On the Road with Chef Dennis - Manhattan Tower / Winterfest Boat Parade

Hey everyone, I'm Chef Dennis and welcome to On the Road with Chef Dennis. And we are at the Manhattan Tower Apartment Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on the Intracoastal Waterway. And we're ready for the Winterfest Boat Parade and I'm excited. You really did a great job decorating out there.

Well, this is the biggest party that we have all year. The boats pass within 20 feet of our property. So all of our friends and guests and business acquaintances, they all come this evening.

Sounds great. And I'm sorry I didn't introduce you. This is Russell Dion. He is the owner, manager, and— yes, of the hotel. And it is really a great hotel. When we first walked in here, you just blew us away. Every place we looked, there was something different and something— not unusual, but just not— it wasn't a Holiday Inn, that's for sure.

No, no, it's an extraordinary extraordinary property. We bought it 15 years ago, and our background was antiques, so we did a lot with Art Deco things, we did a lot with 18th century furniture, but we've gone more to the modern, and we've tried to make every apartment different.

I can see that. I've been in 4 of them, I think, and every one has its own flavor.

Yes.

And just its own personality, and they're really cool. I mean, like I said, it's exciting to come in, and it gives you a reason to want to come back so you can stay in different rooms too.

Yes, well, fortunately our guests love it here. We're number 3 now on— if you put in hotels in Fort Lauderdale, we're number 3 on TripAdvisor. So we're very appreciative for all those great reviews.

And it's really nice the way it's set up. This is a lot different than some of the places I've stayed, and even with like little kitchenettes, this is more of an apartment.

Yes, it is. They all have apartments and they all have full kitchens.

So I mean, it really offers you an opportunity to stay and taste the local color and get out, but you have your home here too, so it's a nice retreat for someone to come for more than a few days.

Yes, we have some guests that come as long as 4 months.

Wow.

But most are with— for a few days to a week.

That's great. And when is the busy season down here?

It starts now and it'll run through to April.

Okay.

And then the end of April we get more into a quieter season, although we've been very busy the last year.

How are the summers here? I mean, does it really get really hot, or is it—

Yeah, but we have the pool, we have air conditioning, air-conditioned cars, and we have a lot of people from Scandinavian countries and Paris and, um, Canada, people who like hot weather. They still come down. A lot of Florida tourists come in the summer.

I would think so, because the beaches are just magnificent.

Yeah, it's a great getaway if you're in Jacksonville or over on the west coast of Florida in the summertime, then it's a place for them to get away. And our beach is just a short distance away, and people love to watch the boats.

Oh yeah, we went up on Las Olas, and that is just a dining haven up there too. Oh yeah, all the restaurants.

Fort Lauderdale has an incredible number of good restaurants.

Well, now you've had this for 15 years, and before that you were telling me it was owned by General Electric or—

well, it was originally built in 1952. Okay. Um, it's very Art Deco, mid-century modern in style, and it was built by the largest Cadillac dealer in New York City as a corporate retreat for his executives. And they kept it for 6 years, and then it became a hotel, and it went through a number of hands. And by the time we bought it, it was in disrepair and in pretty bad shape. But we've been working over the last 15 years, and finally now it's to a point where we're happy with it.

I can see that. I mean, I saw you working on the railing for out on the water later too, and it's just— you just chip away at it, and it looks like you've done a great job. We love the decorations, the lights. It's just really set up very nicely, and you got a great crowd out there of your guests.

Oh yes, yeah, and the boat parade will be starting shortly.

Yeah, we're excited about that. We saw some of them go by earlier, but they weren't lit up, so Oh yeah, they were getting ready.

You'll see plenty tonight.

Well, I know I did read about it, that it's the largest boat parade in Florida?

Yeah, I think anywhere. There's usually a— they limit it to about 100 boats, and they have so many corporate entrants, but they really encourage smaller boats to get into it too.

Excellent.

It's really neat.

Now you're also part of the small lodging—

Superior Small Lodging.

Superior Small Lodging.

They were very influential in getting us to the point we are today, in giving us guidance. And it's an association of small hotel properties under 50 units, and they work together to educate their, their members. I'm the treasurer actually of the state board now. I've been working with them since we bought the property, and we have a new website, we have new booking engines, so really excited what's happening. But we have members from all over the state of Florida.

I know, I was looking at the list and really there are some, a lot of places.

Yes, we have over 150 members and we're growing it every year.

And I like the term, it's Old Florida.

Yes, and it does, we try to keep that Old Florida flavor but with updated amenities.

Oh sure, I mean you got Wi-Fi for people and you have that all over the hotel. I remember seeing where the different antennas were. So, you know, things have to roll with the modern days as it is, but you want to keep this lovely ambiance that you have because it's not like— you can go to all these other places along the waterway and see them, but you're not going to get this experience.

No, no, it's very different. We're the alternative to staying in a hotel.

Oh yeah.

And you can get an apartment with a kitchen for the same cost as a room in a business class hotel.

And they were very comfortable, nice rooms. I mean, we just, we enjoyed every room. We were sitting in the living room and the beds were very comfortable. In fact, I mentioned we slept later than normal, so they must have been really comfortable. But we're really enjoying the stay. I thank you so much for having us come.

We're glad to have you with us.

And we're gonna send as many people as we can here. I will get this message out on video and we'll also be doing a blog post, so everyone keep Look for that, and pretty soon the boat parade is going to come by, and Lisa's upstairs getting ready for that. So if you have any of your friends that want to come in and talk to us—

I do, there were some, so I'll send them in.

Send them in. Okay, thank you very much, Russell.

Bye-bye.

Wow, you guys, you just really got to see this place, and I am going to be putting up pictures later. I've taken tons of pictures while I've been down here, and it really, really is an awesome place. I mean, I don't know if I can show you real quick. If you look behind me, you can see the kitchen, and I have one of the chairs here from the set, and it is real Art Deco. You see the zebra print. There's a beautiful king-size bed in that room, and then in here we have another. Let's see if I can show it to you. In this room, there's a king-size bed and a very tropical Florida print in there. I mean, the whole hotel just is just amazing. The appointments that they have set up here, the decorative touches that they have, and still that Art Deco feel to it. So I mean, you really feel almost like you've gone back in time a little bit, and it is old Florida, and you are getting the best experience you can by staying in a place like this rather than just an ordinary hotel. So we've actually got some really cool guests out there. And I want to say hi to a few people right now while they're here. And Jamal is in the house and he's saying hi to Carmen Mandich. And Candy Sakai is in the house. Thanks, Candy, it's always nice to see you. And I know a lot of you, this is kind of a strange time to have a show, but it is live and we are hoping— and I see the first boat go by. Let's see if Lisa's ready. She's upstairs., and I've got her manned with a tablet, but I don't think this one is really big enough to see a lot of what's going on. But you can see the waterway there, and she's ready. I mean, there are some massive yachts that are gonna be coming down. This looks like a little bitty rowboat going by, so we can't see too much of it. Hopefully when the boat parade goes by, you'll see more. But I'm sitting out looking at the water. There's Christmas decorations everywhere. Let me see if I can just turn this camera around a little bit, and we'll see. A little of what we have. There's the Christmas decorations out there. Oh my gosh, look at all this beautiful food! Hello! Oh yeah, hi!

How are you?

I am fine, great.

Let's sit down. You're all in here by yourself?

Yes, I am. So that makes it easier for us to have a talk.

Yeah, I'm Chris.

Chris, I'm Dennis.

Nice to meet you.

I'm Kim. Kim, it's nice to meet you. So let's talk about— well, we got to get in the camera range, so don't come out too far. Okay, I'll tell you what, I will turn it on you too. They can see me all the time, so let's talk to you. And tell us a little bit about what you like about the Manhattan Towers and why you come here. You go first, Chris, because we have a history here, actually. We've come out from Southern California, and after staying here at the Manhattan for a number of months, we've fallen in love with this whole community and we've ended up moving here. We actually have it 2 doors away. That's great.

But I mean, the thing about the Manhattan Tower that we couldn't get over was that, as you can see around the room, the eccentric decor and Russell and Joe as the hosts, just fabulous. I mean, it's like having— it's like being home, actually. They They're like family, and they're so— as I'm sure you've seen, they're so welcoming. And then the beautiful, beautiful view of the yachts going by, it's just breathtaking.

This is amazing. When we came here, we were just blown away because we weren't expecting this. You know, I didn't know what to expect, and it wasn't this, and it was like way beyond anything we could have imagined. Then when we saw each different room and how it was set up and the herb garden out there, the pool is gorgeous, just everything. And then the the picture of Bogey and—

Oh, I know, in the bar.

Yeah, and the bar is gorgeous.

Yeah, it really is like being home, and everything is so comfortable and relaxing. So it's, you know, we were sad actually to buy our own place because we couldn't stay here anymore, but it is, it's a great neighborhood. You can walk to the ocean so easily.

Yeah, it really is. I mean, we live in Kissimmee now. We moved Florida.

I'm not from Florida.

We moved to Florida from Philadelphia. Oh, and because of the cold weather all the time, right? But we're just— we're still newbies. We've been here a year, but we're getting out and learning what's around. So this has been a great way to find it, going to some of these different— the Superior Lodging small inns and hotels, right?

That's— and they're the best. I mean, unless you want the big chains, you know, they— some people have to have room service and that sort of thing. I'd much rather have my own cooking facilities and just go to the grocery store, enjoy the peace and quiet.

It's like being home without having to do all the work of being home.

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

So you can really enjoy yourselves when you're here. I mean, what better place? And this waterway is just fantastic.

You know, it's kind of an undiscovered secret of South Florida. Everybody thinks of the ocean, but the Intracoastal— we were so happy to buy on it because all day long you can just watch the boats go up and down, and they're, you know, it's an all always changing scenery. It's amazing.

We're so drawn to that. We watch the boats, and both of us, we can see a boat coming down under the bridge, and we're both competing against one another trying to name which boat this is.

Have you seen some of the big yachts? Yes. Isn't it amazing? I mean, you wonder how many people could own all these big yachts.

I know, and there's one after another after another, and they're just— they're Some of them are so beautiful.

Yeah, they are.

They are.

And, uh, just really—

they probably need a celebrity chef.

Yeah, they do. I'll tell you, I wish I could still cook like that. My— those days are over. Oh, is that right? I don't believe it. I can cook at home. I'm good for up to about 8 people. And then— but, uh, yeah, I've gone through— this is why I'm doing this.

Yeah.

You know, my body took a beating over the years.

Yeah, it's high stress.

Still a production.

Yeah.

Oh yeah. That must be a lot of fun for you. Yeah, and that's what I like to do. I like to bring people into the house and cook for them, and, you know, more intimate setting than doing, you know, the hundreds that I used to do.

I couldn't imagine, the stress would kill you.

Yeah, pretty much that and the body just didn't— yeah, and when it wasn't the stress, it was the body falling apart. But oh, I see a boat coming already.

Have you ever been here for the boat parade? Never. Oh, it'll be incredible. Are you going to be able to broadcast a view of some of the ships.

Actually, Lisa is up there with a tablet and she's going to be catching some. You need to get out there.

Yeah, they're starting to come by now. Oh, here we go. This is it. And they're going to have Flo Rida.

Flo Rida will be here any minute.

Yeah, he's the master of ceremonies.

I saw him on the website. That's pretty cool. Now look at this one.

Beautiful.

In Ocean City, we have something called Night in Venus, and the boats would— they decorate the boats. It was— I don't think it was anywhere to this level, and there was a lot of drinking involved. Right, that's a surprise.

Is that Ocean City, Maryland?

Ocean City, New Jersey.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, that's where I— that's where Lisa and I came from originally, and I cooked there for years, and that's how we met. She came into the restaurant and was a hostess. Oh, what a neat story.

So is she here with you?

She's upstairs.

Oh, Oh, she's the one running the camera.

Yeah, she's the one running the camera. She can hear us, she can't say anything because I muted her.

Well, hopefully we'll get to meet her later.

Absolutely, we'll be down. Yeah, well, thank you so much.

It was a pleasure.

Yeah, really nice meeting you.

See anybody else that wants to talk about the hotel ceremony?

I will. There's lots of people, I think they're just too shy to come in and be on the mic.

Well, it's just talking to me, so it's not too bad.

We'll tell them it wasn't too scary.

Thank you.

Thank you for coming.

Oh, my pleasure. Now let's see what we got. We have some boats coming by, I hope. We just missed one. Here comes one though. I see something coming. And there are some incredible entries today that you're going to see. Here come some boats.

We've been coming here for 15 years.

All right, well, let me, let me switch the camera and we will have a little chat then. I see the boats are coming by and they're starting. Yeah, because this is going to be long, I have to go No, it won't be long, just a couple minutes. So you've been coming here for 15 years?

Yeah.

And really, so where do you live? Where do you come from? Ontario.

Ontario, okay.

And you come here too because it's dog friendly?

Yes, right, definitely, definitely. We've always had a dog.

That's how we found the place, because your mother always looked after our dog and and she couldn't anymore. So Joanne looked on the internet for a dog-friendly place, and we'd actually been here 3 years before they bought it on our way to Key West. Ah, and it was, it was getting run down.

It needed work. Yeah, it needed someone that cared.

So then when the same place popped up, we knew how beautiful it could be, or, you know, the setting and everything. So anyway, we, we called and Russell was just so receptive.

We just clicked. It was absolutely wonderful, babe.

So we come back every year.

So how was it? Let's say you've come before. Did you see the transition as they started to change?

Oh yes, we watched it, all the changes.

Watched it and worked on it.

The changes, I mean, the new windows, the air conditioning. There used to be, of course, the box air conditioning, the lousy windows.

Oh yes, the wind had come up and those things would slap and the breeze would come in. You have the air conditioner running full tilt.

Oh wonderful. And of course the decorating. Yeah, the decorating. We just love the decorating.

They just— the rooms just blow me away.

Aren't they gorgeous?

I know, it's so much better than going into —some cold sterile hotel.

I know, it's very eclectic and we just love it. We moved rooms.

This was our first room, then we moved— no, upstairs. We moved upstairs, yes, and then we moved over, which we think is the nicest one, 208. And we went to there because usually after the boat parade we leave at 3 o'clock next morning to go home. Okay. And, but when we were up here, all the boats coming back from the boat parade would be just whooping and hollering just as bad as when they went up. So we couldn't, you know, 2 o'clock in the morning, we're still wide awake and we're getting up at 3 to go home. So that apartment has the back bedroom too. So kind of an advantage for me not having a waterfront.

Oh, you'll love it.

I love always laying in bed and looking out when I was younger.

The first time before, the first time on our way to Key West that we stopped here, we were in this room and we got up in the morning and pulled back the curtains and wow, and all these fishermen were out here looking at us. Zip with the curtains again.

That was a long time ago.

Did they have Santa hats on or something? Something.

I think they get the fishermen. Santa Fisherman. Well, you know, you gotta just let them just wave in. It's an experience, that's all.

Anyway, we just simply, we adore this place.

Just adore it. And our dogs, we, what, we're on our third Doberman. We have a Doberman. We're on our third one now that has been down here.

So no, it's absolutely phenomenal.

Yeah, I know. One of the reasons we wouldn't travel as much in the because it was hard finding a place that took dogs too. And they're part of your family when you do travel, so that's a big plus for someplace like this. Especially, it's not just an ordinary inn. It's really eclectic. It's beautiful. You've got so much to do in the area, and it's just a great place to be. It is.

Yeah, we actually brought our bikes down this time. And dangerous as it is, maybe to—

I don't know. Don't say that word.

Well— Anyway, I go out every day for a couple hours and bike all up Federal Highway and everything.

I did notice they have a bike rental system here, don't they?

Yeah, it's a phenomenal system.

I know! It's well used. And yeah, I saw that if you're a member it's free the first half hour, it's very reasonable after that. Very reasonable. And they're all over the place and you just get the bike and you leave it. And they can take it to the next location, whatever, and get off and What a great idea.

It is. A lot of other cities are doing it, and I think it's great that they're doing it here.

Well, we went down to the bike place to get mirrors for our bikes, and the fellow in there said, "Well, they come from Brazil, and they come up here because they can come up and stay over for 4 days, have a good time, and buy their new bikes and take them back for a quarter of the price." Wow. And that's— then they're talking $2,000, $3,000 bikes.

Wow. A year, so imagine. I can't imagine that a bicycle would be that expensive.

We don't get into that. That's heavy duty.

Well, we've got a Harley sitter. Yeah, just about.

That's a different kind of bike.

Wonderful, we just love it.

Well, thank you so much. Thanks for coming in, and if anybody else would like to talk to me, send them my way.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you. We'll see another happy couple that stays here at the Manhattan Towers. And let's turn over to Lisa real quick as I see a boat out there. Oh, we're just missing it, but there it goes. I hear some queen in the background. Trust me, that is not one of the bigger yachts that has been coming through. We have seen some amazing Yachts. And still they go by. And I don't know what kind of lessons they are, flyboard lessons. But anyway, more boats will be coming down the waterway, and they said there's about 100 of them in this boat parade, so we're going to see as many as we And you can see him coming in and getting more food. The guests are having a great time out front, and more happy, happy people that have stayed here. What is that going up? I missed that. Oh, too late. I don't know what they flew up there. It looks pretty cool, kind of a kite. Oh, I think it's a person. I don't know how they're doing that, but we will wait for more to come by. And it is a perfect evening out here on the Intracoastal Waterway at the Manhattan Tower. And, uh, if you could be here, you would just be loving life because it does not get any better than this. It is December 13th, and for those of you that don't know, it's 12, 13, 14, and that's not going to happen for another 100 years, so enjoy it while you got it. Yeah, so let's see more boats be coming our way, and we're going to run for about another 10 minutes or so, and then I'm telling you, it's time for Chef Dennis Littley to go out downstairs, start drinking, enjoy the parade himself. But we will try and bring you a few more of these beautiful boats as they come along. And there's Lisa showing us some of the party that's going on downstairs. There's a fountain down there. Oh, it's a beautiful area. You can see all the guests. And see how close— they are putting a railing in So if you have a little too much to drink, you don't have to worry about falling into the water. But right now it's right up close and personal. And look at all the tables, and there's still more people inside in the bar area. And this is just a party to celebrate the season, to celebrate the boat parade, and to celebrate friends, you know, because that's what it's all about. People are coming together here to enjoy this beautiful facility, this beautiful hotel, and just enjoy life. And these are people that have become friends because they stayed here. And that's kind of what these old Florida inns will do. And that's what they're talking about— hotels, apartments, inns, cottages with that old Florida flavor. So it's not like you're staying at a Westin or Holiday Inn or one of these Hyatts, you know, that are just immaculate and clean and but just kind of sterile. And you know, you can— you don't want to stay— when you're going to a place like Fort Lauderdale, if you're going to cities around Florida, you want to stay where you actually feel like you're part of Florida. Okay, you know, you can stay any one of those hotels any other cities you go to, but this is a good opportunity to just really enjoy life and enjoy the That old Florida feeling. Lisa's having a good time up there. I'm glad I didn't let her have a cocktail before she started manning the camera or we could have— God knows what we'd be looking at there. She's shaking it. I think she wants a drink. So I did mute her. One of the few chances that I did get to mute her. I'll probably pay for that comment later but gotta love it. Alright, so we're still waiting for more boats, and you know, we're at the mercy of them. They start up the river at Stranahan House, and I was reading a little bit of the history of that Stranahan House. They're the people that not built Fort Lauderdale originally, but came later and settled it. And the parade starts up in the center of town, and it's funny, they call this the the Venice of America, and there are canals cut in all throughout the area, and there are houses along the canals, there's boats that are just amazing, ships, yachts, whatever you want to call them, and it's just really a sight to see, and it's a wonderful experience here. And they'll probably all start coming as soon as the show is over. But we're kind of at their mercy. And there's a whole set of drawbridges around here, and we've stopped for a lot of them and waited to go through as everyone else does calmly, because there are some pretty big ships. And then down not too far from here is Port Everglades, and that's where some of the cruise ships go out of. And we passed that earlier today, and that was just— there were about 6 of them sitting there, and. You don't realize how big they are until you get that close to them. And then we, we went down to Hollywood, Florida for a while, and then we drove into Miami Beach, but I have to say it just wasn't quite what we were expecting. And you can kind of keep Miami Beach, although South Beach looked interesting. We didn't get to go there, but I was thinking about it. But this feels a lot more like home. Fort Lauderdale is really a beautiful town, a lot more relaxed. It just gives you a better feeling. It's not rushed, you're not hurried. Every square inch of property isn't built on. It's just beautiful, and you can really have a good time here. And I see a rowboat over there, and he's lit up a little bit. I was hoping for everyone to see a yacht. It looks like there's a series of small boats coming now. You can see some green lights over in the background, and that's actually a rowboat. He's lit up the bow of his boat. And then cutting in front of them are a few— almost look like— I don't know if they're canoes or kayaks. Kind of a— almost taking your life in your own hands at this point, but I guess they know they're out there. Looks like a whole series of them, so maybe it's some kind of special section of the boat parade. I'm hoping to see some yachts. I don't know if it's gonna happen. And the man that restored— there's this beautiful picture of Bogie and Lauren Bacall from like Casablanca and down in the bar area, and the man that restored that is here tonight. He was going to come in to talk, but I guess he's having too good of a time out there. But the story on that was they found it in this big mansion in Boca, and they cut the wall, the entire wall out from behind to take this picture because it was actually part of the wall, and they moved it down here and then restored it, and it's just beautiful. I'll be posting pictures of that on my blog next week when we get home and I have a few days to get everything together. So, And I still don't see anything. Lisa, you see anything coming up there? Looking pretty quiet. I haven't seen anything. You haven't seen anything yet? No. Oh well. We're hoping. Yes. Are you going to eat anything? I will as soon as we're done broadcasting. There's all kinds of nice-looking food out there. There and drinks and I'm looking forward to it. Oh, and there we are, we're taking a tour of the upstairs room while we're here. And if you want to walk down and keep showing people what you see, we can walk out with the tablet and maybe go down into the bar area and we'll give them a little bit of a tour. Of course, unless we lost the connection, which is possible. So I'm going to give you a few minutes while Lisa makes her way down and we'll see see if I get a picture back. If not, I'm going to call it— oh, I see a picture back. So I'm going to let her get into an area where there is more to see because otherwise you get a little bit of crazy dizziness. Let's see what we got. Oh, she's still in the apartment. She's making her way out. Dun, dun, dun. There's the outside. And they have this— now the third level belongs to the owners, that's where they reside, but you have two levels of just beautiful apartments, these old-time stairways, and there's this beautiful circular stairway in the front where the tower is, and there's gardens in the courtyard. Everything's decorated, lights on the trees, on the— just everywhere. It's just beautiful. There's some beautiful Art Deco pieces downstairs as well. There she comes up. There's the bar area, so let's take a look at that. Walking in, she is doing a great job. There's more of the party. Okay, where's the pictures? Not quite as good, but there's Bogie and Bacall, and you can see the party going on. So I think we're starting to lose a little bit of the picture quality and we're gonna call it on that. But thank you all for coming tonight for Chef Dennis on the Road, and I had a great time, and I hope you did too. And I will take more pictures, and I promise to have a great blog post for you. So have a great night, and I'll see you all real soon on the Road with Chef Dennis Littley.