, but the food is anything but. Try the Big Ragu sandwich, a meat-lovers dream. Pork, Veal shoulder, brisket, panacetta mozzarella, tomatoes and more.

He likes to call the food ‘hassle free gourmet.”

And if you’re into veggies, the Blue Collar has you covered.

“We are  very veggie friendly restaurant  we’ll have  20  fresh vegetables on any given day. You can pick four and make a veggie plate” said Serfer.  ”The food is of the highest quality but not pretentious – it’s  approachable.”

And are the eats cheap?

“Everything is under $20  –  the highest thing on the menu is meat for $19.” said Serfer.

Blue Collar is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

www.bluecollarmiami.com

There are now several South Florida restaurants offering healthier options which can help you make more nutritious choices.

One of those restaurants is “evo-lutionizing” the fast food industry.

EVOS is an all-natural chain that makes healthier wraps, hamburgers and French fries. The fries are even air-baked instead of deep fried, without any grease or oil.

The delicious milk shakes are made using organic milk and sugar.

“We’re just the healthiest version of traditional fast food you can find,” said Roland Rafuls from EVOS.

It’s all the food kids’ love and mom and dad don’t feel bad feeding it to them.

“Parents don’t have to do much convincing in trying to get their kids what they are use to eating but parents like it because it’s a lot better for them,” Rafuls said.

EVOS, which has one South Florida location in Pinecrest, is getting some competition in the healthy fast food business.

Elevation Burger is opening up their second location in South Miami this week. Other locations include Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines and Miami Lakes.

They serve 100-percent organic, grass-fed, free range burgers which means their cows eat grass not corn and are treated much more humanely.

“So putting organic grass fed meat into a burger makes it healthier and it’s also hormone and antibiotic free,” said Magali Vannier from Elevation Burger.

For those you counting those carbs, they’ll even serve your burger in lettuce instead of a bun. The French Fries are made from real potatoes and cooked in 100-percent olive oil.

If you want a healthier option for the big game this weekend, Elevation Burger is offering one free burger if you buy two.

Energy Kitchen is another healthy option. It boosts a guilt-free, fail-proof menu with no hidden temptations, no hidden calories, and no regrets. It’s only Florida location is in Pinecrest but another is expected to open in Fort Lauderdale.

Finally, there’s the Muscle Maker Grill which says every dish is prepared with your health and taste buds in mind. There are South Florida locations in Midtown Miami and Deerfield Beach.

Thursday is the official start of Girl Scout cookie season in South Florida.

From Thin Mints to Samoas, all the favorites are back but there’s also a new cookie being introduced this year.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting this year, a new cookie, Savannah Smiles, will be included in the list of sweet treats.

The cookie is named after the birthplace of Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low and is described in the sales guide as “bite-sized, lemon-wedge cookies dusted in powdered sugar and bursting with zesty lemon flavor.”

About 28 are packed in each box and they contain zero grams of trans fats per serving.

Girl Scout cookies sell for $4.00 a box.

The annual cookie sale is part of a big business for the Girl Scouts. Revenue from the sale makes up a large part of the yearly budget, so every cookie counts.

The program is the largest girl-led business in the country and generates over $700 million for girls and communities across the country.

In Miami-Dade, the annual Girl Scout cookie sale runs from January 12th to February 12th. In Broward County, the cookie sale runs from January 19th to Febuary 12th.

Zagat selected the top rated restaurants for food in Miami, Broward and Palm Beach Counties based on their most recent survey.

According to Zagat, this time out, 6,671 local restaurant-goers rated 1,352 local eateries, giving diners plenty of places to choose from. Zagat relies on real diners to rate the restaurants who make the list.

Notably, the guide points out some interesting statistics: The national average of meals eaten out per week is 3.1, which is steady from last year but down from 3.3 before the recession hit.

The average price per meal around the country has gone up slightly – from $35.37 last year to $35.65 this year, representing the lowest annual inflation in five years.

Here’s a look at the restaurants rated best for food in South Florida.

In Miami, Naoe, the Japanese sushi hotspot in Sunny Isles, made it to the top of the list. Following right behind is Palme d’Or in Coral Gables. It’s a “superb new French stunner,” according to Zagat. If you haven’t dined at Zuma before you may want to check it out. Zagat recommends it on their list, taking the number three spot in Miami. The Palm, II Gabbiano, OLA, Pascal’s on Ponce, Michy’s, celeb favorite Prime One Twelve and Nobu Miami Beach completes the list.

For full details on the Miami ratings, click here.

Heading north to Broward County? Zagat names La Brochette Bistro at the Embassy Lakes Plaza at the top of the list. Café Sharaku, the Asian Fusion restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, just below. The list continues with Canyon on Sunrise Boulevard, Casa D’Angelo, Eduardo de San Angel, Valentino’s Cucina Italiana, Kitchenetta Trattoria, Café Maxx on Atlantic Boulevard, and many other restaurant.

For the full list, click here.

Zagat’s Palm Beach list puts Marcello’s La Sirena in West Palm Beach and Chez Jean-Pierre in Palm Beach at the top. Following closely behind were 11 Maple St., Captain Charlie’s reef Grill, Cafe L’Europe, Casa D’Angelo and Abe & Louie’s.

Check out the full Palm Beach County list here.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, recreational fishermen will be able to hunt for the tasty crustaceans.

But there are a strict set of rules that must be followed:

• When catching catch a crab the claws can be removed, but throw back the crab
• Stone crab claws must be at least 2¾ inches in length to be harvested legally
• Crabs must be captured in baited traps, declawed and released
• Egg bearing females cannot be declawed
• No hooks or spears are allowed

Click Here for a complete list of rules and regulations from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The season runs from October 15 to May 15.

The nice thing about eating stone crab claws, other than they are delicious, is that stone crab claws are the only renewable resource from the water. Crabbers take only one claw from each crab, which is then regenerated over time.

Florida Keys fisherman definitely benefit from the 7-month stone crab season. About 900 fisherman harvest stone crab in the Keys and around 65-percent of all stone crab harvested statewide, the annual average is 3.2 million pounds, comes from Monroe County waters.

An executive at Keys Fisheries says consumers should anticipate average season-opening retail market pricing at $19 per pound for jumbo, $14 for large and $9 for medium claws.

If you don’t own a boat or can’t wait for someone who does, you’re in luck.

Joe’s Stone Crab, a South Florida institution, opens Friday to celebrate its 99^th season.

Nestlé Prepared Foods Co. is recalling selected packages of its Lean Cuisine Dinnertime Selects Chicken Fettuccini after a small number of the boxes were mislabeled.

The company said fewer than 200 packages of Lean Cuisine Dinnertime Selects Lemon Garlic Shrimp were inadvertently placed into packaging for Lean Cuisine Dinnertime Selects Chicken Fettuccini and possibly shipped to grocers in Florida, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington State.

Nestle is voluntarily recalling the product out of an abundance of caution, noting that consumption of shrimp by consumers with an allergy to shellfish could lead to a serious or life-threatening reaction. So far no illnesses or allergic reactions have been reported.

The specific product affected by the recall is Lean Cuisine Dinnertime Selects Chicken Fettuccini, with UPC code 13800-14880. The affected product also has a production code of 1253595911G and a “best before” date of October 2012.

Nestlé says consumers can get a full refund by calling Nestlé Consumer Services from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1-800-542-6935.

A new study out by the social website LivingSocial.com shows South Floridians eat more meals out than anywhere else in the country.

According to the survey, we eat out a whopping six times a week, outpacing major cities like Dallas, New York,  Los Angeles, and Boston.

Many blame their laziness and lack of time to cook a meal.

“People don’t have time to cook.  People don’t have time to sit down,” said Philly Sub Shop owner Karelli Mila. “Might as well come down and do it in a restaurant.”

Miami is not nationally known to be at the top of the culinary food chain, which makes many wonder why so people are packing local restaurants.

“Well it’s quite surprising actually,” said Miami food critic Grace Della.  ”It has to be the weather.  The weather is just so inviting.  Also, I think people watching.  What a great city for people watching.”

Which leads us to the last part of the survey: Who we are going to lunch with?

In Miami it’s friends, dates, colleagues and then spouses. Della believes Miami’s party scene tempts us to leave our spouses behind.

If you do the math, eating out six times a week.  That is 312 meals a year.  Looks like we have a lot of meals to make up to our spouses.

Cold Stone stores across the country, there are more than 1,400 of them, are inviting ice cream lovers to join them for a free 3 ounce serving of Sprinkled with Wishes, a tasty treat consisting of sweet cream ice cream, moist brownies, rainbow sprinkles and rich fudge.

The ice scream is free but donations to Make-A-Wish are accepted.

The world’s largest ice cream social takes place Tuesday, Sept. 27 from 5 to 8 p.m.

Local donations made at the event, and all during September, will benefit the Southern Florida chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Since 2002, Cold Stone Creamery has raised more than $4 million nationally, enough to grant 800 wishes for children who have life-threatening medical conditions.

Since 1983, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida has granted more than 8,000 wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.

The nonprofit organization serves families in Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lee, Martin,  Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It receives no federal or state funding and raises money to grant wishes through corporate sponsorships, special events, foundation grants, and individual contributions. The Southern Florida chapter grants a wish every 16 hours, every day of the year, at an average cost of $5,000.

South Florida’s first iPhone app for finding and mapping the vast fleet of convenient cuisine on wheels is now being launched.

“It’s the best way if you live in South Florida to find where the food trucks are right now,” said Davide Di Cillo, the creator of the Burger Beast Food Truck Tracker App.

The Food Truck Tracker app lists all Miami food trucks, their menus, and a GPS tracker helps you locate the trucks at all times of the day.

“You can see the profile for each truck, and see the menu, you can see the future location they’re going to be,” explained Di Cillo.

“People are always chasing us, which is a good thing. The app definitely makes it easier for them,” said David Garcia, owner of the Fish Box food truck.

South Florida foodies can celebrate the launch of the Food Truck Tracker App at a launch party Friday night at Tamiami Park.

More than 50 trucks will be there from 6:00 – 11:00 p.m.

“You see all these families, they bring out their tailgate gear. It’s a great experience. That’s what they should do tonight,” Garcia said.

The party also features Burger Beast giveaways, including an iPad2 with the Beast’s app pre-installed.

Entrance and parking to the food truck feast is free, just make sure you bring your appetites. Glass containers and pets are not allowed.