Taste of Sanford 2013

We went to Taste of Sanford the other night and once again got stuffed. It was a nice affair, fairly busy though not packed. So without further ado, I'll tell you about the food I had, the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

First off, the good.  My favorite "bite" of the evening was from Carrabba's Italian Grill, which recently opened a Sanford location. Without a doubt, they had the best bite: two goat-cheese stuffed ravioli with an alfredo and sun-dried tomato sauce, and some grilled chicken marsala. The depth of flavor of the mushrooms and the marsala was very, very good. It was by far the best thing I put in my mouth that night. Nice job, Carrabba's, and welcome to Sanford!

Also good:

• The Meatball sub from Firehouse subs. It really was wonderful and the meatball itself was very good.
• Debary Plantation had a nice bite as well, but at the moment, my memory is failing me. What was it? I remember it being good, however. 
• Mr Fed's catering from Orlando had some awesome brisket, and his home-made BBQ sauce really rocked!
• Chianti's had a decent sausage marinara with ziti, but the garlic knots really stole the show.

A few places came in "middle of the road" in my estimation:

• The Breezeway had it's signature pork sandwich--thankfully a much scaled down version. It's really a good sandwich, i must admit.
• Corner Cafe had a repeat of last year, and the year before, and the year before.... bacon wrapped figs and celery soup. Good stuff, but what else do you have there? 
• Dockside bar and grill made me want to visit again. 

And a few places really were disappointing:

• Colonial Room had a chicken and dumplings with a dumpling that was so dense it could have stopped a bullet.
• Buck's had an apple stuffed chicken breast. The stuffing was tasty but a bit watery, and the chicken was pretty tough, unfortunately.

I must also mention best coffee:

• Caffe Di Riverwalk. This is an excellent coffee and sandwich shop in Sanford, a real "mom and pop" place where you'll get the best service and food--I was glad to see them there.

And a new kid on the block, the soon to open "The Port Steak & Seafood."  They were quite impressive in that one of their offerings was Oysters on the half shell--the real deal. They were shucking them right there. Though I am not an oyster fan, i heard lots of great comments. This place will open in about two weeks right on the marina in Sanford. They have a location in Haines City which has an 87% "like" on Urbanspoon.com, quite a good rating. I will look forward to visiting once they're opened, the menu looks great and I wish them all the best.

There were lots of great desserts as well, but I did not partake. Some of them looked fantastic and I heard lots of great comments. 

I was a bit disappointed that there were not more local Sanford restaurants there--after all it is called "Taste of Sanford." Specifically, I noticed that the three restaurants voted the "best of Sanford" in the recent issue of Seminole Magazine (and the best Middle Eastern) were not there:

• Hollerbach's Willow Tree Cafe
• Marco Dino's Ristorante
• La Sirena Gorda Cabana
• Tony's Deli

As a matter of fact, outside of Caffe di Riverwalk and The Vineyard Wine Company, none of the restaurants voted in the "Best of Seminole" were in attendance. I know it can be expensive for a small business to undertake such an effort, but I think the Chamber of Commerce should do more to foster and encourage local places to participate in some way. They can have a caterer from way down in south Orlando, but not a few local places just down the block? What's with that? 

All in all we had a great time and had some great food--and some just OK. But it was a great event and I plan on attending next year again, it's well worth it. I hope to see more local Sanford participation in the future, too. Get a move on that, Chamber of Commerce!

Taste of Sanford

My friend Tommy and I attended the 4th Taste of Sanford recently. We had gone to the first one in 2009, so this was our second year. Of course it's all about "taste" and so I'll talk about the food, first and foremost, before I come to some aspects of the event that I had a few questions and doubts about. So on to the food.

The best bite I had that was from a Sanford Restaurant was from a newcomer, the new kid on the block, Breezeway Restaurant and Bar in historic downtown Sanford. They had some firecracker shrimp that were awesome. Over the course of several months, we watched as the space formerly occupied by Two Blondes and a Shrimp was transformed into the Breezeway. We have eaten there three times now and enjoyed each meal. I've even blogged about Breezeway. So i was not surprised to find that their Firecracker Shrimp were good---very good. I know now what my appetizer will be the next time I go there. Only one complaint, Steve: how about a web site? Time to enter this century and get your presence known on the web. But this was the best Sanford bite I had.

However, there was a bite that was even better, but it was not a Sanford Restaurant. Still the best thing I had for the evening was from Shula's 347 Grill located in the Westin Hotel in Lake Mary. They had two bites that were great, but the crab cake was truly exceptional--it was almost all crab. I loved it. Their second bite was tender beef (probably short ribs is my guess) served over mashed potatoes. Again, quite a good bite. Based on this, I have to say that without a doubt, the best of Taste of Sanford was the food from Shula's 347 Grill. Based on that experience, I know I will be going there for dinner some time soon and then writing about it here in my blog. And, they did a great job of promoting themselves. Nice job! I'll be seeing you soon!

There were a number of other bites that I found good, and I'd say most places there brought their "A" game to the table (pun intended). Chef Michael, owner of Corner Cafe Home of Gourmet 2 Go had a great vegetable soup that was rich and velvety with tasty chunks of veggies in it. I have eaten at Corner Cafe a number of times and have never been disappointed. Buck's Restaurant and Catering had a nice smoked fish dip. I have eaten at the restaurant and was not a big fan, but I can say that when I've had some of their food at an event like this or at the monthly Alive After Five, it has always been very good. I think maybe their catering is much better than their restaurant, at least that's been my experience. Then again, you should try the restaurant and make up your own mind!  Among the other good "Sanford" bites was Father's Table and the Ale House. There were some good drinks, too, with Tim's wine (yummy Cabernet) and cold beer from Wayne Densch, and even great desserts, like the bite from Empress Sissi (I think that's who had that good cheesecake). Lots of good eats and we sure got stuffed.

There were also a number of other non-Sanford places in attendance and, to some extent, that confused me. I mean, it's called "Taste of Sanford" and yet i was tasting food from as far away as Deland and from the Universal Studios area. What's with that? I really think that a "Taste of Sanford" should be that. I did hear a few words from some of our friends at other places in Sanford, members of the Chamber who did not attend Taste of Sanford. Their take on it seemed to be that the Chamber wanted top dollar from local businesses, and was more interested in promoting out of the area and getting merchants who'd pay bigger bucks, rather than local folk. 

The setting for Taste of Sanford was nice, at the Civic Center. The inside was crowded early on, but thinned out a bit later. The evening was very nice and so sitting outside was also a pleasure with the big grassy area right behind, and a few vendors set up in that area. There were no long lines or large waits like there are at other "taste of" events, and that's a good thing. It's nice to be able to walk around, see what there is, talk to merchants and vendors, and get what you want promptly, I like that a lot.

Three years ago, Taste of Sanford cost me $35 for a couple ($20 individual), this year it was a flat $25 per person. So the price has gone up a bit. Given the fact that there were so few real local Sanford restaurants in attendance, I was a bit disappointed. I'd have liked to have sampled something from some other very local places like Marco Dino's, Angel's Soulfood, Cafe Rouge, Hollerbach's Willow Tree, and Riverwalk Pizza, just to name a few. I'm a big fan of local places rather than chains, yet there were a few chains there. Not that they have bad food, but I prefer the fresh ideas that local "mom and pop" places produce. So, for me, it was an OK experience, but just a bit of a disappointment. I mean, the food from Shula's in Lake Mary was outstanding, there was good stuff from the Debary Country Club and from De La Vega in Deland. Four Rivers from Longwood was good (but why is the "pulled" chicken then chopped so fine?) and Mr. Ted's from way down in Orlando on Kirkman had good stuff as well. But for my money, shouldn't the Sanford Chamber of Commerce strive more to promote Sanford and even at least, Seminole County Businesses?  But I guess that's a matter for the members of the Chamber to take up. 

Overall, this was a nice and fun event, it was a good "Taste of" Sanford and central Florida. Will I go back next year? Probably, probably. But I'd like to see a few more local Sanford places there too! 

Taste of Sanford

Last night the Sanford Chamber of Commerce held their first Taste of Sanford event. From the good turnout to the mounds of great food to the music and seating, it was a hit. I was nervous about it because of the rain we've been having, but it was inside in a nice location right by Fort Mellon Park. There were about 10-15 major restaurants there and a number of smaller places as well. As you might guess, there was a wide variety of food, much of it very good, some of it only mediocre or average.

First, the hit appetizer of the evening, in my mind, was the bacon wrapped fig from Gourmet 2 Go. What an idea. Bite-size, sweet and savory, it was wonderful. I did wonder what it would be like dipped in chocolate, but still, it was excellent and a novel idea. Entree of the evening? Well, there were several places that really shined, all for different reasons:

• Angelo's Pizzeria had a great chicken and penne and mushroom dish served with a bit of salad. Nice combination (the hot/cold and the crisp/creamy) and the chicken and penne dish was very, very good. A+ to them (picture below).
  
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  Giovanni's had two dishes. The pasta primavera was a miss, the pasta overcooked and mushy. But to make up for it, their chicken and mushrooms and penne (think marsala) was excellent--very savory and cooked just perfectly. Give then an A for that!
• Luigino's had a very nice sampler. The meatball was OK, just a meatball. The crab stuffed ravioli was excellent, as was the slice of prime rib--it was to die for. And they had a dish with chicken in a thick mushroom sauce, it was excellent as well. Give them an A- and put them on my list of places to eat (picture below).
  
  
• Colorado Prime Steak had a great prime rib sandwich with a very nice homemade horseradish sauce. I'd give them a B+ and also put them on my list of places to eat especially since their menu prices seem very reasonable.

Rivership Romance had some very tender pork loin, perfectly cooked and seasoned, served with some black bean and corn salsa. Very good and give them a B+ as well (picture below).


The winner in the "combo plate" category--that is, a nicely prepared plate of things that not only were designed to compliment each other but were also nicely presented goes to Two Blondes and a Shrimp. Their combination of a hearty and spicy sloppy-joe style entree served on a carrot puree paired with a slice of corn bread and offset by a celery slaw with a drizzle of chili oil was brilliant. Looked good and tasted good (picture below).


In the middle of the pack was a disappointment--Stone's Throw Bistro had a shepherd's pie that was good, but just not great. To top it off, their presentation was sorely lacking--their table really had nothing on it to tell me something about their personality. I was disappointed by that. I'd give their food a C+, I expected better from a place that got several high marks from Seminole Magazine recently. [Note: since I first wrote the above, I heard from the chef/owner of Stone's Throw Bistro and he did explain how a series of unfortunate personal crises among the staff kinda popped the bubble on what they had planned. They did the best they could in unfortunate circumstances, he said. I sure will eat here again, their food was good, I'm sorry that their showing at Taste of Sanford was not so good, but stuff happens in life. I still recommend you try them out some time. It's because I've had their good food that I was disappointed. Tell them the Lake Mary Food Critic sent you!]

Hilton Garden in gets a B- for their empanada and their bruschetta--the presentation is what elevated them from a C. Nice presentation of the bruschetta with some orchid blossoms on the tray--looked very appetizing and was pretty good too (picture below).
Another round of high marks for presentation goes to Amura, their boatloads of shrimp sushi were fun to look at and the taste was spot-on, along with the braised ribs. Yumm, I'll give them a B+ as well.

And I can't forget Route 46. I've eaten there before and it's pretty good, nice smoked BBQ flavors. Their offerings were a smoked sausage on a stick, and a bacon wrapped smoked shrimp with BBQ sauce. Both were pretty darned good, I'll give them a B- as well.

In the disappointing category there were several "standouts":

• Ruth's Chris Steak House did not impress me. Sure their ravioli were pretty good, and the bun on the mini burger (think a big slider) was excellent, but the burger itself was just a burger. They did not really tell me anything about their fine reputation. They get a C and mostly for the great bun on the slider.
• Carlos n Charlies did not deliver, outside of their margaritas. The chips and guacamole and chips and pico de gallo had great chips, but the accompaniments missed. The pico was OK, not too bad, but the guacamole was just some green goo on a plate that was lifeless and flavorless. They get a D for disappointing. However they did have one guy there that gets an A for effort, friendly, bubbly, a good sell, when we left he was convincing a few of the young women to dance, and doing a good job at it. He sells me on that place being a party place, i get it. Only the food is not that great.
• Don Pablo's had a soft shell taco that was about like any other soft shell taco you can get or make for yourself. It was OK but not great. Another D for disappointing.

In the dessert category, well, I don't do much desserts, but there were several my friends liked and none they did not so all the desserts get a B. And also thanks to Wayne Densch for the beer, and Cork and Olive for the wine.

The Taste of Sanford was a wonderful time. I'd go again next year, for sure. Thanks!