Random Taste for Thursday 6/30/16

[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the TWENTY-FIFTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!]

ADMIN NOTE:  This location is now closed.

Establishment:  Quality Dinner
Location:  Wilton Manors
Meal:  Late Lunch
Drink:  Root Beer
Appetizer:  New England Clam Chowder
Main:  Gyros Platter
Open faced with tzatziki and pita bread
Side(s):  French Fries
Dessert:  n/a
Server:  Pimonia (? ... we asked twice and I didn't want to make her say it a third time)
Website:  not applicable
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Quality-Diner/168459303186636?fref=ts

Some days you just crave diner food ... and this week included one of those days.  This particular establishment was another one that we've driven past many a time ... but we always assumed that it had limited hours because we never noticed any cars.  Much to our surprise, it's open until 9:30 most nights (so it must just be the times we pass by).  And, once inside, I *almost* felt compelled to order a ham and cheese sandwich, with chips on the side and a pickle on top stuck through with a toothpick -- because that's what I used to get after school at the Greek diner at which my Mom worked.  Here's how the rest of this trip down memory lane played out ...

AMBIANCE:   10/10 (who knew from the outside how big this place was on the inside ... with a counter and booths and tables in the back, we were shocked to see so much space ... plus there was an outdoor seating section, which is always a nice option in the land of [mostly] eternal sunshine ... and it had that diner feel like you just knew that regulars had their own booths and their own "usuals" to order all the time ... plus some Greek travel posters adorn the walls to help the guests know which flavors to expect) 
FOOD:            6/10 (diner food is diner food and needs to be judged as such -- and this satisfied the cravings with a delicious gyro that was hot and tasty with pita breads perfectly toasted ... a point lost though because it was missing the "vegetables" [which I still think should have been on the plate even if I ordered it open-faced], another one lost because I didn't enjoy the soup because I thought it had a much too sweet taste, a third one lost because the fries were nice and crispy on the outside but not quite done on the inside, and a final point lost for serving Pepsi products instead of the more superior Coke ones)
SERVICE:      10/10 (attentive but not hovering and always with a smile ... that's the standard by which I judge my servers ... and she fit that bill perfectly ...)
BACON:         10/10 (in my opinion, a diner *best* have lots of bacon choices -- especially one that serves breakfast all day like this place does ... and a quick check of the online menu shows at least 18 references)
BONUS:         7/10 (+3 for being the most homey of the diners we've been in since moving here, and +3 for offering breakfast all day long ... and, even though the food score isn't the highest, a +1 for being a place to which we will return with family when they visit)

TroyScore:  43 out of 50 -- aka 86, a solid B

Random Taste for Thursday 6/23/16

[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the TWENTY-FOURTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!]

ADMIN NOTE:  This location is now closed.

Establishment:  Spring Chicken
Location:  Ft Lauderdale
Meal:  Dinner (although they called it Supper, 'cause they're Southern like that)
Drink:  Cherry (Coke+Sprite)
equal parts Cherries Coke and Sprite
Appetizer:  Mama's Biscuit
Our Yardbird Award-Winning Homemade Biscuit, Baked Fresh Daily (with Honey Butter and Strawberry Jam)
Main:  The Yardbird Sandwich
Award-Winning Crispy Chicken Thigh, House Pickles, Southern Sauce, Served on a Toasted Potato Bun
Side(s):  House Fries AND the "add a drumstick" option
Dessert:  n/a
Server:  Kayla (although it is counter style, so she was more of just an order taker)
Website:  http://eatspringchicken.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/eatspringchicken

There are chicken places for those pinching pennies (KFC) and there are chicken places for those of a particular demographic (Popeye's and Church's).  There are chicken places for those looking to send a portion of their personal budget by way of franchise fees to bigots (yep, we have a Chick Fil A in town) ... and NOW, in southern Florida, there are chicken places inspired by local restaurants.  Such is the Spring Chicken franchise (spun off from the Yardbird), and such is the place that JUST opened up here in town.  For the first time in this series ... a score at a BRAND NEW eating establishment ... a score that breaks down as follows:

AMBIANCE:   7/10 (when we first moved to town a year and a half ago, it was a bank ... and now it's one of what will be four fast casual locations down here ... the grand opening was just a few weeks ago, and the place looks bright and beautiful, crisp and comforting... so bright, there's a point lost for not installing shades for the setting sun that hits the seating area right at meal time [I ended up wearing my sunglasses to eat] ... and a second point lost for a parking lot where the people who drew up the lines partitioning cars forgot to account for the fact that a car door has to open after it is in its spot ... and a third point lost for serving blue plate dinners on blue melamine plates as shtick, but re-using them, which seems odd in a fast casual setting)
FOOD:            7/10 (I don't think there is any dispute that the chicken itself was "quality" but it really comes down to how I *wanted* to like it much more than I actually did ... although the sandwich was tasty enough, specifically there's a point lost for honey butter served cold so it couldn't be spread on the flaky biscuits [a pet peeve of mine] ... a point lost for a breading I just didn't enjoy on that drumstick [no offense to Llewellyn, but I wanted it firmer and crispier and I got it a little soggy and overly peppered] and a point lost overall for failing the adage about how if you pay more, you're going to get a better meal)
SERVICE:      8/10 (because it's a counter service construct, our "server" was really our order taker ... and God bless her ... although she was polite and efficient, she was stuck on auto-pilot and even apologized for "listening, but not really listening" -- for which a point is deducted ... and, because we forgot to order the biscuits the first time, I went back in line and got her again and even though having just ordered a few moments before, she didn't remember we had been through the line until I brought it up when I said I didn't need another "pager" -- for which a second point is deducted)
BACON:         5/10 (it IS on the menu, but only once ... maybe it wouldn't be staying true to the place's authentic southern roots ... but I know my sandwich could have done a lot better with a little bit of bacon love)
BONUS:         9/10 (+3 for those award winning biscuits though, +3 for having a make-your-own-Coke machine and +3 for that sauce station in the photo replete with homemade sauces)

TroyScore:  36 out of 50 -- aka 72, a low C

Random Taste for Thursday 6/16/16

[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the TWENTY-THIRD of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!]

WINNER BEST OF 2016 FOR MAIN

Establishment:  BC Cafe
Location:  Davie
Meal:  Sunday Brunch
Drink:  Bellini (not pictured)
prosecco sparkling wine and peach purée or nectar.
Dish 1:  bananas foster french toast (bottom left)
Dish 2:  chicken and waffles sliders (bottom right)
fried chicken, cheddar waffle, topped with cayenne maple syrup
Dish 3:  breakfast ramen (middle)
topped with pork belly, sausage, scallion pancake and sunny side up egg
Dish 4:  steakhouse eggs benedict (top left)
filet, creamed spinach, fried onion rings, black pepper bernaise
Dish 5:  breakfast burger (top right)
homemade beef patty, sweet potato pancake, fried egg, cheese, bacon
Server:  Oops ... didn't catch the name of the order taker or food deliverer (it was kind of counter service-ish)
Website:  http://www.bctacos.com/cafe/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/BCTacos/

What can I say ... brunch works well for this series!  After sampling one of the award winning "best" last week, it was great timing to see a current New Times article promoting the ten "outrageous" brunches in the area.  This particular place was deemed "outrageous" because it permits its customers who can't decide which dish to order ... to get ALL of them (in half-portion size, for a reasonable price for parties of two).  As luck would have it, Sunday errands had us out in that part of the world, and so it was a perfect match to sample this location that ALSO has a well known food truck pushing tacos and burgers out and about.  Here's how and why they scored well:

AMBIANCE:   10/10 (bright and colorful, with plenty of seating and parking [it is in the 'burbs, after all] -- it attracted a good mix of college kids, family folk coming right after church and a few of the drunks from the night before ... I can't think of a reason to dock a point)
FOOD:            7/10 (having the sampler, we got to taste half portions [those are only HALF portions!] of each of their five special brunch dishes ... which means I can actually consider all of them ... ranked, in order from super to oops:  the french toast [2 points!], the steakhouse eggs benedict [2 points!], the chicken and waffles [2 points!], the breakfast burger [1 point!] and the ramen [0 points!] ... the ramen might have been better except for a strange flavoring in the excessive broth, and the burger needed just a little more of "something something"
SERVICE:      9/10 (ordering at the counter and paying in advance as was the set up, there wasn't as much traditional service provided although, for sure, the person behind the counter was smiling and happy the whole time, and the person delivering the food seemed the same way ... just a point lost for a bussing incident at the table next to us when a guy took one of his children to the bathroom and his wife took the other child outside ... so the busser cleaned the table and discarded the fresh hot coffee the guy had just gotten ... the bin was literally steaming)
BACON:         9/10 (it may have only officially been in one of the five brunch dishes [the breakfast burger] ... but that ramen included pork belly ... which is like the forefather of all bacon ... and I confirmed that this place has several bacon options on its regular menu ... just a point lost because that pork belly was in the least successful of the dishes)
BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for all the smiles, +3 for the dessert goodies display, +3 for offering up a sampler platter for people like me and mine and +1 for being a place to which we will return -- if only to sample all the main dishes at non-brunch time)

TroyScore:  45 out of 50 -- aka 90, a low A

Random Taste for Thursday 6/9/16

[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the TWENTY-SECOND of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!]

Establishment:  Bull Market (American bar and kitchen)
Location:  downtown Ft Lauderdale
Meal:  Sunday Brunch
Drink:  Bullberry Lemonade
smirnoff citrus, smirnoff blueberry, orange liqueor, lemon-lime soda
Round 1:  fried chicken, sausage and biscuits and breakfast meats
Round 2:  fried chicken, home-fried potatoes, bacon and eggs and fresh pineapple
Round 3:  wafles and syrup, bacon, fresh watermelon and s'mores doughnut
Round 4:  bonus s'mores doughnut
Server:  Me!  ('cause it was buffet style!)
Website:  https://www.bullmarketbar.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/bullmarketfl/

For the second time in this series, it's buffet time!  So it seemed only right to visit an award winner for Best Brunch 2015 (although my comments below suggest that I clearly wasn't on the committee handing those out).  It reminded me a lot of Duffy's in Chicago (my most recent hometown for the last dozen years) -- in both good and bad ways.  Don't be alarmed by all the rounds -- the plates were on the small side (the better to control the hungry masses, I'm sure).  And once we get the whole bathroom controversy around the country worked out, let's next tackle the sexist drink specials, as seen in the shot from the menu.  As for the score, here's how things shook out: 

AMBIANCE:   6/10 (it's a fun area, is that Himmarshee Village ... with lots of people-watching opportunities ... plus with an outdoor seating option, we could get up close to all the interesting types and colorful characters passing by [and their little dogs too] ... a point lost for that 'hood being so hot and hip that parking is a challenge ... a second point lost for the douche parade [a bunch of people on loud bikes who seemed to get joy out of setting off all of the car alarms on the street as they passed] ... a third point lost for having a wobbly table that we had to fix ourselves ... and a final point lost for having to fight through throngs of drunk girls to get to the buffet)
FOOD:            5/10 (I feel it a little harder to judge a buffet ... what with food sitting in chafing dishes and what not ... but the bottom line is that I don't feel like the offerings are going to win any awards [ironically, they DID win one of the best brunches in town] ... to be fair, I did not sample a whole row of seafood [I just couldn't agree with having mussels with my waffles] ... but the demerits are as follows:  two points lost for dry tasteless chicken [I tried it twice in hopes that I just had grabbed a bad piece], another one lost for a second drink that was delivered that was supposed to be a duplicate of the first but tasted like a really bad clone that was missing ingredients, a point lost for biscuits that didn't get the memo that they were to "flake", and a final point lost for the staff having never refilled the sausage ... the best option was the freshly made mini-waffles, which I found too late in the cycle)
SERVICE:      7/10 (it might be hard to work the buffet shift, and I can only guess that the person tasked with monitoring our table was brand new on the job, but a point lost for waiting too long to have our order taken in the first place, another one for him walking back to the kitchen multiple times without a dirty plate, and a third one for how scared he was of the reservationist)
BACON:         9/10 (lookit -- it's dangerous to have a buffet with bacon when someone like me comes to visit ... so thanks for that ... if only there could have been some crisp pieces in amidst the ones drowning in grease [hence the point lost despite me having bacon during each and every round])
BONUS:         9/10 (+3 for that doughnut, though [so good I had to have two], +3 for the customer who answered me when I accosted him about where he got his waffles [I had missed the waffle station], and +3 for the way that first drink tasted)

TroyScore:  36 out of 50 -- aka 72, a low C

Random Taste for Thursday 6/2/16

[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the TWENTY-FIRST of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!]

HONORABLE MENTION BEST OF 2016 FOR SERVICE

Establishment:  Grampa's Bakery and Restaurant
Location:  Dania Beach
Meal:  Sunday Brunch
Drink:  Coke (in a can) that turned into Barq's Root Beer (in a can) instead
Appetizer:  "Heaven on a plate"
complimentary pastry
Main:  French Toast
Side(s):  Bacon
Dessert:  Homemade Oreo Cookie Cheesecake
Server:  Annie
Website:  http://www.grampasbakery.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/grampasbakery/?ref=page_internal

For starters, let's just say that this is yet another place that was featured on 'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives' and that it comes Guy Fieri approved (which I think has now happened thrice in this series).  For in-betweens, let's just say that it was a restaurant that instantly felt like home because it automatically reminded me of a place where family members would fit in perfectly -- as employees.  For finishers, here's how this high score was earned:

AMBIANCE:   10/10 (it's a diner ... and it feels like one in every best sense of the word ... despite a line on a Sunday afternoon, it was a line placed by the baked goods counters [which got people excited] and a line that moved super-fast ... plus there were bonus rooms fully in use and staff running everywhere [but not in a too-rushed way] ... also everyone, including us, got a great tan because of the reflection off the bright red awning at the time of day we visited ... and as much as I want to deduct a point for the Maserati driver out front who couldn't figure out how to back into the space right outside the window, I decided it's not Grampa's fault that someone douchey came to eat at the same time as our party)
FOOD:            9/10 (the meal starts with a homemade pastry, and, when asked what it was, Annie said "heaven on a plate", which was a description that was on point ["warm cinnamon danish" would have also been accepted] ... then the french toast arrived and it was hot and fresh and plentiful and somehow soaked up all the syrup without getting soggy [I'm not the type of guy who normally takes home a doggie bag {unless it's actual bones for the doggies}, and even I couldn't finish it all] ... then there's bacon [see separate category] ... and a scrumptious hunk of cheesecake that also was taken home [and eaten over two nights] ... just a point lost for being a place that served the cola that shan't be named [and despite the fact that she *thought* she had a can of the good stuff {Coke} but could only find a can of root beer])
SERVICE:      9/10 ("hey guys" was the greeting by the kind of waitress you expected to see at a place named Grampa's ... personable and professional and so much on her game that she seemed to float past the tables in her section passing out things that you didn't even know you needed yet while she was infecting folks with smiles and her good attitude ... just a point lost because the busboys, who admittedly had a lot to do to keep the tables turning, were seen being rude to a family arriving at a table [rolling their eyes while pushing their cart and announcing "we're back here" in a less than friendly way])
BACON:         10/10 (after a few weeks in this series of eating establishments without any reference to bacon on the menus ... this was the opposite ... including a single "side" of bacon that was ordered by someone else at our table that arrived on the plate as seen in the photo -- putting to shame any place that considers a "side" of bacon to be a strip or two!)
BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for "accidentally" getting two sets of "heaven on a plate", +3 for server Annie taking the whole order in her head (and for finishing our sentences because she sensed what we were ordering), +3 for having a jelly container that included apple, orange, grape AND strawberry choices and +1 for being a place to which we'll for sure return to take the puppies' grandparents when they come to visit next year)

TroyScore:  48 out of 50 -- aka 96, the third time that highest score (so far) has been given