A Movable Feast Right on a Canal

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. —  The late afternoon sun glinted on the water as we sped along the canals of Ft. Lauderdale in our water taxi on the way to dinner. We passed pastel-colored homes with louvered windows and manicured yards dotted with palms.

It was nearly dusk when our boat pulled up to the dock at Stan’s restaurant; tiny white Tivoli lights glowed along the railing. Lou Vassaluzzo, the tuxedoed maitre d’, ushered us to an upstairs room, with a polished oak bar at one end and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.

We watched sleek white yachts ply the canal as we ate an appetizer of fresh Florida stone crab claws, served cold with a piquant, Key lime/honey-mustard sauce. Next came a Caesar salad with anchovies, followed by fresh grouper, a firm and flavorful fish. It had been sauteed and was served with shrimp and mussels in a white wine cream sauce.

For dessert we tried a South Florida specialty--Key lime pie. To be authentic, the pie must be made with the small Florida Keys limes, known for their intense flavor. The pie traditionally is made with a graham cracker crust, and opinions vary on whether the topping should be whipped cream or meringue. Stan’s version was smooth in texture, with a strong taste of lime and topped with whipped cream.

Upstairs, Downstairs

By the time we were finishing our coffee a quartet was playing on a small stage as couples danced. Entrees at Stan’s cost $17 to $23 and include Caesar salad. Appetizers and desserts are $3-$4, except for some of the fresh seafood, which is priced daily. (Four large crab claws, for example, were $13.50.) The same menu is available upstairs as well as downstairs, but the downstairs room is more informal.

Many good restaurants line the Ft. Lauderdale canals. The best way to visit them is by water taxi. Also, it’s often the most convenient way. And the $2.50 fare generally will be less than the cost of a cab from your hotel.

Probably the most popular waterside restaurant is Shooters on the Water. Started seven years ago by four yachtsmen who wanted a place where boaters could tie up and dine casually, the restaurant has become the prime watering hole for the college crowd. Shooters has valet parking for boats. During cocktail hour, yachts are often lined six deep in front of the restaurant.

You can dine inside, where people crowd around a central bar, or outdoors by the side of the waterway or around the restaurant’s swimming pool. Shooters is more for the experience than the cuisine, but best bets are such fresh-caught fish as snapper, grouper, swordfish and tuna ($10-$15), or thick hamburgers served on poppyseed Kaiser rolls ($4.95).

Conch fritters are a local appetizer--meat from Bahamian conch shells is mixed with chopped onion, green pepper, jalapeno pepper and beer, formed into balls and deep-fried ($3.95). The Key lime pie ($3.95) here was too heavy and gelatinous.

Novelistic Setting

Two other casual waterside restaurants are near Shooters. To the south is the Bootlegger, used as the setting for Elmore Leonard’s novel, “The Stick.” Specialties at this open-air restaurant are barbecued baby back ribs ($12.95) and sandwiches of mesquite-grilled chicken on a Kaiser roll ($5.95).

To the north is Durty Nelly’s, where the movie version of “The Stick” was filmed, because the Bootlegger had been remodeled. Durty Nelly’s retains a suitably funky atmosphere, with wooden floors and old wooden tables and benches. Big, gooey sandwiches of roast pork or steak with green pepper and onions are served for under $4.

A more formal restaurant in the same area is Charley’s Crab. Fresh seafoods are served in a cool, sedate setting. Prices for entrees are $15 to $28 at dinner, $10 to $17 at lunch.

Fashionable Tastes

Down the Intracoastal Waterway near Port Everglades, Pier 66 Resort and Marina has several restaurants. On the water is Cafe 66, a sleek, trendy restaurant with an outside deck overlooking the marina.

We dined there one warm evening while music from a live rock band blared from inside. A Caesar salad came with fresh shrimp and pecans that added a nice, slightly sweet flavor to the tartness of the Caesar dressing.

Grilled tuna was served with a cilantro butter, and red peppers, carrots, zucchini strips and red cabbage which had been lightly sauteed. Entrees cost $15-$19. Gourmet pizzas are a specialty at $10.95. On the pier at Pier 66 is the Pelican Bar, a little sandwich shop serving hot dogs and hamburgers for $2.95-$4.95.

Just across the heavily trafficked Stranahan River is the 15th Street Fisheries restaurant and marina. Wooden plank boards line the walls, and long sheets of white paper serve as tablecloths. It’s not fancy, but the fish is fresh and simply prepared.

We sat on stools around a high table and watched pelicans perch on poles outside the window as we tried an appetizer of fish fingers ($4.50)--pieces of grouper, deep-fried in a light batter and not overly greasy. A salad of fresh greens was served with a house dressing, and mesquite-grilled dolphin ($8.95) had a firm, smooth texture and great flavor. The vegetables were fresh, but overcooked; better to stick with the French fries.

Postprandial Stroll

Up the New River, water taxis stop at the Riverside Hotel, where sandwiches and salads are served in the “620” restaurant for $5-$6. Dinners of fresh seafood and steaks are served in Le Cafe International for $10-$16.

From the hotel you can stroll along Las Olas Boulevard, with its many shops and new restaurants. Las Olas Patisserie makes a great breakfast stop. Flaky, buttery croissants sell for $1.29, and owner/baker Scott Schwaner’s winter fruit cake, a yellow cake with butter cream icing, topped with strawberries and kiwi ($3.50 a slice), is heavenly. Soups and croissant sandwiches are served at lunchtime.

Also along the boulevard is Au Bain Marie where you can buy a variety of pates, cheeses and salads for a picnic. Boxed lunches are $3.40-$4.50. The two best restaurants in Ft. Lauderdale are also accessible by water taxi--The Down Under and Casa Vecchia.

Opened in 1968, The Down Under is a fantasy of art nouveau furniture, high ceilings and hanging plants. Chef Gerald Smith features such local specialties as Florida red snapper, stone crabs and pompano--a sweet, delicate white fish--as well as such foreign-influenced dishes as confit de canard and chicken curry.

For dessert, a smooth almond orange cake and a rich, dark-chocolate mousse are standouts. The Key lime pie here was the best we’d had--light, delicately flavored with lime and topped with perfectly finished meringue. Dinners cost about $50 per person, lunches $8-$16.

Romantic Evenings

Casa Vecchia, featuring northern Italian cuisine, is one of the most romantic restaurants anywhere. In a house built in 1937 as a honeymoon home for a member of the Pond’s cold cream dynasty, it overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway. Inside, dining alcoves are furnished with antiques and decorated with an eclectic mix of oil paintings, Oriental carpets, hand-carved woodwork and chandeliers of Venetian glass.

We began with an appetizer of escargots in a green peppercorn sauce. The snails were tender, and the slightly spicy sauce was a pleasant change from the traditional garlic butter.

Next came house-made linguine in a pesto sauce of fresh basil, surrounded by large chunks of blue crab and topped with a fresh tomato fondue. For dessert we tried the cannoli. This version of the traditional Italian pastry was a cylinder of light, flaky pastry with a rich cheese filling, lightly flavored with orange. Dinners at Casa Vecchia cost about $50 per person, excluding wine.

Two water cab companies--Canal Cab, (305) 527-1600, and Water Taxi of Ft. Lauderdale, (305) 565-5507--offer transportation to the restaurants.

Both companies operate from about 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., but will start earlier if requested. While it’s best to call about 20 minutes ahead of your desired pickup time, it’s also possible to hail a passing cab from the pier. The fare is $2.50, one way, to anywhere on the city’s waterways.

Recommended: Au Bain Marie, 821 E. Las Olas Blvd., (305) 467-2955. Bootlegger, 3003 N.E. 32nd Ave., (305) 563-4337. Cafe 66, Pier 66 Resort and Marina, 2301 S.E. 17th St. Causeway, (305) 728-3500. Casa Vecchia, 209 N. Birch Road, (305) 463-7575. Charley’s Crab, 3000 N.E. 32nd Ave., (305) 561-4800. The Down Under, 3000 E. Oakland Park Blvd., (305) 563-4123. Durty Nelly’s, 3051 N.E. 32nd Ave., (305) 564-0720. 15th Street Fisheries, 1900 S.E. 15th St., (305) 763-2777. Las Olas Patisserie, 806A E. Las Olas Blvd., (305) 760-7604. Riverside Hotel, 620 E. Las Olas Blvd., (305) 467-0671. Shooters on the Water, 3033 N.E. 32nd Ave., (305) 566-2855. Stan’s Restaurant and Lounge, 3300 E. Commercial Blvd., (305) 772-3700 (upstairs) or 772-3777 (downstairs).