Fort Lauderdale Blog

Fort Lauderdale: Flying in Florida

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne May 23, 2019

Last time I was in Florida, I rented a small Cessna and went for sightseeing along Florida’s coast. I don’t have a valid certificate for small piston engine airplanes, so I went up with an instructor. It turned out to be a really good idea, because then I had my hands free for taking photos and videos of the beautiful flight.

We started out flying along the coastline parallel to Las Olas Boulevard, and I spotted the Ritz-Carlton, where I stayed the last time I was in Fort Lauderdale. Then we flew down to Miami and saw Fisher Island and South Beach. I have only been to Miami twice, and both times were very short visits, but it is a city that I would love to know better. The combination of beach life and big city sounds just perfect to me, plus they have Joe’s Stone Crab, which, in addition to stone crab, makes the most delicious Key Lime Pie.

We flew all the way down to the northern Florida Keys before it was time to turn around and fly back to Fort Lauderdale. I really like Florida Wouldn’t mind living in Fort Lauderdale when I get old and retire, so I could go flying and enjoy the view every day. .

https://youtu.be/O07vGkF_wy4

Flying along the East Coast of Florida — The Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale

May 23, 2019

Fort Lauderdale: Where to eat?

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne January 15, 2019

Fort Lauderdale has not always been known for its bustling dining scene, but things are changing and meh is turning into yay. I have made a list of restaurants that I particularly like, and I hope it can serve as a starting point if you are visiting Fort Lauderdale and wonder where to eat. It is the U.S. so you will need a car or an Uber to get to most of the places mentioned, but I hope you will agree with me that these restaurants are worth the ride.

January 15, 2019

Fort Lauderdale: Christmas Brunch at Ruth’s Chris

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne January 5, 2019

Ribeye steak at Ruth's Chris, Fort Lauderdale

I ended up having Christmas dinner at Ruth’s Chris, which is a chain of old school steak restaurants. I’ve previously dined at Ruth’s Chris in Dubai and Atlanta, and I’ve always been happy with the steaks, which are all USDA prime, and the service, which is always prime too.

The Ruth’s Chris’ restaurants are divided into a bar area (with a big TV showing sports) and a dining room more suitable for date-nighters. I don’t mind dining in the bar, and yesterday, I didn’t have a choice, because the restaurant was fully booked, and I came without a reservation. I had a giant ribeye steak which is one of my favorite cuts because I like the rich flavor the meat gets from the fat. It was delicious!

Dining out on holidays sometimes makes me uncomfortable, because I can’t help thinking that the staff would probably prefer to be at home with their family. Though if that was the case for the staff members at Ruth’s Chris, they hid it well, and their warm, friendly service made it easy to believe that they also had a really good time.

January 5, 2019

Fort Lauderdale Beach – Christmas Day

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne December 28, 2018

After a short stop at the hotel to change clothes, I went straight down to Fort Lauderdale Beach. This part of Fort Lauderdale Beach is very similar to JBR Beach in Dubai. There are lots of restaurants (and tourists) and if you have a thing for luxury cars, you will also find plenty of eye candy cruising the promenade, even though the Ferrari-per-capita ratio might be slightly smaller than in Dubai.

I had lunch at Casablanca. It was a cute little spot with the kind of food you would expect to find at a beach side restaurant. I had fish & chips and fish tacos. It was a busy day and I waited for quite a while to get my food. The fish & chips was nice, though I could have wished for more of that scrumptious tartare sauce. The fish tacos were also ok, but I soon realized that everybody else was having seafood linguine. I can’t tell you what it tasted like, but the smell from the neighboring tables was intriguing and I regretted that I didn’t order that instead:)

December 28, 2018

Miami Beach: Joe’s Stone Crab – Claws and Key Lime Pie

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne January 2, 2018

Joe’s Stone Crab is a South Beach classic that we didn’t want to miss. I love crab, but I’ve never had stone crab before. In Denmark, the most common kind of crab at restaurants is brown crab, and while the stone crab claws actually looked a bit like brown crab claws, I found the flavor slightly sweeter and the claws bigger and more meaty.

I had a set consisting of 2 big claws, a lobster tail and a big lump of crab meat as well as a lobster roll on the side. So much delicious food! I had to pinch my arm to make sure I was awake and not in the middle of a seafood fairytale dream.

The staff were warm and friendly and greeted me as if I were a regular. Who knows, maybe they mistook me for someone else? Even though I was full, they strongly recommended that I also tried the key lime pie, and I’m happy that they insisted, because that was the most amazing key lime pie I’ve ever had. It was served chilled, so the zesty, tart lime pie almost tasted like gelato. If you visit Joe’s whatever you do, don’t miss the key lime pie.

I was at Joe’s for lunch, and even though the restaurant was empty when I arrived, it filled up quickly, both indoors and outdoors, so a table reservation is probably a good idea if you consider going.

The restaurant is only open October to May, reflecting the stone crab season.

Joe’s Stone Crab, 11 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, Tel: +1 (303) 673 0365

January 2, 2018

Fort Lauderdale: Resort life at The Ritz-Carlton

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne November 29, 2017

Usually, I’m not much of a resort person, but I had a complimentary night through a rewards program I’m in, so I decided to check in at Ritz-Carlton in Fort Lauderdale to extend my stay in the Florida sun.

It’s a beautiful hotel right by the beach, in an area very similar to Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai. Add a few more sports cars and maybe a leopard or two, and you would have The Walk JBR.

My room was facing away from the beach, so instead of white sand and clear blue water, I had a view of the canals, which wasn’t bad either. The room interiors were light yellow and white, which made the room seem sundrenched and bright, a good pick for a beachfront location. The bathroom was a little heavy on the marble-everything side, but if anyone can get away with marble-overload, it’s gotta be The Ritz.

The pool area was overlooking the beach and looked as neat and tempting as resort pool areas tend to do, and if it hadn’t been so windy, I would have gone for a swim.

I had breakfast at Burlock Coast, which is the hotel’s restaurant located on ground level, right by the beach promenade. I had a freshly squeezed juice, a croissant and a fruit bowl, which was all very nice, but I regret that I didn’t get room service instead, because on second thought, that room was made for breakfast in bed.

November 29, 2017

Fort Lauderdale: Scoobies at Coconuts

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne November 3, 2017

I was on my way to another restaurant that I had found online, but the Uber driver mentioned that Coconuts was the place everybody was talking about these days..just sayin’…! Quick change of plans, take me to Coconuts instead!

I arrived just before the lunch rush, so I could choose whichever table I wanted. I picked one right next to the water, and the staff told us how people were busy moving the smaller boats to make room for the bigger boats which would be on display for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show the following week. Those “smaller boats” were actually double- and triple-deck yachts!

Back to Coconuts and my delicious lunch. An enthusiastic waiter suggested that I started off with some Scoobies, which is a Coconuts’ specialty consisting of blue crab fried in oil with lots and lots of garlic. For our mains, I had fish tacos and a coconut shrimp platter. It was all delicious, but if I go back to Coconuts, I think I would just order 3 bowls of Scoobies instead, because those were amazing. I only rarely eat blue crab because there’s so much shell and so little crab meat, and I just don’t think they’re worth the effort, but the Scoobies are served with most of the shell removed, like crab claw lollipops. Easy to eat and so tasty it hurts.

Coconuts, 429 Seabreeze Blvd., Fort Lauderdale

November 3, 2017

Fort Lauderdale: Jet Runway Café – Breakfast for plane spotters

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne October 28, 2017

Jet Runway Cafe, Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport

Thursday morning, I went for breakfast at Jet Runway Café, which is located right by the apron at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. You would think that as an airline pilot, you get more than your dose of plane spotting at work, but no, you never gets tired of looking at airplanes.

Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport has a lot of business jets coming in as well as a good amount of general aviation traffic. There are also a couple of flight schools based at the airport, so we saw plenty of Pipers and Cessnas taking off.

I had oatmeal with fresh berries, and the oatmeal wasn’t sweetened, but served with brown sugar on the side, which you could then add according to your preferences. A nice little detail, which I appreciated. The egg scrambler was a bit messy and very compact, but it tasted ok. We also shared a French toast consisting of 6 slices of soft, bouncy brioche. Really delicious, and the leftovers came back with us to the hotel. The food was definitely better than what you’ll expect to find at an airport cafe, but the main reason why you should visit Jet Runway Cafe is the view. Eye candy for plane spotters!

Jet Runway Café, 5540 NW 21st Terrace, Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport

October 28, 2017

Sawgrass Mills – Outlet Shopping in Florida

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne October 24, 2017

Sawgrass Mills, outlet shopping, Florida

Sawgrass Mills is the biggest outlet mall in the U.S. so we thought it would be the perfect place to spend a day in jetlagged zombie mode. The mall has a nice mix of stores ranging from high-end designer brands to discount shopping, and there’s something for every budget. The biggest savings are probably in the big outlet stores such as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Burlington, Century 21, Nordstrom Rack and Saks Off Fifth.

October 24, 2017

Fort Lauderdale: Quality Inn & Suites Airport Hotel

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne October 3, 2014

Quality Inn & Suites, Fort Lauderdale, airport hotel

Yay! I’m in Florida! I just touched down an hour ago and now I’m at the airport hotel, Quality Inn & Suites, which I’ve booked for the night. When it comes to airport hotels, I’m not that picky, as I usually just stay one night on my way somewhere else. The only things I look for are free wi-fi and a free airport shuttle. Usually the cheapest hotels don’t offer transportation to and from the airport, so you end up spending the few bucks you’ve saved on the room on cab rides instead, so I always go for the hotels with free airport shuttles even if they’re a little more expensive.

October 3, 2014

Fort Lauderdale: Taco Bell – Super Size Me

by Mitzie Mee - Sanne October 2, 2014

Now I’m at the airport, waiting for my flight to Las Vegas. I woke up at 2:30 in the morning (thank you jetlag), and I wasn’t able to fall asleep again.

Did I tell you about Taco Bell last night? They employee at the counter asked me, if I wanted a drink with my meal, and I said yes. Then she asked me what size, and I said that a small cup would be fine. She stared at me in disbelief and then showed me the cup. “You mean this one..ARE YOU SURE?” she said, eyebrows raised, and I nodded. I was perfectly fine with the “small” cup, which was the same size as a large cup in Denmark. Who said supersize me??

I also remember I read some reviews about an LA restaurant I had planned to dine at. People were complaining that the portions were very small, so when I went there, I ordered several different mains to make sure, I wouldn’t leave hungry. Turned out the dishes were significantly larger than at most restaurants in Denmark, so I had doggie-bag meals for several days..

I saw the sign below, when I was out walking in the neighborhood earlier today. I couldn’t help thinking what was hiding in there, behind the palm trees. This kind of jungle vegetation could hide anything from hungry alligators to shady drug cartels, right? Or maybe the owner of the property was just tired of people trespassing..

Read my Fort Lauderdale Blog >>

October 2, 2014

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