MiamiZine Cuisine
First impression: Now that the winter tourist season is over, it's time to reclaim some of our best restaurants. And what a beauty we have in Grille 66, where chef Michael Siegel's all-American menu runs from raw bar, to prime steak and on to innovative seafood.
Background: First opened in 2003, Grille 66 became an independent restaurant in 2005. Before then, "there was definitely a clash of cultures," explains Robert Mayo, director of operations. "The hotel would never let us use the kind of products we use. One of the biggest problems we had was they didn't want us to buy prime meat. They didn't want us to buy colossal crab meat."
Ambience: If you need reminding that Fort Lauderdale is one of the country's largest yachting centers, take a look at the gorgeous mega yachts outside the wall of windows that look on to the Intracoastal. Even the 225-seat dining room feels like a well appointed yacht — lots of wood and glass — where you take a few steps down to tables and booths set with white tablecloths. There are another 100 seats outside.
Starters: Oysters Rockefeller ($18) were a special one night and what a delight to see a modern chef not overload the oysters with too much "stuff." In this version, the lightly baked, fresh oysters speak for themselves with just a little bit of spinach, While the gorgonzola vinaigrette in the signature salad ($12) was a little too acidic, the combination of chopped iceberg, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, bacon and pecans was delightful.
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Grille 66 & Bar Fort Lauderdale
By John Tanasychuk,