8/12 Isabella's Pizza and Pasta

I went back to Isabella's Pizza and Pasta on US1 just north of 17th St. Causeway. I ordered the Chicken Siciliano, which is basically chicken Parmesan with a slice of eggplant under the cheese. $8.95. It came with a side of penne which I took home and garlic rolls for the table. The chicken was excellent and a very generous portion. The service at Isabella's is always fast and friendly. 8.5/10

8/10 Skyline Chili

Ventured up to Skyline Chili on US1 between Sunrise and Oakland Park Blvd today. I hadn't been here in years but was in the area. I ordered the regular size Chili 5 ways, which was Chili served over spaghetti, with cheese, onions and beans. $6.45. Although far from the healthiest lunch, it was quite tasty and the service was extremely fast. Again, I won't be making this a regular lunch stop because the amount of fat and carbs left me unable to do much work the rest of the day, but once in a while its an interesting item for lunch. 7.5/10

8/5 Texas Hold 'Em BBQ

I went around the corner to Texas Hold Em BBQ and picked up the 1lb brisket dinner with two sides and brought it back to my office to split with a co-worker. $15.95. I got the mac and cheese and Collard greens as sides and they accidentally gave us an order of fries too. In my previous review of Texas Hold Em, I noted that the food was excellent but the portions on the lunch deals were rather small and when you get BBQ, you aren't looking for small portions. By getting the 1lb brisket dinner and splitting it, we definitely solved the small portion issue as there was plenty of food for both of us and leftovers. The brisket was excellent. As a certified Florida BBQ Association Judge, I can tell you that brisket is the hardest of the categories to cook. It often comes out very dry and tough. The did a great job on the brisket as it was quite moist and very tasty. The mac and cheese, though very heavy, was great too. My only complaint was the collard greens. They were way to salty and contained to many stems. Although I do not typically put a lot of sauce on my BBQ, they make an excellent sauce that is both bold, sweet, and spicy all at the same time.

As mentioned above, I would recommend avoiding the small portions of the lunch specials and just spend a few more dollars and get the dinner portions. 8.5/10

8/4 Mermaid Cafe in Neiman Marcus Galleria

While doing some shopping/returning at the Galleria Mall, we stopped in for a quick lunch at the Mermaid Cafe inside Neiman Marcus. Many people do not even know that this place even exists so they go to the food court while shopping in the Galleria. That particular food court is terrible, so the Mermaid Cafe is a great alternative. It is a classic luncheonette, with just a few tables but then about 15 seats around the lunch counter. They offer a number of different sandwiches and salads and soups. I got the double grilled cheese with tomato soup. $8.95. Both were excellent. Pictured half eaten below. I highly recommend trying this place if you are in the Galleria during lunchtime. Stay away from that food court. 8.0/10

8/2 J Marks Fort Lauderdale

I visited the new J Marks in Fort Lauderdale, in the place formerly occuppied by Bennigans on US1 just north of Sunrise Blvd. This is the 2nd location for J Marks as they also have a location in Pompano. J Marks is very similar to places like J Alexanders and to a lesser extent, Houstons, where they have a large menu and a large range of prices on their entrees. I usually don't care for places like this as I find they all offer food that is decent to good, but never great. I would classify my meal at J Marks as exactly that. It's a nice place to go with a group that can't agree on a place and everyone will at least be satisfied with their meal, but its nothing really worth going out of your way for.

I ordered the fish and chips, which was a plentiful portion of cod fish, lightly battered and deep fried. The very friendly waitress told me that the chips where the kind of very skinny/stringy fries that I don't particularly like, so I substituted mashed potato's, which was pretty good.

Overall, J Marks is a decent choice for predictable food and an easy compromise for a group.

7/30 Update

Back from my Wedding break on Monday with new lunch reviews...... J-Marks Fort Lauderdale and Mermaid Cafe in Neiman Marcus Galleria,

Short Break

I'm getting married on Friday so no posts this week and next probably.

7/16 Bravo Peruvian

I went back to Bravo today for the ceviche. 2925 NE 6th AveFort Lauderdale, FL http://www.bravosandwich.com/ Bravo is a small Peruvian place that has about 5-7 sandwiches and a couple of entrees and ceviche. The ceviche is prepared in the traditional Peruvian style with sweet potato, giant white corn, and corn nuts. I order it spicy. It was excellent as usual and tasted extremely fresh. A great healthy yet flavorful lunch that won't leave you feeling hungry. 9.0/10.

7/14 Las Colina

I'd been to Las Colinas, 2724 N Andrews Ave, Wilton Manors, a number of times for breakfast on the weekends but never tried it for lunch. The breakfast is excellent and a terrific value, so I was sure the lunch would be equally as good. It was.

Las Colinas looks like any number of local Cuban joints, located in a nondescript strip mall in Wilton Manors, but the food and prices are excellent. They also have a number of daily specials. Next time I want to try the Ceviche, which looked excellent. Today I ordered the roast pork with yellow rice and black beans. $7.95. All orders come with Cuban bread. The roast pork was excellent and not mushy like in other places. Ask for their home-made hot sauce. It is not very spicy but extremely flavorful and goes great on the roast pork and on the rice and beans. I definitely will be going back here often. 9.0/10

7/12 The Global Grille

Thanks to the recommendation of a reader of this blog, I discovered the Global Grille Cafe. It is located in the huge Baptist Church on Broward Blvd and 3rd. Ave. They have free parking in the back and you enter the main church entrance and go to the 2nd floor.
It is a huge space with really cranking A/C and very comfortable booths and tables with big, cushy chairs. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table. The menu has a about 7-8 different salads and about 10-12 hot and cold sandwiches. Everything is priced at $7.50, which is a great deal. I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki Hoagie, which was a freshly grilled teriyaki glazed chicken breast served with lettuce and tomato and excellent steak fries. My friend got the Grilled Chicken Pita. Both were quite good.

Overall, I highly recommend this place. Although the food is good, it's nothing spectacular, but it is a very comfortable place for lunch.

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7/9 Pita Pit

Visited the recently opened Pita Plus in that new building across from the riverwalk. 200 SW First Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
This is a chain that makes both cold and hot Pita's similar to Subway where you order the meat or main ingredient then they add the vegetables and sauces that you choose.
I ordered the falafel and topped it with a number of vegetable and taziki sauce since they did not offer the traditional tahini that usually goes on a falafel.
The sandwich was pretty awful. The falafel was dry and tasteless. the sauce was thick and tasted like paste. They had a pretty decent lunch crowd but I am not sure why as I did not find a single redeeming quality of the place other than that it is quick and convenient. Certainly will not be going back. No picture as I forgot my phone in the car. 4.0/10 (My lowest rating yet I think)

7/8/10 New Hong Kong Chinese Takeout

Stopped in to the New Hong Kong Chinese Takeout, 1303 SE 17th StFort Lauderdale, FL 33316, in the shopping center with the office depot and Ross off of 17th St. Causeway. I just got an order of steamed dumplings to go as I wasn't looking for something to heavy today.

The dumplings were quite good. I've had a number of other items here before and for take out it is very good quality. They do have 3 tables inside but it is very hot. I do wish this was more of a sit down place though as I would frequent it often if it was. 8.0/10

7/7 Lauderdale Grill

Visited the New Lauderdale Grill in the Harbour Shoppes off of 17th St. http://lauderdalegrill.com/ This location has already had 2 other restaurants fail and I'm not so sure this one will make it either. I don't think they can compete with the myriad of other dining options in the same shopping center, especially Duffy's.

The Lauderdale grill has a large menu but they offer a special lunch menu too with about 6-7 items to choose from for $6.99. I ordered the grilled vegetable sandwich, which was fair, but nothing I couldn't make on a panini maker at home in 10 minutes. My friend ordered the Mahi Fish tacos, which the server raved about, but they were just decent.

Service was fairly slow given that the place was not crowded at all. Overall, not a place that I would rush back to. 6.5/10

7/1 Slice Pizzeria

I gave Slice pizzeria another try today. It is located in that area of luncheonettes near the library in downtown Fort Lauderdale. http://www.slicefortlauderdale.com/

They offer a special of 2 slices of pizza and a medium fountain drink for $4.95. Although the taste of the Pizza was very good, I did find them to be a little small, especially compared to the 2 slice special at New River Pizza. Slice's Pizza was definitely better then New River's, but I would say you get about 50% more food with the new river deal. Overall i give them a 7.0/10. Would have been an 8.0 or higher if the slices were bigger.

6/30 Kelly's Landing

Back to Kelly's landing today. 1305 SE 17th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Although I was tempted to get the special "Bucket" of Ipswich Steamers for $15, I instead decided on the blackened Mahi Sandwich, with beans and cole slaw $9. The mahi was nicely cooked, appeared to be fresh, and was fairly flavorful. I like to put the cole slaw directly on the sandwich instead of an tartar sauce.

The beans were also quite good.

My friend got the meatloaf slider special $6 (not pictured), which she did not particularly enjoy.

Although much of the good stuff at Kelly's is fried, they do have some broiled or grilled options for lunch which are fairly good. 7.5/10

6/29 Subway for breakfast

Although I'm not usually much of a fan of Subway, after hearing their radio advertisements for their new breakfast items, I decided to stop by and try one out. I ordered the egg white breakfast sandwich. It came with a drink for $2.50. The sandwich came with a pre-prepared egg white, ham, cheese, green pepper and any other vegetable of your choice on a whole grain English muffin. I added spinach, which worked out well. Was it the best breakfast sandwich I've had, far from it, but for $2.50 with a drink, it was a very good deal for a small, quick breakfast on the run. And without the cheese, it would have been fairly healthy too. 6.5/10

6/28 Don Arturo's

So much for eating healthy. On Saturday night we went to the Capital Grille (I'll write a review later this week) and I followed up that very healthy meal with a trip to Don Arturo's today and ordered the Breaded Steak.
As pictured below, it comes with sweet plantains and beans and rice. $8.95 Ask for a side of Chimichuri and Jalapeno sauce to put on the steak and mix in with the rice and beans.
It was fantastic as usual but since returning to the office, I haven't been able to move out of my chair and I really haven't done anything productive. Still, when really hungry, Don Arturo's is a reliable spot with excellent and speedy service at a good value. 9.0/10

6/24 Ernie's BBQ

Today I visited Ernie's BBQ, at 1843 S Federal Hwy. Fort Lauderdale. Although I find there BBQ to be just average at best, I do enjoy their conch salad and conch chowder. Today I ordered a large conch salad, $9.99. It comes with 2 slices of homemade Bimini bread which is excellent. It has a sweet/sugary or honey covered crust on the bottom.

The conch salad was excellent as always, though I do wish they wouldn't cut up the conch so fine. I'd love bigger chunks of conch instead of the very small diced pieces. But, despite this the seasoning is spot on, spicy but not overwhelming. I tried to not eat both pieces of bread but I couldn't resist. As you can see from the photo, I almost forgot to take a photo and only remembered after I had eaten half of it. 8.0/10

6/23 Duffy's

I went to Duffy's Sports Bar in the Harbour Shoppes of off 17th St. Causeway this morning at 10am to watch the world cup game. I'm not really much of a soccer fan but I do enjoy the world cup for some reason. Anyway, after the game we stayed for lunch. After having a few drinks during the game, I forgot to take pictures of the food.
I ordered the Ahi Tuna Burger :$8.95. It was chopped up pieces of Ahi Tuna formed into a hamburger patty and grilled, served rare, with lettuce tomato and wasabi mayo. Although I would have preferred an actual tuna filet, the chopped up version actually worked fairly well. The offer a choice of sides and sticking with the healthy eating kick, I got the grilled zucchini, which was quite good. For a sports bar they actually have pretty good food. A number of other sports bars have tried and failed in this exact location, but Duffy's, with over 20 other outposts, mostly in palm beach county, has the formula for a sports bar/restaurant down pat. 8.0/10 for the food. 9.5/10 for a place to watch sporting events (Especially in the front/bar area, with 20+ projection size televisions)

6/22 Cafe Vico

Although I had been here for dinner many years ago, I was unaware that Cafe Vico, 1125 N. Federal Hwy, Ftl, was even open for lunch until a friend recommended it today. It is a little bit more money then I normally spend for lunch, but the food was quite good.

I had a mixed green salad topped with grilled shrimp and char-grilled calamari. $14.95 Although it could have been a little bigger, overall it was an excellent salad and the shrimp and calamari were very fresh and cooked nicely. My friend was a little adventurous today and ordered the beef carpaccio (raw thin sliced filet) served over arugula. $13.95 It was excellent though was more of an appetizer to be shared rather then an entree.

Although I normally don't have the time to spend nor the money on a lunch like this, it's an excellent choice for a nice, long lunch once in a while. 8.5/10

6/18 Giorgio's

I went back to the always solid and reliable Giorgio's on 17th St. Causeway, 1499 SE 17th St, Fort Lauderdale. I just started doing the P90X exercise program so I am trying to eat a little healthier, at least for the time being. We'll see how long that lasts. Anyway, I got the Oak Grilled Chicken Salad today. It comes with a plentiful amount of grilled chicken, fresh tomatoes, olives, and Gorgonzola cheese over mixed greens. They have an excellent thick balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Also, the rolls and hummus dip are great. They have a full lunch menu featuring many different sandwiches, salads, pizzas and pasta dishes and almost everything I've ever ordered here has been solid. 8.5/10

6/19 IKEA Cafeteria

I made a very rare trip out west to the Sunrise/Weston area on Saturday and stopped by the mammoth Ikea store to do some shopping. They have a cafeteria inside and I've heard about their famous Swedish meatballs, so I decided to give them a try. Although the plate was a great value at $4.99 for 15 mini meatballs, mashed potato, and ligonberry jelly, the meatballs where nothing special. They weren't bad by any means, but nothing to go out of the way for. I'm happy I tried them though. 6.0/10

6/21 Whale's Rib, Deerfield Beach

I'm back after a long time off and I'll try to have daily updates going forward (albeit short and brief ones sometimes)

I was up in the Deerfield area so I decided to make a trip out to the beach and try the famous Key West Dolphin Sandwich at the Whales Rib, 2031 NE Second St., Deerfield Beach.

I had heard a lot about this place and the sandwich as it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives. It did not disappoint.

One note, the parking situation is fairly tough, which is understandable due to the beach location, but I drove around the block a few times and eventually found a spot.

The Key West Dolphin Sandwich features a fresh grilled piece of Mahi topped with cole slaw, Swiss cheese and thousand island. Certainly not the healthiest fish sandwich, but it does taste great. The Whales rib also features in house cooked potato chips called whale fries that are served with a mayo based honey mustardy sauce called whale juice that is outstanding.

This is a really good sandwich and the place is definately worth checking out when in the area. 8.5/10

COMING BACK SOON

I kind of lost interest in this blog for about 3 months, but I am planning a comeback.
Email any Fort Lauderdale area restaurant suggestions to danbermanlaw@gmail.com
I should have some new posts up in the coming days.

Coming soon

Coming in the next few days, new trips to Anthony's Runway 84, Trulucks, Ferdo's Grill, Gilberts 17th St. Grill, My Market. Since I've run out of new lunches places for the time being, I'll be doing some dinner places as well.

2/17 update

I've been pretty busy at work since returning from Denver and haven't really been to any new lunch places over the past week, but I hope to have some new posts up in the coming days. Thanks to everyone who reads this blog and please continue to post any comments or suggestions.

Tarpon Bend

I'm back from a short trip to Denver. BTW, if ever in Denver, be sure to try the hamburger at the Cherry Cricket. It was fantastic. www.cherrycricket.com

Today, we went to the Tarpon Bend, http://www.tarponbend.com/ Although people think of this place mainly as a bar, they do serve very good food and have at least 3 fresh fish selections daily. Today I got the Cobia sandwich with Tabbouleh Salad as a side $11.95. The Cobia was very fresh, cut nicely and cooked just right. The sandwich came with Tarpon Bends Key lime mayo, which is a great topping on the fish. Overall an excellent fish sandwich and the tabbouleh salad was a nice change. It is amazing how few places there are in the area where you can get a fresh piece of fish for lunch and not spend a fortune. Tarpon Bend is definately one of those places. Another person in my party got the crab cake sandwich, which he said was excellent. 8.5/10.

El Tamarindo Coal Fired Pizza 2/3

El Tamarindo Coal Fired Pizza is located at 712 Atlantic Shores Blvd, Hallandale Beach FL 33009 Btwn N Federal Hwy & NE 8th Ave.) I was down that way for business so I decided to check this place out. The same people who own the fantastic El Tamarindo on SR 84 in Fort Lauderdale across from Lesters Diner opened this outpost in Hollywood/Hallandale that serves Coal Fired Pizza's in addition to their regular El Salvadorian menu. The pizza is an obvious attempt to copy Anthony's coal fired pizza as well as their salad and wings and they do a really good job of accomplishing this. We got the large pizza with half pepperoni and half sausage. Although the sausage was crumbled as apposed to chunks or bite sizes as I prefer, it was still an excellent pizza for those that enjoy this coal fired style. The wings were also very good and compared favorably to Anthonys. The only drawbacks to this place was that 90% of the people dining there were over the age of 75 ( (I guess that is common giving the neighborhood and large portions at reasonable prices) and the service was a little slow compared to their main location. Still gets 8.0/10 for the food though.

Pollo Tropical 2/4

Just a quick, boring lunch at Pollo Tropical on Federal Hwy today. I got the Chicken with yellow rice and vegetables trop-a-chop, which is basically chopped up grilled chicken served over yellow rice with mixed vegetables. A decent, quick, and simple lunch. The curry mustard sauce on top is a necessity and probably turns an otherwise healthly lunch into an unhealthy one, but it does taste pretty good. 6.5/10

11th St. Annex

Back to the 11th St. Annex today. Reviewed a few weeks ago. Such a great place for a nice, freshly prepared sandwich in a relaxed atmosphere. Today I had the tilapia sandwich with olive tapanad and feta cheese. Very solid. Everyone in the courthouse area needs to check this place out from time to time. 8.0/10.

Silver Pond 1/29

I was up in the Lauderhill area today and wanted to check out Saigon Cafe, which come highly recommended, but when I arrived, they had a sign in the window that they were closed until Feb 26 for kitchen renovations. We then went to Silver Pond Chinese Restaurant, which is right next door. This place has been around forever. Their menu has all the traditional Chinese Fare. I ordered the General Tso's Chicken, which came with wanton soup and pork fried rice. Very solid.

Outback Steakhouse 1/28

I was told the Outback Steakhouse off of 17th st. is now open weekdays for lunch so we decided to give it a try. I was a little skeptical since I used to really enjoy the outback many years ago, but over the last few years I've found that they expanded their menu to much and the quality of all their food has suffered. For lunch they have a special that includes 1/2 a sandwich, either prime rib, steak or 1/2 a chicken quesadila and your choice of 3 different salads or soup and fries for $8. They also have a "bottomless" soup and salad deal for $8.75 that sounded good.

I got the 1/2 of steak sandwich with fries and the pecan blue cheese chopped salad. It was quite good and the service was very fast and efficient. I'll definitely be adding the Outback to my list of lunch places that I'll visit regularly. 7.75/10.

Taqueria Dona Raquel 1/26

I was up in Pompano today so I stopped by my favorite authentic Mexican Taco shop today. Taqueria Dona Raquel is located at 793 S. Dixie Hwy., Pompano Beach, 954-946-4490. Previously reviewed. Today I got 3 different meats in the taco's. All were excellent. I got 1 Al pastor, which is pork, one pulled rib meat, and 1 carne asada (Not pictured). Each taco is $1.99 and comes with fantastic chips and 2 spicy sauces. The tacos are truly authentic Mexican style and just come with a double flour tortilla, meat, cilantro, and onions. These also had some pineapple on top. A great lunch at a great price. Definitely a place to check out if you are in the area around Dixie Hwy in Pompano. 8.5/10

Kelly's Landing 1/22

Kelly's Landing is a Northeastern/Boston style seafood restaurant located just off 17th St. in Fort Lauderdale, http://www.kellyslandingseafood.com/

They have a fairly large menu, mostly fried items like Ipswich clams, scrod, haddock, and shrimp. Not surprisingly they also make an excellent clam chowda. Today, I wasn't feeling the fried items, so I went with a grilled Mahi Sandwich. My only complaint about this place is that all of their northeastern fish items like scrod and the haddock only come fried. Mahi isn't my favorite fish, but for some reason it appealed to me today. The sandwich was a decent size and came with a fairly good cole slaw and excellent Boston style baked beans. $9. My friend had the Ipswich clam roll, which was about 10 Ipswich belly clams on a New England Style hot dog roll. $13. I've had these before and they are excellent, but a little pricey.

I've also heard that Kelly's makes and excellent hamburger, but I've yet to try it.

Although I could do without all the Red Sox paraphernalia all over the walls, Kelly's is a quality lunch spot if you are looking for fried seafood or chowder. 7.0/10

Marina Deli 1/22

Ventured back to the Marina Deli today, 1453 SE 17th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL , previously reviewed. I got the Pastrami and Corned Beef combo on rye. A good sandwich but a little light on the meat today. I remember the sandwiches being a little bigger in previous visits. 7.0/10

15th St. Fisheries, 1/20

Since it was a beautiful day today, we decided to sit outside on the dock at 15th St. Fisheries Dockside Cafe. www.15streetfisheries.com
I didn't get my usual, the crab cake sandwich. Instead I ordered the Tuna Salad sandwich with steak fries, $8. The fries were great as always but the tuna was rather tasteless. Not awful, but just bland and plain. Pictured below is 1/2 the sandwich. Next time I'm going back to the crab cake sandwich for sure. Great weather and atmosphere made the lunch worthwhile though. 6.0/10 for today.

Gilbert's 17th Grill 1/19

I went back to Gilbert's 17th St. http://www.gilberts17thstgrill.com/ in the Harbour Shoppes today. (Previously reviewed). I had heard they have some really good hamburgers, so I had one today. I got the Cheeseburger, medium rare, with sweet potato fries. $8.50. The burger came out a perfect medium rare, which was great because so many places are afraid to serve it that way. It was very juicy and not one of these thin little patties like is served at so many places today, like 5 guys. The sweet potato fries were also quite good, though they needed some kind of dipping sauce other then ketchup. Overall, a very good and juicy burger, served just the way I prefer them. 8.0/10.

Maguires Hill 16, 1/15

I stopped in for a quick lunch at Maguires Hill 16 on Friday. A well know happy hour place with the courthouse crowd 535 North Andrews Ave.Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301. They have an extensive menu with many quality items. Today I was looking for something a little lighter so I went with the Maguires Salad, which is a tradition Chef's salad with ham, turkey, cheese, hard boiled eggs, onions, and cucumbers over mixed greens. They make their own salad dressings. I had the honey dijon, which was quite good. Overall a quality salad. I've had a number of their other menu items in the past. As I recall, I didn't care for their corned beef, but their other traditional Irish Bar/Pub items were fairly good. 7.5/10.

Waxy O'Connors 1/14

I went back to the always solid Waxy O'Connor's today. 1095 SE 17th St, Fort Lauderdale.

Yes, it is more then just a bar. They have a really nice menu with plenty of choices including all the traditional Irish Pub fare and a number of sandwiches and salads.

Today I was feeling like eating particularly unhealthily, so I went with the traditional Fish and Chips, pictured below. It comes with excellent fries (chips), and fresh green peas. Although the meal was extremely greasy as expected, it was also very tasty. The fish was battered and cooked nicely and not overdone as is often the case with fish and chips. Overall a nice, but heavy lunch. I'll be eating something light for dinner tonight for sure to balance this out. 7.5/10

11th St. Annex

I finally made it to the 11th Street annex for lunch today. 14 SW 11th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL, right across from the Trinity Lutheran Church, off of Andrews Ave.

How had I never heard of this place in all the years I've been working near the courthouse? It is truly a great discovery. They only have about 6 tables and it fills up quickly at lunchtime, but the food was great. It feels like you are dining in someones living room. They don't have a set menu, instead they have 4-5 daily choices, usually consisting of a soup, 2-3 sandwiches, an entree or 2, and a dessert. I had the Japanese style lightly fried turkey breast topped with Seaweed salad. It came with a side of macaroni salad, $9. My friend had the Chicken Curry with Roti, $9. Both were excellent. (pictured below)

The only negative of this place is the limited seating and since they only seem to have 2 or 3 employees, it isn't the quickest of places. The great food and cozy atmosphere more then makes up for it though. I will certainly be coming back here many times. 8.0/10

What's the infatuation with La Spadas Hoagies?

I went to La Spada's Hoagies this weekend for the first time in about a year. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures. Anyway, the reason I went back there this weekend is that in the 2010 South Florida edition of Zagat's, La Spada's was rated as the BEST food in all of Fort Lauderdale. I kid you not..... I wanted to try it again to see what the infatuated is. I've eaten there a few times in the past but not recently, but I never understood why people thought they were so amazing. Don't get me wrong, they do make a very good sub, but, it's just a sub and not really any better than any number of places, like My Market for example. I had the "Monster", which is Ham, Turkey, Roast Beef and cheese. $10.75 for a large. It was quite good and was enough for 2+ servings. But again, it was just a sub. No exceptional or interesting toppings, just your standard lettuce, tomato, onions, hot and sweet peppers, etc. Was I happy with the sub, yes, but the best food in Ft. Lauderdale? Come on. Can someone please tell my how anyone can think this is the best food in Fort Lauderdale?

Jack's Old Fashioned Hamburgers. 1/2

I went back to longtime favorite Jack's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, located at 4201 N Federal Hwy Oakland Park, FL 33308. They also have a location in Pompano. Jacks grounds their own beef freshly each day and serves old style fried/MacDonald's style hamburgers. Although in my opinion, Jack's pales in comparison to places like Charm City Burger Co (Deerfield), or California Burger (Near the Galleria Mall), they still make a nice, old style burger, as long as your body can handle all the extra grease. Their fries are just OK and it would be nice if they offered some additional toppings, but its still a great place to try when in the area. 7.5 out of 10.

12/30 Isabella's Pizza and Pasta

Isabella's Pizza and Pasta is located at 1571 S Federal HwyFort Lauderdale, FL 33316, it is in a small strip mall near the Dunkin Donuts and the Hair Cuttery, off of Federal between Davie Blvd and 17th St.
I had the Chicken Bleu cheese salad and my friend had the chicken Parmesan, (pictured below). The salad was quite good and featured a nice amount of grilled chicken and crumbled bleu cheese on top of a traditional green salad. It also came with garlic rolls which were fairly good. My friend said the chicken parm was solid and it certainly was a large portion for lunch.
On a previous visit here, I had 2 slices of pizza, which were good, but the slices where a little on the small side compared to other place. The chicken salad was better then I expected and I certainly will return. 7.5 out of 10.

1/8 Update, Anthony's Runway 84 from 12/23

I've been really slacking off on here lately and I'm going to try to be a bit more consistent with the posts in the coming year. I am running out of local places so any suggestions are greatly appreciate. Also, comments are welcome. Shout out to the JAAB Blog http://jaablaw.com/ for the recommendation to try Saigon City. I'll be sure to stop by in the coming weeks.

Anthony's Runway 84

Before the holidays, we hit Anthony's Runway 84, near SR 84 and Andrews. This long standing Fort Lauderdale Landmark recently started serving lunch. The last time I ate here, was probably with my Grandparents when I was like 10. I've mostly avoided it for dinner over the years due to the long waits. There were 3 of us for lunch so we decided to split 3 of there most traditional appetizers and a sandwich. (Pictured below in order) We had their famous meatballs, which were quite good, but not as awesome as I expected them to be, the rice balls, which were stuffed with meet and cheese and where fantastic, and the sausage and broccoli rabe, which was also fantastic. We also ordered a chicken panani (not pictured), which we probably could have skipped. It was nothing special. The 3 appetizers would have been enough for lunch. They had a few other items that looked interesting, including a seafood salad, which I'll try next time. Price wise, the lunch menu is very reasonable. The apps were about $8-9 each and the panini was like $10 I think. Overall, lunchtime is a great opportunity to dine at this historic Fort Lauderdale landmark for a reasonable price with none of the usual waits or favorable treatment for tables. 8.0 out of 10