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Review | Vue on the Water is a great boat-parade perch

Vue on the Water has one of the most enviable restaurant locations in Fort Lauderdale, with an Intracoastal Waterway view so dreamy that promos gush, ``Guests can enjoy a boat parade every day.''

Fort Lauderdale's glittering Winterfest Boat Parade, in fact, will glide right by the restaurant Saturday night. Dining last weekend, we had a mini preview as glimmering yachts sparkled in the dark.

With floor-to-ceiling windows, there isn't a bad seat in the house at Vue, hidden in the lobby of the Doubletree's Gallery One hotel, between the Galleria mall and the Intracoastal bridge on Sunrise Boulevard. The 80-seat dining room is upscale yet casual, with light woods and contemporary lighting. There's an indoor bar and another one on the sprawling, 30-seat patio.

A trip down U.S. 1 reveals three fine finds

Federal Highway in East Broward is a mecca for restaurants, and this summer is a perfect time to investigate some independents you may not have visited. Here are three we tried:

SICILIAN OVEN

Owner Andrew Garavuso opened Sicilian Oven on the border of Lighthouse Point and Pompano Beach less than a year ago. Business has been so strong he's looking at expansion possibilities stretching from Kendall to Fort Lauderdale. If it were closer to our home, we would certainly be regulars. But it's also worth the drive.

In the right recipe, you'll love anchovies

Even if you don't like anchovies on pizza, you're likely to love them in recipes. When combined with other ingredients, these salty little canned fish add depth and heighten the other flavors in a dish. In one of my favorite Sunday suppers, I toss them with hot penne and fresh tomatoes for a tasty twist on pasta puttanesca.

Small, silvery anchovies are usually packed in oil or salt. Soaking the fillets in cold water for 20 minutes removes most of the salt. If they are still too salty, soak in fresh water until you are pleased with their flavor.

They have countless uses in the kitchen, perhaps most famously in Caesar salad dressing. They can also enliven soups, stews, sauces, casseroles and sandwiches. I like to tuck a few anchovies and slivered garlic into slits cut in beef or lamb roasts.

Crispy coal-fired pizza is worth the wait

For four decades Claude Roatta, a South Miami resident with finely tuned taste buds, grew up on Miami's Best Pizza, the funky pizza joint on U.S. 1 that began its life as a Little Caesar's in 1970 and remains a popular draw for Gables families and University of Miami students.

However, Roatta, 45, keeps hearing about another ``best pizza'' in Miami-Dade by the name of Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza and gave us the idea to give it a shot.

We can't resist the temptation -- especially if this new place is anywhere as good as Miami's Best Pizza. Plus, ``coal fired'' sounds intriguing. Coal? In Miami? Given the unseasonable heat, any stone by the road should suffice.

The Italians make a fine art of everything -- including their sandwiches

Never mind gelato. Italian sandwiches are cheap fast food for the gods, constructed with equal concern for flavor and aesthetics.

Take the selection at Pizza e Mortadella at 279 Via Cavour in Rome. These babies are stuffed with all the delicacies of the Italian kitchen: prosciutto, mozzarella, salami, tomatoes, grilled eggplant, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, tuna, salmon, even chicken salad -- although the thought of mayo makes some Italians gag, Bill Guion says. Guion, an American-born chef who has lived and worked in Rome for 30 years, helped me explore the wide world of Italian sandwiches.

We started at Forno Campo de' Fiori , a bakery at No. 22 on the piazza of the same name. The family's sandwich shop next door, one of the most popular in Rome, came later. In fact, sandwiches are a fairly recent arrival in Rome. But increasingly, they are supplanting the big, traditional Italian midday meal.