Finding an edgy restaurant in Fort Lauderdale takes the determination of Stanley tracking Livingston. Creating such an eatery requires a little more: perfect timing, patience, belief in a higher power, and a few hundred thousand dollars. So a tip of the hat to four-month-old Colors Urban Bar, working hard to…
How long should a new restaurant be open before it can be reviewed fairly? If the Gypsy’s Tambourine is any sort of yardstick, two months is way too soon. Much like Colors, the Tambourine promises uniqueness. To bolster this claim, the restaurant offers live entertainment, jewelry and boutique items for…
Don’t expect a sign when you go looking for Hope’s Restaurant. And don’t expect linen and lanky waiters in bow ties either. And if you’re searching for that romantic evening you once found in a booth at Yesterday’s, you’d be better off splitting a bologna sandwich on the number 11…
In the late ’80s, Chef Richard Cingolani helped transform Broward County from the dining doldrums into a place that could hold its own with the big boys. The acclaimed New World cuisine of his Café Arugula lit up Lighthouse Point. And, because, of Cingolani’s singular stature, one could argue that…
For far more authentic — and far-flung — “nuevo Latino” cooking, try Café con Leche (7721 Lake Worth Rd., Greenacres, 561-439-8899). The place is owned by Roy Burdier, a Dominican whose little slice of good eating next to Publix in the Nassau Square Mall makes the playful sophistication of Cabana…
Roy (Wellington, red wine) was looking for a job. Jill (Boynton Beach, iced tea) and Mike (Boynton, Budweiser) were looking for an evening’s escape from the kids. How do I know? Because they were eating and talking large, one and two tables down from me the other night at Cabana…
Stuffed frog, pork organs in broth, monitor lizard, fertilized duck’s eggs — do we need more examples of why Filipino cuisine can so easily terrify unsuspecting diners? Many dishes from the world’s second-largest archipelago make the perfumed delicacies of Thai food or the gutsy surprises of Korean recipes seem as…
Want a quick fix of Filipino foods and culture? South Florida offers few better opportunities than Far East Food & Gifts (Shops at Oriole, 4140 N. State Rd. 7, Lauderdale Lakes, 954-486-6373). “In this store, if you break it, you’ll be happy to pay for it,” says a tough-minded sign…
It’s dinnertime and you’re driving along Oakland Park Boulevard east of I-95, lost in a beltway of insurance shops and tattoo parlors and curl-‘n’-spray hair salons. You’re starving. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot a nondescript, one-story building with a sign sporting the colors of the Italian…
Vincent Foti’s 4-month-old Kitchenetta, just south of Oakland Park Boulevard, takes the same Neapolitan-inspired cuisine served at Salerno’s and puts it through a wringer of fabulosity. No elastic waistbands here. High concept reigns in the flat-screen TV on the wall, in the acid orange-and-green colors splashed throughout the restaurant, and…
The Capital Grille compares nicely to a smash Broadway road show: polished to the hilt, full of practiced verve and talent, and yet as adventurous as surfing on Lauderdale beach. The brainchild of RARE Hospitality Intl. Inc. in Atlanta, the first Capital Grille opened in Providence, Rhode Island, in July…
Some people might call it luck that the 9-month-old Chima Brazilian Steakhouse continues to attract customers to a lonely little shopping plaza down on Las Olas Isles. The site has been a restaurant heartbreaker since long before Il Tartufo took a tumble there two years ago. But the Brazilians would…
Tom Jenkins’ Bar-B-Q, 1236 S. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, 954-522-5046. Lunch and dinner 11 a.m. till 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. till 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Jack’s Barbecue and Smokehouse, 500 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Wilton Manors, 954-567-9595. Lunch and dinner 11 a.m. till 10 p.m. Monday…
Henry Flagler established West Palm Beach to house workers who would build and staff the plutocratic palaces of the “real” Palm Beach. But then the area, which was never particularly well off, took a deep dive into drugs, drifters, prostitutes, McDonald’s, and so on. Nowadays, CityPlace and Clematis Street boast…
Where are we, in Riyadh?” I asked as we walked, and walked some more, from a distant parking spot to the all-white, multidomed, Saudi-styled Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Located on its own little 86-acre oasis (technically a “reservation” — wink, wink) just off State Road 441, the 130,000-square-foot…
The United States, with its cowboys and cattle and wide-open West, has always been considered a serious beef-eating nation. Then again, carnivorousness is relative — our American siblings down south in Argentina, with their gauchos and cattle and wide-open pampas, consume twice as much red meat as we do. The…
Shooters has been a fixture on the Intracoastal in Fort Lauderdale for more than 15 years. It’s a place where boaters, boozers, and bikini-clad beauties gather for waterfront vistas, live music, and affordable drinks. Although an informal menu of sandwiches, seafoods, and pastas is available, that’s not enough for some…
The name conjures water, sun, and with a little imagination, a splashy oceanside oasis, but Aquasol Restaurant and Bar is located behind Wendy’s and a Chevron gas station in the decidedly lackluster VPC Center, a faceless shopping mall off Congress Avenue. There’s no ocean in sight, but the nearby sprawl…
America’s hunger for sushi has clearly mushroomed since the 1980s, but I didn’t recognize just how thoroughly it had been assimilated into our culture until I saw it for sale at Costco. Of course, as any immigrant can tell you, assimilating and being understood are two different things. Did you…
As I walked into La Granja Pollo a la Brasa, my eyes were drawn toward a sizable rotisserie with dozens of rotating chickens. The fat from the birds’ skins was hissing and spitting about, and the robust roasting aromas pervaded the room. The sight reminded me of a somewhat ominous…
Red Star Tavern,
Let’s start with a few clarifications on the heading: 1. What is a Flapjack Flip-off? It’s a contest to determine who makes the best plain buttermilk pancakes in town (no blueberries, bananas, buckwheat, chocolate chips, chewing gum, or any other additions allowed). The main criterion is the quality of pancake…
