Florida Agenda

By TIM SLIVINSKI

Hi-Life Café
3000 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL
954-563-1395

I will confess: I have a long history with the Hi-Life Café. On a sentimental note, it was the very first restaurant where my partner and I had an intimate dinner out on our very first trip to Fort Lauderdale, many moons ago. It became our tradition that we would book reservations for dinner at the Hi-Life on our very first evening here whenever we returned for another vacation. Eventually, we settled here permanently, and while so much has changed since those first visits and so many places have come and gone, the

Hi-Life Café continues going strong, serving its loyal clients dinner in a subdued, intimate setting.

The ambiance of the Hi-Life is integral to its consistent appeal. It is not flashy or trendy, but instead offers calming, soothing colors, linen tablecloths, fresh flowers and the soft and appealing glow of candles. Just walking in immediately puts you at ease as you look forward to a relaxing dining experience. Chances are good that you will be greeted by host Aude Weis, owner of the Hi-Life, as she shows you to your table. The first dining room offers the option of eating at the bar or at one of the tables along the side or in front near the windows. The second dining room, through an archway to the right, offers several tables of various sizes to accommodate an intimate dinner for two or a night out with friends.

On a recent visit, my partner and I invited two friends we had not seen in some time to join us for dinner so we could chat and get caught up. Aude showed us to a round table — perfect for conversation — and we all decided to begin our evening with a round of kir royales, a wonderful summertime Champagne cocktail, light and refreshing. As the conversation flowed and the laughs erupted, we turned our attention to the dinner menu. A board of features was presented, as was the daily dinner menu.

Hi-Life, taking a cue from current dining trends, now offers many of its salads, appetizers and entrees in two sizes: either a h

alf or full portion, a great idea that more restaurants need to consider.

We all decided on different starters. I chose the half portion of the herbed goat cheese salad, an all-time favorite of mine at the Hi-Life. It offers an herb crusted, crispy, creamy triangle of goat cheese on top of fresh spring greens and chopped tomatoes, dressed in a very light vinaigrette. Delicious as always! My partner chose his favorite, the smaller portion of the Belgian endive salad. The endive leaves are topped with bleu cheese, tomatoes and pecans, all dressed in a light Champagne vinaigrette. One friend chose the vichyssoise, the classic leek and potato soup, offered either warm or cold, while the other selected a feature soup: a creamy brie and mushroom soup. Both emptied their bowls and pronounced them delicious.

As the chit chat continued around the table and we grew ever more comfortable, it was time to decide on entrees. Always a fan of grouper, I chose the pan-seared grouper served on risotto from the feature menu. It arrived perfectly moist and tender, with a wonderful caper sauce that added just a bit of zest to the grouper. It was light and flavorful, a great summer dinner. My partner and another friend were feeling like something a bit heartier, so they decided upon the southwestern Bolognese. It is a spicy mix of ground filet and New York strip served over angel hair pasta and finished with nutty Parmesan cheese. It was delightfully spicy without being too over the top. The empty pasta bowls in front of both of them said it all. Our other dining companion chose a Hi-Life classic: Chef Carlos’ signature salmon. A salmon filet is pan seared and then baked; it is then topped with a light Dijon sauce that plays well with the freshness of the salmon. Sautéed spinach and roasted potatoes finish the plate. He pronounced it “summer on a plate”.

Our dining experience at the Hi-Life was just as enjoyable on our recent visit as it had been so many years ago when we first dined there. It is a superb date place, as well as a great place to leisurely dine and get caught up with old friends. Don’t be surprised if Chef Carlos himself stops by your table to inquire about your menu selections and your dining experience. If you have not been to the Hi-Life Café in some time, then perhaps, like a good friend you can count on, it is time to become re-acquainted.

The Riverside Grille
125 N. Riverside Drive, Pompano Beach, FL
954-941-2499

By TIM SLIVINSKI

If you are looking for a taste of Old Florida and what defined this area before “the boom,” then take a trip up A1A to Pompano Beach and have dinner at The Riverside Grille. Open since 1993, this unassuming restaurant along the Intracoastal offers a wide selection of good food without being fussy or pretentious. If it’s a breezy summer evening, ask for a table outside and enjoy a beautiful sunset as boats travel by on the waterway. It may seem a bit touristy, but so what? We all need to be tourists in our own backyard once in a while.

On a balmy evening, my partner and I sat at a table on the deck as the sun played behind the clouds. A recent brief rain shower had cooled the air a bit and a gentle breeze made it a pleasant South Florida evening.  We each ordered a cocktail and began to peruse the menu.

The Riverside Grille leans heavily toward seafood, as you might expect from its location. If you are a shellfish devotee, the Riverside offers raw bar selections of oysters and clams. In addition are several cold and hot appetizer options. We decided to try the Clams Casino from the hot starter menu. Topped with herb butter crumbs and applewood smoked bacon, we drizzled a little lemon and enjoyed the play of citrus, smoke and brine that each clam contained. We were off to a good start!

Given our location on the water and the Riverside’s large seafood options, we both decided that something from the sea would be our entrée choice. I decided to begin with a small Caesar salad. I was impressed when a beautiful green salad arrived with the dressing completely on the side. (Overly dressed salads are a pet peeve of mine.) The Riverside automatically allows you to dress your greens as lightly or as heavily as you desire. Impressive. It is also worth noting that the salad arrived with shavings of thinly planed parmesan. Why any restaurant uses that powdery stuff in the canister on a Caesar salad is beyond me. Impressive again. All salad dressings are made on the premises, and this one was tangy and creamy and clearly not out of a bottle. Finally, the croutons were cut and toasted from their own bread.  This was a real salad. Likewise, my partner opted for the traditional wedge salad, his favorite, and he pronounced its blue cheese dressing as ‘simply delicious’.

After reading through the menu options several times and hearing the day’s fresh catches, we were ready to select our entrees. I chose Almond Crusted Snapper, while my cohort opted for Key Lime Grilled Grouper. When my plate arrived, the lightly crusted and herbed snapper was succulent and fork tender. The almonds provided not only a bit of flavor, but some added texture with their crunch. I ordered black beans and rice as my side, and the portion was more than generous and tasty without being overly spicy. Cohort’s grouper was a nicely grilled filet, and he loved the drizzle of key lime, cilantro and citrus that offered a zing of flavor to the moistly grilled grouper. He had a side of mashed potatoes that were perfectly home-style and both plates offered green beans as a veggie accompaniment. As the sun set and created a puzzle with the clouds, our palates were both happy with seafood dinners on the water — how utterly South Florida!

If your dining partner or friends are not seafood eaters, fear not, for the Riverside Grille also offers menu options in steak, chicken, pork chops – and even vegetarian; many of these dishes are created daily by the restaurant’s chef, depending on what is fresh and available that inspires his food muse. We did not order it, but a nearby table was raving over a cup of clam chowder.  For the summer, the Riverside Grille is offering an amazing deal if you are a lobster lover. For $49.95, it’s a Dinner for Two Feature. Each person receives a whole steamed lobster along with the potato and vegetable of the day, as well as a bottle of featured wine. We saw several tables happily enjoying their lobster with their lobster bibs tightly in place.

In addition to dinner, the Riverside Grille is open for lunch daily. It is a great reminder of the Florida of days past before restaurants became so corporate. Next time you feel the need to revisit those days and enjoy a lunch or dinner on the Intracoastal, take the drive up to Pompano Beach and enjoy delicious seafood at the Riverside Grille.