by Miguel Bravo | Dec 17, 2010 | Fort Lauderdale
Does the post's title make sense now?
A word of advice to the weekend warrior — don’t over indulge on Friday night, lest you might miss the slew of great events on Saturday evening. Here are 3 events that we hand selected:
Santa-Con: FTL
Judging from the enthusiastic barrage of Facebook messages, 3 different event pages with numerous attendees, and multiple online write-ups, this heavily anticipated Santa Con FTL Beach bar crawl sounds like a blast. The FREE party starts at 5:00pm on FTL Beach by the volleyball courts, then progresses to Parrot Lounge around 6:30pm. Make sure to don some kind of Santa gear to take advantage of the drink specials. For more info on the charity connected to event or list of participating bars and drink specials, go to Santa Con FTL’s official website or read What Lauderdale’s event preview.
Anyone want to take photos of people’s costumes for the blog (or let us steal photos off your online photo album)? mig@ftlcollective.com
Travulous & Friends Spread Cosmic Cheer, Holiday Market & Intergalactic Musical @ The Bubble
Travulous & Friends
Our favorite warehouse The Bubble is throwing a holiday bash. I’ve seenTravulous perform before, and let’s just say, it’s as eccentric and entertaining as the event’s lenghty moniker. In addition to the usual antics of all-you-can-drink keg beer ($10 a cup) and art on display, there will also be a holiday craft market (perfect timing for Christmas), vegan egg nog, and live performances by Chris Horgan of local band Sweet Bronco, The Green Mantles, Radar, Retrocities, and The Intergalactic Band. For more details, read the New Times’ event preview.
Toy Drive @ Radio-Active Records
Unfortunately, I could not find a proper link for this charity event; however, I was able to scrounge up some details via DJ Skidmark’s Facebook profile. Live music by Scrap Kids (ska/dub/punk from PA) at 6pm, the Rat Opera at 7pm, local punk band To Be Hated at 8pm, and Boise Bob and His Backyard Band at 9pm. DJ Skidmark will be spinning in between the bands sets. Bring toys to give to Kids In Distress
I’ll leave you with an excellent local music post by Miami super blog Beached Miami, The Top 15 songs by South Florida . Have a stellar weekend.
by Miguel Bravo | Dec 16, 2010 | Fort Lauderdale
We reported last week that long-time downtown favorite Creolina’s is returning to 2nd Street, taking Porterhouse’s old spot. Today we appear to have received official confirmation via Facebook and Twitter that this is true. Although the new restaurant will not be named Creolina’s (it will be named Bourbon on 2nd), it will be run by Creolina’s owner Mark Sulzinski and promises “Favorites-Creolina Style!” It will be very interesting to see how Bourbon on 2nd differs from Creolina’s. I expect it will have similar food to Creolina’s, but because the space is so much larger than Creolina’s old space and one would think they would keep Porterhouse’s huge bar intact, I predict more of a New Orleans-themed party atmosphere rather than the small purely food-focused establishment that was Creolina’s. That sounds great, as long as the food does not suffer. Because when the food suffers, we all suffer. And indeed we have been suffering since the old Creolina’s closed shop. Facebook says the soft-opening will be December 17 (tomorrow!) and encourages people to stop in and say hello. This FTLC correspondent will do just that.
by Miguel Bravo | Dec 13, 2010 | Local Business
By Mig
It’s unavoidable to compare Zona Fresca and The Whole Enchilada. They are both locally owned businesses that serve quality tex mex fare at affordable prices. They both cater to people who want their food quick and fresh, without having to tip a waiter. Both are located on US1, separated by only 3.2 miles of concrete. Most importantly, both are incredibly delicious.
Here’s my breakdown of the two eateries, conveniently organized by categories:
Tacos
Edge: Zona Fresca. Although I admired Enchilada’s boldness in adding their own flair to the seafood taco (grilled mahi with chipotle sauce and avocados in a flour tortilla), I still prefer the the authentic corn tortilla with fried, beer battered fish and that white sauce.
Burrito
Edge: The Whole Enchilada by a long shot. The Bob chicken burrito at TWE surpassed all expectations. The chicken chunks were tasty and plentiful, but the rice inside the burrito really stood out among all the other ingredients. Sad thing is, I didn’t even order the burrito enchilada style. Next time…next time.
Chips & Salsa
Edge: Zona Fresca by a long shot. Again, TWE’s tries their hand at some irregular flavors, but the fact is, their salsas were neither hot or satisfying to the taste buds. In fact, their mango and brown colored salsa were foul tasting.
The actual chips at Zona taste slightly better, but the difference is negligible.
Atmosphere
Edge: The Whole Enchilada. It reminded me of a burrito place in a college town like Gainesville or Chapel Hill. The walls were lined with old Mexican crosses and stapled money. The speakers lightly blared songs off Weezer’s Blue Album and Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah’s self titled album. The trash can had a picture of a little person body builder, warning us not to throw our basket away. Even the cashier looked hip with her red Chucks, skinny jeans, and knit cap. Overall, it had an edgy vibe, something that Zona Fresca lacks.
Prices
Edge: Zona Fresca. The burritos were similarly priced, but the tacos were over a dollar more expensive at TWE.
Conclusion: If I was held at gunpoint and HAD to choose one, I’ll stick with my longtime favorite Zona Fresca, mainly because of my continued obsession for their fish tacos. Again though, you can’t go wrong with either place. It just depends on what you favor in a fast food Mexican joint.
by Miguel Bravo | Nov 23, 2010 | Fort Lauderdale
There’s an unholy amount of fun stuff going on in Broward. Here’s a day-by-day guide to the best events this week, starting this evening. Don’t forget to click the links for locations and extra info.
Tuesday
Hardcore drinkers unite! There is a bus loop tonight to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Fort Lauderdale. Don’t mind the fact that the real 100 year anniversary happens in 2011. Who cares if you have to work the next day? 9 drinks never hurt anyone. Although we think it makes a lot more sense to have Ft Lauderdale’s quarterly Christmas on Wednesday when no one has to work the next day and visitors will be in town, it’s a good cause to support. As usual, the money goes to charity. Check out the route and ticket info here. In addition to the loop, there will be a lighting ceremony of the 100 year sign on on Las Olas and A1A at 6:30pm.
Black(out) Wednesday
On Blackout Wednesday, allegedly the biggest weekday night to go out every year, our favorite dive Poorhouse will be hosting the Methodaires and Howitzer. Guest Writer J Fine wrote a preview of the show.
The annual Thanksgiving Eve block party Cranberry Jam is going on outside The Parrot off of Sunrise and A1A. Music by Cypress, Audio Heist, and DJ Russ. Price of admission ($20 prepay, $25 the day of) gets you free drinks from 6-9pm.
Thanksgiving Day
After recovering from your food coma, check out Stereo Synth, the weekly indie dance party at Monterey Club. DJ’s Lindersmash and Andie Sweetswirl will be spinning indie, new wave, 80s, electro, and straight up rock.
Black Friday
The Trash To Treasure Re-Use Center in Pompano is hosting an amazing lineup of local talent. I think the lineup speaks for itself, so I’ll just list it: Emily Reo
The Band In Heaven, Love Handles, Guy Harvey, Totally Nebular, Hear Hums, Sumsun, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Mui, Dark Sea of Awareness, The Great Deceivers . For those unaware of Trash To Treasure, they’re an organization that finds reusable materials and distributes them for educational and artistic purposes. Mad props to Trash To Treasure for throwing this together. Donate $5 to enter the party.
I got an email yesterday morning about a new warehouse/”collaborative workspace” opening up around FAT Village Arts District called The Collide Factory. The party, known simply as Black Friday, will cost guys $10 for unlimited drinks. Ladies drink free. Considering, I’ve never heard of this place prior to Monday morning, I’m a little intrigued by this party. If anyone wants to write about The Collide Factory itself or this party, shoot me an email at mig@ftlcollective.com.
The first annual electronic music festival Dancegiving is happening all day at Revolution, The Green Room, and America’s Backyard. The lineup of DJs looks intriguing, especially LA Riots, Wolfgang Gartner, Steve Aoki, and local Amtrac. This event has the opportunity to be awesome or really cheesy. Hopefully, there won’t be any riots like the one this past weekend outside the Autumn Music Festival in Miami. The event starts at noon and runs until the wee hours of the morning. Tickets are $40. Buy them at the Revolution box office to avoid the Ticketbastard fees.
Saturday
Meet at Maguire’s Hill 16 for the 10th annual Art Scavenger Hunt. Maps will be handed out around 8pm. You can keep up to 2 pieces of art. Cheaters not welcome. I’ve never been to any of the previous scavenger hunts, but this sounds like a lot of fun. The after party is at the Bubble.
Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional performs songs from Swiss Army Romance to celebrate its 10 year anniversary. Check out Strawberry Jam’s post for more details.
Sunday
Stay home and get your life together. You’ve had a long week.
by Miguel Bravo | Nov 16, 2010 | Fort Lauderdale
A couple weeks ago, I wrote an elongated rant regarding the lack of nightlife options to hear non-mainstream music. In the post, we highlighted a couple regular indie dance parties — Monterey Club’s Thursday parties and Club Cinema’s Noir Wednesdays with Marvelous Kendall. Well, add Sunday afternoons to the list. This coming Sunday at McSorley’s new-ish rooftop bar overlooking Ft Lauderdale Beach, a new monthly indie dance party is born. The inaugural bash, appropriately called JAMS, will be held once a month and feature some of our areas’ better alternative DJs. This month’s lineup includes local spin specialists Esoteric, Damask, Sensitive Side, Chris Lee, and yours truly (Mig). As an added bonus, Lake Worth’s barbecue nomads Swanky’s Low and Slow BBQ will be on hand, selling their mouth watering brand of street food . The party starts at 2pm (just enough time to sober up from Saturday) and will end at 8pm. Broke people rejoice — no cover charge.
There are multiple reasons that the FTLC is excited about this party (excluding the fact that I’m DJing). To avoid rambling, we’ve limited ourselves to 6 reasons to attend this beachside soiree:
- A plethora of good music, ranging from indie to 80s new wave to electro to nudisco to you-name-it. Some songs you might already love. Other songs will force you to whip out your smartphone to find out the artist and song title.
- JAMS starts and ends early enough to not conflict with work the next day. Again, it starts at 2pm to 8pm. That gives you plenty of time to get drunk and dance out the booze before your Monday morning TPS reports are due.
- You’ll probably be at the beach anyway, either enjoying the sun or watching the Dolphins kick field goals and not throw the ball to Brandon Marshall. Just move your towel 1 mile north to Sunrise and A1A. I promise the music will be better than the cover band at Elbo Room and there will be plenty of TVs to watch your favorite NFL team.
- Have you been to the sundeck at McSorley’s yet? The outdoor portion of the rooftop bar is completely open-air, so you can soak up some rays and enjoy the ocean breeze at the same time. It’s an stupendous way to spend a sunny South Florida afternoon.
- There’s no cover charge, so don’t use my go-to excuse “I have no money”.
- Did we mention Swanky’s will be there? Mmmmm, pork sandwiches.
One more time…here’s the vital info.
JAMS the Party (fan page) (event page)
McSorleys rooftop bar
2pm to 8pm on Sunday, November 21st
837 North Fort Lauderdale Beach, Ft Lauderdale, FL
Live DJs.
$0 to get in. Must be 21 or over.
