Random Taste for Thursday 2/8/18

Here we go again for the 3rd year ... a brand new set of tastes for 2018 ...

 here's the FIFTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Over Easy Cafe
Location:  Oakland Park (Wilton Manors)
Meal:  Brunch
Drink:  Orange Juice
Appetizer:  n/a
Main:  The Waffle Slam
1 Belgian Waffle, 2 Eggs (I chose scrambled), 2 Bacon, 2 Sausage
Side(s):  n/a
Dessert:  n/a
Server:   Michael
Website:  http://www.overeasy.me/home.html
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/The-Over-Easy-Cafe-76681947405/

How many times have I stepped foot inside the local UPS store to ship something somewhere?  Probably a dozen, since making the big move here back in 2014.  How many times did I notice that a few doors down in the same complex was a diner (and you *know* we love diners in this series)?  Zero.   But thanks to a google search on a Sunday when we woke up wanting brunch, 
we were able to find this place that's been around since 1995.  It advertises itself as being family owned and I have a sneaking suspicion that every single employee (from the greeter to the grill guy) might just be related.  Below is how this family fared in the Troy-score:

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (sure it's small and cute and basic, with only a handful of booths and just over a dozen stools around a counter ... but that's exactly what you'd expect from a Florida strip mall eating establishment [*everything* down here is in a strip mall] ... they effectively use the old giant mirror trick to make it seem like it's bigger than it is ... and the sea decorations painted right on the wall were just the right amount of kitsch ... the problem comes in that it's so small, that the customers inadvertently get involved in the diner drama [see home-fries-gate below] or in the diner business [we got "trained" along with the new girl because we couldn't escape hearing that back and forth])

FOOD:           8/10 (I am happy to report that this diner had spreadable butter [frequent readers know that I have a pet peeve at breakfast/brunch when the butter pats are all but frozen] and that they trusted me with a whole bottle of syrup instead of a tiny carafe ... and while things didn't look all that amazing, they tasted just fine -- even those simple looking eggs -- although a point is still coming off the top because of the plain plain waffle that arrived [how's about a little dusting of powdered sugar or something? ... the first photo is how it landed on the table, and the second one is after I helped it be a little more camera-ready] ... a second point is also deducted because that plain plain waffle tasted like it might have sat in the iron a touch too long) 

SERVICE:      8/10 (the whole experience ended without issue, but it began a bit awkwardly due to home-fries-gate ... aka that time where we were told that they were out of home fries, and so we asked for alternatives, and then accidentally ordered home fries again, which was greeted with an exasperated sigh, an Anderson-Cooper-talks-to-Kelly-Anne-Conway style eye-roll and more attitude than was deserved for that "offense" -- only to find out later that they apparently were never out of home fries after all ... first impressions really really count -- so it's double the deduction)

BACON:         9/10 (if I only hadn't been in the mood for breakfast that day, then most surely I would have ordered the "inside out bacon" "cheddar burger" [quotes shown as printed in the menu], which was described thusly:  2/3 lb Burger Stuffed with Bacon & Cheddar and Topped with Bacon & Cheddar served on Toasted Challah Roll [caps shown as printed in the menu] ... that item alone shows a proper respect for the pig-candy and is almost worth all the points ... just one point is being deducted because that breakfast bacon could have been a little bigger/thicker/tastier)

BONUS:         7/10 (+3 for the menu option being bacon AND sausage instead of bacon OR sausage, +3 for what my tablemate ordered [picture below] of some southern style sausage gravy served over sausage and biscuits, and +1 for being a place to which we will return 'cause that "inside out bacon" "cheddar burger" is calling my name)

TroyScore:  41 out of 50 -- aka 82, a B

Random Taste for Thursday 2/1/18

Here we go again for the 3rd year ... a brand new set of tastes for 2018 ...

 here's the FOURTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Ikea Restaurant
Location:  Sunrise
Meal:  Lunch
Drink:  New Nordic Fruit Water, Cola flavored
Appetizer:  Garlic Bread
Main:  Swedish Meatballs
Side(s):  Mashed Potatoes with Gravy and Mixed Vegetables
Dessert:  Almond Cake
Server:   Cafeteria Style
Website: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/sunrise/Food_Restaurant
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/IKEASunrise/

So many times we've wandered through the carefully constructed maze that is the Ikea experience, marveling at how much one can fit into such small living spaces, wishing we knew Swedish so we could interpret all of the names (or at least understand some of the stick figure style images) -- and yet never before (not back in Chicago from whence we came nor here in the SoFlo where we've been since early 2014) have we been tempted to partake of the items in the cafeteria.  Oh sure -- we've smelled a good thing or two as we passed by on each visit ... and you can't exactly miss the meatball signs scattered throughout the place -- but still we didn't stop.  That ended this week when we decided to cash in my "free birthday meal" email before it expired at the end of my birthday month (what can I say -- it pays to be "friends and family").  Keep on reading to see how it fared in the old Troy-score:

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (hidden away in a corner of the building with great big windows that showed a view of a giant American flag [and the roof of the parking garage], the seating area offered a number of different sections to break up the crowds and was kept clean despite a high turnover ... and I have to be honest, one thought that crossed my mind as I sat there was that, in the zombie apocalypse, I would want to get my people to clear out the closest Ikea to set up camp there ... anyways -- the one point lost comes from the fact that the seats seemed a little small and weren't Americanized to handle our larger bodies)

FOOD:           7/10 (there were choices for chicken balls and veggie balls, but anyone who knows me already knows that I went for the meatiest of the meatballs from Sweden -- the traditional ones, which were perfectly sized to pop in your mouth whole and which were properly gravied for added flavor ... although I normally don't take gravy on my mashed, getting some on the classic scoop of instant potatoes was the right decision ... and that almond cake was very rich AND very delicious ... the problems though [each resulting in a point deduction] -- the garlic bread was "well done" on one side and barely done on the other, the lingonberries were missing from my plate and that new carbonated soda drink was all fizz in a cup that dissolved into a liquid in a very odd way)

SERVICE:      7/10 (it was literally a cafeteria set up ... wait in line, grab a tray, fill it up with goodies, get to the hot food line and make your choices and then pay your way out of the corral to pick a seat ... so in all, there were only brief interactions with the person who put the meat on your plate, the person who put your sides on your plate and the person who took your money ... in this scenario, the first one got it right, the second one got it all wrong [almost giving me the wrong plate of ... gasp ... veggie balls] and the third one made it better by wishing me a happy birthday as she scanned my email ... so 2/3 positive interactions leads mathematically to a score of 6.67 [rounded up to 7])

BACON:         5/10 (I didn't see bacon anywhere -- not even in the breakfast menu items ... but maybe there were some bits on the salads [there *were* lots of salads, even if I didn't select any] ... because I try to be culturally sensitive, I literally googled "do swedes eat bacon" and the interwebs say that they do -- although clearly they eat more fish than anything else ... so I'm going to give my "culturally sensitive score" of 5 in the hopes that some chief Ikean somewhere reads this and considers adding bacon balls to the ball list)

BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for the little girl who passed by our table at the end of the meal with her daddy, singing along to the "Let It Go" song on the speakers just as we were trying to figure out what tune it was, +3 for my tablemate's dish of chicken fingers and fries [pictured below] which showed up as an adult plate with big pieces of specially breaded chicken and fresh hot fries, +3 for starting the cafeteria line "dessert first", 'cause, you know, priorities and +1 for being a place to which we will return [not that we're running back ... but we will be Ikea-ing again sometime soon ... and we are "friends and family" after all])

TroyScore:  38 out of 50 -- aka 76, a C

Random Taste for Thursday 3/16/17

And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...

 here's the TENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Farmers' Market Restaurant 
Location:  Florida City
Meal:  Lunch
Drink:  (Pitcher!) of Coca-Cola Classic
Appetizer:  Fried Zucchini
Main:  Fried Fish Fingers
(Fresh catch ... which that day was dolphin fish)
Side(s):  Steak Fries and Cole Slaw
Dessert:  n/a
Server:   Karlene
Website:  n/a
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/floridacityfarmersmarketrestaurant/

This year, we are well on our way to beating last year's record number of diners in this series, and I'm happy to say that tonight I get to feature the highest scoring diner of the four so far this year, and the second highest of the ten diners since we started the very first taste so many months ago.  It might have been because family was in town ... or maybe it was excitement over the experience of the excursion at the national park from which we had just taken a break for lunch ... or maybe it was all because of Karlene ... but see how the Troy-score of only the second A so far this year came together below: 

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (I mean this in the best way possible ... but it didn't take me long to think of this place as the location in a Stephen King movie where all the surviving townfolk would gather to unite to fight whatever "big bad" was threatening them -- and they'd be damn sure fed well while they were there ... it was a big open room with lots of individual tables with various colored checkerboard tablecloths and it had a high ceiling with a natural light that came in through a row of windows, lighting up the wall mural of the cow driving the tractor ... the only point being taken off is for the public bathrooms that are right next to the restaurant with nonstop traffic and a bit of a public restroom smell that you had to navigate before you could have lunch)

FOOD:           9/10 (when you learned that the fish was swimming that morning and that the vegetables came from the farmers' market next door, it was no surprise that the taste of something as basic as dolphin fingers and fried zucchini was bumped up a notch ... and, from previous reviews in this series, know I wasn't going to pass up that fried zucchini, particularly when served as medallions ... and you can see from the photo that those steak fries were giant pillows of goodness, crunchy on the outside and practically mashed potatoes on the inside ... just a half a point off because the fries were missing salt and another half a point off for the homemade coleslaw, which was missing the tang that I prefer in that type of slaw)

SERVICE:      10/10 (I'm pretty sure that there may have been other employees working that day, but we were lucky enough to get Karlene -- and yes, she did make me think that she might have been related to the Jan Hooks character Carlene from 'Designing Women' and yes, we wish her service on every customer that comes through the door ... she had many talents, but I think the one that won me over was her ability to engage in an actual conversation without it feeling forced in any way -- she made it seem like she should have been in the other seat at the table as part of our party ... and the story was priceless about her having to explain to not-so-savvy customers that dolphin is a fish and not the actual dolphin and so an order of dolphin fingers did not mean that there were fingerless Flippers out there)

BACON:         7/10 (although none of my choices included bacon, it was indeed all over the menu in the breakfast and lunch sections ... it disappear from the dinner options, though, so we'll award 2/3 of the points in this category)

BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for all the delicious crunchies at the bottom of that basket of friend zucchini, +3 for Karlene [enough said], +3 for her not being afraid to bring over a whole pitcher of pop at the outset instead of just a glass 'cause she correctly guessed that I'd be drinking a refill or two and +1 for being a place to which we will return the next time we end up on the edge of Everglades National Park -- maybe even on all you can eat Wednesdays -- although then we'd probably skip the park and just hang out in the restaurant all day)

TroyScore:  45 out of 50 -- aka 90, an A

Random Taste for Thursday 2/23/17

And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...

 here's the SEVENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  The Diner 
Location:  Boynton Beach
Meal:  Breakfast
Drink:  Hot Chocolate
Appetizer:  n/a
Main:  The Lumberjack
3 eggs (I asked for scrambled), 3 slices bacon, 2 sausage links, home fries and your choice of 2 pancakes or 1 slice of French toast or 1/2 an order of biscuits and gravy (I chose French toast)
Side(s):  n/a
Dessert:  n/a
Server:   in an unfortunate trend for this year, her name wasn't recorded
Website:  http://www.dinerongateway.com/index.php
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Diner/553195471392059

This is the third diner already this year (which puts us on pace to beat last year's record of visiting six of them as a part of this series) -- but there's something extra special about this one because it has the confidence to be THE diner ... not A diner ... but THE diner [as if it were THE one and only diner in the world].  It's a bit farther out of the way from home base, but family was visiting and we were taking a little road trip so we ended up here.  With just a few tweaks, it could be one of the higher ranked diners on the list ... but to see where they need to improve, check out the Troy-score below:

AMBIANCE:   7/10 (it's a great big room, with an open kitchen off to the side, and it has the hustle and bustle of a place everyone wants to be ... although with the practice of pushing tables for two around to accommodate groups, I was frustrated that they handled our group of five by throwing a chair on the side of two tables instead of giving us the comfort of a six top [so a point lost] ... and there was an odd almost militaristic procedure where the cooks would yell that the order was up and the server had to yell back "heard!" which was a definite mood interrupter [so a second point lost] ... and I just can't forgive being sat at a table that hasn't been cleaned of its stickiness [which accounts for the third point lost])

FOOD:           8/10 (they were two relatively small "infractions" [each worth a half a point deduction] -- butter that wasn't thawed when served and home fries that were giant potato pieces so much so that they lost all the good flavoring because the middles were just all potato [see photo] ... and one big "infraction" [so a full point deduction] in that my hot chocolate apparently wasn't refillable ... but let me tell you that every other part of the lumberjack breakfast was delicious -- especially the bacon [see category below])

SERVICE:      7/10 (lookit -- a host or hostess needs to understand that it is his or her job to smile ... and this was the second week in a row where the employee in that role didn't do that one bit -- and that's worth a double point deduction [host/hostesses at future establishments:  consider yourself on notice] ... as for our regular server, things went efficiently but it took her until the end of the meal to loosen up and appear personable -- likely because she was busy with the rush at the onset or maybe because she was scared she might miss yelling "heard!" back to the kitchen -- so that's the other point deduction)

BACON:         10/10 (the menu count returns 19 hits for bacon so you know it's a pretty safe bet that this diner won't disappoint -- especially when the bacon they serve is of the thick cut variety ... breakfast, lunch, dinner or on the kiddie menu -- there's plenty of opportunity to "bacon up" at this place ... plus see the first bonus comment below)

BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for giving a breakfast option that serves sausage AND bacon instead of sausage OR bacon, +3 for an amazing burger [not pictured] that my nephew ordered that immediately made me rethink what I chose for breakfast, +3 for those all natural jelly choices from Smucker's and +1 for being a place to which we will most definitely return the next time we're in the area -- 'cause that burger is calling out my name!)

TroyScore:  42 out of 50 -- aka 84, a B

Random Taste for Thursday 2/16/17

And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...

 here's the SIXTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Lester's Diner 
Location:  Ft Lauderdale
Meal:  Dinner
Drink:  Arnold Palmer (iced tea and lemonade for those who don't know)
Appetizer:  Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Main:  Chicken Croquettes
Side(s):  Mashed Potatoes and Spinach Escarole (instead of the broccoli I had ordered)
Dessert:  Sheet Cake
Server:   name not gotten but she had a super long braid so you'll recognize her if you go
Website:  n/a
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lestersdiner/
Sometimes you go to a diner for the atmosphere ... and sometimes you go for the food ... and in rare circumstances, you're lucky enough to do it for both.  For this particular local landmark with a Greek flavor (as so many diners are), it's the first one in that list that rang the most true for our party (family was in town, so we were a group of five showing up before the 7pm specials started [although they let us order from that menu all the same]).  The vibe was great ... the vittles not so much (although it is possible that maybe I just ordered wrong).  As for where they ended up on the Troy-score, see below:

AMBIANCE:   10/10 (it's exactly what you want in a 24 hour diner, with an extra big room off the back from the main booths ... and you have to walk past amazing desserts on display to get there ... plus there was an outside area [although it was too chilly for it to be used that night] ... as for our group of five [again, family was visiting], we ended up in one of those big corner round tables with a circular booth that celebrities normally sit in [and see an actual celebrity sighting from that night below] ... and, as an added benefit, the big room in the back is decorated with large photos of famous people artfully presented in such a way that you can play "who's that famous silhouette?" whilst waiting for your food) 

FOOD:           5/10 (if I were to follow the maxim of "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all", the only thing I'd be mentioning in this section is the homemade chicken noodle soup -- oh so fresh and flavorful as it was ... but alas, I have committed to documenting my point deductions in a fair and judicious matter -- so ... a point lost for the overall appearance of my main dish [although those croquettes were jam packed when broken up, as seen in one of the photos], a second point lost for gummy potatoes, a third point lost because I got tricked into having TWO orders of gummy potatoes [more to come about that], a fourth point lost because they ran out of my original side order and served the mushy escarole instead ... and a fifth and final point lost because that sheet cake sure did look pretty but sure was awfully dry)

SERVICE:      8/10 (it's funny in that as the evening wore on, we grew to like the waitress more and more ... but it was definitely a case of her winning us over with her sparkling and engaging personality and not so much because of her serving skills ... a point is being subtracted for her biggest error, which was letting me choose one of my two sides as mashed potatoes even though the dinner I ordered was served on top of a scoop of mashed potatoes ... I can't not blame HER for me having that double order ... a second point is lost in this category for a hostess who refused to smile)

BACON:         9/10 (one better be able to get bacon at a 24 hour diner that serves breakfast all the time along with all the other classic diner fare, and this place did not disappoint ... with 18 references to it on the Facebook version of the menu, that's half a point for each call-out to bacon on whichever menu item it might appear ... including an entry under the section MEAT called "bacon sandwich")

BONUS:         6/10 (+3 for the Jackie Mason sighting [captured below] and +3 for being open 24 hours)

TroyScore:  38 out of 50 -- aka 76, a C

Random Taste for Thursday 2/2/17

And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...

 here's the FOURTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

(coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!

Establishment:  Diner By-The-Sea
Location:  Lauderdale By The Sea
Meal:  Brunch
Drink:  Hot Chocolate
Appetizer:  English Muffin
Main:  Famous 2-2-2
2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon or sausage [I chose bacon, of course], 2 golden pancakes or toast [I chose pancakes]
Side(s):  Home Fries
Dessert:  Miniature slice of watermelon
Server:   unknown but completely my fault because I got her name (and made her say it twice because it was unique) yet I didn't add it to my notes
Website:  http://dinerbytheseainc.com/diner/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Diner-by-the-Sea-161662490517465/

It's the first diner of the new year ... and if the distribution is anything like last year, that means that more will be featured soon enough because a full 10% of the tastes from 2016 were in diners.  But first up is this little charmer (more about that below) within walking distance of the beach.  The good news is that they scored in the top half of the six diners featured ... and to see how it all came about on the Troy-score, check below:

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (let's put it this way -- if you are an employee at this place, you better get along with your co-workers, because it is tiny ... and by tiny, I mean four or five small booths and a dozen stools or so and that's about it ... that being said, cozy can be cute, and there's something about being so close to the grill that you can watch your food getting prepared to perform your own quality control check ... and when we were there, it quickly became clear that the majority of customers knew most of the guests in a Cheers-y kind of way ... just a point deducted for the stools being slightly too close to each other -- in a budget airlines kind of way)

FOOD:           8/10 (hot and fresh with crispy "pressed" bacon and well flavored [and textured] home fries perked up my breakfast [see a bonus shot of the corned beef hash morning meal that my tablemate ate] ... if there was an area for improvement, it would be the pancakes -- as you can see from the photo, my "2" were really one big one and one baby one [so a point lost] ... I also was disappointed that my hot chocolate wasn't creamed as happens at the other diners at which I've eaten [the second lost point])

SERVICE:      8/10 (here's the truth -- the end was better than the beginning ... because, as previously explained, this place is so tiny that you can't hide anything ... so on *our* visit, we knew that our server was frazzled because the other server who was working the booths wasn't moving fast enough that morning [so a point lost for us knowing all that diner drama in the first place] ... and eventually we were able to get her to smile and be personable enough to learn that she was selling all her things and moving to Canada, but the early going was just too painful for us to watch [which explains the second lost point])

BACON:         8/10 (as happy as I was to see bacon all over the breakfast menu [as it always should be], I was dissuaded from placing my usual order an extra side of of bacon by the price of $4.50 for three slices [a point dedcuted] ... which also means that my expectations were pretty high for the 2 slices that came with my 2-2-2 meal ... and while it was good and crispy, it wasn't as amazing as I had built it up to be, possibly from the "pressing" of it ... [the second point deducted]) 

BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for squeezing us in on the last two open spots in the joint, +3 for there being absolutely NO wasted space in the place at all, +3 for getting to use the full bottle of syrup like a big boy, and +1 for being a place to which we will return -- although likely at lunch in order to try out *that* menu)

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

Random Taste for Thursday 11/24/16

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

Establishment:  Moonlite Diner
Location:  Ft. Lauderdale
Meal:  Dinner
Drink:  fountain Coke
Appetizer:  Chicken Noodle Soup
Main:  Turkey Cuban Panini
oven roasted turkey breast, smoked ham, pickles, Swiss cheese, garlic mustard spread
Side(s):  Loaded Fries
Dessert:  Monkey Bites
warm cinnamon and sugar glazed monkey bites with creamy vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and topped with whipped cream
Server:  Maria
Website:  http://www.moonlitediner.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MoonliteDiner/

Knowing that this particular taste would be posted during Thanksgiving week, the charge was to find a place that had a few options of turkey dishes of one kind or another, and this one in a set of Moonlite diners (there are three in the area) met the challenge.  From the signs on the way out, it seems to be a Greek diner, but the menu didn't come across as having overly Greek influences ... and what a menu with lots of choices.  As for which turkey dish got chosen and how the Troy-score was earned, see below:

AMBIANCE:   8/10 (it was just what one wanted from an old fashioned diner, with the booths and the counter and the neon and the shininess everywhere and the curved ceilings -- all that was missing was a jukebox at every table ... speaking of which, there *was* classic rock playing -- but the twist was that it was music from the *80's* instead of the *50's* as someone of my age might expect, so a point lost for making me feel old and a second point lost because as old time diner-y as everything was, there was a feeling that it was a manufactured environment instead of the real authentic thing)
FOOD:            8/10 (the panini was crispy and packed full of goodness, with pickle juice that was running down my arm as I ate it ... the fries, ordered loaded, came with just the right tasty amount of additions [see the bacon category below] ... and that dessert looked beautiful upon arrival ... but a point lost because the chicken noodle soup of the day was greasy [I thought maybe it was through the use of buttered noodles?] and a second point lost because the "monkey bites" tasted like the morning's leftover french toast that had been microwaved before being included in the dish -- a definite disappointment seeing as how pretty it looked)
SERVICE:      9/10 (I'm glad we got Maria, because the table across from us got served 2/3 of their dishes but had to wait a long time for the last one to arrive, and the table behind us of two ancient looking ladies who wanted "small" sundaes had to go through an ordeal about the rules before a compromise was reached ... as for our Maria, the only problem was that we waited longer and longer as the meal went on for her to visit, and she stood in plain view texting on her phone during one of the waiting spells [although, to be fair, the layout of the establishment didn't seem to permit a place for servers to go out of the sight of customers] which is why there is a lost point)
BACON:         10/10 (the bacon was everywhere on the menu as an option [helped by the fact that this diner serves breakfast all day], but what earns all the points in this category is that the loaded fries came with big chunks of "fresh" bacon ... not just little tiny bacon bits, but pieces of bacon almost as big as the small fries [as seen in the photo])
BONUS:         7/10 (+3 for having a booklet full of dessert options [seen in the photo] that reminded me of the old school Friendly's back home in central PA, +3 for having an outside section [although this was "fall" in Florida in the evening, so it was too "chilly" to eat out there], and +1 for being a place to which we will return whenever the classic diner mood hits again)

TroyScore:  42 out of 50 -- aka 84, a solid B

Random Taste for Thursday 8/25/16

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

WINNER BEST OF 2016 FOR SERVICE

Establishment:  The Floridian
Location:  Ft. Lauderdale
Meal:  Brunch
Drink:  A Poinsettia and a Coke
split of champagne to mix with cranberry juice
Appetizer:  n/a
Main:  222 Special
two eggs, two pancakes & sausage or bacon
Side(s):  Bacon (once as a side to supplement the main, and once again because of an unforeseen bacon accident [see below])
Dessert:  n/a
Server:  Linda
Website:  http://thefloridiandiner.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Floridian/122004887809606

This establishment is a Ft. Lauderdale landmark ... and so it was only a matter of time before we ended up there (actually, it was *almost* taste #28, until a last minute change of plans that night).  And full disclosure, the fact that I spilled not one but TWO drinks ... and that I had to defend my bacon against the fork of the other person in my party such that a piece ended up on the floor ... will barely play a role in this review.  To see why it ended up being the typical diner (not bad ... but not great), here are the score-components:

AMBIANCE:   7/10 (mirror walls make a place seem bigger than it is, and since this place is long but not wide [a few rooms side by side but none too deep], that trick worked ... with chandeliers and art of celebrities along the top of the walls, it gave off a diner "plus" kind of vibe ... a point lost because the celebrities weren't celebrities pictured eating at the diner, a second point lost because all the advertisements have an artistic rendering of the store front with white chairs lined up outside -- all of which seem to have been replaced by new tables that turned that area into outside eating instead of classic outside seating, and a final point lost because the flash of the camera taking a picture of the lost bacon [see below] disclosed a pretty dirty floor)
FOOD:            7/10 (let's start with the things at brunch that make me happy [besides bacon, which has its own category] -- butter that is spreadable and not frozen, and jam/jelly choices of more than just two ... plus super fluffy scrambled eggs and yuuuuge pancakes ... and cheers for selling coke instead of pepsi ... other than that, it was diner food [so not bad ... but not great] ... a point lost for serving it on a plate where my syrup ran into those scrambled eggs [in my humble opinion, pancakes and waffles and such deserve their own dish], a point lost for naming a meal the 2-2-2 and then making you choose bacon OR sausage [it should have been BOTH meats, instead of making me order one as a side, because that's what two means] and a final point lost because those yuuuuge pancakes were a little heavy by the time it got to the last bite)
SERVICE:      9/10 (similar to the experience about which I raved at Bonefish Mac's earlier this month, the server was excellent at her job, making every stop at the table seem like we all were just picking up a multi part conversation ... and, in many ways, we were, as we got to talk to her about her frequent trips to Chicago and other recent fun of hers ... just a point lost for waiting a touch too long for our check at the end of the meal)
BACON:         8/10 (a place that has 35 references to it on their menu ... and that even uses it to add some extra goodness to a classic diner dish [liver and onions AND bacon, says the menu] is going to score all the points ... EXCEPT for the fact that one of my pieces ended up on the floor [my fault] and that, as we left, we saw more bacon abuse outside on the sidewalk [not my fault], so a point has to be docked for each in memory of those lost pieces)
BONUS:         9/10 (+3 for the fancy office chairs at the "executive" table [see picture below], +3 for an alcoholic brunch drink I had not heard of before [mimosa, I knew ... poinsettia was new to me] and +3 for the aforementioned mirrors, because we caught the teenage busser checking himself out in them as he passed a few times)

TroyScore:  40 out of 50 -- aka 80, a low B

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