Miami Herald - Nightlife Broward After Dark
November 18, 2005, By Gabe Berman

What I know about wine: it is made from the smashing of grapes with bare feet (at least that's the way it was done on I Love Lucy). Red is strong, white is sweet. And while I might join in on lable name--dropping, my Brooklyn-born mouth doesn't even permit me to properly pronounce sauvignon.

If you have more refined tastes, you'll feel like a kid in a candy store at the new Tara Steak & Lobster House at 1430 SE 17th Street Causeway in Fort Lauderdale.

Many upscale restaurants have bars but patrons waiting to be seated are generally the only ones occupying the bar stools. This is surely not the case at Tara. Even though is has only been in business for a month, the bar adjacent to Tara's dining room already has steady regulars.

The wine list boasts 300 vintages with the 2001 Chateau Latour, Pauillac taking the top prize for most expensive at $430.00 a bottle. Even though the Chateau Latour sounds like a French racing bike to me, according to the menu, it possesses. "extremely attractive aromas of blackberries and currants with just a hint of mineral oak. Full bodied with silky tannins and a long finish." For $430.00, those silky tannins better have a long, long finish.

Also available are 19 wines by the stem. My hypothesis that "wines by the stem" is a fancy way of saying wines by the glass was confirmed by one of the bartenders. She proceeds to discuss bouquets and silky tannins with me for 10 minutes and I just nodded with a smile as I do when the car mechanic talks to me about spark pads and brake plugs. Glasses of wine range from $6 to $15.

If you are in the mood for a stiffer beverage, the house drink is the $12 Moscow Mule: vodka, ginger beer and limejuice. The martini list consists of concoctions with names like Amazon Typhoon, the Orange Truffle and Emerald City. Good ol' American beer is also available.

The polished wood floors, granite bar counter, white gloved service and overall elegant ambiance found at Tara attracts more of a refined crowd then your average South Floridian dive bar. As long as you are sporting decent jeans and a shirt that isn't overly wrinkled, you'll be welcomed. However, if you can easily afford a few belts of the Louis XIII Remy Martin Cognac proudly on display behind the bar, I'm sure you could get away with wearing Daisy Duke shorts, combat boots, and a cowboy hat. The Louis XIII costs $200.00 per pour.

Get to Tara at 5:00 pm Thursday for their wine tasting. The entrance fee is $20 and includes cheese and fruit.

Heart & Soul perform from 7 pm to closing Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They cover the likes of Sinatra, Santana and Norah Jones.

Tara closes at 11 pm but their 2 am liquor license allows the bar to remain open for customers who have nowhere to be in the morning. If you are a lover of fine cigars, you won't have to stand outside and have your smoke ruined by the exhaust of cars in the parking lot. There is a designated smoking room at Tara equipped with air filters, wrought iron furniture and table service.