Try to get a last-minute reservation at YOLO on a Friday or Saturday night and you'll wonder what happened to the economic crisis. The new dining and drinking destination has been the hot spot on restaurant-intensive Las Olas Boulevard since it opened Oct. 6.

Much-anticipated YOLO is the latest success from seasoned restaurateurs Tim Petrillo and Peter Boulukos (also the chef), the pair behind River House, Tarpon Bend and Himmarshee Bar & Grille (which they sold). Petrillo and Boulukos bought the 6,300-square-foot space that once housed Brasserie Las Olas and Dancing Bear a few years ago, gutted the building and then adopted the optimism behind the restaurant's name: YOLO stands for You Only Live Once.

The concept: Good times, good food. So far, so good. The sleek, upscale restaurant melds a casual, friendly vibe with skillful service, a simple but creative menu, moderate prices and eclectic decor: hues of vivid red and warm chocolate brown, flickering candlelight and accents of bamboo and dark woods. The focal point of the main dining room is a gleaming open kitchen flanked by a prep table -- prime seating for foodies who like a front-row view of the action.

Part of its success stems from an after-work and late-night social scene. There's a small, sophisticated indoor bar; a cozy lounge called O with lots of comfy couches; and a garden patio with an open fire pit. And you can linger over signature cocktails like YOLO's cool martini "tree, " a dramatic version of a wine flight, with three different concoctions.

The menu is limited but there are daily specials, which the server will stamp on the butcher block sheet covering each white tablecloth (on one visit, the server let me do the stamping). If it's available, go for the velvety butternut squash soup, slightly sweet and perfect on the occasional cool South Florida night. I could easily be satisfied with a soup and a starter like the meatball slider. These Flintstone-size meatballs are beefy and moist, topped with grandmotherly tomato gravy, herbed ricotta and arugula on a mini soft bun brushed with butter and garlic. The wild Mediterranean mussels are huge and have the fresh salty taste of the sea, though we would have liked more of the saffron-infused sauce for dipping.

YOLO's crab cakes, offered as an appetizer our visit (they also appear as an entree), are also quite good, packed with jumbo lump crab and little filler. One of our favorite dishes is one of the least expensive -- rotisserie chicken. The half-chicken is fragrant with rosemary, thyme and fennel, ultra moist and tender. It's served with homey mashed potatoes that some might consider an off-putting pale green -- the result of parsley and basil.

Double-cut pork chops are a hefty but tender 18 to 20 ounces, marinated overnight in a molasses brine and finished with a bourbon mustard glaze. They're served with basic but tasty layered potatoes au gratin and apple chutney.

YOLO does a fine job with fresh fish, including our pick of mahi mahi topped with a New Orleans-style crawfish étouffée -- it might not please purists but the creamy étouffée had a taste of the Big Easy favorite, and the fish was perfectly cooked.

While entrees are generous portions, sides are tempting, like the refreshing green apple slaw made with two types of cabbage and julienne Granny Smith apples.

YOLO makes all its desserts, including a rich banana coconut cream pie with a cashew graham crust and its fun ice cream sandwiches -- vanilla ice cream wedged between house-made espresso and dark chocolate cookies. You can always walk off dessert by window shopping on Las Olas. Remember: You Only Live Once.