Readers' Choice

Named Best Of Live Band by in 2010, Community Property has gone undefeated in every South Florida battle of the band in which it’s participated. Proud to be “Sunrise boys,” Community Property has been rocking in Broward for six years now. The band’s frontman, Lucien Sawyer, writes all the lyrics, and the band comes up with melodies. In addition to Jimi Hendrix comparisons, Community Property brings together a wealth of dirty blues and soul that will run you as ragged as any Black Keys guitar romp. Keep your ears peeled; the band will be dropping a self-titled album this summer.

Brown, a North Carolina native who lives in Fort Lauderdale, is a visual artist concentrating in installation and sculpture. Trained at the Rhode Island School of Design, Brown is a regular in the South Florida art scene, building sets for the Rising Action Theatre, operating the 18 Rabbit Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, and serving as vice president of the FAT Village Artists Association. Sure, she does her own sculpture and installation artwork, but it’s her dedication to helping build the scene that likely brought in the votes.

Whiskey Tango is a common term in military circles to describe white trash, and the owners of the all-American bar and grill bearing the same name revel in that fact. Advertised as redneck cool, trailer-park fabulous, and white-trash chic, WT is clearly aiming for a clientele more concerned about good food and drink than paying attention to the labels on their clothing. Two pool tables, an electronic-touch poker table, a boxing machine, steel-tipped darts, a basketball hoop, and more than a dozen high-definition televisions prove WT is the sports mecca of downtown Hollywood.

A favorite among everyone from frat boys to business types, Scarlett’s caters to the horny masses from all over South Florida. Coming in at an expansive 23,000 square feet, the strip club houses four stages, three bars, five themed VIP rooms , and 20 private dance rooms. Whether you’re on a tight budget or have plenty of cash to throw around, there’s a little something for everyone. Open until 6 a.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. weekends, Scarlett’s is the go-to spot for late-night debauchery.

scarlettscabaret.com
2920 SW 30th Ave., FL, 33009

Abuzz with playful conversation and flickering laughter, Georgie’s Alibi is the lighthearted hub of gay life in Wilton Manors. The spacious bar is a red-lighted lounge during its long and generous happy hour. When the light melts away, the music swells and ballad-bellowing divas flood the television-covered walls in a torrent of danceable beats.

alibiwiltonmanors.com
2266 Wilton Dr., FL, 33305

Off the Hookah is Las Olas Riverfront’s dance club, hookah lounge, and waterfront dining wrapped up in one sexy, Egyptian-themed venue. Vegas-style flair bartenders serve the drinks, belly dancers arouse the onlookers, and the Mediterranean and sushi menu tantalizes the taste buds. There are cabana beds throughout the venue; thus, you can ask someone to go to bed without having to go home. Or ask a cutie to munch on the Mediterranean platter and share a banana/honey-flavored hookah (not hooker, wiseguy!). Also, there are drink specials during happy hour, ladies’ night, and college night to keep the party going.

offthehookah.com
111 SW 2nd Ave., FL, 33301

In Fort Lauderdale, bars come and go quicker than the tide rolls in, but every now and then, one opens and decades later new generations of locals are filling up the barstools, just like here at Cheers. From neon signs to pool tables and sports memorabilia, the drinking hole has all the quintessential trimmings, but it’s the patrons who give it real character. On weekends, the stage is filled with an array of bands, but during the week, patrons can take their shot on the stage at open-mic night or karaoke.

cheersfoodandspirits.com
941 E. Cypress Creek Rd., FL, 33334

With current-day experimental electronic music so often divided along trendy blog lines, it’s refreshing to hear a local act resurrect a term you don’t hear too much on Hype Machine and the like — trip-hop. But the local three-piece Astrea Corporation does, indeed, pick up a strain of boom-bap beats and wrap it in all kinds of lush but electronic beats. It updates that ’90s sound, though, with contemporary left-field flourishes, from looping, echoing vocals to the occasional warped bass line and drum ‘n’ bass inflection. On some tracks, like the meandering, almost yodelly “Artifact A,” they even get positively New Agey.

From his Facebook fan page comes this bio: “Growing up in the Wax Trax era of Chicago music and moving to South Florida in my Teenage years gave me an eclectic taste. Always working in the background promoting and working with artists, I started DJ’ing on a dare and hit the ground running.” He sure did, and you can find LinderSMASH at Fort Lauderdale’s Green Room on Thursdays through Saturdays and on rotation at the Fetish Factory.

The Salon Mantra’s website spells out its mission: “To create a salon environment as unique to this planet as our clients are to us.” It’s clear Salon Mantra co-owner Sofia Navarro is helping meet that goal, considering she has won this poll two years in a row. The mission statement ends: “We will live this by keeping our Mantra one of trust, love, and beauty. After all… isn’t that what it’s about?” Yes, apparently it is.

salonmantra.com
3337 NE 33rd St., FL, 33308

This Delray Beach gastropub is all about indulgence but, most pointedly, bacon. A glance down the menu reveals bacon in salad, bacon smothering macaroni and cheese, bacon on burgers, and bacon finishing off a tray of souped-up tater tots. If you count the various forms of pork and ham employed by the kitchen, then there are also Serrano-wrapped scallops, Spanish toast with tomatoes and ham, and a retooling of pork and beans where the pork is, in fact, pork belly (read: bacon). And lest you think the bacon bus stops there, for dessert, you can order perhaps the restaurant’s greatest triumph: a maple-glazed doughnut topped with — what else? — bacon. It’s all consumed in a rollicking 1950s atmosphere that’s a cross between a Madison Avenue office building and a Dick Van Dyke-era home study. Cocktails are picture-perfect and delivered by a bow-tied staff, and craft beer flows liberally from the bar.

Gourmet diners have long had Sublime as their go-to, a restaurant founded by animal-rights activist Nanci Alexander and serving an entirely vegan, and partly organic, menu. Sublime has always been beautiful, with its water wall and open brick oven and its inventive list of “healthy” cocktails and organic wines. The food lives up to the name, from a delicious tempura-battered cauliflower “frito misto” to a gorgeous sublime roll wrapped in grasshopper-greensoy paper. Classic Margherita pizza from the wood-burning oven could totally go crust-to-crust with the best brick-oven pizzas in South Florida. And a braised spinach, wood-fired artichoke, and roasted shallot “quiche” lacking either eggs or cream is a knockout. Presentation is exquisite.

sublimerestaurant.com
1431 N. Federal Highway, FL, 33304

This wood-oven pizzeria sits in a standalone building near Mizner Park punctuated by a large brick oven and a few rows of brightly colored industrial tables. The single-page menu features chicken wings, Italian salad, a handful of appetizers, and a few specialty pizzas (eggplant, broccoli rabe and sausage, Margherita). But the pizza is a treat. The crust crackles with a snappish crunch, and the sauce is garlicky and rich. Even better is the capricious nature of the cheese, which randomly finds its way into every other bite without ever getting rubbery.

Relish, in the cozy and quaint Northwood Village, is the ultimate mix-and-match burger joint. Choose from 12 types of burgers: beef, all-white-meat turkey, tuna, mahi-mahi, crab, shrimp, black bean, mushroom, lamb, buffalo, veal, or lobster, all of which are freshly ground or made in-house each day. Next, add any number of Relish’s 20-plus gourmet toppings. There are relatively normal offerings, like lettuce slaw and drunken onions cooked in lager. And then there’s the wacky stuff you would never have thought to put on a burger in a million years, like oven-roasted beets with fresh herbs or shaved asparagus with white wine and tarragon. The freedom of choice is mirrored on down the menu, from fries and onion rings (top them with your choice of six gourmet salts) to milk shakes (there are more than a dozen flavors) to cookies (six varieties with six dipping sauces).

The best barbecue has always been the kind of spots you might see along county roads in the Deep South, just like Blue Willy’s. This food truck sets up at various locations around Fort Lauderdale, including a regular stop at 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays at SE First Avenue and SE Sixth Street. Go for the brisket or St. Louis-style ribs, which will make you feel like you’ve pulled up to a pit master in rural Alabama, just like barbecue ought to be.

facebook.com/bluewillys
613 SE First Ave., FL, 33301

facebook.com/BlueWillys
1190 E. Commercial Blvd., FL

Located where NE Fourth Avenue meets the train tracks, Laser Wolf fits in an unusual triangular space. The place vibrates with bright-red walls, a mural by pro skateboarder Kris Markovich, and the runaway trendiness of a crowd that gathers between its walls to drink sake and locally crafted microbrews. Ashtrays feature the Misfits’ skull logo, and even the chairs made the trip from the moody-hip downtown hangout the Poorhouse. Dance parties instinctively emerge in front of the DJ’s corner setup, while an adjacent, charming courtyard hosts bands for the rock-devoted.

laserwolf.godaddysites.com
901 Progresso Dr. #101, FL, 33304

Last year, Le Batard launched upward and onward from his days as Miami Herald columnist, local radio personality, and occasional guest host of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption. Now he’s all marquee, with his name on his own show. Appropriately, he kept that personality that made him “the hatable Dan Le Batard” and called his show Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable. He’s also highly unpredictable. Take the fact that he hosts his show with his father, Gonzalo. It’s like nothing else you’ll see on the ESPN networks, and that’s exactly what makes it good.