Best Seat in the House: Chef’s Bar at Valentino’s

The restaurant: Valentino Cucina Italiana, 620 S. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale. Chef-owner Giovanni Rocchio worked at his father’s restaurant in Plantation, also Valentino, before cooking in New York and returning to open his own place.

The table: The Chef’s Bar. The perfect perch from which to enjoy a glass of wine and watch Rocchio, chef de cuisine Jimmy Everett and their crew work their magic from the kitchen, directly overlooking this countertop.

Nearby theater: Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale.

Playing this week: Heroes of Hip Hop: The Lion Hero is a hip-hop tribute to The Lion King that plays at the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center at 8 p.m. May 8; $20-$30. browardcenter.org.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Best Seat in the House: Chef’s Bar at Valentino’s."