Sanford Brewing Company

After an extensive renovation to an old building and months upon months of anticipation, Sanford Brewing Company (SBC) recently had their soft opening. So far, I'd say it was well worth the wait.

SBC is Sanford's second microbrewery, though they've just opened and have not yet finished a bath of their own beer, they have a number of craft beers on tap. The space is warm and friendly and inviting with some exquisite wood detail (give the custom made bar a look!). The brewing area is clearly visible behind some huge windows and two large garage doors were open on the mild afternoon/evening when we visited, a very welcoming space, for sure. 


We decided to have an early dinner here recently. We started with drinks. Though I originally chose to jsut have some water, i quickly spied some special sodas on their drink menu and chose a homemade raspberry soda. I'm glad I did because it was wonderful, a nice red raspberry flavor was complimented with a bit of mint and some lime juice. Though it was happy hour, our server was not very clear on just what was on happy hour, so when the bill came and i saw that a glass of Moscato was $10, i was a bit surprise. Even in a fairly nice restaurant, $10 for a glass of wine seems excessive. I will say, we were here one time early for a few beers, and they seemed a bit pricey for the size of the pour, too. But time will tell if those prices will draw people. But this time we came for the food, as we've heard good things.

Tommy ordered the SBC burger, your standard burger, but much better than most. He ordered it medium (his preferred temp) but it came out a bit closer to medium rare (my preferred temp) which is probably why I thought it to be great. The bun was nice and soft, too. It was served with lettuce can tomato and came with a side of fries. Tommy thought the burger to be a bit overseasoned, too. The fries are big planks of potatoes. They could have stood about 30 seconds more in the frier to give them a better golden color, but they were indeed delicious and seasoned nicely. 

I ordered a Turkey Carver sandwich. The menu clearly states that this is a "shareable" sandwich and I would certainly agree--it was huge and I ended up taking half of it home. But it was oh-so-good, too. It's a cold sandwich but was very tasty. Served with lettuce, fried green tomato, bacon, and a sort of pimento cheese, it was a very good sandwich, i loved it!  And still am, as a matter of fact. I will say this about the pickles that garnished Tommy's burger and my Turkey Carver--they were pretty bland and not very "pickly." I'm sure they were house made, but they needed a bit more kick, a bit more vinegar, and a bit more time to pickle. They were not that good. I hope they can improve, as home-made pickles can be a real asset to a menu item--these were not. 

I also ordered a side of the onion rings. They were served with a side of a spicy cheese dip that i believe is served with a number of other items. I like the cheese dip, though Tommy thought it a bit too spicy. I did not. The onion rings could use a bit of improvement, though. They were just OK. First of all, they were a bit greasy. The tempura type batter had come off some and the onions themselves (red onions which I liked) were a bit thin, and so not enough onion for the batter, IMHO. I hope that as times goes on they'll use their own beer in the batter, and maybe let the onions sit a bit and dry out (flour would help) before battering them to get a better batter coverage. Mind you, we ate them all and they were tasty, i just thought they (along with the pickles) could use some improvement.

Sanford Brewing Company is very new, and it shows just a bit. But they are also working hard. They've been getting a lot of local attention from friends of ours, and rightly so. The night we were there, some friends came in to eat, and as we were leaving, more friends came by. I think they have a lot of promise, and once they are able to serve their own beers, I think this will be a great addition to the Sanford eating and drinking scene. Our second microbrewery (and a third is on the way) is a hit, and we'll be back, for sure. Give them a try, I recommend them.

Daisy Duke's

Decent Southern Smokehouse food in a sports bar atmosphere--that's how I'd sum up my visit with a friend to Daisy Duke's recently. We arrived on a pleasant Friday evening and were promptly greeted and seated by one of several waitresses. All were dressed in "Daisy Dukes"--short-shorts. Makes sense, I guess.

We ordered an onion ring appetizer. It arrived hot and crunchy. The onion rings were very good. The crunch was about the best ever that I've had for an onion ring and they arrived hot but not at all greasy. They were served with a delicious mesquite diping sauce which seemed to be ranch based--it was very tasty with just a hint of mesquite. Overall, I'd say the onion rings were excellent.

My friend ordered a cheesesteak sandwich: the Works Philly sandwich--stuffed with tender chicken, mozzarella cheese, green peppers, onions, and mushrooms. It was delicious if a bit messy to eat--but then again, what Philly cheesesteak isn't messy? I think this would be a great lunch item. Note to self: "go there for lunch some day."

I ordered a side salad to begin with, and a "Hog Platter" for my entree: the Hog Ribs Platter with sides of coleslaw and BBQ beans. Yumm. The side salad was good and an ample portion--nice fresh romaine with all the accompaniments. It was a good side salad and hit the spot.

My Hog Ribs Platter consisted of a half rack of St. Louis Style Ribs and Pulled Pork. I asked our waitress what made the ribs St. Louis Style. I was wondering if it referred to the cut of meat or the preparation--or both. Poor thing, I believe my question stymied her. I think they hire their waitresses based on their ability to fit well in Daisy Dukes, not their food savvy. Oh well....

My food arrive hot and flavorful. The ribs appeared to be a St. Louis cut but not style as they did have some sauce on them. Still, they were wonderful, tender, and juicy--very good ribs, no doubt. The pulled pork was also very good, but typical of pulled pork in many a restaurant when it's done well. I added some of the house BBQ sauce which seemed to be a "one fits all" concotion--fairly sweet, just a touch of heat, just a touch of smoke. It was good, but not great.

The beans were, unfortunately, just ordinary. Nothing really popped. Now they were certainly steps above the stuff you get out of a can, but they could have benefitted from some slow cooking with a bit of the pork bark. They were good, just not great. The coleslaw was as good as most coleslaw is. Nothing to write home about, but i did finish it all and it was tasty.

Overall, we had a good meal. The atmosphere is definitely a sports bar. It was not very crowded for a Friday night. Then again, maybe the colleges were beginning a Thanksgiving break. Daisy Duke's is located right by the International Speedway too, so I imagine they do a good business during race weeks.

Would I eat here again? Yes, definitely. The food was good if somewhat predictable. It would be a fun place to have a few drinks with friends, too. I'll recommend Daisy Dukes, give it a try!

Little Fish Huge Pond

Not a restaurant, Little Fish Huge Pond is a pub/bar/tavern. I think. Well, I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. They have a bar. They server beer and wine. The have art up on the walls and chotchkies everywhere. They also have some sofas and chairs. Even a stage where they have live entertainment. I guess the best way to describe it is that it's "a crazy little urban pub!" as their web site proclaims. We had a good time here.

We went to Little Fish Huge Pond last night because there was a Pirates Regatta on Lake Monroe in Sanford, preceded by a gathering of pirates at Little Fish Huge Pond. We had a delightful time. First of all, I was able to score a delicious IPA--I drank the last three bottle they had! The place was fairly busy with well over 20 people there, many of them in pirate attire. I heard a lot of "aaarrgh"s and "avast"s and saw a few hooks, eye patches, and other seemingly appropriate pirate wear.

The main instigator and rabble-rouser in the crowd was Mo, the owner of the place


The main instigator and rabble-rouser in the crowd was Mo, the owner of the place. She is an absolute hoot and a very warm and friendly person--perfect for a pub owner. At the appropriate time, Mo led the group of pirates (now numbering well over 30) out the door and into the street where they proceeded down first street and then up to Lake Monroe. There the pirate ships (some flying the Jolly Roger and  many with approprately dressed pirates) tied up and joined the revelry.

Later in the evening we went back past Little Fish Huge Pond. They had a band and a nice crowd of folks in there. Also on the street we encountered many more pirates, some engaged in a bar crawl. Looked like they were having fun. I know I'll be going back to this place, it was a lot of fun.

Casablanca Cafe

I'd been to Casablanca Cafe last spring and had a great meal and a lot of fun there. So, being in Fort Lauderdale again, we decided to try it a second time. We were not disappointed. It was a very memorable meal.

We went on a Sunday Evening in late August, a hot night during the "off" season in Fort Lauderdale. Because of this, we did not have to wait for a table outside on the terrace, right along the sidewalk where we could also people watch. We started out with an appetizer and a soup. For the soup we chose the Gazpacho Frio, a cold tomato-based soup. It had a very fresh tomatoey flavor and was quite good and refreshing. It was pretty much a thin puree, but I could taste the cucumber and onion, among other flavors. Personally, I'd have liked just a bit more heat (spice), but it was pretty darned good as it was.

For the appetizer we had Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli. They'd been deep fried and were served on a tomato sauce with romano cheese. They were absolutely excellent. Great flavor--the crispness of the pasta against the creamy goodness of the ricotta and spinach...bathed in the tomato sauce with romano. Each bite was a delight. We easily cleaned up all five of them in short order, savoring each bite.

I also had a side salad with my dinner. It was very good, nice tender assorted greens with a house dressing, sort of a citrus based Italian. It was quite good.

Our waiter brought us some bread. It was not ordinary bread. It was little bits of heaven. A thin pizza-dough like doughy sort of bread cut in strips and served with an excellent pesto sauce. It was sooo good!

For my entree I ordered the Cumin Grilled Flank Steak. It was very good, though I must say I had a hard time tasting the cumin. Nonetheless, it was nicely grilled, a bit charred in places, yet nice and medium rare in others. The polenta cake that came with it was very good and did a good job of soaking up the juice from the steak. The steak was covered with a black bean and corn salsa over some mixed greens. It was all very good.

My friend ordered the Peppercorn Dusted Filet Mignon. It was outstanding. Very tender and juicy, it was cooked perfectly. It was server on a shitake-potato couquette that had a nice hint of cheese in it, and a gorgonzola cream sauce that was absolutely wonderful.

We had a very excellent meal here, once again. Our total bill (only iced tea to drink) came to about $100 with the generous tip. The food was excellent, though the prices do match. You get what you pay for.

But the meal was not the end of the evening. We spent the next several hours at the piano bar with Brian and several other soon to be "friends." Brian is quite good and quite an entertainer. We laughed and sang and danced and had a wonderful time. Next time I'm in Fort Lauderdale, I'm having another Sunday night dinner at Casablanca Cafe, and finishing the evening off again at the piano bar. What a great evening it was.