You won't see any bibs at Truluck's. No loud hammering or cracking, either. At this new seafood destination at Fort Lauderdale's upscale Galleria mall, crab lovers are chowing down in style.

The 325-seat restaurant has a classy bar, private rooms, indoor and outdoor seating and friendly, accommodating servers.

The name means ``truly lucky'' -- how the owners felt when they launched their first restaurant in Houston -- and it still fits. The first in Broward, and the 10th overall, the Galleria Truluck's has been a hot commodity since it opened two months ago, joining popular siblings in Boca Raton and Naples with a Brickell location planned for fall 2010.

Truluck's owns and operates its own boats on Florida's west coast, and promises the freshest stone crabs come October. Till then, there are Jonah crabs from the North Atlantic and Red King crabs from Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The menu also features an array of fish (but no overfished species like Chilean sea bass or shark), steaks and chicken.

Truluck's is known for a wine system that will make even casual sippers feel like oenophiles. More than 100 labels are available by 2-ounce sample, glass or bottle, so it's easy to be adventurous. Try a suggested flight of samples, from $9 for rosé to $23 for chardonnay -- or make up your own.

Your next choice: a three-course ``date dinner'' (your date can be your grandmother) for $35 that includes soup or salad, an entree and shared dessert.

It's a good deal, but you'll miss out on starters like the seafood ``tower'' -- a combination of a la carte choices like clams, crabs and seafood cocktail. We had bracing East and West coast oysters, a few tasty Jonah claws and a seafood cocktail of sweet, succulent chunks of Alaskan king crab atop shredded lettuce with three sauces, mustard, cocktail and mignonette (with red wine vinegar and shallots). The platter arrived with smoking dry ice for dramatic effect.

On another visit, a friend and I shared a half-pound of an enormous red king crab leg we ordered hot, with garlic butter. At $23, it was a decadent treat, the meat firm and sweet. We were disappointed, however, in a $17 crab cake -- lots of jumbo lump crab, but not crisp enough outside and barely warm inside.

Fried calamari is excellent, the rings and tentacles lightly breaded and tender. And we devoured the corn chowder -- a creamy corn stock seasoned with pleasantly spicy turmeric, bacon and scallions, poured tableside over a mound of crab.

You can get your fish grilled with garlic butter or go for an ambitious treatment, some of which work better than others. A friend regretted she didn't go simple with her Hawaiian wahoo. It was firm and supple but she thought the accompanying tomato coulis overpowered the fish. The grilled Alaskan halibut was excellent, topped with a lobster vinaigrette, though I could have done without the accompanying asparagus bisque.

Our favorite entree, blackened Florida grouper, was perfectly cooked and jived with a smoked tomato sauce and avocado salsa. It was served with delicious fried green tomatoes.

For carnivores, there's a juicy steak Oscar, Niman Ranch sirloin with a creamy jalapeño Béarnaise sauce. We found the Parmesan mashed potatoes a little gummy, but loved the shaved asparagus.

A la carte sides include rich, flavorful creamed leeks elevated by nutty smoked Gouda.

Desserts, made on premises, include a sensational signature carrot cake drizzled with butterscotch sauce and a moist chocolate layer cake paired with an ice cream-filled candy shell. Add a cup of French press coffee and you'll indeed feel truly lucky.

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