Grace has a conference in Ft. Lauderdale this week (Jan 4 - 8), and I've been able to arrange my schedule to meet her down there next weekend for a little mini-vacation.

Can any BOTLs in the area give me some input on the following restaurants:

YOLO
Teal Bistro
Joseph's on the Water

Any other recommendations?

I don't mind paying decent coin if the food and ambiance are worth it, but neither am I opposed to bargain hunting for good food in places that might be a little rougher around the edges.

My preferances:

Steak
Italian
Seafood
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Can you say... Calle Ocho? :-) :-)
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When I was down there for MegaMoB III, Kris Baso took us to an awesome Italian place north of Lauderdale...if you PM Carlos, I am sure he will know the name of it. Mangiare vivamente!!
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Italian, in Ft. Lauderdale? Cafe Materano
A bit further north in Boca Raton..............Matteo's.
Having grown up around old school Italian families and their cooking, these two are the only ones that do it for me. They remind me of LaMella's or Pelligrino's in Little Italy (NYC).

Steak? In Ft. Lauderdale, Capital Grille, Ruth's Chris and Shula's.
You also have a fantastic Argentinian Steak house on the water on Ft. Lauderdale beach, Las Brisas. Great ambiance. Lots of famous people have been there. Last time I was there, so was Bobby Knight. All of these are in the same price range more or less.

Seafood, just about anywhere. However, I would do the trip down to Miami Beach to Joe's Stone Crab House as they are in season now and that is a neat place to go to.

Tom,
The one you allude to that Kris took you to sucks now. Went downhill.
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Bummer, that was an awesome meal and time.

I guess I will have to come down and go to Matteo's with you. :-)
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combine your dinner with Carlos with EYH Tom so we can smoke together :-)
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Now that sounds like a winner, Ferdinand! :-)
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He's going to be in Ft. Lauderdale...Calle Ocho is a schlep from there...I agree with all of Carlos recommendations other than maybe Joe's Stone Crab as it's in South Beach and also a schlep from Ft. Lauderdale...unless you've never had stone crabs before and are dying to try them or you've had them, love them, and have to have more...if so, that's the place to go...to be honest, I've never been able to figure out what's the big deal about them...been there, had them...cold crab you crack out of the claws..ehhh...just wasn't to my taste...I know there's a joint or two in Ft. Lauderdale that have them too but never went to any of them...seafood-wise Marie and I found this great little seafood joint in Pompano...called the Calypso, on Powerline south of Atlantic...only proplem is they're only open Mon-Fri as they do catering on the weekends...looks like a little local joint but the food is incredible...there's a very good Italian restaurant in Coral Springs actually...best is Flavors Of Italy...almost as good is Tavalino's...however, neither compare to Cafe Materano but good luck getting in there...last time I checked they didn't take reservations and are always mobbed...if you're looking for a place to smoke you might want to drop in at Smoke Inn Pompano...on Powerline above Sample...if you're gonna be there I'm sure a few of us might be able to get free and meet up with you there...on weekdays I can generally get there around 7PM...let us know...
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A fish rots from the head :-)
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YoLo is newish and supposed to be very good.

Steak, there is no better than Jackson's in Ft. Laud, if you want to venture to the fab Palm Beach area, try Flagler Steak at the Breakers.

Any time to herf while here?
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Dave,
Since our venture, I have heard of a couple of more experiences that folks have had there that have not been good. Seems ours was not isolated but rather the new trend.
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