Cookbook Cafe: Bice Bistro, Palm Beach Gardens

I love it when Dr. Dave is spontaneous. A quick trip to Costco for drinks & Charmin elicited an unexpected invitation from him. "Wanna go and eat somewhere?" Oh yes please, anywhere other than my kitchen which is going to be a hive of activity tonight. Where? We had a short drive around and decided that we'd eaten everywhere that sprang to mind and we'd drive into a couple of strip malls to see if there was anywhere we'd missed lately. We had; the relatively new Bice Bistro. We were early diners - the restaurant was empty when we arrived at 5.45pm and even though we had our two girls with us we were welcomed into the trendy and hip environment.

Our server Curt was friendly and obliging. Decent bread arrived with a cream cheese & chive, balsamic & olive oil arrangement. Unusual but pleasant. I ordered the salmon livornese $23 with a tomato, caper & olive sauce and grilled polenta. Dr. Dave ordered the lasagne $16. Curt had asked me how I wanted the salmon - silly question really, since when did salmon become a steak?; but I said medium was fine as I know that produces a tender & melting result. In honesty chefs should be left to cook fish how they see fit; they're the experts. This chef chargrilled it to well done it on the outside; as a result it was definitely cooked through and, you know what, it was absolutely fine. Don't bother asking a diner how they want their fish cooked, just do it this way - easier all around and no room for complaint! Dr. Dave's lasagne was constructed of fine sheets of fresh pasta with a lesser amount of ragu than he would've liked but what was there was superbly flavored. What the heck was the deal with the mobile mast spaghetti garnish? Unnecessary and inedible. We ordered a margherita pizza for Mia & Ceci but it arrived as a bianco; just mozzarella, no tomato sauce. It really wasn't a problem; she was happy and we were unconcerned but it was removed from the bill regardless.

Reasonable prices except the water, $6.00 for a bottle of San Pellegrino is toppy, as is $3.00 for a kids soda. In this market, with so much choice for the diner; so much variety and quality concentrated in the PGA area alone, it takes a special place to warrant repeat visits. Often times its people that keep you coming back just as much as the food. In the case of Bice Bistro I'd return for both; but come on... lose that garnish!