Florida Agenda

By TIM SLIVINSKI

Market 17
1850 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale, FL
954-835-5507

I first visited and reviewed Market 17 about 10 months ago when it was still a new kid on the block to the Fort Lauderdale dining scene. I had a great experience while dining there, and I have since returned many times quite recently. If anything, this farm to table restaurant has only improved in its quality of farm fresh food and the creativity of its chef and the dishes he prepares.

One feature of Market 17 that I have fallen in love with is the special pricing and offer that comes with its daily happy hour, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. (Includes Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings!) All appetizers and starters are 50% off at the bar. Not only that, but Market 17’s signature cocktails are also offered at 50% off the menu price. It is possible to sit and relax, enjoy top quality food and creatively mixed cocktails, and lose yourself in the peaceful, subtle atmosphere that defines Market 17 for a very reasonable price, because when the check arrives, it is simply cut in half. This is most definitely a win for serious foodies who enjoy dining on the lighter side by choosing several small plates rather than a large entrée.

Market 17’s cocktail menu is a patron’s first clue that this is no ordinary establishment. Kimi McCurry is the bar manager, and she has created each cocktail on the menu with attention to fresh fruit juices, fruit purees, infusions, and garnishes. I am partial to her take on the classic Manhattan: the M17. Starting with Maker’s Mark Bourbon, she adds ginger, macerated cherries and more for a delicious remix of that old stand-by. If vodka is your spirit, then try the Strawpow Capricosa. Tito’s vodka (fresh from Texas!) is mixed with fresh muddled strawberries, pomegranate seeds and lime, and agave nectar. It’s all topped off with a splash of soda. It’s refreshing, full of flavor and, like all the cocktails on the menu, oh-sobeautiful to look at. Market 17’s cocktail menu is creative, playful, and unique, with cocktails priced between $9 and $13.

For a light supper at the bar or for a starter for two, you cannot lose with the ever-changing Housemade Charcuterie ($18). It arrives with two in-house made sausages, most recently smoked chicken and garlic sausage along with chorizo verde. A cheese spread, an herb ricotta spread, thin toasts offering tang and crunch, and Canadian-style boar ham that gives a slight salty addition to the palate. Rounding out the plate are various picklings (superb!) and chutneys and a whole-grain mustard. Every taste bud is hit with flavor, making it difficult to decide what on the plate is your favorite.

If you are not squeamish about names, try the Crispy Pork Belly ($15). It is pork belly that crisps and then gives way to a smooth consistency of flavor unlike any bacon in the world. Served with parmesan polenta, caramelized onion, and arugula, this dish’s complexity of flavors and textures satisfies. Jumbo Stone Crab Claws are in season now, and Market 17 offers them – and they truly are jumbo – at $20 a piece. Sweet and tender, they come to you with three sauces for dipping: avocado soup, chililime aioli, and mustard sauce. As each sauce is as good and fresh as the next, it is nearly impossible to determine a favorite.

Feeling in the mood to splurge a bit on a recent Sunday evening visit, my partner and I decided to try a couple of entrées. Every entrée on the Market 17’s menu is offered in both petite and full entrée size. This is another plus that allows diners to be more adventurous and try more dishes while allowing the health conscious diner some portion control. I opted for the petite portion of the Roasted Red Feather Chicken ($19/$32). The chicken breast arrived moist and juicy and sitting atop a most delicious acorn squash spaetzle cake.

The fall flavors were a perfect harbinger of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Milk poached turnips escarole accompanied my entrée and I eagerly consumed every bit. My partner decided to try the Grilled Wreckfish ($22/$36), though neither of us were familiar with this particular fish. I have since found out this species lives in old shipwrecks, hence its name. It is a low harvested fish and is a great source of protein and B vitamins and minerals. A perfectly grilled and deliciously succulent piece of fish arrived, accompanied by chick pea puree, grilled heirloom tomatoes, arugula, basil hollandaise and pine nut pesto. Though it may sound like a too busy dish, it was not as each item was in perfect proportion and a complement to the others. He proclaimed the petite portion as perfect and just enough.

Market 17 seems to have found an audience of fresh “farm to table” food lovers in the South Florida market, and for very good reason. It offers a consistency of quality that is unrivaled in Fort Lauderdale. Cocktails, appetizers, and entrees use creative and fresh ingredients in unique ways. If you are looking for a special place for a relaxing and delicious evening out, head to Market 17. And if you begin your evening in the bar, look for me!

By TIM SLIVINKSI

Contemporary dining trends have been undergoing a quiet but steady revolution in the last couple years. Diners have moved away from ordering entrees that are often far too large and instead selecting appetizers as their main course. In realizing this ongoing trend, the owners of what was once the Himmarshee Bar and Grill have revamped their restaurant to accommodate the desires of today’s patrons. And that’s where PL8 Kitchen comes in. It offers a fun, eclectic menu of several small plate options designed for sharing, grazing, and nibbling. It’s a concept that allows diners to try several options on the menu rather than focusing on only one entrée.  Once you see the menu, you will be very glad that the small plate sizes allow for trying several of the delicious options.

It was a quiet Monday evening, threatening rain, when my partner and I decided to give PL8 Kitchen a try. As we were seated in the very industrial looking dining room, Rachel, our gracious and helpful server, efficiently explained the PL8 concept to us. We ordered a cocktail. (Note: The classic Manhattan I ordered was among the best I have ever had.) We then began the difficult task of narrowing down our choices from a menu that creatively uses ingredients to describe everything in a mouth-watering manner.

For our first round—we already knew there would be more than one—we selected a local arugula and corn salad ($8), the cast iron mac n’ cheese (a big surprise at $6), and the shiitake mushroom sliders ($8). As with most small plate and tapas-style eateries, food is prepared to order and served at the table when ready. First to arrive was the salad. Beautifully green, snappy, peppery arugula was dressed with a sherry vinaigrette. The salad was dotted with corn and smoked almond slices, which added texture and crunch. A sliced strawberry completed the presentation. It was light, fresh, summery, and tasty. Next came the mac n’ cheese, creatively served in a small cast iron skillet. It arrived bubbly hot, and I needed to dive in quickly. Each evening the cheese changes, so ask your server.

Rachel informed us that smoked gouda was the main cheese on our Monday visit. It was creamy and rich, and rather than being mere pasta and cheese, the dish offered broccoli, peas, and bacon. I was skeptical at first, but left not one bit in the skillet.

The shiitake sliders made their entrance next. Many may be weary of the slider trend, but creative chefs are moving beyond the burger slider to offer unique takes on the little sandwiches. That’s exactly the case at PL8. The shiitake sliders are a combination of spinach, grilled tomato, mozzarella, grilled red onion, and a balsamic aioli. They were rich and delicious, and we did not miss the beef at all. PL8 additionally offers sliders in chicken, scallop, bratwurst and beef varieties.

We took a break, sipped another cocktail before ordering round two. After glancing through our menu options,
we decided to try out the chicken “chimichangas” ($10) and the oh-so-decadent-sounding duckfat-roasted marble potatoes ($5).

When Rachel brought the potatoes to our table, the aroma alone told me I was in love. They are bite-sized potatoes that carry a hint of the richness of the duckfat, sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Simple, but delicious. The chicken “chimichangas” are unlike any other dish with this name that I have ever had. Put the deep-fried idea out of your mind. Deliciously seasoned chicken sits atop a crispy tortilla. The chicken is complemented by pickled shallots, sour cream, and chipotle cream. Another crispy ring that looks like a cookie sits on top. Somehow, it all works. They are well-seasoned, cool and hot, and fun to eat.

We were pleasantly full and enjoying winding down for the evening, but I had one more request.

I wanted to try one of PL8’s brick oven pizzas, reasoning that what we could not eat would easily become lunch the next day. We asked Rachel to bring us the meatball pizza option ($9). The pizza crust had a great crunch without being overly charred. The generous toppings offered rich and creamy ricotta cheese, tangy san marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, and the meatballs. It was cut into six slices, perfect for sharing. Once again, we had scored a winner. (It was equally good the next day for lunch too.)

PL8 Kitchen is a great addition to the Fort Lauderdale dining scene as it clearly understands what today’s diners are looking for. I look forward to a return visit soon because there are still many “pl8s” I want to sample.

PL8 KITCHEN
210 SW 2nd STREET, FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
954-524-1818

By TIM SLIVINKSI

ROSIE’S BAR & GRILL
2449 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL
954-563-0123

Like most people, I truly enjoy finding new places to dine. It’s always exciting to discover a hidden gem tucked away in a strip mall, or a brand new establishment that is hitting its stride right out of the gate. At certain times, however, you just want the comfort of an old favorite, a place where you know precisely what to expect with no surprises to take you away from your main goal:  to relax.  That’s my sentiment about Rosie’s. It’s like an old friend I can return to whenever I feel that need to be in my comfort zone. I may stay away for a while, but when I return, it is as if I have never been gone. And as Martha Stewart would say, “that’s a good thing.”

One of the primary attractions at Rosie’s is their outdoor space. It’s inviting and so well put together that it’s easy to forget that a major four lane road is just feet away from your table. The tropical landscaping is so lush and so well cared for that it all but creates a barrier wall between the restaurant and the street. Quite honestly, no matter the weather, Rosie’s is a spot where I insist upon eating outside. It’s just not a true Rosie’s experience if I don’t. By the way, a fairly recent development has now declared the entire outdoor seating area to be non-smoking.

A recent Monday evening found the partner and I enjoying the relative comfort of a rain-cooled summer breeze as we collapsed from fatigue on the patio. After we each ordered a Skyy martini — they’re on special on Monday evenings — we decided to make a dinner of appetizers because it sounded like fun. After consulting with one another and a bit of discussion, we ordered the most amazing macaroni and cheese balls I have ever tasted. Delightfully crunchy on the exterior and wonderfully cheesy — in a good way — on the interior, they were delicious and amazingly comforting after a long day. My partner is a pickle fanatic, and he could not pass up the chance to order the deep fried pickles. I will admit that I was a bit hesitant, but after they arrived, I threw my hesitation off to the side of the patio. Again, they were crispy outside while offering an astringent tang on the inside. It’s a combination that works. In order to keep things a little — ahem — healthy, we also decided to have a Rose Garden salad brought to the table. It was crisp, green, crunchy (detect a theme here?) and beautifully tossed with tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and onions.  A smattering of cheddar and jack cheese on the top added interest to the fresh greens and veggies. It all created a comfortable, relaxing, delicious Monday night.

On another recent occasion, we decided to return to a couple of old favorites on the menu.  I have always been partial to the Rose Nylund Wrap, and it has nothing to due with how hot Betty White currently happens to be. It’s a classic grilled chicken Caesar salad done in a convenient and tasty tomato-basil wrap. It’s easy to eat, and it always makes me smile. Its simplicity is what makes it so appealing. The b/f opted for one of his Rosie’s classics: the Young Ranch Hand. Grilled chicken sandwiches don’t really get any better than this. Swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing top the juicy boneless chicken breast. It’s a bit messy, and that is part of its appeal. You may need the knife and fork to help you.

If you’re up a tad early (10:00am) on a Sunday morning and want to get a head start on your day at the beach, stop in at Rosie’s for brunch. Just like lunch and dinner, they offer an array of fun, tasty options that will get your day going. I am particularly fond of the menu portion known as “Big Dicts.”  It offers variations on the traditional eggs benedict. I particularly enjoy Not Crab with a K.

Pan-seared blue crab cakes anchor this version of the breakfast classic, topped with poached eggs, sautéed spinach and herb hollandaise sauce – almost too decadent for a Sunday morning, but not with a mimosa. My partner is frequently drawn to the Greek omelet because he is a fan of the dish’s feta cheese, Kalamata olives, spinach and tomato combination. It’s his opinion that a Bloody Mary is the perfect accompaniment. During the earlier hours, a comforting mix of smooth jazz and funk play in the background to ease you into your day.

It’s always swell to run into an old friend; it’s fun to get caught up and to renew the bond that made you friends in the first place. That’s what I do whenever I return to Rosie’s after a brief hiatus.

It’s good to get to know Rosie’s again.