Whiskey Tango

Outside of Whiskey Tango

Just to the left of I-95, there is a wonderful, if not underutilized street called Hollywood boulevard. It’s a fantastic place to live (I hope), or just walk around and people watch. 

There are so many bars and restaurants in the area it would be impossible for me to talk about them all in this single post. But don’t worry I’ll get around to them all, one day.

In the meantime, just this past week I was able to stop in to a little sports bar called Whiskey Tango. I’m not sure how the name evolved, as I think that is a pilot’s term, and I am sure there have never been any tango dancers here, but there you have it. By the way there is plenty of Whiskey here.

It was about a year ago that I met my soon to be wife at this very location, I can remember the exact seat and how we held hands within the first 10 minutes into our relationship. Our lives have never been the same since. So tonight we return as a couple, her with a ring on her finger, and me with a ring back in our house. 

The Salmon Burger (with no bun)

The bar itself is not the most romantic place to be sure, it’s a combination of a classic live band bar and sports bar. It also has a really nice outside area that is a bit quieter.

The beer selection is good and they can make almost any drink you desire. They also have good happy hour specials on drinks. I wanted to keep it simple and I opted for a gin and ginger ale, while Laura opted for a Stella Artois, a nice imported beer. We’ve both changed a little in this year, when she first met me, she asked me what my favorite football team was, to which I replied what is “football?”, while I asked her about her favorite beer and she asked me, why are you bringing up some girl named “Stella?” OK, that’s not exactly the way it happened but you get the picture.

The Veggie Burger

In the meantime we are back for our small celebration. Food here is reasonably priced, as are drinks, and everything from steak to veggie burgers are offered. Laura opted for the veggie burger and by her standards and mine it was very well made and better than average.  I went on the “build your own burger” menu – now that is fun – and went for the salmon burger. This was a great burger and with the fried onion topping it became perfect. The ample sides on both dishes were great including pickles and fires and more. By the way service here was spectacular.

While you may not find romance here, you should come for all the fun offered, including Ladies night, karaoke, bands, and lots of sports, including the heat-brewers game that we saw almost 365 days ago. They are located at 1903 Hollywood Blvd, (near Young Circle) in Hollywood, FL 33020 and parking here is real easy even late at night, though you may want to walk with a group when you are off the main street.

Family Night at DiSalvo’s

Located at Emerald Woods Plaza, DiSalvo’s is a mix of the simple and ordinary that makes for a ‘just right’ experience. They are the classic neighborhood Italian style restaurant. And they indeed are ‘just right’ for this neighborhood. 

Going with my ‘family’, which includes my fiancé and our neighbor, our night is to consist of pizza and Buffalo wings. Well actually that is pizza for the two girls and just a slice for me along with the bulk of the Buffalo wings.

The pizza gets close to real New York Pizza – yes I know, a snobbish remark, but when it’s done right almost all the time you have to ‘recognize’ – and the two girls are in love with it. The taste is good, slightly salty with an even texture. Warm and gooey cheese delights. The bread on the bottom is a little softer than I am used too, but good nonetheless. All and all this is a good pizza.

The Buffalo wings complete the meal with thicker than normal pieces and just the right amount of oils and sauce. I look forward to returning and trying out some of the more traditional dishes, like Stromboli’s or calzones. 

Since they deliver they are located at your house, or you can drive on over to their location at 4190 North 46^th Avenue in Hollywood, Florida.

Miller's Ale House

It’s sort of a mystery to me exactly what the Miller's Ale House (formally known as the Hollywood Ale House) is supposed to be. I would think an “ale house” would feature and promote a wide variety of unique or at least craft beers. Sort of like Tap 42 located in Fort Lauderdale does so very well. But Miller's ale house features your basic bar beers, albeit a large selection, but regular bar beers none the less.

As a sports bar I could imagine the potential, since big screen TV’s, especially in the bar area are more common than seniors at the bingo hall. I’m sure they are packed on game day. But this is not a game day… It does seem to be a good gathering place however.

Next to me and my soon to be bride two roofers are planning their business strategy, while in back of us a few Hollywood officers are enjoying their lunch break together. Yes they get lunch breaks too, and deserve it.

While choices here are plentiful, I think their chef(s) could step it up a few notches. Everything I have had so far seems to be processed in Idaho and then simply re-warmed in the back. It’s definitely not horrible, but I do think they could do a lot better.

My choice here was the lower calorie baked (?) salmon with a side of rice. Again not bad, but it could be a lot better, my bride to be had the veggie burger which again was frozen at its most recent point in life.

I think though that as long as it tries to be all things to all people, it will not be much to any particular person… But that being said I’ll definitely come back. It’s local, the service is good, and it’s just easy to be in. And sometimes easy is all you need.  Stop in and enjoy.

Miller's ale house is located in the Oakwood plaza shopping center, just south of the Home Depot.

A night of serenading

A random Saturday evening finds me and my wife to be at Patron Azteca Mexican Restaurant in Hollywood Florida for a romantic dinner for two. Though I often find Mexican food to be a bit heavy, it’s something I can’t resist, and apparently neither can she.  Patron is located at 5181 Sheridan St. Hollywood, FL 33021.

I love tequila, and who doesn’t love patron, and I hope to gain knowledge of it like I understand scotch and whiskey. But tonight I don’t want to get to crazy so I’m just sticking to the sangria, which I suspect has some tequila in it. Portions here are large and together with the chips and salsa, Laura and I decide to get one dinner sized dish.

Not exactly sure of what to do, our waiter recommended what amounted to larger size chicken taquitos. They turned out not to be to heavy and with a portion size that was just right for the both of us. Combined with the sangria the dish could have made our night…

Could have I say,  but the Mariachi Band really took it to the next level. I felt as though I was back in Mexico, or at least Southern California, which is Mexico anyway. They were true and authentic.

The bar was a bit empty for a Saturday night, but the restaurant itself had plenty of customers, but service was still good, and wait staff was attentive.

Tell all your amigos to “vamanos” on over and enjoy… next time I’m going for the tequila.