Crave GFL Offers Dining Deals at Fort Lauderdale Restaurants Throughout September

If you love Miami Spice, try heading to another culinary scene happening just north of the county line: Crave GFL.

Starting September 1, Crave GFL will feature more than 40 of the Greater Fort Lauderdale area's top restaurants and chefs offering various tastings and dinners specially created for the event, including three-course meals for $37.

While GFL stands for "Greater Fort Lauderdale," it can also mean "good food and libations," says Jessica Savage of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Before it was Crave GFL, the event was called Dine Out Lauderdale. This is the first year under the new branding, Savage told New Times, and it's meant to bring more awareness to the restaurant scene in Fort Lauderdale and surrounding cities. Being a coastal city and under an hour commute from Miami, GFL closely resembles the Magic City in terms of food culture, seaside dining, and celebrity-chef-owned eateries.

"A lot of people don't think of Fort Lauderdale as a dining destination," Savage says. "We're so much more of a metropolitan city now, more cosmopolitan." Crave GFL also has its own Apple TV channel, Savage adds.

Restaurants participating in Crave GFL are located across Broward County from Hallandale Beach to Weston to Deerfield Beach and include Oceans 234, Juniper on the Water, Cafe Maxx, Mama Mia Italian Ristorante, and Sea Level Restaurant and Ocean Bar. A full list can be found at the official Crave GFL website.
Other than the three-course deals, restaurants have devised events specifically for Crave GFL. "That would give more people an incentive to get out," Savage says. "A lot of people don't realize how many great restaurants we have in Greater Fort Lauderdale."

The special events include a three-course cocktail-pairing dinner at the Rusty Hook Tavern on September 8, a wine dinner at Eduardo de San Angel to celebrate Mexico's Independence Day on September 14, a dockside wine reception at 15th Street Fisheries on September 15, and a dinner with wine pairings at Luigi's Tuscan Grill on September 19.

On September 26, Kuro, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, will offer seared salmon sashimi and tuna crispy rice hors d’oeuvres, followed by a five-course meal of Hokkaido scallop, lobster tempura, sea bass miso, wasabi tenderloin, and a chocolate hazelnut bar all paired with selected wines. The dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $125 (excluding tax and gratuity).

Then on September 28, 3030 Ocean Restaurant, located at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, will have a dinner with wine pairings.

Additional culinary events include dinners at Morton’s the Steakhouse on September 9, Bistro at the Sonesta Fort Lauderdale on September 13, and dinner and a Polynesian show at the Mai-Kai Restaurant on September 28.

Crave GFL. September 1 through 30 at various locations. For more information, visit sunny.org.