by Fat Hand

I’d like to apologize for the FTLC’s blogging hiatus: we were stuck in traffic. But like the Beatles in the USSR, we’re back.

This past Wednesday was opening night for Tap 42, the new beer bar south of downtown Fort Lauderdale (located on S. Andrews Avenue two blocks north of 17^th Street). I, along with what seemed like everybody else in Fort Lauderdale between the ages of 25-40, wanted to be first to check it out.  It was crowded on opening night my friends. Actually, I didn’t arrive until 9:30 and people said it was way more crowded earlier in the evening, which hardly seems possible.

As the name suggests, Tap 42 has 42 beers on tap. Plus it has another 103 bottled choices. But if that does not satisfy you, there are also 50 different bourbons to enjoy. One interesting thing I noted about Tap 42′s menu is that it does not list prices of the beers or bourbons. For beer that’s probably not a big deal, as most are in the $5-$6 dollar range that one would expect (although a bartender told me a few are priced as high as $11), but if you are ordering bourbon, choose wisely. A friend of mine was all excited about his $17 glass of the outstanding Pappy Van Winkle, which is great as long as you know what you are ordering. Just saying, be careful.

Tap 42 has what appears to be a good menu with a variety of appetizers, a few salads, some tacos, and a promising list of burgers. I enjoyed the mole chicken tacos and I heard raves about the burgers and sweet potato fries.

Tap 42 took over the spot of the old Brownie’s, which hosted legends such as Louie Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald way back in the day. Sadly I never visited Brownie’s before it closed, but from what I have heard it had gone downhill a bit, and was not the sparkling swinging spot it had been in its heyday. But the new place looks wonderful, from the reclaimed parquet wall running the length of the room, to the copper colored background behind the taps (which on closer inspection is a bunch of pennies glued to the wall), to the concrete flooring installed by local green-friendly hardware and construction company Eco Simplista. The décor is classy and the bar feels very comfortable.

Outside is a huge patio with plenty of tables and space to enjoy the fresh air of Andrews Ave., plus tons of free parking. No bands played while I was on scene, but supposedly Tap 42 will have live music.

The bar has about 5 flat-screens but this is not a sports bar. This is a place to drink good beer and great bourbon and to hunker down with your friends to plan your shady real estate deals or your PIP scams or whatever it is you are doing in this shitty economy. This is a bar to drunkenly describe your next great conquest, and to even more drunkenly find yourself in a good old-timey duel. Indeed, the parking lot outside of Tap 42 is sure to become the official dueling spot of Fort Lauderdale, which is ok because Broward General is only a block away.

The FTLC raises its collective glass to the new and exciting Tap 42.

Some more photos, after the jump…

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