Flip Flops Dockside Eatery

Today is my first day on a road trip with Ron while he is working, so to occupy my time I started looking for Tiki Bars in Fort Lauderdale.
There were not many to choose from, actually there were 2 that I found online and one of them was Flip Flops Dockside Eatery. There was a Happy Hour, it was on the water and they had Fish Tacos. All were on my list of requirements, so off we went.
This place is about 15 minutes from our hotel and it is located right on the intracoastal and has a water taxi available that will take you to all of the bars and restaurants along this particular strip.
From the outside, this was looking pretty good.

Once inside there is an open kitchen on your left and the chef was there to greet us. We had to ask if they were open because there were no people, and no tiki bar to be seen. The chef tells us the tiki bar was just around the corner and from our definition, it was a bar, NOT a tiki bar. However, if you read the defininition of a tiki bar, it describes it as serving tropical drinks and decorated in Polynesian decor. Never said anything about a thatched roof, so I guess this is a tiki bar by definition.

There was a lot of space to seat lots and lots of people, however, you are seeing everyone there in the picture above, well besides us and one other couple. As you can see, they could use some really good advertising to fill these seats, and I couldn't even get in all the seats in the camera frame.

As for the menu, the prices were pretty fair, ranging from $5 to $20 from appetizers to entrees.

Our waiter, Rick, brought out a basket of Flip Flop Island Sauce with homeade crackers for us to sample and it was good, however, the crackers could have been just a bit crunchier and the sauce was so hot you couldn't taste anything else (like my beer). The sauce was made out of tomatillos and serrano chilis (my guess) and we ate as much as we could before our taste buds couldn't take anymore.

Ron selected a bowl of black bean soup and a garden burger with sweet potato fries. He really enjoyed both dishes and said he would definitely order the soup again.

I had the fish tacos (which you can get only by asking) and they came in a basket with 3 tacos and were filled with mahi mahi, guacamole and a pineapple salsa. I just had to put some of the Flip Flop Island Sauce on there and it really kicked them up a knotch.

We drank a bucket of beer and ate our food along with some great conversation with Rick (the waiter), had a great view and decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we are on our way to Key Largo and am sure we will find another Tiki Bar or two and I will definitely tell you about them.





Definition of a Tiki Bar

I have actually never looked up what "Tiki Bar" means. Have you? Basically a Tiki Bar can be just about anything as long as it serves exotic drinks and has Polynesian decor. Does that mean it can be inside, outside or both at the same time? What about in a driveway?

We have found a little Tiki Bar (and I do mean little) in someones driveway here in Englewood, Fl and one day when we have a bit of time, we will stop. I am serious when I say it is in the driveway! Has a Tiki Roof, a bar all the way around, a large stand up cooler and bar stools and it literally in the driveway. Saw a bike parked there the other day and I am going to have to drop by and see if it is for real or a little personal Island Time. Either way it should make for a great photo, huh?

I let you know how it goes...

Zeke's Bayside Bar, Grill and Tiki Bar

Zeke’s Bayside Bar and Grill and Tiki Bar

Tucked back and under Royal Palm Marina in Englewood, FL. is a great little Tiki Bar named  Zeke’s. You will not find any signs on the road helping you find the way, you just have to know it is there. We found it by reading a billboard about 4 miles from the Tiki Bar. It truly wasn’t hard to find though.

Once you go into the boatyard, you feel like you are in the wrong place because you are driving beside large boats that are suspended on motorized boat lifts.  Don’t get discouraged because you will see a huge sign on the building that says, Tiki Bar and an arrow directing to go on around the building.

So as you continue on around the building, you still don’t see a Tiki Bar, but keep going because you are going to see another sign…

We didn’t give up and followed the sign and guess what?

There was the Tiki Bar!! Cute huh?

And beyond the Tiki lies a bar that is the length of the building with bar stools so you can sit and look out at the water and the boats. There are about 50 boat slips (or more) where you can dock your boat and come in for a nice cold drink and something to eat. You can also rent boats for half day or full day.

The rest of the area has picnic tables that will seat 4 or 6 people and then you have umbrella tables outside for those who smoke and then you can go upstairs where there is an air conditioned room that seats 75 people and that is normally used for the Captain’s Table Dinners on special nights. The Captain’s Table Dinners include an Appetizer, Salad, Intermezzo, Main Course and Dessert Course for $39.95 per person.

             

Ron and I had a few draft beers (which were super cold) and a side of some great spicy fries. The staff was very friendly and the customers that were there had nothing but good things to say about the food. We decided to come back another day to eat and bring a couple of friends. The menu was filled with food you would not expect to find at a Tiki Bar. Things like Tuna Carpaccio ($7), Shrimp Wraps ($9), Timbale au Taurteau (a crab meat tower,$18), and Basa Caprese($11) are just to name a few.

Every Tiki Bar claims to have the best Crab Cake or the best Conch Fritter, so that is what I ordered. I have to admit, the Maryland Style Crab Cake ($9) is so far the best I have ever had. It was all crab meat and only a bit of panko bread crumbs to help hold it together. The crab meat was sweet and moist with just the right amount of seasoning.  I even took a picture of it because it was that good.

The conch fritters were good as well, but I have had better. I felt they were a bit overcooked and could use a bit more conch , however, the conch was tender and not chewy like some I have had.

By the time everyone was done ordering, we had a table full of food. Everything was delicious and a couple pitchers of beer just made it all go down that much easier.

We will definitely be coming back to Zeke’s and bringing friends with us.

You will find Zeke’s Bayside Bar and Grill and Tiki Bar at 779 Wentworth Avenue at Royal Palm Marina off of Old Englewood in Englewood, FL. If you would like to rent a boat, you can contact the Dockmaster at 941-475-6882.

Catch us next time to see where we will find the next Tiki Bar.