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vegan field report: sublime in fort lauderdale
16June 3rd, 2010florida, more restaurants (not LA)hey everyone, time for another vegan field report all the way from fort lauderdale, florida! this one is by brittany (from sick of lettuce), and covers the gourmet vegan restaurant sublime. we ate one of our favorite meals EVER at sublime, so it’s always nice to get a second opinion. here ya go:
i recently took a jaunt down to southwest florida to visit my folks and eat. a lot. unfortunately, the city they live in doesn’t have many restaurants with vegan options (more on those at later dates). FORTUNATELY, my mom is awesome and was willing to drive me 2 hours through the everglades for a day trip to miami, followed up by dinner at SUBLIME in fort lauderdale.
since we had a two hour drive back home, we got there promptly at 5:30 and opened the place up. i wasn’t sure what to expect when i got there. it is a LOT bigger than i thought it’d be – way bigger than any of the vegan restaurants here in LA. very upscale and while the dress code is casual, i felt like kind of a bum in my cutoffs. whoops.
after ordering my mom and i were quickly presented with some pesto polenta.
this was absolutely delicious. super strong basil/pesto flavor and a great polenta texture. these lasted about 15 seconds before they were completely devoured.
maryland style cakes with whole grain mustard sauce $11
my mom LOVES crabcakes, so i knew when saw “maryland cakes” on the menu i knew we had to order them. these were really good, and the whole-grain mustard was especially delicious (my mom kept raving about it). they didn’t really taste “fishy” to me in anyway, although i’ve never had crabcakes so i can’t compare. i definitely recommend these, though!
dynamite roll: vegenaise, “cream cheese,” asparagus, capers, red onion, cucumber. $12
next up was the dynamite roll. i used to get dynamite rolls all of the time before i went vegan, so i was really excited to try these. the mixture on top was like a vegenaise/cream cheese mixture that was unlike anything i’ve ever had before. SOFUCKINGGOOD. my only recommendation would be some sriracha to give it a little heat. mmmmm.
“steak” sandwich: gardein, “cheddar,” onion, romaine, pickle, special sauce, sweet potato fries. $16
for my meal i got the “steak sandwich,” which is really a burger. in hindsight i kind of wish i’d gotten one of the more specialized menu items, but the burger was calling my name (i must have been having veggie grill withdrawals). this was pretty delicious – it’s a basic gardein patty with some daiya cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, but the special sauce really sets it apart. the special sauce must be in high demand because they brought an extra side of it without me asking. the bun was also super-fresh tasting. my favorite part of the meal, though, was the sweet potato fries. these were fucking incredible. i don’t know what they did to make them, or what they were seasoned with, but they were definitely the best sweet potato fries i’ve ever had. at this point in the meal (and after having a fairly big lunch) i was beyond stuffed but i kept shoving the fries in my face. even though i took most of this meal home with me, for about the first half hour of the ride home i honestly thought i was going to puke from eating so much (it’s happened before). attractive.
vegan mac and cheese side. $6
so since i’m rarely in florida and i don’t know if i can convince my mom to drive 140 miles each way for a meal ever again, i ordered way too much food. i got this side of mac with my meal. once again, i was not disappointed! i think it was just some daiya mixed in with the noodles, and then baked with a breadcrumb topping. nommerz.
caesar: romaine hearts, artichoke croutons, Sublime’s lemon-dijon dressing. $8
my mom, even though she wasn’t hungry, got the caesar salad so i wouldn’t look like some weirdo eating a shitload of food alone. i tried a small bite and the caesar dressing was outstanding. instead of croutons, the salad was served up with some amazing battered/fried artichoke hearts.
overall, i thought sublime was FANTASTIC, as did my mom. she talked about it for the duration of my visit. definitely the best vegan restaurant in florida, if not the south. if you are anywhere in the vicinity get your ass over there ASAP! you will not be disappointed.
sublime
Tags: field report, florida, fort lauderdale
1431 N Federal Hwy
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
(954) 615-1431
hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
13 responses to “vegan field report: sublime in fort lauderdale” 
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Great report brittany, glad you made the drive=) Lex and I had the GREAT fortune of eating here right after it opened in 03!! I remember it so clearly because it was our first upscale vegan adventure. We were so incredible trilled that vegan food was prepared and presented in such a glorious way we busted the bank and ordered everything on the menu:) I was most impressed with the Key Lime pie, so much that I still think of it often. Unfortunately, after the 04 hurricanes the genius pastry chef went back home…I would love to know where she is today? Did they have the Key Lime pie on the menu?
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I got to eat at Sublime a couple of years ago – with a table of omnivores – and everyone loved their meals. It is an outstanding restaurant. Great report!
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Jaydawg June 3rd, 2010 at 08:08
Love Sublime. Went there about 4 or 5 years ago and it was the first place that we tried Gardein. Dave @ Madeleine Bistro actually suggested it to us when I mentioned we were going to Orlando.
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Gauri Radha June 3rd, 2010 at 08:11
Lovely review, thanks!! Everything looks delicious 🙂
[Please excuse if I have duplicate comments here, my laptop is doing something strange and it’s not going through properly. I hope this doesn’t show up four times.] 😀
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@kristin – i believe they had key lime cheesecake! kicking myself for not getting a dessert (at least to go) now.
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Sublime can go one of two ways 1.) Amazing or 2.) Awful. I’ve been there multiple times and everytime I get a mock meat I’m disappointed. It always tastes like something I could microwave myself, just dressed up on a plate with parsley flakes. Their appetizers have always been outstanding, (the Miso Cauliflower gave me wet dreams for a month) but to be in a such a fancy restaurant, and those pics don’t do it justice, the atmosphere sets the bar pretty high to just be serving Gardein patties and calling it a picatta. I brought Mom here for their Mother’s Day brunch last year and it was terrible. None of the omnies at the table liked their meal (frankly, neither did I) and it was grossly overpriced (something like $45 a person for a tofu quiche and mimosas – pre-fixed menu) That’s always left a bad taste in my mouth when I think of Sublime. Bottom line, you pay more for the decor than the food. There’s nowhere else in West Palm/Fort Lauderdale/Miami for upscale vegan.
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Gregalor June 3rd, 2010 at 17:17
Looks pretty cool. Florida is seriously hell, otherwise. Hardest place to find anywhere to eat.
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Roadkill-less June 3rd, 2010 at 19:43
More field reports, or even normal reports from outside LA. I love, love, love reading about other cities.
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susielol June 4th, 2010 at 07:50
Great review 🙂 We tried the crabcakes, ceasar salad and ravioli in March. For dessert, we had ice cream and chocolate cake or brownie. Something chocolate for sure. Anyway, we loved it all. The place is SO gorgeous. Large modern space with a fine line between casual and upscale. The enclosed glass waterfall is so pretty too! Lol. Love the seating as well. Bar, booths, tables, round booth/chair combo… Perfect for everyone: singles, groups, families, couples… We need a place like this in LA!!!
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Great review! If you were editing for space, “SOFUCKINGGOOD” would’ve said it all… 😉
I have the good fortune of living close enough that I can get to Sublime once a month-ish. I’ve tried most of what’s on the menu (they change it up sporadically) and have always thoroughly enjoyed my experiences there, including two Mother’s Day brunches with my omnivorous Mom (at her suggestion) and for my 40th b’day.
Sublime is the go-to vegan restaurant for quite a number of vegan/vegetarian/animal activist celebrities when they visit South Florida, including Sir Paul McCartney, Alec Baldwin, Pamela Anderson (she celebrated her 40th there, too) and Bob Barker. I ran into Seinfeld alum Len Lesser there not long ago (Uncle Leo! The man is an Adonis…)
Adjacent to Sublime are the headquarters of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) who’s founder and President is Nanci Alexander, owner of Sublime. In fact, all proceeds from Sublime go to ARFF. Check out their free “Why Veg?” presentation with Humane Educator James Wildman the last Sunday of every month at Sublime.
Glad to have found your site. Keep up the good work!
Peace!
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As a vegan, which spices do you use most frequently in your cooking and why? June 3rd, 2010 at 20:11
[…] vegan field report: sublime in fort lauderdale | quarrygirl.com […]
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[…] I recently took a jaunt down to Southwest Florida to visit my folks and eat. A lot. Unfortunately, the city they live in doesn’t have many restaurants with vegan options (more on those at later dates). FORTUNATELY, my mom is awesome and was willing to drive me 2 hours through the Everglades for a day trip to Miami, followed up by dinner at SUBLIME in Fort Lauderdale. Click here to continue reading! […]
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Kristin June 3rd, 2010 at 06:53