The guests here - this is a B&B, after all - have probably long gone to bed by the time we ask for the check, which always seems to be missing a few rounds. Before we finish off - what was it? - a fourth round or so, a few boxes of steaming pizza pies arrive from nearby Clematis Street.
At the full bar nearby, the friendly bartender overhears our dilemma about dinner and offers, "Why don't you just order in? Pizza Girls delivers." Brilliant idea, sir. Tables and chairs are scattered across a patio amid tiki torches, a fountain, and tropical fauna, all comfortably spaced out to give groups of drinkers their room. Sure, we all probably need something to soak up hours' worth of alcohol, but nobody likes the idea of leaving a place that feels like an ideal Old Florida backyard. We're a few hours into a happy hour at this perfect tropical garden when somebody brings up the idea of going someplace else for dinner. Order mostly dry with a cucumber garnish and discover how good booze can taste when it's not busy tasting like something else. They serve it diluted with just a tiny bit of ice water from the cocktail shaker, which emphasizes and excites the gin's rose-petal overtones till they seem to skitter across the tongue. Yes, they've got Hendrick's - that wonderfully crisp, cucumber-infused gin in the thick black bottle that looks like it came from an old-world archaeological excavation.
Bova is as upscale as any restaurant on the boulevard - a full meal, plus cocktails, could easily run you $100 - but you'll feel as dapper and happy as any diner if you stop by for just a single Hendrick's martini. To try one, go to href="">Bova Prime on Las Olas, for there they serve a mighty example of the form. A real martini is a pre-Prohibition gin drink with an unapologetically booze-ish flavor. But they are only "martinis," never martinis. These drinks are often pretty, and they are often tasty.
Their active ingredient is vodka, and all kinds of weak boozes have been added to the mix to make them taste like Key Lime Pie or an espresso or an Almond Joy. Most likely, it's a combination of these things and the fact that more locals and regulars populate O'Malley's than you'd expect at a busy beachside bar, proving it's not a tourist trap or fad like so many other bars littering the beach.īanish from your mind those newfangled "martinis" sold in the trendy bars by unscrupulous mixologists.
Maybe it's the bevy of televisions tuned to every sport available and the collections of people eagerly watching their fantasy teams on laptops thanks to the free WiFi. Or it could be the variety of frozen drinks, double-shot mojitos, and low-priced, all-day refills served in carved coconuts.
It might be the fact that it's located on a busy stretch of Hollywood Beach - outdoors but at the same time covered and protected from the sweltering sun and unpredictable rain. O'Malley's Ocean Pub is a place where the worries of everyday life just wash away. One thing is certain - it doesn't matter. Accounts vary as to where he came from: Some say he drifted ashore, some say he arrived by boat from the Bahamas, and some say the real story is much less interesting. It has been said that O'Malley appeared on Hollywood Beach after the hurricane of 1926. "You had a lot of fun last night, huh? So what did you lose cell phone, keys, a present, a friend, credit card, shoe, camera, boyfriend, your panties, your pride?" You know this is a place where things regularly veer out of control because they feel compelled to have a whole "Lost & Found" page on their website. Said bartenders (dressed like lifeguards, down to the board shorts or bikini tops and whistles) will make it up to you by passing out free drink tokens as freely as Halloween candy and by putting three or four straws in those giant, bucket-sized fruity cocktails. Crew outfit, because you are highly likely to get caught in the crossfire of the bartenders' water-balloon fight.
Friday only) straight after work, don't be too anal about your nice J. Should you pop in at America's Backyard for happy hour (4:30 to 9 p.m. They hired tiny, clean-cut, young barmaids adopted the tagline "Grillin' and Chillin' " built the center bar as a replica swimming pool and narrowed the musical set list to highly singable mainstream anthems. When the powers that be decided to renovate the underused outdoor patio at Revolution Live and reinvent it as a permanent pool party, they went long on fun and short on pretension.