TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT A BEST OF WINNER - BEST VEGETARIAN MILK MONEY DELIVERS

Rick Karlin

MILK MONEY

815 NE 13TH ST, FORT LAUDERDALE

954-990-4018

MILKMONEYBAR.COM

Talk about a full-service restaurant! You could easily dine nowhere else but Milk Money. It’s a cozy neighborhood cocktail bar and restaurant serving dinner, lunch, brunch, and breakfast. And, while not strictly a vegetarian restaurant, it has plenty of options for those on a plant-based diet.

In fact, its vegetarian options are so good that even carnivores might be tempted to cross over to the light side, especially on Tuesdays when vegan and vegetarian appetizers are half-priced. Among the options are crispy Brussels sprouts tossed in soy sriracha sauce, crispy Buffalo cauliflower (served with vegan blue cheese sauce,), Impossible lollipops (meatballs made with Impossible burger meatballs on a stick) served with vegan cheese, and spring rolls (vegans should skip the Vietnamese dipping fish sauce).

While discounted on Tuesday, those options are available all week long. Other vegetarian dishes available at regular prices are a trio of salads. The stuffed avocado with chickpea salad is a favorite of mine, and when not in the mood for a vegan option, I sometimes savor it with either the chickencranberry-pecan salad or almond-raisin-tuna salad. The couscous salad is great (leave off the goat cheese to make it vegan) and the soup and salad combo featuring the Samurai salad served with trumpet mushroom split pea soup will make you feel like a warrior.

While there are plenty of sandwiches and entrée options for carnivores, including a cowboy ribeye steak and the aptly named Monstrosity, with house braised brisket, bacon, sunny side up egg, pepper jack cheese, and bacon lime slaw, on a juicy beef patty, vegetarian selections shine as well. For entrees, check out the Impossible veggie tacos, or the veggie Bolognese or burrito bowl made from Beyond plant-based protein. Sandwich options are a veggie burger, natch, but also a vegan BLT, featuring avocado, vegan bacon, lettuce, tomato, and vegan mayonnaise on artisan or rustic Italian bread. The vegans and vegetarians aren’t abandoned when it comes to dessert, either. The vegan volcano cake tops the chocolate confection with berry compote and chocolate ganache.

If stopping by for breakfast, those not on a plant-based diet can opt for the classics; eggbased sandwiches, breakfast burritos, steak and egg dishes, and omelets. Vegetarians and vegans are sure to enjoy scrambled tofu with broccoli and onion.

Served over a bed of sautéed spinach, it is topped with fresh tomato and cucumber and served with toast and vegan bacon on the side. Service may not always be the most polished (typical during these post-pandemic times, when staffing is difficult), but it is always friendly and eager to please. Also, the peoplewatching is a joy. Those are trade offs I’ll take any day of the week!

Side Dish

Recently Opened

Japanese street food is the star with Chinese dumplings, Japanese ramen, and other trendy pan-Asian comfort food at A-ONE NOODLE & DUMPLING in Pembroke Pines… The latest place to take over the corner restaurant on 11th St. and 4th Ave. (across from Home Depot) is CHICKEATAH

The Turkish Halal restaurant offers traditional round pizzas as well as wide, boat-shaped, thick-dough flatbread stuffed with cheese and dried beef sausage or chicken gyro with feta and seasonal vegetables. Other Mediterranean staples on the menu include grilled chicken wings, lentil soup, baba ghanoush, hummus, and gyro wraps… MAGGIE’S FAVORITE COFFEE AND BAKESHOP in Oakland Park dishes up cakes by the slice and cinnamon rolls as well as savory fare such as avocado toast, acai bowls, chicken bacon ranch crepes, and turkey pesto, and barbecue pulledpork sandwiches.

And Not

If you were planning on heading back to MAIKAI for a Mai-Tai, you’ll need to hold off for a bit. The landmark tiki bar won’t re-open until “late summer or early fall,” according to developer Bill Fuller. Because the 66-year-old Mai-Kai sits on the National Register of Historic Places, any proposed makeovers are subject to many layers of approvals. Fuller’s Mad Room Hospitality group, known for the Miami live-music venue Ball & Chain, headed up remodel of the Mai-Kai back in September 2021. He was hand-picked by the Thornton family, which has owned the restaurant since brothers Bob and Jack Thornton founded it on Federal Highway in 1956.