Entertainment Reporter

Phillip Valys

Phillip Valys covers general arts and entertainment for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Though his focus is on the visual arts and music scenes, he's easily distracted by food festivals. An FAU graduate, his work has appeared in the Sun Sentinel Media Group's chain of weeklies, the Miami Herald and New Times.

La Torretta Italian Grill at 308 Indian Trace in Weston is closing after more than 34 years. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

La Torretta, Weston icon turning out Italian-American classics, to permanently close after 34 years

December 31, 2025 at 1:32 p.m.

La Torretta Italian Grill, a Weston restaurant with Italian-American classics in the Indian Trace neighborhood, is set to close Jan. 11, management tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

At the La Pasta Fresca counter inside the recently opened Eataly West Palm Beach, customers can order fresh, hand-formed pastas of every color and shape, from orecchiette to linguine. (Eataly / Courtesy)

Che bello! Eataly West Palm Beach opens: What you’ll see and taste at new Italian marketplace

December 30, 2025 at 7:00 a.m.

The West Palm Beach market features two restaurants, a cooking school and counters serving cut-to-order salumi, Roman-style pizza, fresh truffles, imported caviar and fresh pastas.

An updated rendering for Sweetwaters, a new riverfront restaurant that will serve as the centerpiece of Huizenga Park's makeover in downtown Fort Lauderdale. (ICRAVE/Courtesy)

10 South Florida restaurants we’re excited to see open in 2026

December 27, 2025 at 8:00 a.m.

Restaurants in South Florida, like hope, spring eternal, so here are the 10 we’re anticipating in the new year.

Boudin sausage with Creole mustard and pickled vegetables at The Butcher and The Bar in Boynton Beach, a whole-animal butcher and restaurant-bar that permanently closed in November after five years in business. (Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun Sentinel file)

The 10 South Florida restaurants we’re sad closed in 2025

December 16, 2025 at 4:12 p.m.

These restaurant closings remind us that our dining scene is fragile and fleeting — a poignant wake-up call, even, to enjoy the places we have left.

Fort Lauderdale barbecue icon Tom Jenkins' Bar-B-Q in Fort Lauderdale will close its doors after 36 years on Dec. 21. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

End of an era: Tom Jenkins’ Bar-B-Q in Fort Lauderdale to close after 36 years

December 4, 2025 at 4:53 p.m.

Tom Jenkins' Bar-B-Q, Harry Harrell and Gary Torrence’s mighty Southern pit-stop that survived for 36 years in Fort Lauderdale, will permanently close this month. Here's the closing date.

A treat from Lily's Handmade Ice Cream, whose Boynton Beach location was among 72 South Florida restaurants and food trucks that aced their inspections in November 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel file)

Clean dining: See 70+ South Florida restaurants, food trucks with perfect inspections in November

December 2, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.

In Broward County, 43 eateries earned perfect scores. Meanwhile, in Palm Beach County, 29 passed their inspections without a single incident.

Decorated boats and yachts entertain spectators during the 53rd Annual Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. The 12-mile parade, themed “From Sawgrass to Seagrass: Waves of Holiday Cheer,” follows the New River and heads north along the Intracoastal Waterway to Pompano Beach. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)

Jingle all the waterway: Ultimate 2025 guide to South Florida’s holiday boat parades

December 2, 2025 at 9:52 a.m.

Here are the eight holiday boat parades from North Palm Beach to Miami keeping our Christmas spirits afloat.

A Southwest Airlines plane takes off from Palm Beach International Airport.

Cancellations, delays at South Florida airports as winter storms snarl post-Thanksgiving fliers

November 30, 2025 at 2:59 p.m.

PBIA is expecting between 25,000 and 35,000 passengers daily between Sunday and Tuesday, “higher than normal for a major holiday weekend,” a spokesperson said. FLL is also expecting "above-normal" activity.

The NORA District has finally come alive north of downtown West Palm Beach, bringing a raft of many new food and drink purveyors. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

NORA District comes alive: See all the new restaurants, cafes open at $1 billion West Palm Beach complex

November 26, 2025 at 3:38 p.m.

The $1 billion NORA District has finally opened its first wave of restaurants, retailers and fitness centers north of downtown West Palm Beach. Here's the full lineup of food and...

Vegetables steamed in thank-you bags; walls ‘soiled with food splatter’: 4 South Florida restaurants shut

November 20, 2025 at 12:57 p.m.

Other violations included rodent droppings on a microwave and an employee who handled raw meat then clean dishes without washing hands.

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