And finally retiree Nancy Kelly has us experiencing the Roaring Twenties at her
pick. She's calling it the place to be if you want a delicious dinner, drinks, and a fun and engaging
show. And from the dark lighting to the cozy bar, she says the atmosphere is perfect for
a romantic night out. It's located in Fort Lauderdale and it's called Gatsby's Joint.
My name is Steve Shtivelman. I'm the owner of Gatsby's Joint. We started the restaurant with
my ex partner Elaine Krieger in May of 2018. This is like a Speakeasy supper club, full restaurant,
full bar. People mostly come in and just enjoy the live music. Most people come and stay for
two or three hours. We don't have a lot of like rotation of people generally.
I used to cook here personally. So the menu really is kind of like what I like to eat. I'm
originally from Odessa, Ukraine. So we have a couple of Ukrainian dishes on the menu.
The rest of the menu is more continental. There's steak and seafood on the menu as well as desserts.
So the most popular things have been the Korean barbecue ribs is basically slow cooked, pork ribs.
Anything slow cooked to me tastes really good. Then Korean barbecue sauce served with
sesame seeds. Perogies also that's my authentic Ukrainian dish with potato and cheese. Ours are
boiled and then seared and then served with our signature Gatsby sauce.
So our slogan is eat, drink, play. Generally we just want people to feel
relaxed. It's a relaxed atmosphere where they can listen to live music or watch the show.
We just want people to basically relax, enjoy the food, and enjoy the music.
So Nancy, tell us about the vibe at Gatsby's and what stands out most to you?
Well, it's a dark little swanky joint and the entertainment is fantastic. Whatever
night you go on, it's jazz, bluesy, there's a little bit of country on Tuesday nights,
and comedy on Wednesday. The entertainment is fantastic and the food
is wonderful. We really enjoy the appetizers and the bartender Mateo makes the best Cosmo.
What did you have this last time to eat? The last time that you went in?
I was there with my husband and a friend and first we ordered four different appetizers.
There was a Korean rib, which was delicious, some perogies, some dates that were stuffed
with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon. One of my favorites. Tell us about the Sloppy Big hamburger.
It's loaded with two types of cheese and about three strips of bacon
and I think a special sauce and a nice bun and it came with French fries. So it was the Big Sloppy.
Wow. Yvette, tell us about your experience.
Well, one of the mistakes I made was not making reservations because they get filled, the capacity
gets filled quickly. So although the hostess she was really nice. She sat us immediately when we
got there. The food was very good. I have to say, I have a little history with Gatsby's.
When it first opened, I think it was 2018, I was one of the entertainers there. I'm a jazz
vocalist. So I sang there with a band. Yes, sang there with a band called "Eric and the Jazzers,"
which was really nice. And I've been wanting to go back to see how they were doing. We got there.
We ordered an appetizer. I had the spinach and artichoke dip with their homemade chips, which is
interesting because the chips are fluffy, warm, and the dip, everything was just tasty
What a coincidence though. That's crazy that you ended up going there for the show.
Mark, tell us about your experience please.
So we went on Wednesday night, which was comedy night, which turned out to
be really good. There must've been at least 10 different comedians up there with short
kind of skits, maybe five, seven minutes each. We started off with the escargot,
which were perfectly cooked. The garlic butter was excellent. Really loved that.
And then we had the grilled lamb chops. They were great. They were really good size, meaty,
grilled perfectly, medium rare, and came with the side of a chimichurri sauce.
And for dessert?
The bread pudding. It was very good. Came out warm with some whipped cream and some caramel sauce.
Really enjoyed that as well. And also had a couple of
Moscow mules. They were made perfectly too. The bartender was really good.
Were they? Oh great, great. Oh, how exciting.
Well Nancy, Gatsby's Joint was your pick. Sum it up for us.
It's a swanky little dark joint that has great food, great appetizers, great drinks,
and fabulous entertainment any night of the week.
Lovely. Mark?
It's a cozy place. So you're up close to the entertainers. Like you could talk to
them right there from your seat. The food is excellent and the atmosphere again was electric.
Yvette?
Wonderful Speakeasy joint with great food.
You can travel back in time to the 1920s when you visit Gatsby's Joint, located at 2460
East Commercial Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. They're open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner
only. Reservations are accepted and the average price for dinner without drinks is about $40.