[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
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