canyon southwest cafe

canyon southwest cafe
ft. lauderdale, fl
www.canyonfl.com

cozy, dark and packed with young, hip diners all eating some of the best locally produced food in ft. lauderdale. the music is loud and the wait is long. here's the deal - they don't take reservations, they're only open for dinner and happy hour doesn't exist. but what does exist are their infamous prickly pear margarita's, which you must order. they describe their cuisine as 'american artisanal' with southwestern fusion and exciting hints of asian and south american influences. a few girlfriends and i went on a saturday night and had a ravishing time - the prickly pear margarita's were great company.

i tried the maine lobster and avocado salad served with warm applewood bacon in a cilantro chive vinaigrette and crispy white sweet potato chips - the lobster and avocado pairing was perfect and the chips were highly addicting! other highlights were the wasabi ginger marinated beef served over soba noodles with fresh cilantro, scallions and carrots with crispy wontons alongside a yummy soy dressing and the grilled chicken quesadilla with a tasty cilantro pesto and jalapeno jack cheese. it was fun to taste ingredients that you wouldn't normally try together, infused in the dishes. the best dish we had there was easily their grilled jumbo sea scallops served with a sweet plantain hash and a smoked chili honey glaze. the scallops were wonderfully big, just make the perfect bite with all three components and you will not know what to do with yourself. the honey glaze melts all the ingredients together and really makes you appreciate the simplicity of the scallops.

the dessert was extraordinary as well. the name just gets you excited - white chocolate vanilla bread pudding! they might as well invest in placing an exclamation mark at the end of the name because it deserves it. the bread pudding wasn't overwhelmingly sweet and placed over a hot fruit compote that will drive you wild. scrumptious, the end.

canyon southwest cafe is the restaurant i suggest to anyone going to eat in ft. lauderdale or wanting to impress somebody on a date (hint hint) - a finding cupcakes favorite.