WHAT:

Jerk cuisine — indeed most Caribbean flavors — will be featured at the 21st Annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival in Miramar.

In addition to vendors from the region, and from as far away as Atlanta and New York, serving all kinds of jerk and island fare, the culinary festival on Nov. 12 will offer (this year moved to the center of the layout) cooking demonstrations by Jamaican chefs Travis Reece and Darian Bryan as well as Bahamian chef Jamal Small.

There will also be a Celebrity Quick-Fire Challenge cook-off between WTVJ’s Chernéy Amhara (the returning champion) and WPLG’s Alexis Frazier, plus patty- and hot wings-eating contests, cultural presentations and entertainment on what is called the Western Union stages.

“It’s pretty much a Caribbean food festival with music and other entertainment, so we want to showcase that at a very high level,” says C. “Eddy” Edwards, cofounder and CEO of Jamaican Jerk Festival USA. “And at the same time, (we want to) invite the wider community to come share this experience because … what’s interesting is we have differences but we share so much in common. And once we realize how much we have in common, then the prejudices and all that negative hate goes away.”

Other Caribbean favorites, in addition to jerk dishes, will include oxtail, curried goat and “the Jamaican Patty, which is pretty much a staple here,” Edwards says. “Now in South Florida … there’s a similar Hispanic beef patty, empanadas. The beef patty and empanada are like cousins.

“This really, in essence, is a food festival. We’re showcasing the food of the Caribbean,” he adds. “Jerk is something unique to Jamaica and we are so proud of it, to be able to share it in its various forms, even something like the jerk ice cream.”

In its first year, the festival had seven food vendors working hard to serve about 4,000 guests, he says. Through the years, the event has grown and they now expect 20 to 25 vendors with about 10,000 tickets sold. A sponsorship from Grace Foods has allowed spin-offs in New York and Washington, D.C. Publix, another sponsor, will host promotion events throughout SoFlo leading up to the festival. (For details on these events, go to jerkfestival.com/publix-promotions.)

The idea is to enjoy not only the food, but also “the music and the culture of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean,” Edwards says.

“You know, I want this to be a festival in South Florida that features the Caribbean and not a Caribbean festival. I want this to be one of the big South Florida festivals.”

WHEN:

Hours are 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Nov.12.

WHERE:

Head to Miramar Regional Park, 16801 Miramar Parkway.

COST:

Advance tickets cost $40 for general admission and $175 for VIP (close-to-the-stage view, inclusive food/drink menu and parking).

At the gate, general admission tickets will cost $50. There will be no VIP tickets sold at the gate.

INFORMATION:

Visit jerkfestival.com or call 754-213-5105.

EXTRA TIDBIT:

Entertainment will include “the royal family of reggae” Morgan Heritage, dancehall artist Ding Dong and Bermudian singer Collie Buddz. Also on the bill will be comedian Chris “Johnny” Daley, the Dancin’ Dynamites, as well as DJ Richie D, DJ Jazzy T and DJ Radcliffe. The emcees will be Hot 105-FM’s Tanto Irie and media personality Jody Ann Gray.

EXTRA, EXTRA TIDBIT:

Edwards recalls how the idea for the festival came up 20 years ago.

“It was a crazy idea that came out of looking to see how we could do something different,” he says. “We were doing the Miami Reggae Festival at the time, and competition and the whole market of event concerts at that time, there was just a lot. … And just being creative and thinking about it I said, ‘You know, we’ve got rum, we’ve got reggae and this secret food that nobody’s really focusing on called jerk. And I said, ‘Yeah, we could call it ‘The Big Jerk Off.’ That was my initial thought. I took that idea, I discussed it with my wife, Bridget, and she said, ‘Over my dead body.’ “

Geared toward families, friends and all-day dates, Guess Where Trips supplies self-guided itineraries that leave road trippers guessing right up until the moment they leave. The Canada-based company offers six surprise excursions in Florida that harken back to an earlier time in the Sunshine State’s history when car trips and roadside attractions were all the rage.

Some journeys help explorers delve into the past or embark on outdoor adventures, while others present quaint towns and local fare to eat. Near Gainesville, travel the “Old Florida Trail” or head to South Florida for “Treasure Coast Explorer,” “Mysteries of Miami,” “Outback Oasis” and “Adventure in the Glades.”

For an outing that promises “extraordinary destinations with strange stories and history,” order the “Mysterious Gems” itinerary, which is rated 3/5 for both accessibility and pet-friendliness and 2/5 for activity level. (Note: If you wish to avoid spoilers for this particular trip, stop reading now.)

Before getting in the car, open the (optional) gift box to see what’s in store. A folder with a neatly wrapped postcard and envelope awaits, plus a handy canvas tote bag. It’s wise to read the “Before You Go” envelope, which recommends traveling within six months of receiving the package. A section on the company’s website provides timely updates.

For this particular journey, the introductory pamphlet advises packing comfortable footwear, sunscreen, a bathing suit, a beach towel and other road-trip essentials like a GPS, cell phone charger, wallet and a full tank of gas. Leaving no stone unturned, Guess Where Trips even provides a playlist with modern-day hits and classics from Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Billy Joel and The Beatles.

Stop 1: Haunted History

It’s recommended to depart between 9-9:30 a.m. for the first stop of the “Mysterious Gems” trip, DeLand in Volusia County. The town was founded in 1876 by Henry Addison DeLand, who envisioned building a citrus, agricultural and tourism hub.

Modern-day visitors can see well-preserved historic buildings on and around Main Street, some of which may be haunted. According to Guess Where Trips, the 1927 historic hotel now called the Artisan Inn may be the most haunted hotel in the state where a medium claimed to find 13 ghosts.

Other stops are steeped in history and folklore, including Stetson University, the Athens Theater, the Stetson Mansion and Old DeLand Memorial Hospital.

Step back in time to a century ago when the hospital used an operating room, early X-ray machines and iron lung devices to nurse patients back to health. A museum with eight galleries and exhibits showcases the hospital’s history along with displays of World War I and World War II artifacts.

Stop 2: Searching for Spirits

On a tour of Central Florida’s mysterious destinations, it makes sense to have a stop in Cassadaga, dubbed the “Psychic Capital of the World.”

Located about half an hour from Orlando, the town feels a world away, surrounded by trees and rolling hills. Cassadaga, founded in 1875 by medium George Colby, attracts visitors from far and wide in search of healing energy, as well as those who are just curious.

Today, the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp welcomes visitors in search of healing and deepening their understanding of spirits. Guess Where Trips lists several stops in town, including the Devil’s Chair and G. Green’s Haunted History House and Museum.

The latter contains antique dolls, movie memorabilia and exhibits about the odd and uncouth. There are no jump scares, but it’s hard to avoid the feeling of being watched.

Stop 3: Milling About

Traveling through Volusia County on the way to the Atlantic Coast, there are two stops with history and legends abound.

The first is the Cruger-dePeyster Sugar Mill Ruins, a historical site that shares the story of a 600-acre sugar plantation and mill. In 1830, Henry Cruger and William dePeyster began their operation, relying on slaves for labor. Their business was short-lived and only survived five years before Seminoles burned it to the ground in 1835.

In New Smyrna Beach, a park serves as home to the Turnbull Ruins, a site founded by Scottish physician Dr. Andrew Turnbull. In 1768, he colonized the area for England and brought with him nearly 1,500 Greeks, Corsicans, Italians and Minorcans. Still, a lot of mystery surrounds the site and former colony built on coquina rock.

Stop 4: A Beachside Retreat

After spending a day among ghosts, history and legends, the final stop of the day brings with it the opportunity to unwind, relax and dip your toes in the sand.

Canal Street and Flagler Avenue have plenty of shops and restaurants to explore before or after hitting the beach.

Guess Where Trips recommends Smyrna Dunes Park or Bethune Beach, both of which are prime places for ending the day in oceanfront bliss.

If you go

• Mailed trip: With a mailed trip, you will receive five sealed envelopes, including four surprise stop envelopes and a “Before You Go” envelope, which will give you just the right amount of details without ruining the surprise stops. On the day of your road trip, your surprise stops will be revealed to you as you open each envelope. Cost: $65 plus tax for the mailed trip.
• PDF Trip: These are great for road trippers who don’t want to wait for their package in the mail. The PDF trips are the same road trip as the mailed option, just in a digital format. Once you purchase a PDF trip, you will receive an email with a link to download your trip. Cost: $39 for the PDF. Note: There are no surprise envelopes with the PDF option. All stops are in one digital file, so scrolling through the document will reveal the surprise stops.
• For more information, visit guesswheretrips.com.

Find me @PConnPie on Instagram or send me an email: pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com.

The masking and costuming festival is themed “Uniforms & Unicorns: 200 Years Of Sailing Into Fantasy” to salute the Florida Keys’ 2023 bicentennial and that of the U.S. Navy’s presence in Key West.

The Fantasy Fest schedule features nearly 100 events including Sunday’s Zombie Bike Ride, the Pet Masquerade for costumed pets and their people, the flamboyant Headdress Ball and the Masquerade March that draws several thousand costumed participants in historic Old Town.

Events are to culminate next Saturday night, when some 60,000 spectators are expected to line Key West’s downtown streets for the Fantasy Fest Parade, a procession of large-scale motorized floats, costumed marching groups and island-style dancers in colorful feathered attire.

The festival has been notoriously famous for its decadent motif, but during the past few years, festival officials have focused their efforts on creative costuming and an effort to create more PG-rated events.

Fantasy Fest debuted in 1979 to boost the fledgling tourism economy during a slow period. Now, tourism officials said, it brings approximately $30 million in annual revenues to the Florida Keys.

The October issue of “Explore Florida & the Caribbean” offers something for every traveler, from adventurers to deckchair readers.

We’ll stand in the shadow of giant elephants and giraffes at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, explore the $1 billion new old Pier Sixty-Six resort in Fort Lauderdale, swim with manatees in Crystal River on the Gulf Coast, check out cool new gear to take on your travels, and, spoiler alert, go on a series of “surprise’’ road trips to DeLand, Cassadaga and New Smyrna Beach, among other stops.

All this — plus full calendars of events in Florida and the Caribbean Basin into 2024 — in a fully take-along, waterproof digital magazine. Click here to read the new issue of Explore Florida.

This new edition that will appear in digital format on Sunday, Oct. 15, features stories on cruise line entertainment, road trips to the “Mysterious Gems” of Florida, Fort Lauderdale’s Pier 66, visiting Crystal River, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and more.

From the cruise ports of the Atlantic to the sunny beaches of the Gulf, from the islands of the Bahamas to the Riviera Maya of Mexico, Florida and the Caribbean basin have a destination for every interest – and we’ll help you find it in the latest issue of our award-winning magazine.

View the digital version of the magazine at https://www.qgdigitalpublishing.com/publication/?m=24202&i=804762&p=1&ver=html5

And now, a restaurateur who is bringing high-concept sensory eclecticism to downtown Fort Lauderdale with TIMBR, a long-awaited restaurant and lounge due to open the first week of December.

A kaleidoscopic creative force, Tronn’s immersive, holistic approach to marketing, launching and staging projects has generated 1,000-plus events and activations in New York, Los Angeles and South Florida. Here, he’s known for his vivifying work with iconic South Beach nightclubs Liquid and Crobar and Ice Palace Film Studios in downtown Miami, as well with the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. Also an artist, he’s among the founders of Miami’s Wynwood Arts District.

Having risen to notoriety as one of the flamboyant, petulant Club Kids of the ’80-’90s New York nightclub scene, Tronn went on to throw parties for Madonna, helm fashion shows for Gaultier and produce the E! TV series “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills.” He has now set his innovative, experiential sights on a turn-of-the-century building on West Las Olas Boulevard. Its years-in-the-making, multimillion-dollar reincarnation as TIMBR constitutes his 34th launch of a specialty destination property. He calls it his “most elaborate and complex work to date, a masterwork that is the culmination of everything that has led to it.”

And it’s only the first. “There will be more TIMBRs,” he says.

Tronn, who lives in Fort Lauderdale and prefers to state his age as “ageless,” is the creative and marketing chief of 3 Hospitality, the group he shares with partners Paul Brown and Max Van Fleet. He is the kind of promotional visionary whose website boasts that his events have attracted over a million guests, and that the 8,000-square-foot TIMBR “will elevate the hospitality industry, redefine the culinary landscape, and bring high design to Fort Lauderdale.”

​Let’s let him tell us about it.

Q: First of all, why Fort Lauderdale?

A: Obviously it’s a city that’s emerging. It’s a new frontier for Southern Florida, as things move a bit north, with Miami being the anchor. It gives us the opportunity to have “the first of its kind,” particularly for this market.

Q: And why that particular location?

A: When golden opportunities present themselves, you have to take that. One of my partners was involved in the venue previously housed at that location, and he just loved it. It also is a really cool venue insofar as it has three separate spaces — two dining rooms and a lounge upstairs. So it enabled us to have three different experiences for our guests that are all tied together, but that are also distinctive. That’s a very unusual offering for a restaurant. Plus, we have incredibly high ceilings, another really cool feature.

Q: What’ll make a diner want to go to TIMBR as opposed to one of the many other restaurants in the area?

A: One of the things that makes TIMBR very special is that it is very high-concept. From our marketing all the way to our offerings of food and drink, and really everything in between is very thoughtfully curated. The design is unique, but it’s also meant to be very warm and inviting. So it’s the combination of the familiar and the innovative that really goes together. So you’ll have what I refer to as an enchanted experience in terms of the environment. And then you will have food that is equally on par.

Q: When you say “familiar,” what are you referring to?

A: For example, our facade is designed to look like a European storefront. There are obviously no European storefronts in Florida because we’re in Florida. So I took design elements from Paris and London and parts of New York. Those cities have the same kind of turn-of-the-century storefronts, right? So we have gone to great lengths to create this experience that begins before you’ve even entered the property. Every brick has been meticulously crafted. All of them had to have that hundred-year-old, weather-beaten feel with multiple layers of paint so that nothing is aggressive. It’s all very smooth. It’s all very comforting. The way I imagined it is like a pie crust has been placed over these bricks and it just looks inviting. It obviously took a lot of effort to create that sensation.

Then once you step into the place, it’s almost a surrealist experience insofar as the front dining room has a lot of trees in it. So it’s like a twilight park-picnic experience. And that’s one of the things that makes it feel enchanted, experiential, environmental and warm. All of our tables are live-edge. Our beautiful floor had to come in from Italy, and of course it was a fortune. Every little thing is authentic. There’s no faux anything. It’s all natural and beautiful and handcrafted.

Q: And the back room is garden-like?

A: It’s called the Atrium. It does resemble a garden. There are florals around all the walls and ceiling. There’s also a glass pyramid on top to let in natural light. That’s designed to give you a feeling of a courtyard of a country estate, either in Napa or Tuscany or any of the French wine regions. We just decided to do something sort of magical. This is a place where you can go on a date. This is a place where you can go with your friends. You could totally hang out and make this your joint, so to speak. But it definitely also lends itself to a romantic rendezvous. And the lounge is really sensual, actually. It’s the dance of even falling in love, I suppose. So you have your first-date room, but then you have your more romantic room. And then upstairs, you know, you can have your seduction.

Q: The lounge seems very different from the dining rooms.

A: It is a completely different environment, except that what ties it all together are the natural elements. It’s based on travel and adventure and some mysticism, except that all of these elements are coming together in a palette of black and gray. So it’s super high-style in the color and the lighting, but it’s also very exotic. There are Tibetan, Indonesian, African and Mexican elements — a lot of world components.

Q: You’ve spoken so much about the feeling. What about the food? 

A: The food and the spirits will accompany the venue harmoniously. We will have a wide array of offerings that are homey and warm and comforting. I’ve created a new culinary style, which I have dubbed, “Vineyard Cuisine.” The way I would describe it is a rustic, high-end, farm-to-table. I think people will find it to be an embrace.

Q: That’s quite a metaphor. Is there a price range at this point?

A: We’re looking at being comparable to other restaurants on Las Olas. So if you want to have a comfortably priced meal, you can absolutely have that. And if you want to have a high-end experience, you can have that too, because we will have wonderful wines and champagnes.

Q: What does the name signify?

A: Funny you should ask. Using this spelling of the word, it has two connotations. One, of course, is that there are loads of wooden elements, but it’s not “timber” like wood. And if you put an “e” on the end of it, then it’s “timbre,” like the resonance for music. We’re not a live music venue — although we may have the occasional live music experience — but it’s the resonance of the experience.

Q: That sounds like an artist talking.

A: Well, that’s my background.

Q: I understand you came up with 1,300 ideas or names for the restaurant? Can you tell me one that almost made it?

A: That’s really funny. I will tell you this much. I had an entirely different design and concept, even with the same name originally, and it was more modern in every way. And then I shared with my partners that I was having this feeling in my heart that we needed to do something different, and they understood that and we changed it. So the name didn’t change, but the design and the intent definitely changed.

Q: Is your process for TIMBR different from your other projects?

A: The way I do any kind of creative endeavor is by feeling. So I think the cornerstone of TIMBR is how you feel in it. Not only the feeling that we want to give to the guest, but what it does for you psychologically and emotionally. All of those kinds of things that are not typical design elements are taken into account. And from there, the design can be crafted to evoke the emotional response. It’s a kind of heart-driven feeling.

Q: How does TIMBR feel compared to your previous productions?

A: I feel like they’re very similar things. Producing any kind of experience to me is producing any kind of experience. So whether it’s a nightclub or a special event, or a fashion show, or an art exhibit, or a TV show or a film — and I’ve worked in all of those mediums — it’s all production. It’s about the feeling. It’s “UX,” an immersion. It’s theater, but you are in the show as opposed to just watching the show. So they’re all immersive, theatrical, orchestrated experiences. You’re in the symphony. You’re in the TIMBR, if you will.

To get on the email list for TIMBR updates, visit timbr-restaurant.com.

The general-interest family magazine Reader’s Digest picked the 44-year-old eatery last week in its ranking of the most memorable and delicious greasy spoons across the country — based, it said, on a rigorous scientific method of investigating “customer ratings, Tripadvisor scores, and local gossip to find the absolute best diner in every state.”

While other enduring pit stops just as deserving spring to mind — Lester’s, the Floridian, Olympia Flame, for example — it’s easy to imagine why Peter Pan wins the crown. The distinctive green-and-white building with a Disney Lost Boy on its logo, perched where Oakland Park Boulevard meets Dixie Highway, is a whole nostalgic vibe, refusing to grow up even as Fort Lauderdale sprouts skyscrapers around it.

Opened in 1979 by Panagiotis Kourkoumelis, Peter Pan has courted regulars as much for its belly-filling breakfasts as for its Greek specials, like marinated pork kabobs, pastitsio and “Greekified” stuffed cabbage rolls. Since 2001, Koukoumelis’ son, Jeronimos, has operated the diner.

Its 1990s-inspired dining room — massive, low-key, with palm-leaf ceiling fans and many hanging planters — seems to stretch to the horizon, which is actually a separate full-liquor bar in the back. And its menu, at five pages (double-sided!), is an exercise in restraint, touting every comfort-food dish imaginable from corned beef hash and Mi Hammi Slammi (eggs, pancakes, ham) for breakfast to lamb shanks and moussaka for dinner.

The brown gravy that coats an open-faced turkey, the cucumber-flecked tzatziki sauce that glistens inside a chicken gyro, even the pat of butter that melts in a cocoon of mashed potatoes is all housemade, prepared by the cooks. They even bake the desserts and pastries, including platters of strawberry-crowned, New York-style cheesecake, baklava and carrot cake that beckon at the entrance.

Here, the waitstaff have been scribbling shorthand orders on blue-striped checks for decades, and seem to have missed their calling as acrobats, judging from the six plates of meatloaf they can balance on one arm.

Peter Pan Diner is at 1216 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Oakland Park. Visit MyPeterPanDiner.com or call 954-565-7177. To see the full Reader’s Digest rankings, go to rd.com/list/most-iconic-diner-every-state.

I pull up at dusk to a half-dozen kids loitering at a remote, darkened gas station. These kids aren’t looking for trouble, though. They’re looking for pythons.

Specifically I’m here to meet record-holders Jake Waleri and Steve Gauta, two college-aged cousins who gained fame last month when Waleri yanked a 19-foot Burmese python from the swamp — the longest ever captured in Florida.

On a Monday night, the duo hits the swamps in an attempt to win Florida’s 10th annual Python Challenge. The 10-day contest, which is coming to a close Sunday, doles out $10,000 to whoever catches the most pythons.

A few of their friends will be helping out. “The more eyeballs the better,” says Gauta as he hands me a spotlight.

We all hop into the back of two pickup trucks and head out on the dark roads that cut through Big Cypress Preserve, 30 miles east of Naples. The swamps here connect to Everglades National Park and flow into the mangrove labyrinth of the 10,000 Islands. Gauta and I drive north on Highway 29 and he gives me python-spotting lessons.

The technique is simple: Drive slowly along swamp roads at night and use spotlights to pick out glistening python skin among the roadside underbrush. What’s not so simple is actually spotting one. There are nights the guys catch three snakes, there are nights they find none. “Sometimes the skin has a bluish tint,” says Gauta from the driver’s seat.

Burmese pythons are a beautiful but deadly invasive species that is decimating native Florida wildlife. They were brought here from Southeast Asia via the exotic pet trade in the 1970s, and first showed up in the Everglades in the 1980s. Since then they’ve thrived, killing off upward of 90% of the mammal population in some areas, and expanding their range north.

The snakes are so hard to find, live in such hard-to-reach areas and so successful that scientists are loath to estimate how many now exist in Florida.

What is clear, however, is that the snakes are relentlessly expanding their range north. The “invasion front” where scientists believe they are reproducing freely, now reaches the shores of Lake Okeechobee, and the suburbs of Fort Myers.

Encounters in the darkness

Atop the truck bed, the still night air becomes a beautiful breeze. To the east, the tall black night of the Everglades. To the west, cypress trees against last light. A lilac-bellied storm band moves off, leaving the forest wet. “They loooove that humidity,” Gauta says. “It’s 82 degrees. Perfect.” The night is full of promise.

Even so, we meet into a shirtless hunter in floral shorts and cowboy boots with an ominous warning. “We’ve been out for three nights and we haven’t seen s***,” he says.

We drive on.

Gauta, 21, and Waleri, 22, both of Naples, have been doing this for three years now, and it’s grown into an obsession. They spend their winters up north in college, and devote their summers to the snakes.

At first they caught nothing. “We were going down roads at the wrong time of day, the wrong temperatures, all that. Jake crashed his car doing it. We put all sorts of money, blood, sweat and tears into it with no success.”

Turning point came during the 2021 python challenge when a knowledgeable hunter named Edward Bays needed a truck. Gauta volunteered his, went out with him and caught his first python.

Now, when they’re home from college for the summer, they take clients out at night. Business has skyrocketed since they caught the 19-footer last month. They typically head out at sunset and return to Naples at 4 a.m. Gauta also bartends during the day. “That’s where energy drinks come in,” says Gauta, waving the can he’s currently sipping.

Even huge snakes can be invisible. Gauta was hunting with a professional contractor last year when the contractor’s foot wobbled off something that felt rounded and muscular. “Reach into the muck!” he yelled. They got hold of a 17.5-foot serpent that was so entwined in the underbrush it took five men to pry it loose. Gauta found the head and got credit for the catch.

“The adrenaline is like nothing else. Imagine going down 50 roller coasters at the same time, and that’s the butterflies you feel in your stomach,” he says. “It’s definitely a mix of emotions — being scared, excited, nervous, everything at the same time. But when you get one, it’s the greatest feeling of accomplishment.”

We turn onto a dirt road west into Big Cypress and happen upon an SUV and two fit guys in camo gear. Gauta welcomes them as if he’s hosting a dinner party. No snakes yet for any of us. Turns out the guys are military veterans who drove down from North Carolina. This is their first time python hunting.

“I’ve always wanted to come to the Glades,” says Josh Bryant, standing in dirt road next to the truck. “I didn’t know these snakes were decimating the ecosystem here — that’s really what attracted me to this. We had some time to take a little vacation and help out.”

Gauta offers advice on spotting the sheen and wishes them luck. We give them about a mile of berth before we start looking again.

Another half-hour into the swamp and we happen upon a car so beat up it looks like it might be abandoned. Friendly voices ring out from the dark.

“Got any tonight?” they ask.

“Nothing yet.”

“We had a baby but it bit me and he got away. What’s the biggest you’ve caught?”

“Me and my cousin got that 19-footer. The world record,” says Gauta.

“Whaaaaaat. No way. Damn, bro. That’s sick.”

“Where you from?”

“Maryland. We just got in the car and said ***k it, let’s take a road trip for some pythons!”

“Love it. Good luck,” says Gauta.

Last year, almost 1,000 hunters entered the Python Challenge, snagging a total of 231 snakes. This year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which runs the contest, says there’s close to 1,000 hunters.

The FWC says that all told, between the Challenge, and efforts by professional hunters, some 17,000 snakes have been removed from Florida since 2000.

We drive on. A chorus of spring peepers crescendos in a roadside pond.

“Usually everyone out here is pretty darn friendly,” Gauta says. “There are a couple bad apples, but it’s like that with anything. We have a ton of friends we’ve just met out here stopping on the side of the road.”

He peers ahead. “What’s that?” A weird shape emerges in the road ahead. As we idle closer we see a barred owl hunched over a kill — maybe a frog, maybe a rat. We stop, and it carries the meal off to a nearby cypress tree.

We turn to rendezvous with Waleri, who’s in the second truck with friends, and Gauta spots a snake in the road.

We hustle out, but it’s only a water moccasin. Gauta uses a snake stick to pick it up and gently place it in the undergrowth, safe from cars.

“Snakes used to be my biggest fear. That’s kinda why I did this. Now I like ’em. That fear turned into fascination. But they’re not something I would want to keep as a pet.”

Phase two: on the hunt with Jake and friends

We swap trucks. Jake Waleri’s friend Isabella Dorobanti takes the wheel and Jake and I ride in back with Kylie Cook, each of us scanning the roadside with our lights.

Waleri’s frustrated by the lack of snakes. Some hunters think the volume of traffic during the Python Challenge scares the pythons off.

“Two years ago we were just the kids who didn’t know what we were doing. It felt really good last year when I got that 17-foot, 10-inch python with Steve. It felt like we were up with the big boys. We proved ourselves,” he says.

The real proof came on July 10 when Waleri spotted what he thought was a 10-foot snake on the road. It turned out to be much bigger, 19 feet, the longest snake ever recorded in Florida, and maybe even larger than anything in Southeast Asia.

In a video of Waleri’s catch, the snake, clearly massive, is fleeing off the road. Waleri drags it by the midsection back onto the pavement. As he does, the snake turns on him, mouth agape, and strikes.

Waleri dodges, snapping his hands back just out of reach.

The snake is now free, but its aggression has left it fully extended, unable to strike. In that split second of vulnerability, Waleri plunges his hands down around the snake’s neck, grips hard and struggles to keep the snake from biting him.

They roll together in the spotlight beams. Waleri’s friends scream, “Oh my god!” “Let’s goooooo!!” Then step in, pulling the thick coils of the 19-foot snake away from Waleri’s neck and shoulders.

“Most big snakes are chill,” he says. “That snake went ballistic.”

Ian Bartoszek, a biologist with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, did a necropsy on the big snake, and says it’s possible the animal was more than 15 years old. If true, she would have survived the 2010 cold snap, which killed a chunk of the python population. Those that survive are the ones passing on their genetics.

Bartoszek and his team are professional python trackers.

They have a roster of 40 radio-tagged males that lead them to big females during breeding season. Over the past decade they’ve pulled 1,000 snakes totaling 31,000 pounds out of the western Everglades alone.

This year they caught close to 100 pythons, a dozen of which weighed more than 130 pounds. One of the most disturbing observations is that the bulk of the 100-plus-pound pythons have white-tailed deer remains inside. Deer are a main prey species for the endangered Florida panther. “That snake did not get that big by eating rabbits,” says Bartoszek.

Could there be bigger ones out there? “I’m sure we’ll find an animal that tops 20 feet,” he says.

Bartoszek worries that what hunters see along the roads is a miniscule percentage of the total python population. A male python has a range of a few square miles, meaning they don’t just live near roads, they’re everywhere back within the swamp. In a square acre off the road, there could be 10 snakes or more.

It’s midnight at this point. I peer into the blur of passing grass and leaves, pining for that python sheen.

My heart leaps when I spot shiny objects — a beer can here, a potato chip bag there, a plastic bottle filled with fetid brown water looks very pythony. Other objects play with my imagination: snake-like sticks, a long strip of tire, serpentine palm stems.

We ask every passing truck, “Any luck? Any luck?”

Only Amy Siwew, the “Python Huntress,” has reported catching anything, a little hatchling. She was the woman who pulled the 19-footer off Waleri’s torso.

It’s 2 a.m. and we’ve come up empty. The night is coming to a close. Waleri’s friend Kylie Cook is driving now, with Isabella Dorobanit, Waleri and I in the truck’s bed scanning for snakes. My eyes see only the blur of passing grass.

“Stop! Snake!” screams Dorobanti and Cook slams on the brakes.

We all skid across the bed of the truck, then hop out. Dorobanti and Waleri sprint to a chair-sized hunk of limestone, spotlights scanning. “I saw something behind the rock,” says Dorobanti.

She and Waleri peer underneath, around all sides, into the brush nearby. Nothing. “Maybe it was a shadow,” says Waleri. “Maybe.”

We wearily climb back into the truck. I flash my spotlight up from the road and out into the wilderness.

The field holds a low mist, white swamp lilies hover above it like wayward angels, and beyond that, cypress swamp for miles. It’s always a little startling to see what a spotlight in the dark reveals, a world of things so close without you even knowing it.

How many pythons are coiled out there, just beyond the arc of the light? The answer won’t come tonight.

The result is a strong diversity of flame-grilled flavors, from Texas-style and Southern soul-food barbecue to Korean and what one shack dubs Florida-style barbecue.

Of course, seasoned barbecue lovers know these differences are glaring: Korean-style favors delicate, tender slices, compared with Texas barbecue’s bigger-is-better slabs of dry-rubbed beef, chicken and pork butts. Southern-style meats emphasize the sauce and the ample portions, while so-called Florida barbecue harnesses the essence of the Caribbean.

We’ve compiled a lineup of what’s new in South Florida’s BBQ scene. With the exception of one out-of-state chain, these are all independently owned pit stops. A few have yet to open.

Off Tha Bone BBQ

1516 N. Tamarind Ave., West Palm Beach, and 4065 Haverhill Road, Suite B1, West Palm Beach (opening August); FallOffThaBone.com

Before opening his first brick-and-mortar joint Off Tha Bone BBQ in West Palm Beach, Daniel Spann fired hickory-smoked spare ribs, chicken and turkey legs out of a grill hitched to his pickup on Australian Avenue.

Holding court with a Heineken on an empty lot beside his house, Spann would heap five bones on customers’ plates, equivalent to a half-rack and probably “too much for one person,” he says his family told him.

Still, “I hoped they would go and tell everybody,” he recalls. The gambit worked: Word of his heaping portions spread in the neighborhood, his popularity exploded, and two years later he upgraded from the roadside into his first storefront in 2017.

Now Spann’s reputation for generous barbecue has evolved into his second Off Tha Bone BBQ location, scheduled to open in late August at 4065 Haverhill Road, Suite B1, in West Palm Beach. The son of a gospel singer and a first-generation pitmaster, Spann says his ambitious plan — to open even more locations over the coming years — is a blueprint for his family’s legacy. Which is why his second location is nicknamed “Tha Blueprint.”

“My goal is to give a restaurant to each of my three sons,” Spann says of his children: Daniel Jr., 9; Bentley, 3; and Benji, 2. “We’ve got to carry this into the next generation.”

The Suncoast High School graduate played tenor drum for Florida A&M University’s marching band before realizing he wanted to be a pitmaster. Mostly, he got tired of watching his father burn pork spare ribs into tough, charred rubber on the backyard grill, he says jokingly. “Let’s just say I had a little more patience,” he adds.

At Off Tha Bone, Spann, 38, specializes in Southern-style spare ribs and soul food spanning dark-meat chicken and smoked sausage to corn bread and collards. The portions are slightly smaller now — four ribs instead of five — at his current barbecue shack, a stout red-brick building on North Tamarind Avenue. But they hardly compare with his turkey legs, which are glistening hocks of smoked meat so colossal they look like they belong at Medieval Times. The meats come slathered in Carolina Tangy Gold and a sweet, ketchup-based sauce he makes in-house.

Off Tha Bone also serves buttered toast, pigeon peas and rice, mac and cheese and candied yams. On Sundays, he turns out a special lunch menu for post-church crowds: meatloaf and pork chops drenched in brown gravy.

B&D Trap

1551 NW Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale (opening October); BDTrap.com

It’s been kicking up construction dust since 2020, but this pit-stop devoted to Texas-style brisket, pork spare ribs, sliced turkey breast and smoked chicken is expected to finally debut in October on Sistrunk Boulevard.

At the new 2,500-square-foot barbecue house, a trio of ovens — two Ole Hickory Pits smokers inside and one 500-gallon offset smoker on the patio — will turn out oak-accented meats by the pound and in sandwich form. The pandemic-delayed project comes from co-owner and hospitality veteran Kevin Rodriguez (The Doral Yard food hall, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando) and chef Orelle Young.

The choice to tackle Texas-style meats, as opposed to Memphis- or Kansas City-style, came down to Young’s expertise, Rodriguez says. Earlier this year, the pitmaster competed on Food Network Canada’s barbecue competition series “Fire Masters” after a globetrotting career opening Texas smokehouses in Dubai, London and New York, as well as The Beast by Todd English in Las Vegas.

“It’s harder to fake Texas barbecue,” Rodriguez says. “The focus is the meat, so if you need to put a bunch of sauce on it, you’re doing something wrong. And when we had Orelle’s brisket, it was tender and soft, rub-seasoned perfectly, ribs super-soft and falling off the bone, and I knew this was our guy.”

Rodriguez wants the $1.45 million restaurant, which earned a $350,000 grant from Fort Lauderdale’s Community Redevelopment Agency, to drive more traffic to a part of western Sistrunk Boulevard that’s “ripe for new business.”

Its name is an homage to Da Daiquiri Trap, which operated at the same address until that building was demolished in 2022. While the 45-seat counter won’t serve daiquiris, B&D’s menu will offer wine and craft beer, including a house brew created in collaboration with a Fort Lauderdale brewery. Customers will order dishes from the counter and carry platters out to B&D’s Astroturfed patio with eight picnic tables and overhead cooling fans.

Along with meats, the eatery will sling sides of potato salad, french fries, mac and cheese, baked beans and cornbread.

Tropical BBQ Market

206 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach (opening August); EatTropical.com

There’s only a prep counter, a refrigerator and a massive rotisserie smoker in the kitchen at chef Rick Mace and Jason Lakow’s pit-stop spinoff of their popular Tropical Smokehouse restaurant.

Part lunch-dinner counter and part retail shop, the centerpiece of the 1,900-square-foot market is their Texas-built smoker, which will fire meats low and slow with charcoal, oak and hickory, says Lakow (formerly with Mazie’s in West Palm Beach). When it soft-opens to the public on Aug. 15, the new Tropical BBQ Market will fire up only the greatest hits from their flagship Tropical Smokehouse 2.6 miles south, including mojo pulled pork, jerk turkey breast, brisket, pork spare ribs and barbecue jackfruit.

Mace, who picked up a James Beard Award semifinalist nod earlier this year for Tropical Smokehouse, says the new menu features Florida-style barbecue, evoking the state’s rich fusion of Cuban and Caribbean flavors.

“I’m not trying to reinvent barbecue with this place,” Mace says during a recent tour. “I’m here to smoke meats and merge things that are special to this multicultural place, and the market is an expansion on that idea.”

Custom wood shelving and tables, hand-built by Mace, will display barbecue-inspired retail items, including brisket beef tallow soap, corn grits and cornbread flour, South Carolina rice, sea island red peas and grab-and-go lunches and dinners.

Sides, sold in small and large portions, include housemade smoked fish dip and chorizo queso, along with smoked sweet potato, roasted plantains and Jimmy Red cornbread.

Juice, a 600-square-foot cocktail bar serving libations inspired by Florida-grown fruits, will open next door in the evenings, after Tropical BBQ Market closes. That bar is scheduled to debut in September.

Gen Korean BBQ House

1301 E. Las Olas Blvd., Bay 150, Fort Lauderdale; 954-271-3343; GenKoreanBBQ.com

We already have Brazilian and Argentinian versions on ritzy Las Olas Boulevard, and now all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue has arrived in the form of cofounder David Kim’s California chain, which debuted June 10.

Here, the bottomless barrage of meats arrive at the table, 45 in total, each equipped with built-in burners and kitchen hoods, where customers grill premium top sirloin, pork bulgogi, chadol baegi (thinly sliced beef brisket), yangnyeom galbi (Korean barbecue short ribs), grilled calamari and Hawaiian chicken.

The founder of the Baja Fresh chain of fast-casual Tex Mex restaurants — yes, he once showed up on an episode of CBS’ “Undercover Boss” — sold that brand when he realized Korean barbecue was a growing, untapped market outside of the Golden State. And that includes the Sunshine State.

“Korean barbecue is way more of a novelty here, but it’s gaining acceptance, as opposed to California, where it’s more commonplace,” Kim tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Cook-it-yourself barbecue keeps staffing costs low and prices modest (currently $24.95 for lunch and $30.95 for dinner), says Kim, who operates 33 locations in seven states.

Along with entrees, appetizers include mandu (Korean-style dumplings), popcorn chicken, breaded calamari, crispy fish katsu and cheese tonkatsu (a deep-fried pork cutlet).

Of course, the critical part of any Korean barbecue experience is banchan, or small side dishes that envelop the table with the protein entrees, such as edamame, spicy cucumber and housemade kimchi. Kim recommends folding the blistered meats and banchan into lettuce leaves, like a taco, before taking bites.

If Gen Korean is successful on Las Olas, Kim says he plans to open new locations in Doral, Kendall, Brickell, Tampa and Jacksonville through the end of 2024.

Austin Republic

4801 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; TheAustinRepublic.com 

Any restaurant daring to offer Tex-Mex and barbecue is practically begging for skepticism, but chef Jimmy Strine tackles this ambitious premise aboard his new shipping container on wheels that quietly opened to the public in late April.

Parked in the shade at the former Braille Club on South Dixie Highway, beside Phipps Park, Austin Republic is a squat, red-brown box strung out with market lights and stocked with a rotisserie. A custom smoker, perched on a trailer bed nearby, turns out Texas hot-link sausages, pork spare ribs and prime brisket crusted in tender black bark, perfuming the air with salt and smoke and coarse pepper.

The pit stop is a partnership between Strine and Roxy’s Pub owner John Webb, whose hometown inspired the name.

What makes it Tex-Mex, naturally, are the tacos. Strine (who worked in the high-end kitchens of Café Boulud, Buccan, Grato and Sundy House before this enterprise) piles carnitas, chicken and chopped brisket into heirloom corn tortillas. There are also rotisserie chicken taquitos, taco salads and a burrito stuffed with rice, beans, barbacoa, queso fresco, lettuce, avocado and sour cream.

Sides include thick “rancho” beans, mac-and-cheese pasta shells swimming in rich queso, and warm potato salad. By next year, Strine is plotting a brick-and-mortar location with live music, a bar and outdoor games.

It also brings special summertime menus at restaurants throughout the region. Here are some of our favorites. (Please note: Prices do not include taxes and gratuities.)

SPECIAL MENUS

Blackbird Modern Asian

1511 N. Old Dixie Highway, Jupiter; 561-589-7505; blackbirdmodernasian.com

Through Aug. 31, this Pan-Asian restaurant will have a three-course prix fixe menu for $39 from executive chef/partner Tim Nickey.

• Some small plate and dim sum starters are: Singapore Chopped Salad, Short Rib and Bone Marrow Dumplings, Spicy Kung Pao Calamari and Salmon or Hamachi Crispy Rice.

• Some entree selections include: Sweet and Sour Pork with pork belly, dragon fruit, pineapple and crispy shallots; Dan Dan Noodles with minced pork and beef, pickled mustard greens, radish, Sichuan peppercorn and chili oil; as well as Vegetarian Chow Fun with wide Cantonese rice noodles, shiitake, garlic chive, mushroom soy sauce, and truffles.

• The two desserts by executive pastry chef Denise Elrod are: Toasted Coconut Sundae with coconut gelato, toasted coconut, caramelized peanuts, sesame tuile, miso caramel and palm sugar whipped cream; and a Chocolate Mochi Banana split with chocolate cake, chocolate mochi, caramelized bananas, strawberries, peanut brittle and warm dark chocolate sauce.

Bonefish Grill

Multiple locations; bonefishgrill.com

Through Sept. 4, Bonefish Grill restaurants will have a snow crab entree plated with a pound of snow crab legs served with drawn butter and a choice of two sides for $24.90. Or you can pair any entree with a half-pound of snow crab legs for $9.90.

Sarpino’s Pizzeria

Multiple locations; gosarpinos.com

As a shout-out to Sarpino’s roots in the Windy City, the restaurant chain is offering a Chicago Hot Dog Pizza through Sept. 30. The pizza pie homage, which recreates the flavor of a Chicago-style hot dog, features Vienna beef hot dogs, yellow mustard, onions, relish, tomatoes and celery salt on the brand’s made-from-scratch dough and hand-shredded signature cheese blend. Costs are $12.99 (8-inch pizza), $16.99 (10-inch), $22.99 (12-inch), $25.99 (14-inch) and $29.99 (16-inch).

Timpano Las Olas

450 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-462-9119; timpanolasolas.com

Timpano has a new summertime 2-course, prix-fixe lunch for $28 available from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The menu rotates weekly and features dishes such as:

• Mediterranean Tuna Tartare with Castelvetrano olives, tomato, capers and bottarga
• Florida Tomato Panzanella with Tuscan bread, cucumber, red onions and basil
• Calabrian Sandwich with chicken cutlets, arugula, fresh mozzarella, and chili and tomato aioli

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletanapepespizzeria.com341 N. University Drive, Plantation; 954-906-73731701 South Federal Highway, Delray Beach; 561-431-5601

For the past 15 years, devotees of this New Haven, Conn.-based pizza place have looked forward to the Fresh Tomato Pie, a special summertime menu item that features native tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, garlic, basil, grated Pecorino Romano cheese and imported olive oil on top of a signature crispy-yet-chewy, slightly charred crust. Now it’s available in South Florida’s two new locations too.

Prices are $17.25 for small (12-inch), $26.75 for medium (16-inch) and $33.50 for large (18-inch).

“Years ago, we decided to try something new by introducing the Fresh Tomato Pie, and itbecame an instant favorite among our guests,” says Jennifer Bimonte-Kelly, granddaughter ofFrank Pepe, who opened the company’s original pizzeria in 1925. “Today, we proudly continue this tradition by sourcing locally grown tomatoes and ensuring that every bite tastes just like summer.”

TooJay’s Deli, Bakery, RestaurantMultiple locations; toojays.com

TooJay’s has added a Limited Time Summer Cake to its menu. The dessert is a strawberry cake mixed with strawberry simple syrup and iced with creamy strawberry frosting. A slice is $7.99, while a whole cake is $34.99.

Vicky BakeryMultiple locations; vickybakery.com

This South Florida-based and family-owned Cuban bakery brand has launched a Sol, Playa y Pastelitos Summer Escape Tote Bag for $29.99. The totes at participating locations in Broward and Miami-Dade counties include:

• Limited-edition printed Sol, Playa y Pastelitos tote bag
• 2 guava pastries
• 1 cheese pastry
• 1 guava and cheese pastry
• 1 meat pastry
• 1 coconut pastry
• 6 Vicky croquetas

“Summer is about having fun, escaping from the ordinary, and getting out to enjoy everything that living in South Florida has to offer,” says Mauricio Romero, CEO of Vicky Bakery. “And now you don’t need to worry about showing up empty-handed to the next boat day, BBQ or summer party thanks to our limited-edition summer tote bags.”

Bolay Fresh Bold KitchenMultiple locations; bolay.com

Bolay Fresh Bold Kitchen is offering a Summer Sip & Sizzle menu that includes a pairing of a Summer BBQ Bol for $8.99 and a Strawberry Dragonfruit Fresca for $1.50.

• The Summer BBQ Bol is chef-curated and includes jasmine rice, chopped kale salad, fire-roasted corn, BBQ chicken, pickled red onion, with a garlic sauce.

• The Strawberry Dragonfruit Fresca is from Tractor Beverage Co. and, as the name implies, features strawberries and dragonfruit with notes of pomegranate and black cherry.

SweetgreenMultiple locations; sweetgreen.com.

This fast-casual chain that touts healthy seasonal warm bowls and salads has started its Summer Bowl Drops through Aug. 14 (prices may vary by location):

• Peach + Goat Cheese salad with in-season, locally sourced peaches paired with mint and goat cheese ($13.95)

• Chicken Teriyaki with blackened chicken, wild rice, sesame teriyaki dressing, roasted okra and sweet onions or roasted zucchini and yellow squash, market-dependent ($14.95)

• BBQ Chicken made with apples, tortilla chips, cabbage and two dressings — Honey BBQ Sauce (from a partnership with chef Charlie McKenna of Lillie’s Q in Chicago) and Sweetgreen’s signature Green Goddess Ranch dressing ($13.95)

• Mediterranean Mezze, featuring roasted chicken, chickpeas, roasted sweet potatoes and hummus and olives ($15.95)

• Pesto Paradise, made with locally sourced roasted okra and sweet onions or roasted zucchini and yellow squash, market-dependent, as well as basil, parmesan crisps and pesto vinaigrette ($15.45)

Circle House Coffee727 NE  Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-870-6456; circlehousecoffee.com

Just in time for summer, retired NFL Linebacker and SoFlo son Stephen Tulloch’s coffeehouse in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village has added two frozen lattes to their vegan menu of plant-based treats:

• The Frozen Oat “Mylk-iato” Latte is a double espresso shot with sugar-free vanilla syrup, maple syrup, oat milk and ground cinnamon ($6.85 large, $6.35 medium).

• The Frozen Toffee Nut Latte is made with espresso beans, toffee nut, oat milk and finished with chocolate drizzle ($6.55 large, $6.05 medium).

Also, the family and pet-friendly coffeehouse has a Free Summer Series of theme nights with live performances and exhibits highlighting local artists, poets and musicians.

Medi Terra301 Via De Palmas, No. 99, Boca Raton; 561-367-9779; facebook.com/mediterraboca or mediterraboca.com

Medi Terra has a Summer Specials menu from co-owners chef Michael Velicu and his son, Daniel. There is a three-course, prix-fixe lunch menu for $25, as well as Tapas Tuesdays with three tapas for $42 and five for $68.

There’s also a Connoisseur’s Night Dinner highlighting the cuisine of one of the Western Mediterranean countries — Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco — each Thursday for $75 per person (with a wine pairing as well). Medi Terra will be offering half-off on bottles of wine, from the sommelier’s selection with the purchase of an entree on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The offers last through Aug. 26.

Le Colonial601 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; 561-566-1800; delraybeach.lecolonial.com

The new French-Vietnamese restaurant Le Colonial has launched lunch and dinner prix-fixe menus: The Rosé Lunch and the Saigon Sunset Supper.

The lunch features a choice of a small plate, a large plate and an iced tea or soft drink for $35 per person, as well as suggested Rosé pairings from a wine list ranging in cost from $14 to $18. The menu includes dishes such as crispy shrimp and pork roll, chilled vegetable roll, pork noodle bowl, roasted salmon, a beet salad and more.

The dinner is $40 per person and includes those dishes in addition to baby back ribs, spicy chicken stir fry and green shrimp curry.

Keep in mind that Le Colonial has a dress code, which includes no ball caps, athletic wear, sweats and flip-flops, among other items.

Sunset Club Rooftop Bar & Lounge777 N. Ocean Drive, Hollywood; 754-764-0311; sunsetclubrooftop.com

Sunset Club Rooftop Bar & Lounge on Hollywood beach has trial-launched a new curated sushi menu (with a couple of tartare and ceviche dishes as well). Highlights include a Dragon Roll ($22), a Bang Bang Roll ($21) and a Veggie Roll ($16).

The offer is available Thursdays through Sundays after 4 p.m.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine BarMultiple locations; flemingssteakhouse.com/promotions/taste-of-summer

All locations of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar have a Taste of Summer menu with Pickled Nectarine and Smoky Corn Salad and a Filet and Maitake Leek Confit entree starting at $57 to $59 (based on location). You can also add a trio of Seared Scallops for $12 or Jumbo Seared Shrimp for $10. The special offer runs through Sept. 4.