LauderBlog
Aug 17: A Gallery of Food
Posted On: August 16, 2007 4:50 PM
Posted By: LauderBLOGGER
Related Subjects: Greater Fort Lauderdale
It wasn’t too many years ago when the best food at the Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale was available at one small German restaurant. I liked this place but it was often crowded. And, to my taste anyway, it seemed the only decent spot to eat in an otherwise upscale shopping center. That has definitely changed. Now the Galleria offers so many excellent choices that it’s hard to decide where to go. The Italian-themed food court alone has everything from great sandwiches to Chinese to gelato. The meals are fast, reasonably priced and tasty.
But there are even better options if you have the time and money. These include P.F. Chang’s, Seasons 52, Blue Martini. And the Capital Grille. I was lucky enough to enjoy a fabulous lunch at the Capital Grille just the other day, courtesy of a good friend. A very good friend – our pre-tip bill was more than $100 for two. But wow! What an amazing lunch it was.
He had made a reservation for noon and our table was waiting when we arrived. We were seated in a corner booth in one of the restaurant’s three small dining rooms. These are comfortable, relatively intimate areas with the masculine feel of fine steakhouses everywhere: rich, dark woods, ornate paintings, heavy fixtures. I loved the atmosphere. I loved the food even more. We both ordered the same entree. Sliced filet mignon with a side of mashed potatoes. My beef was cooked to perfection, more mouth-watering and tender than any steak I’ve had for some time. Before this main course, my buddy had ordered a tomato and mozzarella salad and I had a shrimp cocktail. Then, of course, after the meal we each had to go for dessert. Hey, he insisted. Who was I to be rude by refusing? So I finished things off with a flourless chocolate espresso cake that was rich and wonderful, along with a double macchiato coffee. Excellent food, excellent ambience, excellent conversation. Now that’s a lunch. I was so full that I barely ate anything else for a full 24 hours – no kidding. But it was worth it. And it was a reminder to me about just how far the Galleria has come in recent years. The German place may be gone now. But believe me, I’ll take a Capital Grille filet over a German bologna sandwich any day.
But there are even better options if you have the time and money. These include P.F. Chang’s, Seasons 52, Blue Martini. And the Capital Grille. I was lucky enough to enjoy a fabulous lunch at the Capital Grille just the other day, courtesy of a good friend. A very good friend – our pre-tip bill was more than $100 for two. But wow! What an amazing lunch it was.
He had made a reservation for noon and our table was waiting when we arrived. We were seated in a corner booth in one of the restaurant’s three small dining rooms. These are comfortable, relatively intimate areas with the masculine feel of fine steakhouses everywhere: rich, dark woods, ornate paintings, heavy fixtures. I loved the atmosphere. I loved the food even more. We both ordered the same entree. Sliced filet mignon with a side of mashed potatoes. My beef was cooked to perfection, more mouth-watering and tender than any steak I’ve had for some time. Before this main course, my buddy had ordered a tomato and mozzarella salad and I had a shrimp cocktail. Then, of course, after the meal we each had to go for dessert. Hey, he insisted. Who was I to be rude by refusing? So I finished things off with a flourless chocolate espresso cake that was rich and wonderful, along with a double macchiato coffee. Excellent food, excellent ambience, excellent conversation. Now that’s a lunch. I was so full that I barely ate anything else for a full 24 hours – no kidding. But it was worth it. And it was a reminder to me about just how far the Galleria has come in recent years. The German place may be gone now. But believe me, I’ll take a Capital Grille filet over a German bologna sandwich any day.
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Posted By truth | 08/19/2007 6:15 PM