The Wharf Music & Open Air Food Hall

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About to begin its fourth year in operation, The Wharf is an open-air food hall on the New River along Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale. Opened by the Breakwater Hospitality group after the success of the concept in Miami, they're open Thursday through Sunday to capture the weekend crowd and offer an additional venue to experience the vibrant downtown nightlife. Perhaps the most fun aspect is that you can arrive by car or boat. It is Fort Lauderdale, after all.

With bar areas scattered throughout the 1.25-acre space, The Wharf reminds me of The Living Room in Dublin 1, one of the best places in the city to watch big sporting events.

Their food and beverage concept combines local food scene operators with "exciting cocktails and ongoing event programs" states the website.

Broward County-based chefs and restauranteurs have permanent food "truck" space within the food court much like the pop-up restaurants in other cities but providing a more consistent experience.



The night I was there, I entered through security after stopping at the sculpture of the woman with an opening chest a half block away, scoped out the individual vendors, enjoyed watching fun-loving adults play the largest "beer pong" I've ever seen with life-size Red cups and basketballs, and heard some great music from the DJ of the night.

Here's what's available from lunch to late night:



– Pizza by Chef Jose Mendin's The Piefather
With Caesar salad, meatballs, and six kinds of pizza, you'd be hard pressed to leave hungry after visiting the Pie Father. Nonna's beef short rib meatballs are an easy gluten-free alternative with their old-world recipe, Pomodoro and ricotta cheese, and light enough to leave room to try other items. Of course, if you're dancing through the night, you'll need to keep coming back to restore your energy.



- Taquerias Los Altos
If you're in the mood for Mexican food made from scratch, go to the Taquerias for three types of guacamole, chips and salsa, or antojitos including chicken flautas which were lovely. At $6.50 per chicken flauta, it's a bargain. Choose gorditas or quesadilla or a Quesadilla Gringa, Burritos and bowls of pork beef, roast pork, chicken, shrimp, or vegetables. You can order two tacos with those proteins as well as fish, and you won't go wrong. Two tacos for $12, plus additional fees for certain proteins (like the fish, an additional $2.00). With the ability to add guacamole or Crema Mexicana allows for many variations. For dessert, they offer a churro, flan or Michoacana paletas. It's fun, festive food. Just right for a night at the Wharf.



– Classic American Fare by be nice Restaurants' Lunchroom
It's easy to get behind the be nice attitude, and to enjoy the offerings here, which include. lunchroom type fare with The Rooster, a crispy chicken breast, Philly cheese steak, cheeseburger sliders, Impossible burger sliders, pork tacos, short rib tacos., Philly fries, chicken wings, garlic parmesan fries, or regular French fries. The Lunchroom staff is friendly and cheerful and the decor humorous with a Bespeckled figure closely examining a crinkled cut French fry. If you have a large party, they do offer a loaded fried trio, a wing combo, a Taco platter, or a sliders platter from $25 to $40 so you can easily feed your family or coworkers with lunchroom sandwiches.



A second "truck" from be nice offers Frito pies, ribs, brisket, mac and cheese and pulled pork sandwiches. Their "Nashville Hot" is a fried chicken breast with Nashville hot sauce, Pickles, garlic aioli on a brioche bun accompanied by French fries. You can order a sausage Po boy or the Frito pie which has Fritos, Slim's famous chili and "all the fixins." If you're missing your sriracha honey, go for the wings and thangs, with breaded wings and waffle. Their chopped salad includes fried chicken breast and kidney beans with grilled corn.

And you can always order the a la carte chopped brisket or pulled pork by the quarter pound. I hadn't seen cheddar jalapeno sausage before but saw many fellow customers enjoying it. Their cup of Slim's famous chili and mac and cheese are also available on the a la carte menu. The grilled corn on the cob is another popular item, and it didn't seem as though they could get the cornbread out fast enough to serve this crowd. The French fries and onion rings were visible all around me.

The third "truck" space from which to choose be nice items is the Cookies and Cream. While it was already closed the night I attended, I can see that it must be a very popular location. They offer ice cream sandwiches as chocolate chip, cookies and cream, brownie, heath bar, or sugar cookie which sound delicious. They offer a cake batter, cookies and cream, brownie, heath bar, and Strawberry Shortcake parfaits. Their soft serve ice cream comes in a cone or a cup and is available as chocolate, vanilla, or swirl with toppings available including heath bar, crumble, yellow, cake, Oreo, crumble, rainbow, sprinkles, brownie pieces, whipped cream, chocolate chips, or a cone cup.

They do offer magic shell in chocolate, strawberry, or Unicorn and then sauces such as chocolate, strawberry, or caramel. I can definitely see enjoying a chocolate shell soft serve vanilla ice cream when I return. They do offer coffee as either cold brew or espresso. Even better, go for one of the floats with either creamsicle or a cold brew and soft serve options available. A new item to me was the "cookie nachos" they have on offer. This dish contains chocolate chip cookie pieces with whipped cream and sprinkles and hot fudge or caramel for dipping. Separately, you can choose your cookie from their chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate chip, heath bar cookie, sugar cookie, or salted caramel pretzel cookie.



It's hard to believe there were "only" five food areas, but you'll see why when you go. The bar areas are divided to be conveniently located to patrons and the entire space is meant for relaxing fun. Whether you're a local, a tourist, or a traveler, it's worth a stop at the Wharf.

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