Yesterday evening Hania and I went for dinner to Here and Now in FAT Village. It is not new – it’s having its one-year anniversary this coming Saturday – but we only recently heard about it. “This is what we get,” Hania said, “for not reading the Sun-Sentinel.” (I learned about it from a post by my successor at Fort Lauderdale Magazine.)
It sits tucked behind the Avenue Lofts on NW 1st Ave., which means it’s fronted by some of the Village’s rare trees. Inside, we found a deep dining room with well-spaced tables and comfortable chairs. A beautiful bar ran the length of the room – it’s famous for inventive cocktails – with two TVs showing NHL matches. Oldies, like “Good Vibrations,” played at a not overwhelming volume. It looked like the kind of fine neighborhood place every city should have, and FAT Village has long needed. In fact, it was like a more industrialized version of the old Joe Allen’s in Miami Beach’s Sunset Harbor.
Hania and I both got specials: duck for her, gumbo for me. Each was delicious, which was not surprising. A restaurant that opens at the start of a pandemic and is still in business one year later must be good. Hania walked to the open kitchen and complimented the chef.
