SOURCE ARTICLE: Miaminewtimes.com
There are many places in which to get a good meal with great ambiance in South Florida. But for a restaurant to be truly memorable, it has to have an undefinable “it” factor that resonates to your core, possibly tinged with a touch of nostalgia. Restaurants like Joe’s Stone Crab and Versailles are good examples.
In Fort Lauderdale, there’s Anthony’s Runway 84. Anthony Bruno’s aviation-themed restaurant has been serving up red-sauce classics for 40 years, becoming a haven for New York expats who, lured by Florida’s sunny days and lack of state taxes, live here but are still homesick for their favorite Italian restaurants.
For 40 years, patrons have enjoyed martinis at the bar, where a large-scale replica of an airplane serves as the focal point. Sit in a booth and you can gaze out at the Fort Lauderdale skyline from “cockpit windows,” making the entire room feel as though you’re in a jumbo jet — maybe headed back to JFK. In the background, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin croon as waiters reel off the specials: an oversize pork chop, say, or fresh snapper.
More than the unique surroundings or the hearty dishes, though, Anthony’s has always been about people like Cindy, the bartender who makes your martini extra dirty, or Vincenzo, the maître’d with bedazzled gold spectacles and slicked-back black hair who remembers you and every other customer. And those customers are loyal — celebrating birthdays and anniversaries or just sitting at the bar on Thursdays for the weekly Meatballs and Martinis party.