I had not taken a proper Fort Lauderdale trip since 2009. From keeping up with the goings-on of the area, I knew that Fort Lauderdale had experienced a local business boom just like Orlando. There were more coffee shops and eateries than I remember from my previous visit, where I mainly hung out on the beach. So no beach time on this visit; instead, I opted for an Airbnb with a pool and focused more on scoping out the city's new offerings. My list was pretty long, and I did not get to everything, so I will add those to the bottom of the blog post to check them out for your adventure.

Louie Bossi’s

This popular spot on Las Olas is on every list you will find regarding places to eat in Fort Lauderdale. On a Monday night, it was slammed, so reservations are gonna get you sat faster. The grapefruit martini was probably one of the best I’ve had, so if you drink, I think you will be happy with their bar game. The pasta was good, but if I’m being honest, I like Prato here in Orlando better. However, I’d still say it’s a good spot to try with some excellent people watching and plenty of outdoor seating.

Phat Boy Sushi

We didn’t go to this restaurant in-person but we did order for a delivery night in and were pleasantly surprised since we took a gamble on it. It might be worth checking out in person if you visit.

Cyth & Co

This coffee cafe was on Eater’s list of the hottest places to go, and I’m unclear why they made that assessment. It’s a beautiful cafe, and the coffee was fine, but the service was excruciatingly slow for a mostly empty cafe. We did get some breakfast items (that came about 10 minutes apart), and everything tasted fine, thank goodness, but based on this experience, this is more of a grab a coffee and bounce type of place, in my personal opinion.

Wells Coffee

Wells Coffee's colorful exterior will draw you in from the start. The cafe is large with plenty of seating and an assortment of eats to go with your drinks. My oat milk latte was a smidge on the weak side but had a good flavor. The staff was welcoming, and they had quiet outdoor seating away from the busy inside.

Mojo Donuts

I am a big Mojo donuts fan. I discovered them years ago when I was visiting family in Pinellas Park, and they left a mark on my taste buds, so they became a priority stop whenever I am in South Florida. If you don’t believe me, they are ranked #4 on Yelp’s Top 100 doughnuts in the US. The Pinellas Park location is no-frills, with no Instagrammable walls, just grab your amazing doughnuts and move on.

Boba and Chill

Lots of frills and cute aesthetics for the eyes at Boba and Chill. This spot is actually two businesses in one. A Pho restaurant, Nine Five Pho, takes up most of the space and Boba and Chill has a colorful counter and small seating area which is kinda genius. I got a Matcha strawberry tea without the Boba which was delicious. If you aren’t going to be in this area, I can’t say I’d recommend the trip only because it’s a bit out of the way, but if you are already nearby make a stop. It’s not far from Mojo Donuts can you can hit both.

Takato

Takato was the highlight meal of the entire trip. This Japanese Korean fusion restaurant is located right across the beach off A1A. The spacious patio allows beach views and a nice breeze that makes eating outside bearable. Of course, this would be a splurge dinner at their price points, but it is worth it.

• Korean Zombie (Rum, plum soju, grapefruit juice, passion fruit, Korean plum extract, lime)

• Short Rib Kimchi Taco

• Wagyu Galbi Sliders

• Chef Choice Sashimi

• A roll whose name I forget

Every single dish was delicious, and our service was excellent. It offered everything I expected from a higher-priced dinner.

Heritage

Heritage was another spot that was not on my initial list of places to check out, but after a pizza craving hit and doing a little extra research, I saw this spot had good reviews. I would have loved to have a complete dining experience for dinner, but they didn’t have outdoor dining with service, so we grabbed a pie and a salad to-go (there is communal outdoor seating nearby we used). We got the Brooklyn, a simple pepperoni cup pie ($22), and a Kale + Finnochio salad ($16). Both were solid options for lunch, but I imagine getting the whole dinner experience is even better.

Circle House Coffee

Circle a house coffee it was another spot on my list that I wanted to check out for a quick stop in I got the iced tor Chatta latte which was delicious they also have a drive-through if you just wanna make a quick stop.

Milk Money Bar + Kitchen

Milk Money Bar was recommended several times, and I had plans to go for breakfast, but our plans got switched around, so we ended up going for lunch instead. I had difficulty finding something on the menu that piqued my interest (it was way too hot to eat ramen outside). The food was honestly very average for the price ($18 for a burger). I have sneaking suspicion this is a place you are only supposed to go for breakfast/brunch.

Softea

For boba and soft serve (or both) you can hit up Softea which is right across from Heritage. They take familiar Asian flavors you are use to getting in your favorite boba teas and transfer that over to what we need more of in Florida, soft serve! You can get Taro, Matcha, and Thai Tea among other flavors and add toppings or boba to this cool treat. Mine melted almost immediately in this brutal heat, but it was still dang good.

Oddballs Thrift

Oddballs Thrift is definitely more of an antique shop with a mixture of housewares, decor, and odds and ends, but the prices are far from thrift. They did have a cool assortment of items to look through tho.

Vintage Diversity

This shop wasn’t actually on my list because in all my searches it never showed up. Thankfully we drove by it, and as you can see from the signage, it’s hard to miss. It’s part vintage shop, and part costume rental. Even if you don’t find anything to purchase it’s definitely a fun shop to visit and be dazzled by the owners personal collection that dates back decades. I did however find two very cool pieces to purchase here that did not break the bank.

Hillsboro Antique Mall

You know I love a good antique mall, and this was the largest one I could find in the vicinity over in Pompano Beach. It’s attached to this huge indoor flea market, Festival Flea Market. This is a pretty good flea market with decent prices and a lot to go through, the only negative is that not really good airflow inside which makes it tough to breathe while wearing a mask. Stay cool!

Way Back When Antiques

From the name you may go here thinking that you are going to be going to another vintage shop but in reality it’s more of a collectible shop. The owner has a tremendous amount of pop-culture collectibles and a great assortment of retro video games as well. The best part of the shop is actually his personal collection of items that you are going to wanna buy but they are not for sale.

Hollywood Mural Project

We did make a short pit stop in Hollywood to see what their downtown area had to offer. We didn’t make any stops for food, but we did do a little mural spotting.

Places I didn’t get to that were on my list in Ft. Lauderdale or surrounding cities

• Alchemist Coffee (I actually did try, but there was zero place to park anywhere nearby)

• Sistrunk Marketplace (the local food hall)

• Radio Active Records

• Casa Sensei

• Alegria Tacos (they were closed for vacation)

• Tabanka Trini

• Tiger Sugar

• Choong Man