Tarks Of Dania Beach

As a tourist to this area (from Orlando), I was looking to eat at a local dive. Tarks did not disappoint. I was there for about three hours to kill an evening alone while on a business trip. I had the fried combo (grouper, clam strips, and shrimp), the Thursday special (10 raw oysters for $7), a bucket of corona and key lime pie.

My first time eating oysters and they were so good! Since I can't compare them to anything else I will say that they were hand shucked right in front of me, fresh, and full of the oyster juice you would expect from a fresh oyster.

I was so full but stayed because the locals and tourists sit side by side at the bar and meet. I was so entertained by the exhibition kitchen, delicious smells of fresh fried seafood and the good humor of the waitress Maria.

This is not a place to go if you are in a hurry. If you are open to an experience, I would highly recommend the great food and chat friendly environment.

I won't forget Tark's!

Do you remember the scene in the movie Jaws where Sam Quint was retelling the story of being a survivor of the USS Indianapolis sinking in 1945 during World War II <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FVJJS4s&s=61236b0a768baa1e9f4a8f3d0c49fa035005834f5c2f3a724a885113f91914d1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/VJJS4s</a> . Well Tarks is a perfect divey gathering place for working class characters like Sam Quint who love to recent their favorite past times while munching on grub.

         The  workers at Tarks are rambunctious but friendly, it took me a minute or so to get adjusted to the loud barking and gestures by the employees. Not the cleanest of places, the counter surrounding the open kitchen had two open areas to sit at, but they were not clean. Both open areas were somewhat littered with salt/peppers grains and liquid. The woman behind the counter seemed to "busy" to wipe them down.

         So I ordered of fries $2.50 <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FYx161K&s=93040e7ec5a879b73bdd6762c062f49ab4d3a8e6749c8d0dcc836798fcfa5224" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/Yx161K</a> and a conch salad $7.95 <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FYx1Ofh&s=51de1e1c538748f00b1ec40448d70ed781fcc2d2c52acf9ec7339e598ab6ca63" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/Yx1Ofh</a> to go.
     
         Oddly my to go order was placed on a small puddle of water on the counter in front of me.I guess  the woman behind the counter was still to "busy" to wipe the counter down, before putting my order there.

        The fries were not crisp but kind of soft and had a slight oily taste to them, I did not enjoy them at all. I enjoyed the conch salad minus the iceberg lettuce, the conch was chewy and flavorful with just the right amount of fresh tomato's, onion's and pepper.
 
         Will I come back, I sure will,  typically I never repeat places I rated 3 stars. But this place seems to be somewhat entertaining and also has some potential, using the conch salad as a barometer for my decision.

GREAT neighborhood joint. Good basic stuff: fish sandwiches, wings. The place is packed and hectic and you wind up talking to people and it's a great experience. Grouper sandwich with curly fries was superb at $8. Free entertainment as the staff take cook and serve your orders.  Five minutes South of FLL airport. Just go already.