Here at the FTLC headquarters, we are always striving to find new ways to inform our readers of local businesses, activities, bands, restaurants, and Russ Adler sightings. That is why we have added 2 new pages to our blog, Links and Mixtapes. Let me explain each new page below:
Links
On this page, we want to provide a comprehensive listing of local websites. As you can see, we’ve already added a handful of quality blogs, bands, bars, and restaurants. We plan on adding many more in the coming weeks and months. We only ask one tiny, minute, pequeño favor…if we add a link to your site, we’d appreciate you to show the love back. Contact mig@ftlcollective.com if you think your site should be included on our directory.
Mixtape
We are particularly excited about this addition to our website. In this section, we want to include a monthly mixtape of songs by local bands, complete with cover art and a link to download the album for free. This section only works as long as enough bands allow us to include their music on our mix. If you’re in a band, and would like for us to include one of your tracks on our monthly mix, send an email to mixtape@ftlcollective.com with the song attached (please, no viruses) or a link to a site where we can download your song (the preferred method). Expect our first mix to come out in August.
Do you have any suggestions for the FTLC website? Go to the Contact page, and email one of the FTLC bloggers.
Sunday-Funday is a weekly holiday celebrated in Fort Lauderdale. The monthly riverfront Jazz Brunch is a popular Sunday location, along with the Floridian and the other thousand venues that serve a cold mimosa, but probably the most festive of all places to begin your funday is Rosie’s Bar and Grill in Wilton Manors.
Although Saturday night’s booze and hallucinogens may still be in your system, seeing a cow in this themed restaurant is perfectly normal (the particular cow I spied was part of Wilton Manors’ yearly Gay Rodeo). Walking inside you’ll be welcomed by signs (“BEER: give your brain a break!”) and creative memorabilia on the tall and wide walls around you. Hit up the host stand immediately if you want to enjoy the full feel of this locale and secure a table on the breezy patio. But no worries, while you wait there is plenty of room and service at the bar to begin your adventure.
Typically in the morning one might most enjoy a mimosa ($5)…something about champagne and orange juice is stimulating and refreshing, and it will wake up your senses and help you forget last night’s questionable acts. However, if your tongue can handle the spice, Rosie’s Bloody-Mary ($3) will be sure to bestir you.
After your wait, your host will escort you to the cabana-style patio where a DJ plays techno and house music, and although this area is primarily for sitting, dancing near the DJ is perfectly acceptable. While the music is loud enough to give you the itch to rock your body, the sound is produced well enough that your server can hear your order. The wait staff is fun, knowledgeable, and helpful for the indecisive mind. Each of these characters wears black Rosie’s t-shirts with a different slogan on the back describing themselves or their purpose, in a humorous way of course.
The large menu satisfies all tastes and the food is brilliant, try the Tortilla Stack Attack, the massive and sweet French Toast, the…ah, who cares, everything is good…you are here for the atmosphere and the mimosas anyway.
Sunday brunch continues until 2 p.m., but if you find this place really tickles your pickle and you cannot wait until the weekend for the next escapade, Rosie’s has happy hour Monday through Friday (11 a.m. – 7 p.m.) and other drink specials every day. The FTLC can assure you, Rosies is one of the better brunch spots in Ft. Lauderdale. Go there!
Strawberry Jam sifting through the mulch with a stick
“Damn, this place is loaded with muggles.”
That phrase was embarrassingly uttered from my mouth yesterday afternoon, and no, I wasn’t quoting a line from the Harry Potter series (not like that’s better anyway). Actually, Strawberry Jam and I were searching for petroglyphs in Frost Park in Dania, playing the worldwide GPS based game known as Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing). The point of the game is to find hidden containers (geocaches), using only GPS coordinates and a limited amount of clues. Once you find the concealed item, you log your success by writing your name in a log (usually it’s BYOP, bring your own pen/pencil) and documenting it online. Occasionally, the capsule will include a souvenir or a Travel Bug (an item that is transferred to different geocaches). This army of dedicated treasure hunters are known as geocachers; everyone else are referred to as muggles. For more nerd slang, check out the glossary.
Loyal geocachers take their version of hide and seek very seriously. A quick search for geocaches within 50 miles of my house in Sailboat Bend produced 2,412 results. After sifting through the overwhelming list, Strawberry Jam and I settled on a combination of four geocaches, ranging from “easy” to “hard”. Ideally, it’s best to search with a GPS device, but Google maps and the encrypted clues suffice. Our virgin quest took us to popular British hangout King’s Head to conquer the geocache known as A Taste Of England. I will not spoil this one for you guys, but it was pretty damn easy — a perfect confidence builder for newbies like us. Our next adventure, Chillin’ In Frost Park, had us searching for Native American carvings around a baseball field in order to discover some kind of camoflauged container. Twenty minutes later and empty handed, we soon discovered that this dork sport was no cake walk. Sadly, our last three searches were fruitless. Fortunately, we enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to hide our own geocache in downtown Fort Lauderdale. I encourage our readers to sign up for a free account on the geocaching website, however, most of you won’t, so I will post the clues and coordinates of FTL Collective’s first geocache below. Just make sure you put it back where you found it (if you can find it, bwa ha ha). Happy hunting.
Sometimes it’s tough to be overshadowed by the bright lights of Miami. Sure, we’ll pretend like it doesn’t bother us that the mainstream media continually praises our neighboring big city and neglects its more laid back, people friendly, step sister, but fact of the matter is that we want some love too. That’s why whenever we get a plug in the national media, the FTLC feels compelled to let you know about it. My personal favorite FTL namedrop happened in episode five of The Office entitled “Broke.” In the episode, former temp Ryan equates Fort Lauderdale to Bangkok. If you forgot the scene, here’s the dialogue:
Ryan:
I never went to Thailand.
Pam:
Really?
Michael:
I went to Fort Lauderdale
Michael:
Was it nice?
Ryan:
Yeah “it was amazing.” There was a great pad thai place though.
Michael:
I love pad thai.
Ryan:
You’ve never had pad thai.
Michael:
No. There’s a lot I haven’t done.
Although not nearly as note-worthy as being mentioned in one of America’s most popular TV shows, the flattering namedrop in the Bing commercial did evoke more than a few chuckles. In the ad, a sexy maid named Isabella complains to her lover Juan Carlos that “if he loved her, he’d take her somewhere beautiful.” On queue, Juan Carlos’s arch nemesis — an unnamed Mexican hunk, who stole Filomena from Juan Carlos in episode 1 — enters the home via horseback with his laptop open to a Bing search result that displays plane tickets from San Jose, CA to Fort Lauderdale, FL. Naturally, Isabella is swept away by the idea of a trip to Ft Lauderdale and rides away with the man with the better mustache.
Below is the commercial I am referencing. If you happen to have Attention Deficit Disorder, make sure to pay attention at the 19 second mark.
Unfortunately, I did not come up with the title of this post all by myself; the Red, White, & Boom is the moniker of just one of the thousands of ridiculously named explosives sold at TNT Fireworks (formerly known as Neptunes Fireworks) located off of East Dania Beach Boulevard, just east of the convenience store made famous in a previous post. In fact, I was so enamored by the names of the fireworks, that I’m convinced that it’s possible to write an entire article just using firework name references. Check this out:
Just briefly checking out the Arsenal of child-friendly missiles and bombs sold at TNT Fireworks will give you Instant Gratification and make you Salute To America (still the world’s Super Power) like a Proud American. If you purchase enough Heavy Hitters (as far as I know, there’s no Legal Limit), you’ll surely be throwing Fort Lauderdale’s biggest TNT Block Party, putting your neighbors in a state of Delirium. In times like these, it’s Just Awesome that we have a firework store that will help us forget all about our local government’s Corruption and allow us to relax in our Tropical Delight that we call home.
(See, I told you I could write the whole article using only firework references – Mission Accomplished. Man, I was En Fuego, LOL)
Joking aside, I am not only writing this article in the spirit of our country’s independence day; I want to warn you. If you plan on buying fireworks at TNT, go right now! According to multiple sources, this store becomes a mad house as July 4th creeps closer. When I went late on Wednesday night (the store is open 24 hours until the holiday is over), there were hardly any shoppers in the store. However, the supercenter was prepared for the fast approaching riot of South Floridians lusting for gun powder. Let me describe the process of entering the store in a step-by-step process:
Step 1: If you can find parking (that’s a big IF), you have to enter the store on the side of the building. Don’t worry if you can’t find parking. The store hires police officers around this time of year to manage traffic.
Step 2: Get in line. Don’t get intimidated by the length of the winding line. I’m sure it will go quick (in your dreams).
Step 3: Take out your driver’s license because they will need to make a photocopy at the first checkpoint — that’s right, there are checkpoints. They will hand you a blank form with some writing on it — stuff like “I will not start bottle rocket wars with my little nephew”, “I will not set off smoke bombs in my grandma’s condominium elevator”, etc).
Step 4: Sign the form at the white table at the end of the line, but don’t forget to return the pen and clipboard. The security guard looks irritated.
Step 5: Enter the doors and wait in a second line. This line notarizes your ID and provides you with a buyer’s card that allows you to buy the most dangerous, legal explosives. Lucky for you, this card will let you bypass some of these stages the next time you go to TNT.
All in all, the entire entry process reminded me of entering Cambodia last summer in the height of swine flu season. Seriously, I think there’s more security currently at TNT Fireworks than at FLL. As awful as all that sounds, there’s no question that this is the best fireworks bodega in town. Go ahead and shop at the temporary tents in the Publix parking lots if you want to be the laughing stock of your neighborhood. I love my country, that’s why I’ll be shopping at the store that will let me buy the most dangerous fireworks that can literally blow my hand off.
Who am I kidding (sigh)? On this amateur blogger salary that I’m making ($0 a year), I could only afford some Crazy Ground Hogs, Chicken Coop, and Small Bees. Maybe next year, I’ll be able to buy something that will set off the car alarm on my neighbor’s obnoxious Mazda Miata.
Don’t forget to check out Ft Lauderdale’s firework show this Sunday on the beach. Heres the link with all the info.
