Looking for Culinary Gems in Ft Lauderdale Area

[Betts]

I am escaping the drears of winter in the north to tag along with my husband to a convention in Ft Lauderdale next week. Can anyone give me a heads up on interesting dining spots? It's lunch on my own but I'll probably be recommending the dinner places for a group. We are not the Early Bird Specials sort - this is a group of world travelers.

If a fellow eGer has a restaurant in the area, I'd love to know and try it.

BTW - last time I was there we went to a restaurant on a canal that was entirely lit by candlelight. Way cool on atmosphere but I don't remember what I ate. I don't remember the name either but a couple of Cosmos might have been a factor.

Edited February 8, 2005 by Betts (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

This place has been around for over twenty-five years and is quite popular. I was there some time ago and enjoyed it tremendously because it was within walking distance to my father-in-law's condo on the beach:

Sea Watch

read the reviews

Ft. Lauderdale Dining Guide with numerous options

[Tonyy13]

If you get a chance, I have heard that Pete's in the Delray Beach area is very nice, complete w/ Daniel style brigade service.... If you want hoity toity (sp?), I guess you could check it out.....

[Betts]

Melissa thanks for the links- I have checked them out.

Tony, Hoity-toity and frou-frou probably won't cut it but thanks for the heads up on Pete's.

[DTBarton]

These definitely aren't hoity toity, but I ate at Jack's a couple weeks ago and the burger was fantastic.

Hollyeats.com is a great site.

http://www.hollyeats.com/JacksBurgers.htm

http://www.hollyeats.com/BettysSoulFood.htm

http://www.hollyeats.com/HotDogHeaven.htm

http://www.hollyeats.com/HotDogHeaven.htm

Didn't get to try the other spots, but i've found Holly's recommendations to be pretty reliable.

[ecruz1026]

Johnny V's is hands down my favorite place in Ft. Lauderdale. I've followed the chef from Miami Beach to Delray to FLL and have never been disappointed. Great atmosphere and bold flavored food.

[CaliPoutine]

Mark's on las olas is fantastic too. Pricey though, but one of the best meals I've ever eaten.

[suzilightning]

betts - thank you. i was just going on to check and you had started this thread. my husband will be going down next week for business and he is willing to eat at someplace OTHER than chili's or outback even if he is an engineer. hmmmm...if your husband is in the business, too tell him to look for a guy from new jersey

melissa - thank you!! have noted names and pertinent info to pass on.

[Betts]

Are you going with him? It could be the same meeting since my husband is also an engineer - he actually spends a at least a few days a month in NJ ( Picatinny ).

[suzilightning]

am waiting for johnnybird to get back to give a full report on Sea Watch where he and a fellow engineer ate last night. they originally went there monday and at 8 pm there was a 2 hour wait. john couldn't believe it - then i reminded him VALENTINES DAY. so they ate at chili's

meetings on tuesday didn't end till they were thrown out at 7 pm and dave, the other engineer came down with the nj cold everyone(moi included) has come down with so tuesday night for john was chicken noodle soup from the freezers/store down in the hotel lobby.

last night was Sea Watch and john loved it though some of the other engineers thought it was a bit "pricey" at 24.00 for an entree. hello!!!!! fresh seafood!!!!!

can we come out of our provinical mindset?

will edit after i get to see the menu he brought back for me - where is the drool emoticon?

[Betts]

Thank you all for the FLL dining tips.

We ate at Johnny V the first night and it was certainly a stand out experience. The dining room has a serene minimalist quality saved from being stuffy by a hyperkinetic waiter calling himself Donny V who deftly upsold the appetizer and would have done more if my husband hadn't had to put in a few hours of work after dinner.

We had a tiny and intense smoked tomato soup as the amuse followed by a butter sauteed prawn appetizer with micro bitter greens and a citrus vinaigrette/ lime oil dressing.

My husband had the barbeque spiced salmon with potato-spinach gratin and asparagus ( V shaped) and I had the "Duck, duck, duck" a triple treat for me with a seared rare breast with a dark fruited demi glace, a leg quarted confit and a foie gras bread pudding - crisp fried parsnip V as garnish.

There was a fine selection of wine by the glass - see previous comment about post prandial work situation- but both of us had generous glasses of wine matched to the entrees. Unfortunately, I never remember what wine I drink.

There is the biggest cheese menu that I have seen outside of Picholine in NYC and I was sorely tempted and I didn't even think about dessert.

I had lunch the next day at the Protege Cafe at the Fl Culinary Institute and it was a fried tuna roll with greens and a spicy asian dressing consisting mostly of sweet chili sauce. A tasty lunch in a lovely dining room that is a major cut above the culinary school DRms here in Minn.

Our last restaurant dinner was at a Cuban/Mexican place called Vilas (?) near the hotel in what appeared to be a Chi-chi's in a previous life. Cuban food is rare in Minn and I had the ropa vieja. It was simple, tasty and appeared to be homemade. I don't have any standard to judge it by by other than cookbook accounts but it was deeply flavored by long slow cooking and was a satisfactory messy plateful.

And lastly, an uncle treated us to his homemade porketta - a boneless pork butt, stuffed with whole garlic cloves and fennel seeds, slowly roasted, rested and then thickly sliced and served with ziti and his red sauce. Every bit as fine an experience as any restaurant.

It was good that we stored up the fine dining in Ft lauderdale because we spent the last 4 days in Port Charlotte on the west side and the state of dining there is truly awful.

[Susan in FL]

Betts, thanks for reporting back!

[ediblerock]

A friend of mine recently moved to Boca Raton from Raleigh, and is missing the quality BBQ of the Tar Heel State. Any recommendations for good, pit-smoked BBQ in the Fort Lauderdale/Boca Raton area?

[bluechefk]

spending a few days in ft. lauderdale in the beginning of may, and looking for some restaurant suggestions - will be dining with non-food-adventurous parents at least one night, but will be open to adventure the rest of the time any suggestions?

[rich]

Runway 84!

[flacoman]

1) Tapas and Paella at La Barraca . www.paellas.com Great stuff, small place in a strip mall in Sunrise . Call ahead for a res, it fills up fast. The owner , Jorge Luis has the best Dali moustache you'll ever see Don't work there or anything just a happy camper.

2 ) Chez Porky's Pompano Beach. Super -de duper chicken wings in flavors ( curry , raspberry , teriyaki etal. ) that were never dreamed of in the Anchor Bar.

my 2 little nuggets

Jorge

[CaliPoutine]

Ive heard wonderful things about cafe Martarano. Tres' expensive though.

[Adrienne Carmack]

How about Sage (I think that's the name)? My friend's refer to it as "the French place". We keep trying to go there with them but something always comes up. It was popular with them because there was no corkage and it was byob, but I think now it's $15 a bottle (much better than most places in Miami, still). Anyone else enjoy the place?