Village Grille, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea for dining and beach breezes

Village Grille

4404 El Mar Drive

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL 33308

Open daily 8 a.m.-2 a.m.

954-776-5092

www.villagegrille.com

(USE SEARCH BOX TO FIND ANOTHER RESTAURANT BY NAME  OR ZIP CODE)

By Jane Feehan

Located just steps from the beach and Broward County’s longest fishing pier, Village Grille offers good food and a pleasant atmosphere that draws just as many locals as tourists.

Basic seafood, pasta, chicken, beef dishes, and salads headline lunch and dinner. Their fish and chips entrée (about $14) deserves special mention; the fish is batter dipped in house.  No fancy dining here and menus have changed over the years but I’ve never had a bad meal at Village Grille. Breakfast on the deck or sidewalk café includes better-than-average French toast along with other morning standards of eggs and cereal.

A visit to Village Grille often includes an after-meal walk on the beach or pier, or a drink at their adjacent Village Pump where there’s music and a martini bar. On Friday evenings at 6 p.m. the street is cordoned off outside the restaurant for live music and dancing.  Drawing hundreds, this weekly event has evolved into a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea tradition … and it’s free.   

Dining at Village Grille is more than filling up on food; it’s also about taking in the beach, gentle breezes and good times. Just don't forget quarters for parking meters.

Tags: Dining in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, beachside dining Fort Lauderdale, entertainment in Fort Lauderdale, entertainment in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea.

Anglin’s Beach Café: Top of the sand, side of the pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

Anglin’s Beach Café

2 Commercial Blvd.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida 33308

954-491-6007

http://www.anglinsbeachcafe.com/

Open daily 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.

By Jane Feehan

Nothing stays the same and that brings both good and sad to Anglin’s Beach Café. Under new ownership for several years, the café offers the same view of the ocean, sand, and sun seekers as its predecessor, Pier Café. For fans that frequented the place in the past, the intimacy of the indoor counter and familiar waitresses that tended to patrons for decades are gone (the gals work down the street at another establishment these days).

The lineup for breakfast, lunch, and now dinner has expanded and so has outdoor seating that includes a deck with umbrellas. Beach Café offers a modernized menu of organic salads and veggies, Panini sandwiches, pizza, New England favs such as clam rolls, and fish and chips (ordinary). There’s also coconut shrimp ($18), soft shell crab sliders ($12), and the tasty Anglin’s Beach Café special – a crispy pita stuffed with veggies and chicken ($12). Swordfish ($25) and other seafood specials are also available. My only complaint was a completely flat Coke, a bad thing on a hot day.

Anglin’s Beach Café caters to tourists and it’s more expensive than the previous restaurant, but there’s much more to choose from, including wine, beer and frozen drinks. Another welcome addition is a singer with guitar at lunch and dinner hours. The wait staff works hard to please and that view is hard to beat …

 -------

For more about the pier, see: http://janesbits.blogspot.com/2011/07/florida-history-broward-countys-longest.html

Tags: restaurants in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, breakfast in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, music in Lauderdale by the sea; beachside dining in Fort Lauderdale, Anglin’s Fishing Pier

BurgerFi in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea: Beyond fast food with healthy burgers and more ...

4343 N. Ocean Dr.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL 33308

954-489-0110

Open daily 11 a.m.-1 a.m.

http://www.burgerfi.com/

Enter zipcode in search box at right to find more restaurant reviews.

 By Jane Feehan

Curious about business BurgerFi is drumming up at the site of a closed Burger King along A1A in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, I was compelled to sample their menu recently. By noon, a small line cued up for orders of natural burgers, hand cut fries, hotdogs, shakes and … cupcakes. The line grew considerably by the time I left.

Open air but partially air conditioned BurgerFi is also sparkling modern,  eat-off-the-floor-clean, providing a cool and relaxing respite from heat and traffic; it's a much-needed, solid improvement over the Burger King that used to sit there. BurgerFi's menu remains the same for lunch or dinner.  A crisp-grilled quinoa veggie burger, fries, and a soda went for nearly $12. Pricey, but it’s not typical fast food. Beef eaters there told me they think BurgerFi’s prices for their exceptional burgers (about $6 for the basic choice) are well worth it. Diners include tourists and a fair share of repeat local customers, which says a lot.

Owner David Manero’s (Vic and Angelo’s and other eateries) premise is to serve healthy, hormone-free beef. The Web site explains the name and philosophy: “a Burgerfication of the Nation^™ … a discovery of what the burger could be.”  In keeping with the health theme, they also sell sodas sweetened with sugar cane instead of corn syrup.

Good beef (and hotdogs), abundant toppings, “hand-spun shakes,” craft beers and a more-than-ample selection of wines raises BurgerFi a few notches above a fast food joint. Another BurgerFi operates in Delray with more to be opened as franchises. Franchises are among the few business endeavors making any money these days so they may be on to something.

NOTE: now open on Sunrise Boulevard, across from the Galleria, in Fort Lauderdale.

Tags: healthy burgers Fort Lauderdale, places to dine in Lauderdale by-the-Sea, lunch in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, burger franchises, Fort Lauderdale hamburger places, BurgerFi

Aruba Beach Cafe: Let's party in Lauderdale by the Sea

Aruba Beach Café

1 Commercial Blvd.

Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida 33308

Open Monday-Saturday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Sunday: 9 a.m.-11 p.m.
954-776-0001

http://www.arubabeachcafe.com/menu.htm

By Jane Feehan

Whether stopping in after a swim, taking a walk on the nearby pier or gathering with friends, Aruba Beach Café can make any occasion seem like a party. It’s festively noisy and usually crowded with only a pane of glass separating diners from beach goers. Their tropical drinks and food with a Caribbean flare add to the fun.

Salads are oversized and fresh and so are the burgers and sandwiches ($12-18 average). They serve up a great lobster salad club. Skip the club format on whole wheat for this creation; ask for it on Bimini bread. Speaking of Bimini bread, they present a large hunk of it on a board with some food orders – delicious.

Seafood dishes ($22 average) for the most part are good but not exceptional; fish tends to be frozen, but heck this is more about fun than food. Three large bars, a complimentary pig roast on Friday Happy Hours (4-7 p.m.) and steel drums beckon drinkers but Aruba welcomes families to its large dining room.  

This beach side spot has been several iterations over the past 40 years or so, but Aruba has reigned longest, thanks to their winning formula for an entertaining, casual atmosphere and decent menu. Service: fair to good depending on the crowds. Breakfast served on Sundays. Copyright © 2010 Jane Feehan, all rights reserved.

For more information on Lauderdale by the Sea: http://www.lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov/
Lauderdale by the Sea Chamber of Commerce: www.lbts.com

Tags: beach restaurants, beach dining, Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida, seafood restaurants, Fort Lauderdale, happy hour, restaurant reviews Fort Lauderdale