Last May, when Anthony’s Runway 84 co-owner Anthony Bruno described his imaginative and prescient of what his beloved Fort Lauderdale crimson sauce restaurant can be, he requested me to ascertain that scene. “Without giving something away, that is the sensation we’re going for,” he mentioned simply days earlier than the restaurant would shut for its eight-month refurbishment.
Last night, Anthony’s Runway 84 reopened after its renovation, with a brand new look and a shorter identify: Runway 84. The first modernization was on the valet stand. I’m infamous for by no means having money on me and having to duck contained in the Walgreens subsequent door to get cash for the valet. This time, I’m notified that they now take Venmo.
The subsequent addition to Runway is a mural of well-known Italians. Through wrought iron gates marked with a gilded “R”, you might be greeted by Dean Martin, Sophia Loren, Joe DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, Al Pacino, Madonna, and Jake La Motta. The partitions simply past the hostess stand are crammed with photos of celebrities who’ve dined on the restaurant through the years, together with a framed doc that companion Anthony Bruno factors out as his grandmother’s ship passage to America, full with an entry stamp from Ellis Island.
Beyond a neon “supper membership” signal, you enter the fully revamped eating room. The area, which seats about 180, is now adorned in wealthy emerald and ruby tones. The wall between the bar space and eating room has been eliminated, and a stage has been added for the dwell leisure deliberate for six nights every week. Each desk has a small lamp harking back to those on the Copacabana within the well-known Goodfellas scene. Bruno says he and his companions, Pat Marzano (from Bruno’s different enterprise, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza) and Marc Falsetto of Handcrafted Hospitality (Tacocraft, Pizzacraft) agreed upon the designs offered by Miami-based Bigtime Design Studios for the renovation.
“We had been speaking about retaining the meals the identical and enhancing the environment,” says Bruno, who added that his father had run a supper membership in Queens, New York, when he was youthful. Bruno notes that Runway already had a loyal buyer base, however he is hoping to draw new faces to the restaurant. “There’s nothing actually like this in Fort Lauderdale. If we will maintain the shoppers we’ve got and herald just a few extra folks, that is our aim.”
The companions are additionally acutely conscious that, whereas they might change the restaurant’s design, some facets of Runway had been untouchable after 4 a long time: the meals and the service.
Last May, Bruno mentioned that Runway’s workers can be retained. Last night felt like a highschool reunion as restaurant regulars greeted their favourite servers and bartenders with handshakes and bear hugs. There was Cindy, the bar supervisor who’s been shaking martinis for 27 years, Vincenzo the maître d’ together with his slicked-back black hair and glasses that may make Elton John envious; and chef Al Hilarcik, who has been behind the restaurant’s crimson sauce classics for the higher a part of 40 years.
There are just a few new faces added to the crew, just like the bartender Frankie. “Call me Frankie on the best way… ‘trigger I’m on the best way along with your cocktail,” he tells me as he locations a martini in entrance of me.
Looking on the menu, I really feel a wave of nostalgia. My favorites, together with clams oreganata, rooster parm, and rigatoni cauliflower, are all there, together with just a few new objects. Partner Marc Falsetto says the group needed to reinforce the menu to mirror the supper-club vibes, in order that they launched a number of prime steaks and chops. “I traveled the nation and eventually met with Chicago beef guys. We discovered the identical fabricator that does the steaks for Peter Luger in New York. It’s a customized program for Runway.” Falsetto additionally factors out some extra additions like a Caesar salad served tableside, a swordfish dish beforehand solely obtainable as a every day particular, and a twice-baked potato topped with shaved truffles and served on a mattress of cacio e pepe sauce. “That’s the king of the menu,” says Falsetto.
My dinner is nothing wanting a scrumptious journey down reminiscence lane, beginning with the complimentary bread service, served with a dish of garlic, cheese, and olive oil for dipping. My rooster parm arrives simply as I remembered: a cutlet pounded tremendous skinny so the perimeters can get further crispy, topped with piquant cheese and marinara sauce. The twice-baked potato was a decadent little undertaking: I delighted in scooping out potato filling and dipping it into the cacio e pepe for a customized chunk that’s creamy and peppery.
As the band provides a rendition of “Fly me to the Moon,” I end my meal and go searching. The room is crammed with folks sipping drinks, consuming meatballs, and laughing. There is one thing within the air — the scent of nostalgia tinged with a prime word of newness.
I anticipate my verify and take a fast selfie. That’s after I discover the images behind me: a photograph of Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, and Robert DeNiro, wanting dapper and younger in a scene from Goodfellas, proper subsequent to an image of the Copacabana nightclub.
This new iteration of Runway 84 could also be a little bit extra polished than earlier than, and the airplane theme is, for essentially the most half, gone (although there are nonetheless some “Hidden Mickeys” should you look exhausting sufficient), however what makes this restaurant so liked — its meals and the individuals who make and serve it — are nonetheless there for Runway’s regulars to come back again to and a complete new era to find.
Runway 84. 330 W. State Rd. 84, Fort Lauderdale; 954-467-8484; runway-84.com. Tuesday by Saturday 4 to 11 p.m., and Sunday 4 to 10 p.m.