Regina Rodrigues buys hundreds of pounds worth of food at dawn every Saturday. She drives her pickup truck and loads it with oxtails, beef, chickens, onions, rice and sugar. She opens her backyard doors later that evening to serve up to 150 people a four-hour meal.
Regina’s Farm, a nonprofit outdoor food experience located in the Sailboat Bend residential neighborhood of Toronto. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The gathering place (“We don’t call it restaurant,” Rodrigues explains Travel + Leisure) is a working farm less than a mile from downtown’s skyscrapers, complete with chickens, rabbits, produce—and a two- to three-year waitlist.
Melissa Malamut/Travel + Leisure
Rodrigues said the concept was influenced by the open-air roadside eateries she used to frequent in Brazil’s Minas Gerais. She told T+L, “I brought Brazil to my backyard.” “The food” [in Minas Gerais] It’s known all over the globe because it is very traditional. It’s the same as mom’s or grandma’s food. People come from all over the country, including the North and South.
People now travel to Florida from all over the state for this experience. Since opening in 2013, the lore of this farm has slowly spread—though only some of what’s actually grown on-site (herbs, select vegetables) ends up in the more than two dozen dishes served during the meal.
Some meats are marinated and prepped in advance, but much of the cooking happens on Saturday—the only day the farm is open. Though Sundays are occasionally added. The event takes place rain or shine. It is closed in July and August because of South Florida’s brutally hot, rainy summer. The experience will be reopened on Sept. 20, this year. The wait list ballooned after pandemic closings and viral videos on YouTube and TikTok. The current bookings are through 2029.
Rodrigues employs 13 “helpers” to feed over 100 people. They assist in cooking, serving guests, cleaning, bussing, and seating them. While they wait, diners can enjoy fresh sugarcane or uncork their BYOB wine and Champagne at communal tables. As the food unfolds like a kaleidoscope guests are divided into groups according to the color-coded wristbands they received upon arrival.
The menu is slightly different each week, but it always has the same flavors. The first course consists of a selection of soups, including oxtail, corn, chicken and vegan options. pão de queijo The second course includes guava and Brazilian cheese bread. The second course is a medley of salads and plantains. feijoada (the classic stew of black beans and meat). The main course includes a variety of churrasco There are many options for meats such as ribs, chicken, beef, and fish. Many options are available for vegetarians and gluten free.
Proceeds from the dinner go to the church across the street, Las Olas Worship Center—the church across the street where Rodrigues’ husband, Elizeu, serves as pastor—and support its various missions around the world. After Sunday church services, leftovers are given to the local community.
It is also child-friendly. There are swings, rope climbing, and feeding opportunities for the animals. Elizeu said, “Kids are free to run and play and scream,” as she is also the tractor train ride conductor.
Melissa Malamut/Travel + Leisure
- Text Only No voice or WhatsApp messages. You can text your guests’ names and numbers (adults as well as children) to the number. Keep it short—no long messages or personal stories.
- You can ask for a “short wait list” by contacting the following: Text the short waitlist if you are local and flexible. There are often cancellations and spaces become available the week before the event.
- Follow Up Reasonably: It’s okay to follow up if you haven’t heard anything after a few months. In August 2023, a couple texted, then followed up in January of 2025. By May, they had been accepted.
Desserts can be a real show: flan-flipping live, key lime pies, cheesecakes and coconut cakes, brownies or s’mores by the fire. brigadeiro, a Brazilian treat similar a chocolate truffle. Also available are homemade ice creams and fruit as well as Brazilian style pour-over espresso.
Of the two dozen guests we spoke to, most were locals who had waited at least two years to get in—and dropped everything when they received the confirmation text earlier that week. A couple who travels the world regularly to dine in some of the best restaurants said that they were on the list from August 2023. They were impressed by the way the dishes let the ingredients “shine.” One guest traveled alone from Orlando, about four hours north. They did it “just for the experience.”
We left after about five hours. About 40 people were still there. Rodrigues explained that people stayed all night. “It is a celebration of living together with others. You don’t have to hurry. It’s a wonderful experience. I sometimes excuse myself from my work to sleep and then I sit in front of my window and watch people drinking wine and sharing stories. “They don’t want them to leave.”
Regina’s Farm; reginasfarm.com; 1101 Middle St., Fort Lauderdale. $65 adults, $35 kids. Walk-ins are not allowed. Text reservation at 954-465-1900. Parking is free. On-site bathrooms. Doors open from 6 p.m.
