A recent visit to Ft. Lauderdale, to judge a restaurant awards competition, has shown that the local dining scene has sure changed for the better--and so have the hotels. Excellent lodgings and restaurants of every kind are sprouting up like weeds in all parts of Broward County--a region that now holds as many culinary surprises as it once lacked.

We sojourned at the most luxurious beachfront resort-- Marriott's Harbor Beach Hotel. It caters to the sybarite in us all. While lapping one in self-contained splendor and offering all the facilities beloved by the health-conscious, it also neighbors the area's attractions: the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Butterfly World, the museums of Art and Discovery & Science, and the world-class shopping of the Galleria Mall and Las Olas Boulevard.

Its signature restaurant, Sheffield's, gives the lie to the popular conceptions of British cuisine as dull, stodgy, and inedible. In the handsomest setting on the beach, it serves admirable English fare with modern, continental innovations. What else wou ld you call tiny al dente asparagus shoots enwrapped in a delicate ginger shallot sauce, and lobster medallion, fashioned like a small lobster and teamed with plump shrimps, swimming on a "sea" of sauce verte? Not forgotten are such faves as lobster bisqu e, thick and creamy with a heavy cargo of tender lobster meat.

Salmon filet and rack of lamb experience the freshest of ingredients prepared so that only the natural tastes prevail. Both dishes were amply sided with fresh au gratin potatoes and steamed baby vegetables.

For something a bit more adventurous, Cafe Maxx has an intriguing menu that draws crowds of locals and visitors to its big, casual American grill. Those popular prices help as well. This is highly original cooking based peripherally on Italian, Asian, Cr eole, Southwestern, Mexican, Jamaican, and Californian accents. The menu is large and complex, with an equally comprehensive wine list.

Lobster enchilada exudes lobster and cheese, the spiciness perfectly gauged, topped with chopped tomato, sweet onion, and black olives. An inventive tempura-fried sushi roll is delicious and different. Seafood gumbo overflows with assorted Gulf fish, and clams. Tender, juicy veal chop contrasts nicely with broccoli rabe. Soft-shell crabs are dished up in a spicy cornmeal coated with a black bean sauce. Obviously, the keynote here is on singularity, using only what is fresh today.

Cafe Maxx, 2601 E. Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, Fl. (305)782-0648. Dinner only nightly. Entrees $14.95-$23.95. Accepts reservations, AE, CB, DC, DIS, MC, V.

Transplanted and thriving is California Cafe offering dishes and wines from the West Coast. The broad menu is an eclectic lot with inspiration coming from fresh local foods of the season. So Cajun influenced Dungeness crab cakes served with fiery black b ean salsa shares menu space with sesame seared tuna prettily presented in a pastry tulip and Asian slaw, fillipped with wasabi oil, and a wonderful macadamia-nut encrusted snapper juicy and moist on a bed of orzo and roasted peppers, sparked with a vodka- grapefruit sauce. Also of note is the oak-roasted rack of pork, with a delicate potato-fennel gratin and tangy pearl onion apricot compote.

We also went for the pizza, and were rewarded with a thick, light and fluffy crust fresh from the wood-burning oven, topped with an ample array of Italian sausage and palatably finished with a lush tomato sauce.

Accouterments such as the hot sourdough and honey bread, mashed sweet potatoes (creamy with an underlying hint of peppers) and grilled plantains, are all of above-average quality. There is likewise a wide selection of sweets. We bid adieu with a warm cho colate souffle cake with raspberry coulis and a coconut creme brulee.

California Cafe, Pier 66, 2301 S.E. 17 St., Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. (305) 728-8255. Lunch, Dinner daily. Sunday brunch. Dinner entrees $12.95-$19.95. Accepts reservations, AE, CB, DC, DIS, MC, V.