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Best Bar in East Broward

Shooters

Following its sudden takeover of Bootleggers earlier this year, Shooters became the largest bar in that no man's land between Fort Lauderdale Beach and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. In fact, even when compared to bars in those areas, Shooters is still unmatched in scope. So if bigger truly is better, this is your place. Along with the large seating area and outdoor bar familiar to Shooters clientele of the past, the place now boasts several tiki bars, a pool, a stage for live acts (admittedly, usually less-than-stellar cover bands), and dockside space so that South Florida's boaters can pull up, get tanked, and go cruisin' (Note: Driving a boat under the influence is still Driving Under the Influence. As if that'll stop you.) If you're the type who likes Hawaiian shirts, board shorts, and fruity drinks heavy on the rum content, this is your place.

Best Martini

Sundy House

When a place of business offers you the "Dirty Thursday" promotion, the choice of 30 martinis every Thursday night for four bucks each, it's pretty hard not to respond positively. But when the staff composes beverages like the "startini," made with Absolut and fresh carambola juice, and serves it under a mango or papaya tree that grows on this property's one-acre tropical Taru Gardens, then it's downright impossible to resist the quite thorough seduction. For some years now, we've all known Sundy House as the renovation of the first mayor of Delray's establishment, where the grounds were exceptional but, well, that was about it. Now, thanks to executive chef Johnny Vinczencz and his team, we have a venue in which we can not only dine extensively but drink -- responsibly, of course -- in ways that even our accountants, if not our mothers, would approve.

Best Country and Western Bar

Plush Pony Lounge

Plush Pony ain't the kind of place to start line dancing. Those cowboys at the L-shaped bar, and yes, they're probably real cowboys, won't appreciate the two-step you learned in dance class. They're more likely to accept a drunken jig on the makeshift dance floor of linoleum tile sandwiched between the pool table and the barstools. Here, it's more about the liquor than it is about do-si-do-ing. The Pony stays open from 7 a.m. until 5 a.m. the next day and has a cowpoke-priced happy hour for its first 12 hours of business with $1 drafts, $1.75 well drinks, and $2 bottles, for those who want to go fancy. The windowless building is the perfect place to forget what time it is, once your eyes adjust from riding on the range. After four decades in business, Plush Pony is the remaining location of what was once a 27-bar chain across South Florida. And as Palm Beach County's last country "bar," as opposed to the western dance clubs, it's also a vestige of the past. Just don't go hoping to practice your choreographed moves.

Best Happy Hour

Bierbrunnen

Fort Lauderdale Beach can be a nightmare at times, and let's not even mention -- woo! -- spring break. Bierbrunnen offers a welcome respite from the beachfront bumpin' and grindin' of many other Fort Liquordale establishments. When the clock strikes 4:30 p.m., the German beers (including the drink of the gods, Erdinger) drop down by $1 and domestic and well drinks are half price. Until 7 p.m. it's open season for day drunks, sun-stroked beach dwellers, tourists, and whoever else happens to wander into this open-air bar. Three and a half hours is plenty of time to let loose with co-workers, friends, or strangers, gather some "liquid courage," and possibly embarrass yourself. Isn't that what happy hours are all about?

Best Bar in Palm Beach

The Falcon House

A cozy 1925 home is the setting for a place that makes you wish every neighborhood bar were this loungey-chic. The American tapas bar is named after an attorney for whom the house was built. The in-crowd feel combined with its tasty appetizer menu makes this a well-kept jewel of this two-time All-American city. Chefs Brant Tesky and Rodney Thomas serve up such delish eats as tuna poki with taro root chips, tender beef satay, and chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce, all of which easily complement the Falcon House's extensive wine list.

Best Margarita

Canyon Southwest Cafe

For almost 20 years now, the margarita has been the afterwork drink of choice. Snowy cold, almost flavorless, giant-sized, and packed with enough clear tequila to power an outboard motor, it's a cocktail to blow away that acrid 9-to-5 pall. When the eagle flies on Friday, it's solace in a glass. But, hell, for all the gustatory pleasure it provides, you might as well inject it into your arm. Canyon gives you some of the kick of the pedestrian version with a dash of flavor and a trace of the exotic. The restaurant's house specialty, the prickly-pear margarita, is made with good Hornitos tequila. It has a pink blush and a faint, tropical-fruit afterflavor that'll have you groping for comparisons. It tastes like, um -- a cross between a banana and a mango? No, that's not it. Whatever it is, it's tasty and, well, different. Let's call it subtle. The Canyon even delivers a feel for the Southwest. After your second or third prickly, you may look around at the restaurant's faux adobe walls and rancho ceiling beams and swear you hear coyotes howling out there somewhere. The prickly costs $8, $7 during happy hour.

Best Piano Bar

Hugh Jorgan's

Delray Beach's Atlantic Avenue has the charm, the class, the refinement, and the panache that ties in nicely with its "All-American City" award. But tucked away behind the galleries and quaint eateries is a little place with a dirty name. Hugh Jorgan's Piano Bar invites you to bend over for an injection of rowdy energy. The intimate setting puts spectators impossibly close to the stage, where the Jorgan brothers perform on dueling pianos and take requests from the audience. And God help you if you're caught not participating. As punishment, you may have to donate your bra (to add to the ever-growing collection hanging from the ceiling) or you'll be dragged on-stage, berated, then given a free drink for being such a good sport. It's the American way.

Best Sports Bar

Bru's Room

Readers Choice: Bru's Room Sports Grill

Named for owner Bob Brudzinski (who some may remember as Miami Dolphin No. 59 from 1981 to 1990), Bru's Room is what you expect out of a sports bar. Everything about this place is touched with the spirit of competition, from the games on all the TVs to the trash-talking at the bar between teams involved in heated electronic trivia matches. Though several locations have now sprung up, we still love the dear-old Pompano location, particularly for the Gentleman Jack Tuesdays, featuring your favorite bourbon for $3. Unlike some other sports bars, which jack up prices during major events, Bru's Room includes specials on big game days -- the NCAA finals featured the old standby, five-for-$10 buckets of domestic beer. Use those suds to wash down some of the best wings in town and you've got yourself a true sports-bar experience.

Best Rock Club

The Culture Room

Any South Florida live-music club not saturated with sticky, sucky cover bands automatically gets bumped ahead in line. And at the very front of that line, muscling past the chrome-domed bouncer manning the velvet rope gauntlet, is the Culture Room. Yeah, the Culture Room's competition became a tad jealous of its supremacy and the loyalty showed it by local fans and rock bands alike -- and waged a tepid little turf war that went absolutely nowhere. The Room survived, emerging from the chaos better than ever: A redesigned bar setup gives it a newly spacious feel, and the place continues to pack 'em in, night after night, week after week, year after year -- just the way we like it.

Best Venue for National Acts

Pompano Beach Amphitheatre

The folks who live in close proximity to the centrally located, easy-to-reach Pompano Beach Amphitheatre may not appreciate our naming it the best place to see a concert. They may even wish it would go away. But we love this place more and more each time we visit, mainly because an outdoor venue that can be used any day of the year is something the rest of the nation's concertgoers can only dream about. So maybe it makes us feel special. The size is perfect -- about 2,500 seats -- and you don't have to wonder about the sound and vision, 'cause they're both perfect. Plus, our trustworthy independent promoters seem to grab some pretty choice shows, like Oasis; Soundtrack of Our Lives; String Cheese Incident; and Zwan, ex-Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan's new band. Talk of expanding the amphitheater has dwindled of late -- no doubt music to the ears of its neighbors.

Best Of Broward-Palm Beach®

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