And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...
here's the ELEVENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA
(coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!
Establishment: Everglades Gator Grill
Location: Homestead
Meal: Snack
Drink: can of Coke
Appetizer: n/a
Main: Gator Bites
(5.5 oz of gator tenderloins with homemade sauces)
Side(s): Plantains
Dessert: n/a
Server: order taker at counter
Website: n/a
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Everglades-Gator-Grill-1486203718372225/
The first time I had gator, it was on a stick and at the Taste of Chicago back when we lived in the windy city. The second time I had gator was just last year, and it was an appetizer of BBQ Gator Ribs at a location featured in the 2016 version of this series (just google gator on the blog to find that review). The third time I had gator was at this cute little roadside eating establishment when family were visiting and the menfolk spent the day touring the Everglades National Park. The main difference this third time -- we had literally just seen a whole gaggle of gators (the extra pic that is posted) minutes before we pulled in for a snack of Gator Bites. See how this place got its Troy-score below:
AMBIANCE: 9/10 (to be fair, it's a bit of a wooden shack ... but it's a wooden shack that has been freshly painted and has been expanded upon with an outdoor seating pavilion in addition to the shelf type barstool level area that lines the walls of the room with the main counter and kitchen ... it has lots of parking for all the cars that pull in on impulse from all of the signage on the way in or out of the Everglades National Park down the road ... just a point deduction because of the row of menu item pictures taped to the counter ... admittedly, they might be presented that way in order to communicate with international travelers who might be making a day of it at the park, but surely there's a better way to highlight the options)
FOOD: 9/10 (unless you're a gator connoisseur, chances are that your experience would be just like you'd expect -- that is, it's going to taste like chicken ... the good news is that this chicken [er ... gator] was well seasoned and juicy -- but it was those homemade sauces [one orange-ish and one green-ish] that kicked things up a notch ... the point deduction here comes from the side dish of plantains, which were a little dark for my taste)
SERVICE: 9/10 (it's a counter service kind of place and the ordering experience was conducted by an employee who was efficient and friendly ... but we also showed up in the middle of a bit of an afternoon rush, so we were kind of "just a number" as they hurried and scurried to push out the food quickly, which explains the point lost)
BACON: 8/10 (it's a limited menu, but the good news is that bacon appears four times on it -- to be added to burgers, to be put on a BLT or to be served on two different breakfast sandwiches [so two points per menu reference] ... it does beg the question why the bacon can't be paired with the main dish of gator)
BONUS: 7/10 (+3 for its location as the first food place you see after leaving all the *live* gators in the national park, +3 for all the non-food photos and clippings you can view while you're waiting for the food to be prepared and +1 for being a place to which we will return the next time we're headed in or out of the Park ... 'cause tradition)
TroyScore: 42 out of 50 -- aka 84, a B
No comments:
Post a Comment