{"id":21550,"date":"2025-10-26T21:28:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T21:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/21550\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T21:28:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T21:28:25","slug":"why-fort-lauderdale-should-be-your-next-culinary-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/21550\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Fort Lauderdale Should Be Your Next Culinary Destination"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Visit\"Visit<\/p>\n

Turn down a breezy side street and catch the scent of roasting pork. Follow it, and you\u2019ll find a family-run Cuban caf\u00e9 slinging slow-cooked lech\u00f3n and strong caf\u00e9 con leche. Or maybe you veer toward the waterfront, where docked yachts sway beside a Thai kitchen serving lemongrass-laced curries with a canal view. Around the corner? An upscale izakaya. A Haitian bakery. A speakeasy behind a freezer door.<\/p>\n

Welcome to Greater Fort Lauderdale\u2014a sprawling, polyglot community where more than 4,000 restaurants reflect the 147 languages spoken across its neighborhoods. In North Lauderdale, Haitian puff pastry patties crinkle under your fingertips; in Wilton Manors, you\u2019ll find Laotian-style sausage with sticky rice at a queer-owned supper club. Even the Michelin Guide has started paying attention, finally catching up to what locals have always known.<\/p>\n

As a native Floridian, I\u2019ve watched the area grow from a spring break hotspot into a vibrant, cosmopolitan destination. Over the years, I\u2019ve chased down griot on Sunrise Boulevard and found omakase menus tucked into strip malls. I\u2019ve wandered streets, cruised canals, and driven through off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods, always letting my appetite guide me. Here\u2019s what I found.<\/p>\n

\"Shrimps\"\"Shrimps\"James Jackman James Jackman<\/p>\n

Down by the New River, I followed the aroma of coconut milk and dend\u00ea oil to a dockside hideout where silver-haired chef Roberto Guerios rules the galley. Born in Brazil and raised in Italy, Guerios channels Bahian flavors in dishes like moqueca bubbling with fresh-caught grouper, creamy shrimp bob\u00f3 bright with cilantro, and vatap\u00e1 so rich it coats the spoon like velvet. The nautical dining room feels like a ship mid-voyage, flags fluttering overhead, spices perfuming the air. It\u2019s flavorful, sun-soaked, and a little bit wild\u2014exactly how a pirate would want it.<\/p>\n

On a quiet stretch of Broward Boulevard, chef Timon Balloo cooks from memory, blending the flavors of his Trinidadian-Chinese heritage with flavors from the places that shaped him\u2014Miami, San Francisco, Bangkok. His chowder fries are pure alchemy: Belgian frites topped with clam chowder, bacon, and herbs. I followed them with mom\u2019s Trini oxtail, slow-braised until it collapses under a fork, and served with Haitian pikliz to cut through the richness. And don\u2019t get me started on the \u201ctorrejas\u201d French toast dessert\u2014save some room, you won\u2019t regret it.<\/p>\n

The cafecito line was already three deep when I arrived at this no-frills family-run spot. The sound of vaca frita crackling with garlic and lime and the smells of sofrito and ropa vieja fill the air. Yuca con mojo comes past me steaming and tangled with sweet onions. Locals greet each other by name, and the counter staff moves with the ease of people who\u2019ve done this for decades.<\/p>\n

The smell of blackened seafood and the brassy lilt of Dixieland jazz guided me into this Victoria Park creole outpost, where Mardi Gras arrives in Greater Fort Lauderdale. Walls lined with beads and vintage beer ads set the tone, but the food delivers the real NOLA energy: crawfish \u00e9touff\u00e9e with a slow-building heat, golden fried oyster po\u2019boys, and a gumbo so smoky it lingered on my tongue like a backbeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a low-slung strip mall not far from downtown, I found some of the fiercest flavors in the region. Chef Suksamran\u2019s Larb Thai-Isan delivers khao soi bathed in golden broth and crowned with crunchy noodles, and som tum snapping with fermented crab and spicy bird\u2019s-eye chile. The duck salad, dotted with crispy skin and tossed in sweet chili and lime, is a master class in contrast. Come hungry, bring friends, and prepare to wait\u2014it\u2019s worth every second.<\/p>\n

\"Foxy\"FoxyJames Jackman <\/p>\n

Stepping inside Foxy Brown is like walking into your favorite sitcom kitchen\u2014cozy, familiar, maybe a little retro. \u201cWe\u2019ve grown alongside families and regulars, pioneering Fort Lauderdale\u2019s brunch scene since 2012,\u201d says director of operations Sasha Formica. The menu riffs on nostalgia: Green bean fries arrive tempura-crisp with sriracha aioli; the beef-a-roni marries tender short rib and creamy local ricotta tossed in casarecce pasta, just like the canned version of my latchkey childhood. But the sleeper hit? A banana bread grilled cheese with nutella and br\u00fbl\u00e9ed banana.<\/p>\n

Whitewashed walls, clinking glasses, platters the size of hubcaps\u2014Greek Islands Taverna doesn\u2019t do subtle. The pikilia platter alone is a meal: tzatziki, melitzanosalata, skordalia, and tirokafteri are all begging for torn pita. I followed those with lamb chops adorned simply with lemon, oregano, and olive oil still sputtering from the grill. The hospitality brings me back to the mountainside villages on Crete that I love, where it doesn\u2019t matter what language you speak because food and friendship are universal. Come hungry and come early because they don\u2019t take reservations.<\/p>\n

\"Tulio\u2019s\"Tulio\u2019sJames Jackman <\/p>\n

In Wilton Manors, where rainbow flags line the sidewalks and the music never stops, Tulio\u2019s hums with energy and mezcal. \u201cTulio\u2019s creates a welcoming space where everyone feels at home,\u201d owner and founder Brian Parenteau tells me. Sweet claw meat and bright roasted corn salsa overflow the lobster tacos; the birria\u2014pull-apart short rib folded into crisp tortillas\u2014is served with consomm\u00e9 I\u2019d drink by the mug.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Heritage\"\"Heritage\"James Jackman <\/p>\n

Tucked just off of Flagler Village, this spot pulses with energy. Rino Cerbone, part chef, part rock band front man, pours heart and heat into his Italian American menu. \u201cI wanted to be the one to change the game [in Greater Fort Lauderdale],\u201d Cerbone says. \u201cPeople see it. People feel it. They know in these four walls something awesome is happening.\u201d The razor clams beckon, still sizzling under a layer of breadcrumbs and Calabrian chile. Handmade pastas and pizzas, crafted with his family\u2019s secret dough and blistered in the wood oven, draw me in every visit. But the staple for Cerbone? \u201cThe pizza I grew up making with my father, the fresh tomato,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s five ingredients. Nothing to hide behind, just simple and delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Takato\"\"Takato\"James Jackman <\/p>\n

On a gusty stretch of Fort Lauderdale Beach, this Japanese-Korean fusion spot doesn\u2019t shy away from flavor: Short rib jabche melds glassy sweet potato noodles with galbi cooked sous vide to trembling tenderness; duck baos arrive pillowy and bursting with hoisin heat. \u201cTakato is more than just a restaurant\u2014it\u2019s where tradition and passion come together to create flavors that tell a story and bring people closer,\u201d says general manager Paul-Antoine Fabre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Turn down a breezy side street and catch the scent of roasting pork. Follow it, and you\u2019ll find…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21551,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-21550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}