Feb 16: Seaside Savoring

There is a new way to dine oceanside, a spot both upscale and casual. It's called Sea Level Restaurant and Ocean Bar, located behind the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale. This place is a wonderful addition to our waterfront restaurant options. I've long believed that one of the best things Greater Fort Lauderdale offers is the opportunity to eat, drink and party close to the water. This is much truer here than of Miami or South Beach. If you've never been there, you might be surprised - the restaurants along Ocean Drive in South Beach are a long, long way from the ocean, something like the length of three football fields from the water's edge. In Fort Lauderdale, you actually can hear the surf as you cut into your surf ‘n turf. The sea is that close.

At Sea Level Restaurant and Ocean Bar, you're sitting along a lovely stretch of beach with nothing but sand between you and the ocean. Sea Level looks like an elegant cabana restaurant, completely open-air to catch all the sea breezes but with a covered bar and umbrella tables for those times when you prefer some shade.

This new restaurant is very new indeed. The ribbon cutting only happened at the end of last month, attracting some top Marriott execs as well as a Fort Lauderdale city commissioner and lots of other folks. Judging by the picture, it looks as if they were all having a good time. Sea Level seems like that kind of restaurant and bar combo. Somewhere you can just kick back, relax with a quality cocktail and savor a good meal. I've not had the chance to eat there yet but I'm told very reliably that the food really is tasty, including some excellent burgers, salads and quesadillas. Mmmm. All salted by the scent of the sea. And really, what else does anyone in Fort Lauderdale want on a lovely tropical day? For my money, things don't get much better around here than lounging at a great waterside table with a good friend. In the summer, ocean winds keep you cool. In the winter, sunshine keeps you warm. And you honestly can see, hear and smell the Atlantic Ocean as you sip and munch and talk and laugh. Alfresco waterside dining and drinking are important parts of any real South Florida experience, as far as I'm concerned. And if you're going to do those things, I think, you may as well do them where the sea practically sits at your table with you.