IF
Issac stays on track we should feel the outer bands of rain and wind at
5 AM, Sunday morning but hurricanes have been known to change direction
and all it has to do is turn a little bit north and we will get hit!

As
you can see from the pictures above all the chairs and tables have been
taken off The Point and Karen Bay is empty of boats. The only thing
between us and the Atlantic are those buildings in the background.

I am planning to post tomorrow IF our electricity stays on!

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Full
disclosure--I worked as a server at Big Louie's down the street and it
is one of the very few restaurants I worked in that I went back to eat
after I left--more about that later.
I have been coming to il Mulino
once or twice a year since they opened in 1988. Coming from a movie and
having a groupon we decided to have a late lunch there. The room(s) are a
rich, deep brown with wine bottles being the main decor. I had the
Lasagna ($9.95) and Allen the Penne with meatballs ($9.75) and we were
served 4 garlic rolls, Coffee and Iced Tea ($2.25 each) plus tax and tip
the check came to $27.07 I had paid $10 for the groupon so the total
came to $17.07, basically $11 each, INCLUDING TIP, which is about
average for lunch but below average for a full service restaurant. At
dinner these 2 items are $12. 95 each.
I enjoyed the lasagna and
Allen liked the penne and meatballs. The service could have been a bit
better--I had to ask for a refill of coffee while Allen never got
offered a refill of his drink. We were given the garlic rolls, which
weren't served warm and had a clump of garlic in the middle of the
plate, which were gone by the time we got our main course, and it would
have been nice if the server had offered us one more roll each--if
nothing else than to sop the sauce up. Having been a server these are
the little things I look for to tip more than the standard 20% (before
the coupon deduction.)
il Mulino was good but all things being even
(no coupon) I would choose to go to Big Louie's--food is about the same
and Big Louie's has more of a neighborhood and intimate feel even though
they tried to go a little more high scale when they remodeled. Their
prices are a bit higher at lunch and a bit lower at dinner than the
prices at il Mulino's  while Big Louie's includes a salad at both
servings.
In the past 6 months I discovered another restaurant in the
neighborhood called Cafe Vico which has become my first choice for the
best Italian restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.

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HOW
TO SPEAK REPUBLICAN BY PETE KOTZ  " BIBLE: HISTORICAL NOVEL STARRING
OMNIPOTENT BEING WHO SENTENCES OTHERS TO ETERNAL DAMNATION UNLESS THEY
DO WHAT HE SAYS. THINK OF PAT ROBERTSON, ONLY WITH A HILLBILLY BEARD AND
THE ABILITY TO PART SEAS."