By Mig
Ernie’s BBQ & Lounge has been a popular institution in Fort Lauderdale for far longer than I’ve been alive.It’s impressive longetivity, the promise of BBQ, it’s attractive exterior, and the close proximity to the my favorite back alley club 1921 has always intrigued me. However, because of poor reviews from friends, I always seem to bump it down on my list of must-try restaurants. Finally, yesterday evening Strawberry Jam and myself decided to dine at Ernies, anticipating South Florida’s potentially best conch chowder and some sweet Bimini bread.
Local old timers have a bad habit of blindly preferring the old over the new. To these group of stubborn locals, a bar or restaurant is never as good as it used to be 20 years ago. This type of comment continually popped up on various food review websites describing Ernies. Most of the time, I disregard those remarks as typical local banter. After trying the average food at this underwhelming establishment, I tend to think there might be some validity to the common string of comments. When so many better places to eat go bankrupt so quickly, the only explanation for Ernie’s survival is its past reputation.
For starters, disregard the word BBQ in the name. The menu shows a diverse list of run-of-the-mill bar food, with a few unauthentic BBQ dishes sprinkled in. By this logic, Ernies is as much a BBQ restaurant as Quarterdecks or McDonalds during McRib season. Because I don’t believe in ordering two of the same dish, S Jam ordered a regular size conch chowder that came with their locally famous Bimini bread and I reluctantly ordered the open face pork sandwich with fries and slaw .
The conch chowder was tasty, but nothing I’d tweet about. Keep in mind, I am not an expert on what comprises a good chowder. As an example of my lack of knowledge, I actually expected the soup to be white — turns out Bahamian-style conch chowder is red. It didn’t impress me or S Jam more than a full sodium can of Campbell’s vegetable soup with tiny conch chunks. If you’re a conch chowder connoisseur though, their soup might be worth a taste.
The bread was good, but when is fresh bread not good? In my opinion, it tasted like every other bakery bread. I wanted it to be sweeter, but maybe that’s typical Bahamian-style bread. In fact, I’d bet that bakery on Las Olas (Gran Forno is the name I’m pretty sure) can make a better loaf of Bimini bread.
The bigger disappointment was the pork sandwich. Living in NC for 9 years, I’m used to a proper pulled pork sandwich. Ernies version of the sandwich was thinly slices of pork, akin to a deli or sub shop. The meat tasted fine, but not exceptional. Let’s face it, even the questionable “Manager’s Special” pork from Winn Dixie tastes ok. In addition, the BBQ sauce was bland and the thick slice of Bimini bread used for the sandwich should be replaced with a thinner, buttery bun. In hindsight, it’s laughable to even try and compare their pork to an actual BBQ restaurant.
On the plus side, the decorations and atmosphere of the restaurant was refreshing. It’s not the best view, but the open-air upstairs patio is a nice place to enjoy the breeze, have a couple beers, and watch Tuesday night Sun Belt Conference football match-up. I enjoyed looking at the vintage photography on the walls, especially the 80′s FTL Spring Break photo by the restroom that showed A1A as one giant mass of college students. And who can resist rubbernecking on US1 to check out Ernie’s bright orange and yellow exterior. Remember this photoshopped picture:
After that epic BBQ tease, I’m really looking forward to trying out the highly praised Tom Jenkins or Georgia Pig in the next few weeks. Feel free to comment with your thoughts on Ernies, past or presnt, and recommend some other places with real BBQ that I should add to my must-try list.
Ernie’s is located at 1843 S Federal Hwy in Fort Lauderdale.
i’ll add to the collection of comments from locals you refer to: Ernie’s is not as good as it used to be (which wasn’t very good in the first place). I’d say the same thing about Tommy J’s, though it is authenticate BBQ, especially compared to Ernie’s. My personal favorite Fort Lauderdale BBQ joint is Texas Hold ‘Em. it was good in the original location on sunrise, is good in the little spot off of andrews and will probably be good at the new spot of the big curve (though it is a bit ballsy opening up a new spot at this time; guess the current location has been more successful then it seemed from my no-line lunch time jaunts). i recommend the rip tips lunch special, personally.
oh, and i’ve only had georgia pig once. pulled pork sandwich was decent. i should probably give ‘em another shot.
mmmmmmm Texas Hold’em. I really like that place too. I meant to write a post about it a few months ago, but I waited too long and the moment was lost.
Dirty Ernie’s is terrible, but I will say it has an interesting interior. Better off just going there for a beer rather than the food, & you can not only watch the football games on the balcony but the lovely hookers doing the walk on Federal Highway.
Texas Hold’em is great, and I hope there new location does well. It was supposed to be open months ago, not sure if the delay is from the owner’s planning or city permitting/approval screw-ups.
Tom Jenkins is probably one of the most over-rated joints in S. FL. I wouldn’t eat there if the food was free. Terrible food, service, attitude…………………………
I’m not a big fan of Ernie’s (in fact, I’m not a fan at all), but I don’t know how seriously one can take a reviewer who is confused that conch chowder is not white — come on, how long have you lived in South Florida?
To my mind, Georgia Pig is the best bbq in Broward.
Up in Pompano, East Coast BBQ recently opened and has a tasty variety of dishes – eat there soon, as I haven’t seen enough customers there to sustain it for long (hidden location in shopping center on McNab & US 1).
Also a small diner (not a bbq joint) in Pompano, Nelson’s on Cypress Road, has a pulled pork sandwich on the lunch menu which is pretty good.
Pingback: FTLC’s Best Of 2010 – Food & Drink |
Pingback: 365 Things To Do In Fort Lauderdale |
Ernie’s has been one of my all time favorites over the years. Especially the BBQ sauce, which I have been known to drive tens of miles just to taste again. You can buy it by the quart along a loaf of that Bimini bread and take it with you (highly reccomended practice) and serve with chicken, roast beef (my favorite), or pork at home for a quick meal that can’t be beat. A thin, buttery bun is not the way to go. I was wondering if they might ship me some of the sauce and bread, and of course, conch chowder, conch salad, and conch fritters.