Tame pelicans and exceptional Japanese food

Monday was our last day in Florida before the flight back home on Tuesday. We decided to head out to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea to check out Anglins Pier and the beach. Anglins Fishing Pier is the longest pier in South Florida but not all of it is open to the public. There were several people fishing on the pier, which also attracted birds. There was one pelican that was not at all faced by the people as there was a chance of getting fresh fish from the fishers. You could actually go right up to the pelican to snap pictures. Some of the fishers tried to feed him bait (fish filets) but he spat them right out, only fresh fish direct from the sea would do. After following the fishing and admiring the sea for a while we headed down to the beach and dipped our toes in the Atlantic. Then we strolled around the little town for a while before heading to the Hillsboro inlet lighthouse that overlooks Pompano Beach. As we had not done our homework it turned out we could not get to the actual lighthouse as tours to the lighthouse are only arranged once a month and even the museum located at Hillsboro Inlet Park was closed on Mondays. So, we only got to admire the lighthouse from afar and snap some pictures in the park. We drove out to LauderAle Brewery & Tap Room to see if we could get some lunch but it turned out they didn’t open until 3 pm and we were there around 2 pm so we decided to head elsewhere. We ended up having lunch at Shake Shack, a place we have tried to visit for years while in New York but never managed to so far. Hubby had the SmokeShack and I opted for the Chick’n Shack. We shared a serving of Bacon cheese fries and while hubby stuck to soda, I tried the Fifty/Fifty (half lemonade, half iced tea). The beef burger was delicious, and the chicken burger was the best I’ve ever had. The fries were addictive and my drink became an instant favorite. Will definitely visit Shake Shack again when back in the States.

I had reserved a table at Etaru for our last dinner in Fort Lauderdale. Etaru features contemporary Robatayaki cuisine in a neighborhood Japanese restaurant. We had already decided in advance to have the Chef’s Tasting Menu with wine and sake pairing. The menu consisted of Black kampachi sashimi, yuzu truffle dressing, mizuna and pickled vegetables, Sashimi platter with 5 sashimi selection, yellowtail tartar and oysters, Raw salmon roll, avocado, asparagus and wasabi tobiko, Panko-breaded fried prawns and chili mayo, Pork dumplings with mushrooms, truffle and ponzu sauce, Scallops with yuzu mayo, corn, red bell pepper and shishito salad, Broccolini, ginger and moromi miso dressing, Skirt steak with wasabi chimichurri and ETARU dessert platter. The food was outstanding. My absolute favorites were the black kampachi sashimi, the fried prawns and the pork dumplings. As I am not a big fan of red meat, I skipped the steak as hubby told me right after tasting it, I would not enjoy it. I did eat some broccolini and tasted the chimichurri. On the other hand, I was already stuffed by the time the meat was served so not having any wasn’t a problem. All in all, a great experience and I can recommend Etaru to any fan of Japanese cuisine.

Tuesday morning, we started off the day with a final breakfast at Courtyard Café. Then we cleaned the apartment, packed and headed to the airport in Miami. We had a wonderful relaxing holiday in Florida and did get to store up on vitamin D and sunshine. Despite being told by a waiter at the Courtyard Café that this was the rainiest December in ages we thoroughly enjoyed the weather despite some rain showers, the temperatures of around 25℃ in the daytime and around 20℃ in the evenings were perfect. This is all for Florida, let’s see where our adventures take us next.