Jet Runway Café

Reviews

Name: Patricia Gallagher- Moskol

Occupation: Corporate Affairs Liaison

Lives In: Hollywood

Restaurant Pick: Jet Runway Café

Reviewed Jet Runway Cafe: 09/12/10 at 5:30

This is a fun, exciting and delicious restaurant. The variety of the menu ensures you will have a different experience of flavors each time you visit Jet Runway Café. From the moment you arrive it is a delightful experience, plenty of parking available, people and staff greeting you at the door. It is little getaway in the middle of the day. You get to watch jets landing and departing, it reminds me of what the flying experience was in the old days. Superb service, classy and gourmet food, international flavors! I recommend this restaurant as a must to visit.

Name: Stu Nudelman

Occupation: Radio Show Host/ Wine Consultant

Lives In: Coral Springs

Restaurant Pick: Josephine’s

Reviewed Jet Runway Cafe: 09/05/10

Upon entering Jet’s Runway Cafe We were sat immediately by a window which looked out over private jets that were taxiing down the runway . Our Waitress was very nice as and recommended the specials. She had suggested the Mahi Fish Tacos and said they were great. I took her word for it because they sounded great. My portion was the right size for lunch. My son’s portion was also proportionately sized for lunch as well. The Mahi was fresh as was the guacamole, greens and plantains. My Son’s Cheeseburger was done to his specifications and the fries were the right amount of crunch to them. The prices were reasonable for the meal you receive at about $10 for the Cheeseburger and $13 for the Special-Mahi Tacos I was very happy with the value you received for the price you paid. I would highly recommend this restaurant as a good place to go for aviation enthusiasts who want a unique dining experience for breakfast or lunch. However it is a bit out of the way and you would not know it is a restaurant since it is in a hangar.

Name: Thom Smith

Occupation: Journalist (Semi-retired)

Lives In: Boca Raton

Restaurant Pick: Mediterranean Market & Deli

Reviewed Jet Runway Cafe: Wednesday, 09/08/10 at 7:30 p.m.

I love airplanes. Big, small, jet, prop, commercial, ultra light. I don’t care. Whenever one’s nearby, this kid’s in the candy store. Aviation food, however, is another story. Most airlines would fare better if they could stop at a Burger King drive-through before takeoff and food service at small airports usually isn’t much better, tending toward Spartan sandwich shops with large coffee urns and racks of chips on the counter.

From the outside, Jet Runway Café looks like another hangar on the south side of Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. But turn the gleaming handle on the door that suggests a jetliner hatch and you know immediately that this is no fly-by-night operation. The place gleams in industrial-chic, with water walls, jet engine rotors, four wide screen TVs, heavy gauge aluminum chairs, an open kitchen and broad expanses of glass so diners can catch all the runway action. That said, the best action is away from the windows . . . in the kitchen, where Chef Mitch Amsterdam oversees a varied breakfast and lunch menu that rivals some of the hottest restaurants on Las Olas.

Breakfasts range from tried-and-true two eggs any style with potatoes or grits, toast and fried bread pudding ($5) to brioche almond French toast with maple syrup ($8) to the Egg Scrambler (scrambled eggs, potatoes, diced ham, sautéed peppers and onions and aged cheddar served in a sizzling skillet with toast, $8).

Lunches are more adventuresome, with meat, fish and fowl well represented. Monster salads such as the Silver Lining (mixed greens, chicken, toasted almonds, sun-dried cranberries, mandarin oranges roma tomatoes, and crumbled gorgonzola tossed in balsamic vinaigrette) are $10, or halve it and have a bowl of soup -- the Dylana Special – for the same price.

Burgers, sandwiches and daily specials ranging from $10 to $13 include pulled pork, blackened mahi, pad thai noodles, chimichurri steak and honey-glazed salmon provide something for every palate. Catering is provided for outgoing flights and private parties are welcome. On some days be prepared to wait for a table, but once seated, service is prompt and attentive but not overbearing. Amsterdam and Mike Linder opened Jet Runway in the summer of 2009 and have quickly built a following, not just with the aviation crowd, but also with the diners who don’t mind driving a few miles off the beaten path. “This is Executive Tower. You are cleared for takeoff.”

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