Stone's Throw Bistro

After a recent Groupon was offered for Stone's Throw Bistro (pay $20 for a $40 gift certificate), my friend Tommy and I once again went to what is one of the best restaurants around. We were not disappointed--we had an outstanding meal.

At Stones Throw Bistro, calling ahead for reservations is always recommended. They specialize in the freshest of ingredients and to keep prices down, the run along a narrow line of availability. So if you don't have a reservation and have more than just a few in your party, you might be out of luck. But we called ahead and had a reservation, and the meal was out of this world.

We started with the Shrimp and Grits. Without a doubt, this was the best shrimp n grits I've ever had. A nearby restaurant was my previous first place in this dish, but the Shrimp N Grits here was truly outstanding. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the creamy smoked gouda and bacon grits had a nice and gentle heat about them--perhaps it was the chipotle hollandaise--but I'm not sure what gave them the heat, but it was a warm and fuzzy type of heat. I'd order this as an entree, it was so good.

Along with our meal we had some bread. It is worth mentioning because it had a nice hint of rosemary to it. It was served warmed and was fresh and flavorful, absolutely wonderful.

We both had the Seafood Chowder as well and it was exceptional. There was the nice seafood flavor, and a nice and rich creaminess, but what really set this dish apart for me was the slight grittiness of the corn that was in it. I'm sure it was fresh corn, but it was not highly pureed but allowed to be a bit gritty, and that gave it an exceptional texure and good mouth-feel. I'd order this again in a moment, it was that good.

We both had salads as well. The salads were very fresh spinach that was served with goat cheese, fennel and apple slaw, and a sage infused honey mustard that was very thick. It was excellent!

Now it was on to the main courses! For mine, i chose a special, the Pork Duo. This was a tenderloin of pork and a piece of pork belly, served with pumpkin ravioli and a natural sage jus. The tenderloin was expertly cooked and very tender and juicy.  To be honest, the pork belly was not my favorite, but primarily because I don't like a lot of non-meat "stuff"--the fatty like stuff. But the meat itself was extremely tender and had a great juiciness to it. In talking with the chef about it afterwards, he did mention he thought it was somewhat of an acquired taste. But it was very good.

Tommy had the New York strip steak. It was perfectly cooked and moist and tender. The accompanying requested chipotle and crab hollandaise was exceptional as well. Tommy is a real hollandaise fan so he really loved it. He had the garlic roasted potatoes with his as a side and pronounced them the best potatoes he'd ever had!

I must say that our meal was exceptional and I now have a new favorite restaurant in Sanford, Stone's Throw Bistrol. I suggest you give them a try some time. But make sure you get that reservation. You will not be disappointed. The menu may be a bit pricey, but it's worth every penny in exceptional food and good service.