Sonoma Grille in Royal Palm Beach, FL

Opened two weeks ago this gourmet newcomer, owned by Manhattan Chef Anthony Birtchette (also owner of Tasteful Touch Catering Services), is an added bonus to our Western cities. It's located at 11071 Southern Blvd, suite 160, in the same plaza as Costco. Chef Anthony wanted to open a restaurant somewhere new away from the Delray/Boca scene so he chose Royal Palm Beach. He hopes his restaurant will become a meeting place where people come for the food and stay for the ambience. Sonoma Grille is a fusion of Caribbean and Southern foods with hints of Asian and European. His menu reflects his desire to welcome everyone in. The first thing that strikes you when walking in is the spaciousness of the restaurant with its open floor plan, pale green walls and a black painted ceiling. The glass store front style windows encourage a breezy feeling of Sonoma.

My husband and I were greeted by Janet, one of the very friendly hostesses, in black, who directed us to a semi-booth/table in the middle of the dining room. Eddy, our waiter, a native of Argentina, quickly came to welcome us to Sonoma Grille. He gave us the wine list and asked if we were interested in any of the over 20 wines on it. We asked for a recommendation but unfortunately Eddy did not have one because he was not a wine drinker. So my husband went with a house chardonnay ($7 per glass), which was a weak table wine that was better for sipping than accompanying the meal. When Eddy brought the wine he said he would give us a second glass for free. This was totally unexpected at such a fancy restaurant; I don't know if the boss knew he was doing this. He brought along a basket filled with warm white bread with sesame seeds and a ramekin of sweet cream butter. My husband dropped his butter knife on the floor and before he could pick it up Eddy had brought a replacement.