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Greater Fort Lauderdale offers one of the best and most diverse dining scenes of any U.S. city its size. There are more than 4,000 eateries in Broward offering everything from new American and South American to pan-Asian cuisines. Go beyond the basics, and you'll find an endless supply of hidden gems.
This fun-and-funky grease pit in Deerfield Beach is one of Broward County's favorite dives on the supercheap. Serving up massive beef burgers, chicken burgers, and veggie burgers piled high with unapologetically fattening toppings like candied bacon strips, haystack onion straws, hash browns, and blue cheese spread, this is the true diet nemesis. Grab a side of hand-cut sweet potato fries with your burger, wash it all down with a thick Key lime milk shake, and then seal the food coma deal with a dessert of fried Oreos fritters or The Carnie, fried Twinkies with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and powdered sugar.
This mid-century landmark whips up malts, shakes, and jumbo sundaes from ice cream that is made on site daily. Founder Monroe Udell's trademarked Kitchen Sink—a small sink full of ice cream, topped by sparklers—is a real hoot for parties. His daughter Linda is now the owner and operator. Don't have a sweet tooth? Jaxson's also serves salads, hot dogs, and hot sandwiches.
This casual beachfront eatery is arguably Lauderdale-by-the-Sea's most famous restaurant. Aruba Beach serves Caribbean-American cuisine, with standouts like conch chowder and conch fritters. Fresh tropical salads, sandwiches, and seafood are also available, but the café is famous for its Bimini bread with Aruba glaze (think challah with doughnut glaze). There's always live music, and the Sunday breakfast buffet starts at 9 am.
On an island that was once a bootlegger's haunt, this ramshackle seafood spot reached by launch has served the famous as well as the infamous, including the likes of Winston Churchill, FDR, JFK, and Al Capone. Cap was Captain Theodore Knight, born in 1871, who, with partner-in-crime Al Hasis, floated a derelict barge to the area in the '20s. Broward's oldest restaurant, built on the barge, is run by Hasis's descendants. Sesame-crusted mahimahi is served with soy-ginger sauce, flaky rolls are baked fresh, and tangy lime pie is a great finale. Clams and oysters are shucked to order, and the hearts of palm salad is made from local Okeechobee harvest.
Grampa's Bakery and Restaurant provides a cheery, homey fix of comfort foods from the charbroiler, fryer, and grill. You won't go hungry ordering Grampa's chili with cheese, lox, eggs, or biscuits and gravy. Check out the sweets at the bakery counter up front or head next door to Jaxson's for some ice cream. Come for the breakfast food, and skip the dinner menu.
The late Wayne McDonald started with a cozy one-room roadhouse in 1955 when this stretch of Dania Beach was a remote service road just west of the little airport. The still-rustic place brags that it's "still crackin'." The huge menu features garlic crabs (patrons bang crabs open with mallets on tables covered with newspapers) and peel-and-eat shrimp (either with garlic and butter or spiced and steamed). Finish off your meal with Key lime pie made from a family recipe.
For a casual, almost funky, nautical experience near the beach, look no further than this raw bar featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. If you want to blend in, order a fish special with whale fries—thinly sliced potatoes that look like hot potato chips. (People come from near and far for these famous fries!) Those with smaller appetites can choose from salads and raw-bar favorites like steamed Ipswich clams.
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