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food_banComfort Food at its Finest: The Mason Jar Café has your favorite dishes

food_2The former owners of Las Olas Café, a dining spot that served South Florida for two decades, opened The Mason Jar Café, which specializes in upscale comfort food, a few years ago.
This family owned establishment, located on Federal Highway near Oakland Park Boulevard, offers a friendly and inviting environment and, most importantly, the food you crave. From meatloaf to chicken fried steak to short ribs to chicken pot pie – it has just what you need to warm your heart and make your belly feel right at home.
On a recent Friday evening, J and I stopped by for dinner. We had both had stressful weeks, so we were super excited to dine on some comfort food favorites. Upon arrival, we met Paula, one of the owners. We chatted for a bit and she showed us to our table where we met our server for the evening, Jerry. We then ordered iced teas, which were served in – you guessed it – mason jars (which I found adorable).
The dining areas are quite spacious, yet exude the warm coziness of home through the cute little knick knacks hanging up like tea cups and plates.
It was packed that evening with a diverse crowd. While we were there, a large party of around 10 guys were seated at the table next to us. We listened to them gush to one another about how much they loved this place.
Since we wanted to give you a full report of the offerings at The Mason Jar, J and I were brought a sampler plate of some of their most popular appetizers. For you, dear readers, we tried fried green tomatoes (topped with crabmeat), fried pickles, country crab medallions, pigs in a blanket and phyllo triangles filled with goat cheese, cranberries, mushrooms and blackberry mango. It was a tough sacrifice (not at all!), but we did it for you. To me, the standouts were the pigs in a blanket and the country crab medallions. Oh and the fried pickles, which were of the dill pickle variety. Prices for appetizers range from $5 to $7. All of those delicious starters got us excited for our main dishes.

food_4For our main entrees, J ordered Janice’s Meatloaf ($16), which was a hearty portion of perfectly baked, juicy meat, (what else did you expect?) topped cut with a sweet and tangy barbecue-style glaze. And dismiss whatever stereotypes you have of meatloaf– this was a masterpiece of flavors and texture.
I ordered their homemade Chicken Pot Pie ($17), which was such food_1a gorgeous looking pastry, that it hurt me to dismantle it with my fork. It was so worth it though—the flaky pie crust gave way to a creamy mix of thick pieces of tender chicken and diced up veggies.
All of their entrees come with the choice of two veggie sides, a Mason Jar salad or caesar salad. Since we wanted to try as much as we could, we were given a sampler of side dishes including their signature skinny truffle fries, made with truffle oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese; to-die-for Brussels sprouts with pistachios and corn spoon bread that I am still fantasizing about.

For dessert, J and I tried the sampler platter ($10), which featured three tasty treats. I quickly dug into the chocolate bomba, a brilliant sweet tower of flourless chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce. If you prefer to keep it cool they also have a frozen lemonade delight, which was fresh lemon and whipped cream on a graham cracker crust. And what would a comfort joint be without apple pie? And they take this standby to new heights, if you can imagine a candied walnut apple pie, served warm, à la mode.  You know how some places knock it out of the park with dinner but then disappoint you with dessert? That did not happen at The Mason Jar Café. The desserts exceeded all expectations and could stand alone as a reason to go to this great place.
The Mason Jar Café is also open for lunch and has a lovely variety of salads, soups and sandwiches for you to choose from.
With its warm and friendly atmosphere, adorable décor and phenomenal comfort food, The Mason Jar Café will be one of your favorite places to dine with friends, family and loved ones.

The Mason Jar Café
2980 N Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale 33306
954-568-4100
TheMasonJarCafe.com