For some reason or another, sports bars in fort lauderdale seem to be as randomly dispersed as strip clubs; they're more likely to be off the beaten path than anywhere you might be driving by in the normal course of your day. SportsZone 84 fits that description perfectly. With a small, non-descript storefront in a small Roadway Inn Hotel that you might not even notice as you drive by, the SportsZone 84 may be the best sports bar in Fort Lauderdale that nobody knows about.
Formally an All Star Sports Bar, its a bit surprising when you walk in. Its a pretty big place, with lots of TVs, a large bar and plenty of tables.
Well its not run like a real sports bar as few of the TVs are actually on any particular game. On a day when the only live day game was a Yankees-Tigers game its very difficult to find. 2 Sets have it on; probably by chance. Also no CNBC or CNN. The sprinkling of people here aren't watching anything in particular; odd for a sports bar. But the girls are enthusiastic about putting on whatever you want, which is a refreshing change from the "other" zone place, where getting them to put on a game takes as long as it does to eat a meal. I order an iced tea and some wings, medium heat.
Entertainment is provided by Ashley, the "shift supervisor" who can engage you in a multitude of subjects, recite hip-hop lyrics and is a master at slipping in some probing, personal questions. She's young and cute so who cares? On Wednesday nights you can catch her belting out tunes on Karaoke night. She's a virtual one-girl band.
The wings come out and they look pretty good. They're grilled on Ashley's suggestion. Its a good blue cheese; first tested with a crisp celery stick. But there's something with the wings; the sauce has a vinegary taste. Its borderline awful. But the wings are good. Knocking off the sauce and dipping in blue cheese saves the day.
They tout their cajun chicken pasta, but its really not that good. Bland is the word I'd use. Stick to the beer.
SportsZone 84 is a good place to watch a game. They get all of the games, NFL, MLB; you name it, they get it. They have a pretty big menu, and they're open for lunch, dinner and late night every day. Its out of the way no matter where you live, but worth a bit of a trip if you're into a real sports bar atmosphere.