Feels Like the First Time

About five years ago, I was charged with what, at the time, seemed like a perfectly reasonable request: Find the ideal restaurant to review for the inaugural issue of New Times Broward-Palm Beach. The parameters were broad, somewhat general in scope. The eatery had to be relatively new. Untouched by the competition. Stylish, with artful décor. Trendy. On the higher end of the scale, with an experienced staff and a menu that represented the region. In short, the place had to absolutely scream Broward County, where the New Times office was going to be based. Something like a Darrel & Oliver's Café Maxx or a Mark's Las Olas.

No problem, I thought. My husband had grown up in the west Broward area. His extended family sprawls throughout Broward and Palm Beach counties. I'd been visiting and/or living in the area since college. And I'd been reviewing restaurants for Miami New Times for five years at that point, so I had a pretty good inkling what the editors expected to read.

Call me picky, or just plain pessimistic. But after assessing nearly a hundred restaurants over the summer before the October launch, I couldn't find one that fit all the points on the bill. If the restaurant had a trendy bent, City Link (then known as XS) had already written it up; if the chef showed signs of being serious, the Sun-Sentinel had gotten to it. Others weren't situated in a promising area or didn't have regional atmospherics or didn't exhibit enough meaty attitude.

The restaurant I eventually settled on, Lord Nelson's Pub, hit on enough of the variables to make it acceptable. Broward County, oddly enough, is known for its bubbling Irish and British pub life. The establishment wasn't a dive, was only a few months old, and was located in Himmarshee Village, an area projected to become popular with the paper's demographics (a prediction that turned out to be accurate, as we now know). But the restaurant proved only mediocre, and vaguely dissatisfied, I finally had to file the whole episode in my mind as a task of Herculean proportions. After all, I had to move on.

Still, five years and more than 200 reviews later, I'm aware more than ever of that then-unfulfilled checklist. Especially when I come across a restaurant like JB's on the Beach, an establishment that, by all appearances, was built to suit the contours of my Perfect First Review. Not to mention that it gave me the opportunity to complete my agenda -- in two years' less time than it took Hercules, I might add.

In short, is the restaurant relatively new? Check: About two months old, JB's is a gleaming construction in Deerfield Beach that takes the place of a crumbling gas station. Stylish? You betcha: multi-tiered, with a patterned carpet, lots of large glass windows, fresh white walls, and contemporary architecture that takes inspiration from Key West conch houses. Trendy? Well, there's a valet, a reservation desk, a sign noting that proper dress -- i.e., no tank tops, shoes required -- is a darn good idea, and an assortment of women sporting handbags with designer logos on them, so draw your own conclusions.

Most important, perhaps, is that JB's offers the type of dining experience one expects to find in South Florida. The name is no lie -- JB's is as "on the beach" as an umbrella and lounge chair, a rarity indeed in these parts. That explains why the extensive patio often has a waiting list when seats are still available inside. But seeing, hearing, smelling, and even touching the waves, should you so desire, as you sup is a pleasure of which we are cruelly and unusually deprived, despite our proximity to the Atlantic.

The menu is a great match for the setting, with entrées highlighting seafood, fish, and meats grilled over a wood fire that brings beach barbecues to mind. Sirloin and flat-iron steaks, marinated in Asian flavors, can be a pleasant way to enjoy the smoky flavors when the meats aren't overtenderized from the acids; ditto with barbecued ribs or a chicken or fish sandwich. But I find the best way is the simplest: Order whatever the "wood-grilled fresh fish of the day" is. I encountered swordfish one night, a once-endangered species that has been making a comeback on restaurant menus, and I was delighted to find the steak perfectly cooked to a juicy, grill-marked finish. Though it hardly needs it, for an extra dollar or two, you can have a side ramekin of lemony beurre blanc, chunky Mediterranean salsa, or finely tuned béarnaise to add some weight. But as basics go, I found the vegetable and starch side dishes -- a pile of grilled squash, peppers, and onions and a scoop of vermicelli-laced rice pilaf -- more than enough complement.