CD's Mellons Bar and Grill

We decided to give the newly opened CD's Mellons Bar and Grill a try recently, and I'm glad we did. Good food was our quest, and we found it. We arrived around 6:30 or 7 on a Friday night. They were not very busy and most of the business seemed to be around the bar. As we sat there, I noticed a number of to-go orders going out though, and several patrons eating at the bar.

We were quickly greeted by our waitress, Jacqueline. She was fast, friendly and knew about the items on the menu and knew how they tasted, what was in them, etc. Very impressive. We started out with a glass of wine, a decent pour at a decent price. For an appetizer we ordered the Hand Breaded Fried Mushrooms. They came out fresh and very hot, with a nice horseradish dipping sauce. They were very good. The breading was not thick and overpowering, and they were not at all greasy. The mushrooms were large and very tasty. I'd order them again.

For his sandwich, Tommy had the Bacon Cheeseburger with cheddar cheese. OMG. It was piled high with topings like lettuce, tomato, and onion. It was a delicious sandwich. Now, though he ordered it medium, in truth it was more like well done. fortunately, all the toppings helped it to stay moist and juicy and it was a very tasty sandwich. The cheddar cheese really stood out as well. The accompanying fries were excellent. The appeared to be hand cut, with the skins on, and were perfectly cooked and seasoned. Again, not overly greasy as well, a sign that they were cooked at a proper temperature. I had a bite of the burger and more than a few fries and agree, it was all darned tasty.

For my sandwich I had the CD's Mellons Signature Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. Wow, it was very good. The chicken was fried and moist and tender. The blue cheese was some sort of blue chees croquette, almost like a slice of cheese. The taste of the sandwich was great, it had a nice hot buffalo sauce taste, the chicken was tender, and the taste of the blue cheese added to the experience. My only complaint is not really a complaint, but it was messy. I went through a number of napkins eating this sandwich and as it got to the very end, it just sort of fell apart. But that's OK, I was full. Fortunately our waitress knew what the sandwich was like and provided wet wipes....she knew I'd need them, and I did. But it was a very good sandwich. I ordered Onion Rings to accompany mine, and they were about the tastiest onion rings I've had in a long, long time. Thick slices of sweet onions were breaded in a tempura-like batter that was nicely seasoned. Then when servers, a dusting of Parmesan cheese over them put these over the top. They were delicious.

I really have no major complaints. We had a great meal and a great experience. At the end of the meal the bartender came out and asked me to sample a bit of a new wine, which I did wholeheartedly, a tier 2 cabernet. It was good. As we got to talking, eventually one of the owners joined us. We had a nice conversation. CD's Mellons Bar and Grill is a sports bar. It seems to me it's be a great place for a bite to eat late in the evening, or for a quick lunch during the week. They are a new place and I wish them well. I think I'll be back, for sure. I want another helping of the O-rings and there are a few other things on the menu I want to try!

Habaneros Mexican Grill

We went to Habaneros Mexican Grill in Sanford (Seminole Town Center Mall) recently for dinner and were hopeful for a good experience. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Mediocre (at best) food, spotty service, and a lackluster atmosphere left me longing for some good Mexican food. I doubt that I'll return. 
It's not that the food was bad--it just was not real good. We started with some chips and salsa. Tomato sauce out of a can was about the taste and consistency of the salsa. Not at all inspiring.

For Tommy's main dish he had the Chicken Fajitas. They were OK. Not bad, Just not spectacular.
For my dinner I had the Enchiladas, one each of cheese, beef, ground beef, and chicken. They were OK, but again, nothing special. 

For a go-with, there were refried beans. Again, nothing special, could have been (and probably were) dumped from a can and heated. Not at all special.

Sorry, but I don't think I'll be back. There is much better Mexican food in Sanford, and it's not to be found here. But, feel free to see for yourself. Just remember, I told you so!

Boston's Fish House

We had a surprisingly good dinner at Boston's Fish House recently. I say surprisingly because, our first time there, I thought there was a bit too much breading and fried food. But this time, we ordered some great items that were not fried and it was all very, very good. Maybe a bit pricey, but still good food. 

We journeyed the whole mile away from home to there on a weekend night with a friend and decided to start off with an appetizer, the Fried Mushrooms. Now, forget about what I said previously about too much breading and too much fried food--these were really very good. They came out of the kitchen nice and hot, and a very good-sized portion. The breading was light and not at all greasy, and lent a nice flavor to the juicy, meaty mushrooms. I liked this a lot. 

For dinner, both Tommy and I ordered the Mahi-Mahi dinner. I had mine done blackened, and Tommy chose the Cajun. He thought the cajun was just a bit too spicy for him, but i thought both were very good. We had them both baked, too, not fried. So this really was good. We each took home about half our fish and enjoyed it another day (as a fish sandwich). Last time I had the beans, I called them "unremarkable," but this time they were a lot better and I really enjoyed them. The coleslaw was good, too. Again we had a nice meal here and will have to return. Yumm!
 

Olive Garden

We had a coupon and so decided to venture to our nearby Olive Garden one evening recently. It was a good choice and we had a very good meal and a nice dining experience. We were quickly seated and Bryce, our server took great care of us. We came because of the $5 off coupon for their "3 Course Italian Dinner for $12.95" and we left full and with some leftovers. It was a good choice.

There are a lot of great choices on the menu and so we started out with the Grilled Chicken Flatbread for an appetizer. A god portion of tender chicken, mozzarella, roasted red peppers and basil with an alfredo and garlic spread was nicely grilled, warm and yummy. This was good comfort food. The roasted red peppers added a very nice gently heat to the tender and moist chicken. We liked this dish a lot.

The special is basically a choice of soup or salad, an entree, and a dessert. We both chose to begin with a salad. At Olive Garden, the salad is all you can eat, and we ate all we can. It's a nice salad, with mostly romaine but also tomato, olives, red onion, pepperoncini, cheese, and lots of goodness. It's served with their delicious, hot and fresh breadsticks, too. You cannot go wrong with this combination. We enjoyed the salad a lot and it was very nice and fresh, all a salad should be.

For my main course I had the Grilled Chicken Toscano. This is grilled chicken breasts that are brushed with a sweet red wine demiglace. It was served with fresh spinach and a parmesan risottos with tomatoes. Of course I also had it topped with a generous portion of fresh grated parmesan cheese. It was absolutely delicious. The chicken was nice and moist and tender. The sweet red-wine demiglace was not overpowering but gave a nice rich sweetness to the chicken. The parmesan risotto was done very nicely with still just a bit of tooth-bite, not mushy. I liked this dish a lot.

For his entree, Tommy had the Parmesan-Potato Crusted Chicken. It was really very, very good. The chicken was nicely cooked and the crisp parmesan-potato crust was amazingly good. It had a bit of a crunch and the chicken itself was tender and flavorful. It was served on a bed of linguine pasta with a creamy garlic scampi sauce. Now, Tommy is not a huge garlic fan, but he ordered this anyhow. And loved it. The garlic was not at all overpowering but had a nice, sweet, roasted flavor. Again, a great dish.

For my "dessert" I chose the Caffe Mocha. It was all it should be, tasting a lot like hot chocolate made with coffee. It was a nice end to a satisfying meal.

Unlike me, Tommy is not averse to sweet, calorie-laden desserts and so he chose the Chocolate Mousse. It was everything a chocolate mousse should be, very chocolaty and nice and rich and creamy.

We had a very nice time at the Olive Garden for dinner and certainly would return here. Bryce, our server, did a great job of taking care of us and we left full and with some leftovers to enjoy another day--which we did. Yumm!

Palm Tree Grille & Bar

We had a very enjoyable lunch on a recent weekday at the Palm Tree Grille & Bar in beautiful Mount Dora. We had a generous gift certificate from a friend and so we were able to go all-out and have a wonderful lunch. 

It was a Monday holiday and downtown Mount Dora was somewhat busy. I'm glad nearly all the shops were open. We were tired after walking around a bit, and so the stop for lunch was very welcome. The restaurant was not very busy and we were quickly seated and waited upon. We each started with a glass of wine and soon decided on some appetizers.

For our first appetizer, we chose the Artichoke Gorgonzola. This was whole artichoke hearts stuffed with gorgonzola cheese, breaded and fried and served in an alfredo sauce with spinach. They were good, quite good. I will say that I could have used a bit more gorgonzola. Though it's a strong cheese, it was very light here, so a bit more would have been welcome. Also, the alfredo sauce needed salt and was a bit thin and watery, I think it should have been thicker which would have made it more rich and creamy. And more salt, definitely. But the artichokes themselves were wonderful, I loved them.

Next we had the Stuffed Mushroom Caps. Large mushroom caps were stuffed with crabmeat, topped with garlic butter and provolone cheese and then baked. They were very good. The cheese was nice and gooey, the mushroom flavor came through, and the chunks of crab in them rather nice. I liked these a lot.

As a prelude to my lunch I had a salad, and it was a delicious salad, chock-full of good things like roasted carrots, garbanzo beans, black olives, mixed romaine and spinach, some red onion, tomato, and home-made croutons. The raspberry vinaigrette  served on the side as requested, was delightful, thick and rich yet light in flavor. 

For his main course, Tommy had one of the day's specials, the Fish Sandwich. It was a nice piece of mahi-mahi that was nicely breaded and fried, served over a nice semi-hard roll with the requisite LTO (lettuce, tomato, and onion). The sandwich was very good, hot and tasty. The fish cooked perfectly, moist, tender, and delicious. The accompanying fries were exceptionally good as well, they were perfect and came out piping hot. This was a great lunch.

For my main dish I chose Penne Alla Vodka. If a restaurant kitchen can make this dish properly, they will get my vote and I'll be a fan. They get my vote and I'm a fan. It was very good. The pasta was a wonderful al-dente... perfectly cooked. The flavors of the peas, tomato and smoky prosciutto blended well with the pink cream sauce. The romano cheese added the perfect sharpness. I could tell that this dish was cooked properly, with a bit of love and care, not just "stuff" thrown together as in some restaurants. This was cooked to perfection. And, lucky for me, the portion was huge and I had some to take home for another meal--which I enjoyed just as much as the first time.

We had a great lunch dining experience here at the Palm Tree Grille & Bar, and I'd certainly recommend them, and certainly return. Nice job!

Lonnie's Fusion Cuisine

On a recent Friday night, we decided to give the recently opened Lonnie's Fusion Cuisine a visit, hoping for a nice dinner. We were not disappointed. The food was decent, the atmosphere pleasant, and the waitstaff good. 

Lonnie's Fusion Cuisine is a rather small but intimate place inside with the supposed look and feel of a cafe in Europe, I'd guess. Inside maybe seats a total of 30 people or so if every spot was taken, but in nice weather, there is also some very pleasant outdoor seating. We were there on a rather cold winter evening so it was definitely not an outdoor kind of night. We entered and were quickly greeted and seated in a spacious booth. In a short time, our waiter appeared and took our beverage order.

For starters we just had to try the Fried Shrimp Torpedo. Actually, there were five torpedos. Shrimp (more likely prawns) were stretched out long, like torpedoes. There were five of them that were nicely breaded and  deep fried, then topped with a bit of sweet chili and oriental sauce. I'd have liked just a bit more sauce, but  my friend Tommy thought it was just right. I guess I like a bit more heat. Nonetheless, they were delicious, cooked perfectly, not greasy, and the bit of sauce gave them a nice flavor without overpowering the flavor of the shrimp. They were delicious and I'd order them again, in a minute! 

We started our meals with a salad. It was a fairly typical salad for a nice restaurant with romaine lettuce, a bit of carrot julienne, some tomato, cucumber, croutons, and a bit of cheese. I had the balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It was a good salad, all that a salad should be and not over-dressed either, a pet peeve of mine. It was light, fresh, cool, and delicious.

For my main course I ordered the Champagne Chicken and Mushrooms. It was a great choice as it turned out.It was pan seared medallions of chicken that were nice and moist and tender. They were served over some smashed garlic potatoes (but not too heavy on the garlic, thankfully) with a mushroom champagne sauce that was velvety in texture, and rich  and flavorful. I really liked this dish. The chicken was oh so tender and juicy. The poatoes were creamy without being pasty. And the champagne mushroom sauce was a real delight. It was served with a choice of a side and i chose the Sauteed Garlic Green Beans. I'll say that the portion of beans was a bit meager, but they were delicious and tender, cooked well but not overdone. This was a real hit with me and I managed to eat every last bit of it.

For his main course, my friend Tommy had the New York Strip steak. It was a 12 oz. Angus New York strip steak, cooked perfectly to the requested medium rare, iron seared (whatever that really means) served over smashed potatoes and covered with a mushroom demi glaze sauce. The steak had a very nice flavor though it was just a bit chewy. Not tough, but just not butter-tender either. Still, it was flavorful and delicious as were the potatoes and the demi glaze. For a side he had the Roasted Stuffed Tomato and it was really good, a tomato that was topped with some bread crumbs and cheese and roasted. It came out piping hot but was oh so delicious and the lightness and acid of the tomato added a nice balance to the heavy richness of the demi glaze.

My only complaint overall is the price of the wine. It is not cheap here. I had the house Cabernet Sauvignon and it was $9 a glass which, in my estimation, is just a bit steep. If I was to consider coming back, that is one item that might make me think twice. Or I'd go again with a resolve to just have a soft drink--and I like a glass of wine with my meal.

Our service was pretty good. I'd guess that our server was rather new and didn't know all the answers to our questions, but he did find out when asked. Also, it appeared that the owner maybe or at least the head chef was in evidence, i noticed him taking care of things, talking to guests, etc. He even asked us how our food was. That's always nice to see. 

So my first impression of Lonnie's Fusion Cuisine is a favorable one. I see that they have some fairly decent priced lunch items, and I'm sure I'll return one day with a few coworkers and give it a try at lunch time. First impression was quite favorable, so I'd return again, though maybe not when in a wine mood. Then have only been open a few months, but I'd say they are on the right track. Give them a try, I recommend it.

BurgerFi

We headed to the newly opened (less than a month) BurgerFi in Lake Mary on the day before New Year's. I was hoping for a "Five Guys" type of burger experience. I really wanted to like BurgerFi and hoped for a mouthwatering, juicy burger. Though their web site says that BurgerFi is "changing the way we think of the burger," and that they are "guaranteed fresh, juicy, and delicious," I was, unfortunately, not impressed by the burger. For a place that has "burger" in its name, the best thing I had were the French Fries. A regular size order of fries was almost too much for the two of us to eat. They were indeed fresh, hot, and delicious. And, at $2.77, they were quite a bargain as well.

But then we come to the burger. I was not all that hungry so I ordered a single cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and mustard. It cost $4.97 which seemed a bit rich. The bun itself was tasty and delicious. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and crisp. But bun has the BurgerFi name seemingly branded on the bun top, and the bun was toasted. But the burger that was in it was not juicy, it was rather dry and only warm. On top of that, the bun was slightly cool to the touch. Now I'd expect that maybe of the top bun because there was lettuce and tomato under it, but the bottom bun too?  I can't quite figure it out. My guess is that the buns were pre-toasted and that it was allowed to cool down to room temperature. But even the burger was not overly hot. The order could not have sit very long because it was as scant five minutes from the time we ordered until we got our order and the fries were very hot. So I was a bit disappointed in this burger. I've had equally good burgers at McDonald's, I'm afraid, much more juicy and moist. Now, will I give them a second try? Yes, I will. As I mentioned, they've been open less than a month.

Another observation. There did not really seem to be anyone in charge. There were employees from the grill (I think) hanging around the front counter. Later there was an older gentleman in the front--he appeared to be training a cashier. There was a very friendly gentleman who was keeping tables clear and the dining room clean--he was plenty friendly. I believe that when you have a fast food operation that depends on a bunch of young people, you really need evident and direct leadership, making sure they are all busy and not just "hanging around." But, as I said, it's new, they're just learning. I'll give them a month or two more to adjust and then try it again. For now I'm voting "don't like" because if you have "burger" in your name, then the burger should shine--mind didn't.  But I suggest you give them a try and see what you think. Let me know! And I reserved the right to change my vote after a future visit. I wish them well and hope they improve. We could use a good burger joint in Lake Mary.

Saz's State House

When I was in Milwaukee recently on a Friday, my sister said she knew the perfect place for a family get-together and a great fish fry. She was right! We had a really good Fish Fry at Saz's State House. I sure wish they had a branch in Lake Mary! We had a very nice Fish Fry here and I'd return in a moment.

Saz's is somewhat known locally in Milwaukee for their Ribs and for their participation in sporting events--they are blocks away from Miller Park, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. But we went there on a Friday night specifically for their Fish Fry and we were not disappointed. 

There were about a dozen of us and we had a reservation, so no waiting, though when we left they were busy and I'm told that sometimes there is a long wait. But not for us. After taking and delivering our drink orders (mostly beer--we were in Milwaukee, WI after all!), we ordered. I had the fish fry and I have to say, my fish was perfectly breaded and deep fried--to perfection. The fish was moist and flaky, the breading was not greasy at all. I had the coleslaw and potato pancakes. The potato pancakes were fairly thin and a bit overcooked as a result--thicker would have been better. The coleslaw was a bit dull--it could have used a bit of acid, I thought. And one thing never made it to my plate--the bread. Yes, the waitress should have noticed this but did not. One or two of our party had to ask for missing items, but I figured I had enough to eat, and i was right. In general it was good, but the Fish--for which a Fish Fry is named--was the highlight and was wonderful. I would return again, just for the fish.

Denny's

You may be tempted to quizzically ask me "Denny's?" But my recent breakfast here tells me why people eat at Denny's, and this location (Sanford, FL) in particular. The service was warm, friendly, and fast. The food came out quickly and was hot and decent. And the price really can't be beat. Though I'm not a big fan of chains, especially large chains, they certainly have their place and they generally bring consistency and value, when the individual restaurant is run properly. I think this one qualifies.

We arrived and were quickly seated and given menus and a beverage order taken. In quick order, after a few questions and suggestions from our waitress, we ordered. I elected to have the Senior Omelette. I could not have been more satisfied with what I got. Two eggs had been made into and omlette stuffed with onions, tomatoes, bacon, cheddar cheese and diced tomatoes. It was delicious. Not overcooked, it tasted fresh and light, in large part due to the tomatoes. It was served, as requested, with grits (they needed a bit of salt, definitely) and and English muffin.  It was very good and I was very pleased. I guess I'm a bit of a Denny's fan once again!

My friend Tommy ordered a "what you want" type of breakfast--he told the waitress what he wanted and she was able to tell him the best menu selection at the best price to get just what his little heart desired--and he got it! Two perfectly fried eggs, over-easy as requested, some sausage links, pancakes, and toast--it was all very good. The eggs came out just as he requested, perfectly cooked. The pancakes were nice and light. It was a delicious meal, no doubt, and we'd eat here again in a heartbeat. I guess if you want a value meal and don't need a lot of frills, this is a great place. And our service throughout was attentive and quick--a lot of more expensive places could take a hint from the great service they provided, fast, friendly and efficient. Give it a try!

The Great Restaurants of Historic Downtown Sanford

Sanford, Florida has a beautiful historic downtown area that is blessed to have several great restaurants located in and around it. I've eaten in all of them, and most, numerous time. Here are the best of them, in alphabetic order:


The Breezeway Restaurant and Bar has about the best patio I know of, a wonderful outdoor seating area that vibrant and, when filled with people a lot of fun. But the food is good too, best described as "American"--that is, a mix of items sure to appeal to most. They pride themselves as the "home of the big fish sandwich" and it is indeed big and good. But give the pork tenderloin sandwich a try as well. As you can see from the pictures in my original review of this place, it's huge. Since I wrote that, I've discovered their Firecracker Shrimp appetizer. So good that I've gone there just for that! Really good food in a fun atmosphere, what more can you ask for?

Hollerbach's Willow Tree Cafe is a real German restaurant, transplanted to historic Sanford. Well, it's about as German as you can get outside of Germany and has won many national awards for it's food and atmosphere. Chef/owner Theo Hollerbach is certainly the life of the party here, and can often be found mingling with his guests and enjoying some of that famous German brew. But don't let that fool you, the service and food here is top notch. I have been back there since I wrote my original review and know I'll be back again and again and again. The place is always packed and they have live German (Polka) music on the weekends. It's truly a great place to have fun and good food. 


La Sirena Gorda Cabana is the newest restaurant in historic Sanford and also has a nice patio, though open-air for the most part. This is a beautifully-decorated space and has a true Mexican feel. And guess what, they serve Mexican food--and it's very good. I've had the Naughty Nachos more times than I want to count--they are excellent. As you can see from the pictures in my original review, the food looks great. But even more so, it tastes fantastic. On top of that, they have a wonderful bar and late night crowd, serving tapas until the wee hours of the morning. It's a great place to hang out with friend--or to make new friends--we have! 

Marco Dino's Ristorante is right on Magnolia Square in another historic building. Hint: look up at the ceiling! We've eaten there a number of times, and occasionally go there for just two particular items, the Fried Mozzarella and the Tomato Basil Soup. I wrote about the soup in my original review, and I've been back specifically just for that, but everything I've eaten there has been very good and very Italian. Chef Rich Lendino is quite talented and it shows in the food he prepares. This is probably more of a romantic dining place, but certainly fit for the whole family. I'll keep going back, time after time.

Besides the above, there are a number of other smaller, but equally good establishments right in historic downtown Sanford, and I recommend all of them:

• Angel's Soulfood and BBQ may seem to be a "hole in the wall" type of place, but it has about the best soul food you'll ever find, with huge portions and a great price. This is the place to eat if you really want genuine soul food done right! I've eaten here and loved it as you can read in my original review!
• The Corner Cafe Restaurant is the home of some great soups and sandwiches, and on the weekends they do great dinners. We've been there for both a number of times and keep going back. Chef Michael and his staff do a great job and make you feel like part of the family. And if you read my original review (written when it was named Gourmet 2 Go), I've loved it and so have my friends. 
• The Original Christo's is another great place, a mix of Italian, Pizza, and American food. A great place for some pizza, or to sit on the sidewalk on a nice evening and enjoy good food and friendly service. Since I wrote my original review, I've been back a number of times and always impressed with the food and service.

Historic Downtown Sanford is a great and fun place to visit, and has some wonderful places to eat and hang out. I heartily recommend any and all of the above. Chances are, you might run into me here at one of these places. 

    

Blue Elephant

We had a very nice dinner at Blue Elephant in Lake Mary. Based on my first visit, I will definitely go back again. Blue Elephant has only been open a few months, but is first of all a beautiful restaurant. They did a good job remodeling this space that was formerly a Carlos N Charlies. But it's not all good looks--the food was really good as well and the service really attentive. I can't wait to go back!

We arrived on a Friday evening around 8 or so and were promptly greeted and given our choice of seating. They were not packed, but seemed to have a steady business. We started out with some wine while we studied the menu. 

We elected to begin with an appetizer, the Blue Elephant Dumplings. Let me warn you: there are quite a few items on the appetizer that look really good. I can't wait to try some others. The dumplings or pot-stickers were chicken served with a soy viniagrette sauce and a bit of red cabbage/carrot slaw. They were excellent. They had a nice asian flavor, probably from napa cabbage. The soy viniagrette was one of the best potsticker sauces I've had, perhaps because it was not overly salty, but rather light and flavorful. This was an excellent start to our meal.

I elected to have the Tom Yum Koong soup to start my meal. I was asked how spicy I wanted it and I said "regular spicy" or medium. It was very good. I'd say there was less lemongrass than I've normally had, but the broth was a bit darker, most likely due to tomato which added a nice umami taste to it. Several large shrimp were in it as well as the normal "mystery" ingredients. It was excellent and I'd definitely order it again. 

For my main course, I had the Fried Brown Rice Cashew Nut, and it was absolutely wonderful! First, the brown rice gave it a wonderful nutty flavor. then add some cashews for even more nuttty flavor. The add in a bit of pineapple for some sweet contrast. Then some egg, carrot, onion, and broccoli--and some chicken to boot. Talk about a flavor festival going on in my mouth! This was excellent and I ate every bit that was on my plate. And yes, I did add a bit of the lemon, it gave it just the right zing!

Tommy ordered the Blue Elephant Fried Rice which was equally excellent, a combination of chicken, beef and shrimp with green onion, peas, onion, carrot pepper, tomato, and egg. Wow, what a lot of flavor on that plate. I had a taste and I have to agree with him--it was very, very good. 

We had a great dining experience here with good food, a reasonable price for the wonderful atmosphere, and great service. I hope to make it here for lunch soon and try some of their lunch specials. But I know we'll be back again for more of their good food. As for whether or not it is genuine Thai food, I have no idea. But that, to me, is of no consequence, because the food was genuinely very good. I'll be back, I'm sure!

4th Street Bar and Grill

We ate at 4th Street Bar and Grill recently, a newly opened restaurant in "downtown" Lake Mary. It was pretty good and I think that, with a bit of time to mature, it could be really good. 4th Street Bar and Grill is brand new, in a brand new building, and they've done a fine job. The theme is somewhat "sports bar" with well over a dozen large, flat-screen televisions all around. When we were there the Dolphins were playing, among other things. We entered and were promptly greeted by the hostess and offered our choice of seating. We elected to sit on the spacious patio--it was a warm December night and on one end a fireplace was going. It was nicely lit as well and even has TVs outside.

Soon our waitress, Caitlin, came by and took our drink and appetizer order. We began with the Pulled Pork Eggroll which was three wontons that had been wrapped around pulled pork, eggroll-style, and were served over a spicy slaw with a beer BBQ dipping sauce. They were very good. Now, in all honesty, each aspect by itself was OK. The pulled pork eggroll alone could have used a touch of salt and was warm inside but not steaming hot. But, when you took a bit of all three aspects together, the pulled pork eggroll, the spicy slaw, and the beer BBQ sauce, it was fantastic, absolutely wonderful. I would order this again in a heartbeat. But i do have to wonder if people who would not think to try all three elements together would enjoy it as much as I did. No matter, this was an excellent dish! 

Tommy ordered the Clam Chowder, New England Style (we had to ask before we ordered, the waitress did not know what type it was) and, while it was indeed very good, it came out with what Tommy considers to be a big void--no crackers!  He likes his crackers. Nevertheless, the soup was indeed delicious and it disappeared in short order.

For my main course, I ordered a sandwich called the Stuffalo. A brioche Kasier roll was topped with two large pieces of chicken breast that had been stuffed with blue cheese, breaded and fried, and coated with a house buffalo sauce. The sandwich itself was huge, though within seconds I relegated one of the chicken pieces to the plate--two were too much. The sandwich itself tasted great, the chicken was tender, the blue cheese maybe just a bit overwhelming, and the buffalo sauce added a nice gentle heat. It was a big messy, though, and some of the sauce was on the plate under the bun. This resulted in very sticky fingers. Overall, it was a delicious sandwich. I ordered mine with onion rings and they were truly delicious, nicely breaded and fried. One of the best things I ate, however, were the pickles. According to the menu, they are made in-house. They were awesome, I wish I could make some that would turn out that good. Oh, and after I finished my sandwich, i still have another piece of chicken to eat.

Tommy had the Classic Burger, a regular hamburger topped with Cheddar Cheese, served on a Brioche Kaiser roll with LTOP (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle) on the side. It was accompanied with fries. Unfortunately, it came out with fries that were barely warm. However, when we told the waitress, she promptly took care of that and quickly returned with nice, hot fries. Still, it should not have come out of the kitchen that way, but the did make it right, an quickly. The burger was supposed to be medium, but it was actually well-done. They have quite a few burgers on the menu. They need to learn to cook a burger correctly. It was good, but not quite as ordered. The burger was, however, quite good and tasty, so no big complaint there. And it appeared with some mayo on the side, just as requested.

As I said, the meal here was pretty good, and I'd go back. But there were a few missteps as well. I've already mentioned the overcooked burger and the warm fries and the "wet" bun I had, the kitchen needs to pay a bit more attention to detail. But the service also needs a bit of fine tuning. After we finished our appetizer, the empty plates sat for a bit. Several other servers walked by, but no one else offered to remove the plates. That would have been nice. And when our waitress did remove them, she also took our tableware, but did not immediate provide replacement. So, when our food arrived, we had no utensils, and had to ask for them. Not a huge deal, but shows a bit of inexperience. I hope they'll fine tune a bit and with time, this could be a really good place. 

I live and work in Lake Mary, and 4th Street Bar and Grill has an $8 lunch special, a limited selection of half sandwich with half salad (or soup). I think we'll have to give this a try for lunch some time. And based on my first visit, I'll be happy to return another time and see how they've improved. They've only been open a few weeks, so I expected a few rough edges. Hopefully they'll get them fixed and turn into a top-notch place to dine in Lake Mary.

Barnes BBQ

Wow, great BBQ in Savannah at Barne's BBQ Express. And the BBQ sauce had just a touch a mustard, very South Carolina-ey. I loved it.

I had the pulled pork, and it was awesome. Not greasy, but with a great smoke flavor and a very evident smoke ring. I also had baked beans that were nice and smoky and had some of the BBQ sauce and meat flavor as well, and coleslaw which was good. Excellent.

Tommy had a BBQ sandwich that came with coleslaw and cheese on it. He loved it. For his side he had the rice, it was a bit spicy but a great flavor.

You order at the counter and they bring it out to you. Nice setting and the food was wonderful. Yumm. Great BBQ in Savannah. I'm happy! I'd eat here again---and again--and again, if I lived in Savannah. Wonderful!