By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN
So there we were walking up Wilton Drive on our way to have some Japanese food, when we got sidetracked by the sound of laughter coming by way of Rosie’s Bar & Grill. Not the ha-ha stuff of comedy shows, but belly-laughs the size of Cleveland.
Happiness being in short supply these days, we ducked inside and made for the outside patio in search of the fun. The good time was spreading all over the place, so we pulled up chairs under a beach umbrella, and decided to chow down at this neighborhood favorite.
We love the sandwich wraps at Rosie’s—especially our all-time favorite big-as-a-horse Trojan ($10.50), blending mixed greens, chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, Kalamata olives, Greek peppers, feta cheese and grilled chicken that’s all bound up in a tomatobasil tortilla. Then again we can’t forget the always-great Miss West Texas 1983 ($10.95)–grilled chicken, corn, black beans, caramelized onions, jack cheese, lettuce, tomato and housemade chipotle-honey barbeque sauce. Same tomato-basil tortilla; totally different taste.
On this night, however, we felt like Big Girls—those are the larger plates found near the end of the menu. It takes quite the appetite to consume an entire Versatile Plate ($19.95), but somehow my date managed just that. Try to imagine finishing off a flat-iron steak (grilled medium rare) rubbed with Rosie’s spice blend PLUS a skewer of grilled large pink shrimp with garlic butter and Old Bay seasoning—all served on a bed of onion rings, with garlic-herb mashed potatoes, and a side of broccoli. Yes, she finished the whole platter herself, and this is after downing the Caesar salad that comes with the meal.
I was hardly in a position to mock her eating exhibition, of course, since I had ordered the Coco-Loco Shrimp ($14.95)—jumbo, fried and coated in coconut. It’s served with a not-too-sweet Lady Marmalade sauce that is housemade in the back room. I opted to start with the eversuperb French onion soup ($1 extra). Decorated with dozens of colorful Japanese lanterns and the soft landscape lighting of the surrounding lush palm plantings, there’s little at Rosie’s to remind you that at one time this was a franchise of Hamburger Mary’s. Unless, of course, you flip to the burger menu where the club’s signature meat patties show their stuff. Where but at Rosie’s could you ever find a menu item called Wilma Breathstink ($10.50). By any other name that’s a burger that’s been drenched in red wine, topped with Swiss cheese, and layered with ovenroasted garlic.
If you like your meat on the spicy side, we recommend the Hellena Bun, a thick burger topped with crumbled blue cheese and fried jalapeños plus a slather of “Smack My Cheeks and Make ‘Em Rosie” sauce. No, you can’t have the recipe but you can enjoy the entrée for $11.50. Don’t eat meat? Try the Ima Gerdenia ($10.50), a Garden Burger® topped with cheddar cheese, sautéed mushrooms and “Thai Me Up” sweet chili sauce. All but the vegan Garden Burger® are made from a half-pound patty of Angus beef and served with lettuce, tomato and a side of fries or cole slaw.
There are salads galore on the menu as well. If we had to pick just one, it would be the Southern Lovin’ ($12.50), a big bowl of mixed greens topped with grilled (or fried) chicken, plus caramelized pecans, bacon bits, cheddar and jack cheeses, chopped tomatoes with a honey-mustard dressing.
Go early, stay late, laugh yourself silly—and tell ‘em Florida Agenda sent you.
ROSIE’S BAR & GRILL
2449 Wilton Drive
Wilton Manors, FL 33305
954-563-0123
