Critic's Review
The City evicted Oasis Cafe and it will be replaced by Bo's Beach House. They're currently preparing the place for demolition. The city owns the property and will be getting $225K in rent from the group that owns Bokamper's.
Some comedy is that commissioner Dean Trantalis used as one of the reasons for the decision that Oasis served "second-quality fare", as if the garbage they serve at Bokamper's is first quality fare? The food at Oasis was better than Bo's
One eyesore from yesteryear will be gone; Sports bar chain restaurant food is coming.
Review 11/14/14
This time of year, you just have to take advantage of the weather. 80 degrees, not too crowded at the beach. Although I will say that getting to the beach is ridiculous; with construction Las Olas is a one lane street. These bike paths better be worth it.
The Oasis has a small parking lot and there were several spots available; but there was a Valet sign and the dreaded orange cones in the way. There was not person, however, so I parked over by Jimmy John's. That's the modern thing; it's no longer the Treasure Trove lot; it's the Jimmy John's lot.
The main reason for going to the oasis is the ocean view, or more accurately, the beach view. Too bad about the damn road in the way. Still, pretty nice on an 82 degree, no wind afternoon.
There's a hostess stand where I stood for more than 5 minutes before anyone acknowledged me. Apparently there is no hostess. I saw a server swing by "Can I sit anywhere", I asked. "Anywhere". I asked for an iced tea and looked over the menu, even though I already know what I was ordering.
For a place that you'd expect to serve burgers and chicken fingers, they have a pretty aggressive menu. I ordered the "Seafood" Jambalaya. With good Jambalaya available at both Bubba Gumps and Coconuts, I wondered if there could be 3 good offerings on virtually the same block. "Is Spicy Ok?", my server asked. "Spicy is the Point", I replied.
If you've never been here before, there really is an "Oasis" in the middle of the place. Of course Oasis' are usually in the desert; not adjacent to the beach.
The Oasis attracts birds, and a lot of them.
There's an not a lot going on here, No bread. No music, at least that you can hear where I was sitting. At 2pm the place was maybe 1/3 occupied. The booths are swings, and they do rock back and forth. I'm not sure how they'd be with a couple of fidgety kids.
I saw a dude in black clothes carrying a bowl of stuff, and I figured it was for me. I was right.
A heaping load. the celery stalk was the way food was garnished before the Culinary Institute started cranking out professional food arrangers.
I tasted it, and it was more tomatoey than Spicy; it was a pleasant tasting dish. I think that if you're going to call it "Seafood Jambalaya" there should be more than 3 shrimp. The vegetables were in too big of chunks and they weren't crisp; Jambalaya should have some crunch. Hardly authentic, but a tasty collection of stuff.
I ate about half of it and then I was ready to go. My server had checked in when the food was delivered, but I didn't see her again after that; maybe 20 minutes. They have an odd setup here; the "bar" is located in the rear of the restaurant, and it appeared that servers were making their own drinks. It really slowed the service, as they spent quite a bit of time there.
More waiting, and a minor annoyance started growing into anger. Birds were also starting to annoy me. They leap onto tables and grab scraps; and they're blackbirds and crows; not pelicans and storks.
Finally she comes over and drops off the check; and finally I understood the slow service; 16% gratuity was added to the bill. More leftovers from the old days. The difference here is that they sort of imply that the 16% is only a suggestion and that you can reduce it if you want.
I suspect that this wording is trying to get around the new mandatory gratuity laws, but I wouldn't want to have to argue with the IRS about whether or not this is voluntary or not; why add it to the bill at all?
As is my usual policy, if they add a tip, that's what I leave. I probably would have left $3 even though I didn't like that I had to wait to long to cash out.
My server brought out a box and proceeded to do some table side boxing; a nice final touch.
Conclusion
Fort Lauderdale Beach seems stuck with many of yesteryear's tourist traps; The same handful of people own most of the restaurants down here that owned them in the 90s. They built a lot of big, expensive condos, but many of the problems with bad service and low-quality choices remain. The seat that I had today had a big rip in it; while they're trying to give the beach a facelift, there's still work to be done. One good thing here; they don't push the drinks. I didn't even get a drink menu.