IF YOU GO
Place: Pelican Landing.Address: Hyatt Regency Pier 66, 2301 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale.Rating: ** ½ (Good)Contact: 954-525-6666.Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.Prices: Starters $6-$14, entrees $10-$14, dessert $7.FYI: Full bar. Parking free with validation. Not handicapped-accessible. AX, DN, DC, MC, VS.We're lazily sipping mango mojitos, dreamily watching sleek white yachts glide by under the moonlight. We feel like we're on vacation, but only the tourists are paying big bucks for this view. It's just another night at Pelican Landing, a little restaurant and bar management calls ``Fort Lauderdale's best-kept secret.''
While it's on the property of the iconic Hyatt Regency Pier 66, it's easily missed on the marina docks. Pelican Landing sits atop a nearly anonymous two-story building accessible by a side staircase.
For more than 50 years, it was a hamburger and hot dog hangout for the boating crowd and hotel guests. But Pier 66 recently refurbished the decor and upgraded the menu, now under the guidance of hotel chef Miguel Santiago. There are still burgers and sandwiches, but you'll also find dishes like grilled watermelon salad, coconut fish and chips with a papaya peppadew ketchup and a burger made with Moroccan spiced lamb.
It's not fancy, but honey teak wood, navy seat cushions and polished chrome accents add an upscale touch. If you stop by for lunch, patio umbrellas and an outdoor misting system cool things down on a sizzling summer day. If it's too hot, there's a small enclosed area with a bar and a few tables surrounded by glass. On a recent Sunday night, Dominican singer Cliff Mayers and his band Wyle Fyah had us feeling like we were at a party.
The atmosphere warrants a glimpse at the tropical drink menu, with more than a half-dozen mojitos and cocktails. There are about a dozen wine choices (by the bottle or glass) plus champagne, and the restaurant has access to the hotel's more extensive wine list.
Diners who like to graze will find several tempting starters such as cornmeal-coated popcorn shrimp, ceviche and hummus. It's breezy enough at night to enjoy the smoked tomato bisque, spiked with lots of crab marinated in vodka, garnished with a swirl of a black bean crème fraiche. It's a surprise gourmet rendition, earthy but delicate.
The grilled watermelon salad is another winner. Slices of juicy melon are sandwiched around herbed goat cheese, pickled cucumbers and wild arugula leaves, then garnished with a balsamic glaze and sesame seeds. The warm watermelon is off-putting at first, but then the flavors merge, sweet and briny, with great texture.
Fire-roasted chicken salad is studded with minted grapefruit segments (though these don't taste particularly minty) and served atop fresh greens with candied pine nuts and a potent rum mojito dressing that got mixed reviews at our table. An appetizer of crab yuca fritters had no discernible crab.
Entrees are limited, but fit the casual, seafaring ambience. Fish burritos are fun, fat packages stuffed with mahi mahi, avocado and black beans, with a perky black bean tomato salsa on the side (black bean overkill?). The best part is the yummy mango and sour cream dip. You can also get a simple blackened fish sandwich with tasty Key lime sour cream and tomato relish.
Landlubbers will like the grilled chicken sandwich on a French baguette, with avocado, bacon, arugula and a walnut pesto aioli. Lamb burgers on pita are a bit dry. Burger lovers will be happier with the signature Pelican -- big and juicy, with blue cheese, caramelized onions and bacon.
For a fitting tropical ending, there's a perky Key lime tart. Chocolate lovers can dive into a mousse served in a hard shell colored in swirls of sea green, pink and brown with tufts of whipped cream. Both are good, though it's tough to top the real treat here: one of the best views in town.
