Apr 29: Moonside Table

You've heard of oceanside dining. Well, last night seemed more like moonside dining. I was lucky enough to attend a VIP opening for Via Luna, the new Italian restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale. The name translates, roughly, to "by way of the moon," as near as my nonexistent Italian can figure. That seemed especially appropriate on this evening. As the full moon glowed above the sea, the party offered its own kind of glow. The generous folks at the Ritz had entirely closed off their beautiful main bar, wine bar and restaurant for this event. Food stations were distributed throughout Via Luna, outdoors and inside both, with everything from grilled steak and Italian sausage to pasta with pomodoro sauce made to each diner's individual taste. I thought the food was excellent, salty in true Italian style but with complex flavors. Yum.

It was a lovely evening. Gwendolyn and I bumped into some wonderful old friends, all of us sampling the Moet champagne and Meiomi pinot noir along with mojitos and rum and cokes and anything else anyone wanted. And then we dived into the desserts. Handmade cannolis, tiramisu served in martini glasses, cheesecake cubes topped with fine chocolate. You get the idea. Yum again.

If you've not experienced Fort Lauderdale's Ritz-Carlton yet, you should. It's wonderfully located, with the sea plainly visible from Via Luna and the main bar through floor to ceiling glass walls. They each offer a deck area too for alfresco meals or cocktails beside the Atlantic. Both rooms have an elegant openness to them, spaces that feel relaxing and inviting. The adjoining wine bar is intimate. As one of my friends commented while sipping something there, "I could stay in this wine bar all night!" I understood how he felt. Actually I have stayed there all night - not in the wine bar, of course, though I was tempted. But in the hotel, which is as superb as every Ritz I've enjoyed around the world. Each hotel in the chain gives its guests true luxury with excellent service, though each hotel also feels unique in some way. Fort Lauderdale's Ritz is all about the sea, with décor and art that suggest the beachside setting. But last night ... well, to me last night really was about the moon. At one point during the evening, Gwendolyn and I sat alone at an outdoor table, a flamenco guitarist playing beside us. I glanced over at the ocean and the scene seemed as though it had been cut from some Fort Lauderdale postcard. That moon hovered over the dark water, veiled by a curtain of thin haze and all of it accented by purple clouds painted thinly in strips across the lunar sheen. It was perfect. Via Luna, indeed.