Just got back from a fabulous HAL cruise, and we allowed ourselves to spend some extra time in the Ft Lauderdale area. Had some very memorable meals that I'm pleased to share: Rustic Inn - inventor of Garlic Crabs, of which they serve a couple of different varieties, the namesake dish and Golden Crabs, a crustacean that lives in much deeper waters with a much different appearance but equally delicious meat. A totally casual place where you plop your crabs on the newspaper covered table and hammer and hack away at clusters taken from the heaping bowls. Yummy conch chowder and dinner salad too. A great place to go after a long day of flying as you only need freshen up a bit and go as you are...it's going to get messy. For lunch we enjoyed Brasserie Las Olas right in downtown FtL. I had a delicious steak sandwich with "melted" onions (caramelized and cooked down with balsamic vinegar) and my wife enjoyed the lobster roll. Dinner that night was truly a top-of-the-list experience at Eduardo De San Angel. Lovely room, excellent and personable service and gourmet Mexican food to die for. Definitely worth the splurge. We enjoyed an appetizer size of their huitlacoche crepe in squash blossom sauce that was incredible, as was the stir-fired spinach salad, the lamb chops (2 doubles) in 3 sauces and my wonderful filet mignon stuffed with rajas and cheese. We found Brasserie Las Olas through the iDine program, and was pleased to find that Rustic Inn is included too. This is a great deal, especially if you eat out frequently. For less than $5 per month in dues you get anywhere from 10% to 20% (the norm) or even 40% of the tab, including liquor and gratuities, rebated back to your credit card. It's a great program, and one that I take advantage of at every possible opportunity.
Florida