Comments (0) Best Restaurant for Out-of-Towners - 2010

Brunch at the Hyatt, Pier 66

Fort Lauderdale ain't what it used to be. Take it from us: It used to be funky. There were more diners than fine dining establishments back in the day, and the enclaves of the ancien riche were few and far between. None was lovelier than the lounge atop Pier 66, which rotated every 66 minutes, giving the assembled a panoramic view of Broward County, from downtown Fort La-di-da to downtown Hollywood. Nowadays, the lounge is closed to all but private events, except on Sundays. On Sundays, you can pay $65 for a brunch with unlimited champagne and bloody marys and munch on sushi, foie gras, crab cakes, mushroom tortes, and other utterly unrelated delicacies while taking in a view of "the Venice of America" that gives the title more credence than a street-level view could ever provide. This is what "class" used to look like in Fort Lauderdale. Would that it did, still.