Random Taste for Thursday 1/18/18

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

 here's the SECOND of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

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

Establishment:  Stone Crab & Seafood Festival
Location:  Ft Lauderdale
Meal:  Lunch
Drink:  Coca-Cola bottle (my own)
Appetizer:  Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with Corn Salsa and Remoulade Sauce
Main:  Tuna Platter
Side(s):  Yellow Rice (with a surprise piece of sausage hanging out in the pile)
Dessert:  Shaved Ice
Server:   Grille 401 Las Olas, SeaShore Seafood and Tikiz (app, main and dessert respectively)
Website:  https://www.goriverwalk.com/greater-fort-lauderdale-events/stone-crab-seafood-festival
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/events/594444477345974/?active_tab=discussion

Another weekend ... another festival (dare I say ... 2018 just may be the year of the festival when it comes to this blog series).  This time, the shindig was held downtown right on the riverfront in a park that holds many an event year round ... and it was packed.  Like too many people packed.  Like long long lines packed.  Like one errant human away from a riot packed.  Luckily, no riots broke out and the humans mostly behaved themselves ... but it was so poorly organized (or else so overwhelmingly attended) that I *almost* ditched it after showing up and seeing the scene in favor of the chalk festival a few blocks away -- except, full disclosure, I had attended that first and it only had three sad food trucks next to a homeless encampment that seemed to reprise the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression.  For a full tally as to how this festival fared in the Troy-score (and managed to set an all time new low rating), see below:

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (Esplanade Park, as a prominent feature on the Riverwalk, is a pleasant enough promenade most days for most things -- including other events we've attended there ... and despite the crowds, you still can't beat enjoying an outdoor festival in the middle of January right next to the beautiful water ... so long as you worked your way to the outer edges once you got your food, you could enjoy the scenery much better ... the one point deduction comes from the live music that was playing as it looked like they were two young girls who might have been made to perform against their will)

FOOD:           7/10 (although there's an underlying theme of disappointment in this post, I want to clearly state that THE highlight of the afternoon was, without a doubt or any hesitation on my part, that appetizer crab cake ... it was served fresh and hot with a nice crunch and that cold corn relish had a perfectly seasoned sauce that wasn't too kicky but still served to amplify each bite ... the points start to come off for the other parts of the meal -- a tuna steak, happily steaky and not flaky but that was barely warmed through and lacked any seasoning [-1], a lobster roll that looked delicious that I almost had from that same stand except they ran out serving the last one to someone just a few people in front of me in line [-1] and a self-serve shaved ice food truck with a sign that promised my very own gum ball at the bottom of my dessert that simply wasn't there [-1])

SERVICE:      3/10 (let's face it -- it was a tangled throng of people in lines, lines and more lines, with no guidance from any festival planners... so it seems only fair to deduct one point for each ten minute interval I spent patiently waiting to get a little closer to a vendor and its wares [for those of you who do not want to do the math, that was a full hour I spent waiting between two lines] plus a deduction for a bit of a bait and switch with the marketing saying there would be dishes for $5 implying a tasting opportunity that simply wasn't the case universally with all vendors)

BACON:         5/10 (I'm pretty sure I saw some bacon at the drunken oyster stand [a place which I begrudgingly had to pass on due to the aforementioned poor line management] ... but I saw it nowhere else ... with the fact that bacon and seafood aren't a typical pairing [although they *should* be], we'll award half the points in this category out of sensitivity to the cuisine)

BONUS:         9/10 (+3 for the sheer size of that main dish though, even if it did need some extra seasoning, +3 for the stone crabs [at just one stand] which looked delicious on other people's plates but were too expensive for my budget [$28 for two "knuckles"] and +3 for that crab cake appetizer dish which really did make my experience that day worth all the first world struggles of the afternoon)

TroyScore:  33 out of 50 -- aka 66, a D

Random Taste for Thursday 5/25/17

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

 here's the TWENTIETH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA 

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

Establishment:  Aruba Beach Cafe
Location:  Lauderdale By The Sea
Meal:  Dinner
Drink:  coke?  water?  beer?  (oops -- I forgot to record)
Appetizer 1:  Lobster Bisque (soup of the day)
Appetizer 2:  Baked Escargot (for the table)
(tomato, garlic and pernod, served with crusty French bread)
Appetizer 3:  Seafood Quesadilla 
(flour tortilla stuffed with fish, shrimp, scallops, jack & cheddar cheese, served with guacamole)
Main:  Grilled Swordfish (special of the day)
Side(s):  House Rice AND a whole loaf of freshly baked Bimini Bread with Honey Aruba Glaze
Dessert:  Key Lime Pie
(Key West lime citrus custard pie with whipped cream. kiwi and raspberry drizzle)
Server:   receipt said Matt B (although I don't think there ever was an introduction)
Website:  http://arubabeachcafe.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/arubabeachcafe/

If you take nothing else away from this post, you should understand the call to action to hie thee hither to this establishment at your earliest convenience to score some of their homemade freshly baked Bimini Bread with Honey Aruba Glaze.  Their social media says they sometimes run out, so hie thee hither early in the day.  You can thank me later.  Also -- a quick disclaimer about this post:  due to a delay with the publication of this blog, this review is being retroactively slotted in May 2017 but posted in June 2018 for a meal that was actually eaten and photographed in July 2017 [hope you can follow that!]).  Also also -- keep on reading to see how this particular local treasure fared on the Troy-score:

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (a wall of windows looks right out into the ocean -- which I'm sure is amazing during the day and maybe even special at night ... and a good sized veranda wraps around on the outside and is next to the beach and the main thoroughfare to it -- which I'm sure is good for people watching ... but as explained below, I opted for moving our group to a corner against the wall so that we could focus on the conversation and the people across the table from us, which is how I came to realize that there was a bit of an 80's hotel feel about the decor, which is why there is a point deduction)

FOOD:           8/10 (truth be told, there's a real good chance that I would have been happy making a meal just out of that homemade bread [see bonus below] ... but I was also very pleased having chosen the swordfish special, because I like me a fish that is more steak-y than flaky, as that one was, and the meal felt healthy [as opposed to some of my choices in this series] ... plus the quesadilla was packed full of goodies as you want a quesadilla to be ...  the points lost are because just about everything else felt like it was so so close to being delicious but just a touch off -- the bisque was a touch too sweet, the sides were a touch too forgettable, and even the key lime pie was a touch too tart -- a persistent enough problem that is worth the rare double point deduction for the same issue) 

SERVICE:      8/10 (we put the service to the test immediately ... as in *before* we sat down ... as in I didn't like the first table offered and wanted to pick something in the corner instead so that we weren't immediately on top of other guests as our party had lots of conversation and catching up to do -- and I'm happy to say that they gladly re-seated us quickly ... the points lost are because there wasn't much interaction during the meal and because there was definitely no urgency at the end of the evening when we were pressed to leave since the meter was running out even though we explained that fact to the staff)

BACON:         6/10 (that's one point for every time I saw it on the menu ... and that was in all the usual places [wrapped around a scallop, as a salad topping, defining a burger, as a side meat for brunch] ... but that was all rather expected and nothing all that special, which, for me [and the overall score], was disappointing) 

BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for those special fishy light fixtures [see accompanying photo], +3 for that amazing glazed loaf of bread (I just can't say it enough), +3 for providing live music to amp up the atmosphere and +1 for being a place to which we will return on a night when we can maybe focus on those breathtaking views a little more)

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

Random Taste for Thursday 3/23/17

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

Random Taste for Thursday 12/15/16

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

WINNER BEST OF 2016 FOR APPETIZER
HONORABLE MENTION BEST OF 2016 FOR DRINK
HONORABLE MENTION BEST OF 2016 FOR DESSERT

Establishment:  The Spillover
Location:  Coconut Grove
Meal:  Dinner
Drink:  A Mead Flight
one each flavored with fig, coffee, chili and "blod"
Appetizer (see below):  BBQ Gator Ribs
two (or three) fall-off-the-bone gator ribs from Clewiston, Florida, slow roasted for 2 1⁄2 hours then finished on the grill with our soon to be famous honey BBQ sauce, served with brussel sprouts and asparagus
Main:  Bababooey Burger (yes, *that* bababooey, as you can see in the photo below)
ground in-house beef burger topped with brie, caramelized apples, cinnamon butter, grilled onions, crispy bacon and honey mustard, served on a challah bun
Side(s):  Fries
Dessert:  Mrs. McHugh’s Banana Créme Pie
homemade crème pie made with vanilla beans, a walnut and graham cracker crust, topped with bananas, whipped cream, caramel sauce and dusted with bittersweet chocolate
Server:  Tina (whom I believe was officially Christina, according to the receipt)
Website:  http://spillovermiami.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/spillovermiami/

When I started this series at the beginning of this year, I set the expectations that most of the establishments would be in the tri-county area (defined as Palm Beach, Broward and Dade), but the reality has been that the overwhelming majority of places have been immediately in and around the FTL here in Broward.  Recently, I finally faced the unknowns of Miami (will I95 be drivable?  where will I park?  will the restaurant be too "hip" for this middle aged eater?) ... and I'm most certainly glad that I did.  Full disclosure:  for this meal, I was the guest of the sister of one of the owners, as the sister was a former college classmate of mine in town on vacation -- a factor which did NOT influence the high Troy-score, as you can see below:

AMBIANCE:   10/10 (options make the world go round ... and this establishment had multiple choices ... an outdoor patio type set up out in an open mall courtyard environment, tables in the front near the bar, and a few privacy tables further back the hallway [which is what our party chose to advance our main goal of conversating] ... the feature of our area was a large floor to ceiling reproduction on the wall that kept us guessing throughout the meal as to its origin [the answer to which was that it was a still from the first bilingual seventies TV show 'Que Pasa', quite fitting for the Miami area])
FOOD:            10/10 (where to begin ... seeing as how every bite [and every sip] was delicious ... from the variety of additives in the honey-sweetened mead drinks [as pictured] to the sauced up ribs of the alligator [which our party ordered as an appetizer and shared, because the chalkboard countdown told us that there were still some available, what with only 15 being prepared daily] to the juicy burger with a surprisingly sweet combination of ingredients that came together like a gourmet applesauce as a condiment to the fries with their surprise secret coating [I promised not to tell -- but it *wasn't* ranch dressing mix, like the other entry in this series with a surprising fry taste] to that bananarific dessert ... note that I got to taste my tablemates' dishes of crab cakes and jumbalaya, so they are also pictured)
SERVICE:      10/10 (extra bubbly, super cheerful, and well informed -- for what more could one ask? ... we apparently managed to order just about everything that was also her favorite ... at one point in the process, the cynic in me did wonder if she was just practicing good server protocol in endorsing whatever decisions the guest made, but the final verdict as discussed by our group was that she was being sincere and it was just a coincidence ... PLUS every single employee who passed by the table did so with a smile and, as appropriate, with a polite request to clear any items)
BACON:         8/10 (bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon ... that's one mention for each of the *four* times my favorite ingredient was listed on the menu -- including on my burger ... that being said, it wasn't necessarily presented in any exciting or inventive ways, so this category will be the only one without a perfect score)
BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for the way those meads made me happy, +3 for that dessert of Mrs. McHugh's [purportedly shared, but I don't think anyone else at our table really had more than one forkful], +3 for urinal cakes with Justin Bieber's face on them [not pictured in this blog ... although they were posted on the FB the night of the meal] and +1 for being a place to which we will return the next time we venture toward Miami -- and by that time, this growing empire might just include more establishments than the three currently in existence)

TroyScore:  48 out of 50 -- aka 96, a high A

Random Taste for Thursday 4/14/16

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

Establishment:  Calypso Restaurant & Raw Bar
Location:  Pompano Beach
Meal:  Dinner
Drink:  TALL Guinness
Appetizer:  Conch Chowder
Sweet conch with fresh vegetables and tomatoes in a spicy broth
Appetizer 2:  Stuffed Mushrooms
Fresh mushrooms baked with our own seafood stuffing
Appetizer 3:  Smoked Fish Dip
House smoked dolphin dip, served with fresh jalapenos and flat bread crackers
Appetizer 4:  House Salad with House Jamaican Ginger dressing
A small salad with fresh greens, tomato, cucumber and shredded carrots.
Main:  Stuffed Shrimp
6 Large shrimp stuffed with our seafood vegetable stuffing, topped with bacon then baked
Side(s):  Baked Potato (with butter and bacon) and fresh Corn on the Cob
Dessert:  (homemade) Reese's Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Server:  Julio
Website:  http://www.calypsorestaurant.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Caypso

Since vacationing here a few years ago before the big move to become a local, we always thought that the southern Florida culinary experience was barbecue ... somehow totally missing the fact that it's a about finding a place that buys fish just pulled out of the ocean every morning to put on your plate for lunch or dinner.  And this is one of those places.  This is also one of only two places since starting this series that has earned the highest score issued so far.  Here's how:

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (in a strip mall [which is a thing down here in Florida], it had plenty of parking [although the parking lot seemed a bit potentially dangerous with lots of traffic, some of it speeding through] ...and the inside was cozy, with two dining sections and a tiki bar along the wall ... the island decorations were a hoot [see photo below for what joined us at our table] ... just one point lost for a sunset that blinded one side of the table in our party every time the door opened)
FOOD:            9/10 (with as much food as was on the table at once, the overall consensus was that everything was delicious ... from the just-the-right-amount-of-spicy conch chowder, to the kick of the house salad dressing, to the firm and flavorful smoky fish/dolphin dip [emphasis on the smoke], to the freshest of fresh seafood ... just one point lost for a feeling at the end of the meal that everything was fresh and tasty, but that it seemed like each dish was missing that extra something something to kick things up a notch)
SERVICE:      10/10 (the server made a point to go through all of the specials, and gave us time to completely review a packed menu ... and each round of food came right on time, served hot ... plus the gentleman I assume to be the owner made the rounds and checked in just often enough to make us all feel very welcome)
BACON:         10/10 (okay, I'll admit it ... I chose this seafood meal specifically for the bacon it featured, and I was not disappointed ... plus the server and the kitchen made it possible for me to get bacon added to my baked potato despite that not being a published option on the menu)
BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for having so much bacon that I was picking it out of my teeth on the way home, +3 for getting there at 7pm, which apparently was just a few minutes before the line out the door started, +3 for a menu that had so many items that ... this is a place to which we definitely have to return [+1])

TroyScore:  48 out of 50 -- aka 96, a high A (only the second time this high score has been issued so far)

Random Taste for Thursday 1/28/16

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

Establishment:  The Fish House
Location:  Key Largo (!)
Meal:  Lunch
Drink:  Coca-Cola (in a giant glass)
Appetizer:  New England Clam Chowder and Crabmeat Stuffed Mushroom Caps
Topped with a mixture of cheeses and sherry, then baked
Main:  Baked Stuffed Mahi Mahi (Dolphin)
Today's catch (whole fish bought from local commercial fisherman) stuffed with blue crabmeat stuffing
Side(s):  French Fries
Dessert:  Key Lime Pie
Graham cracker crust, creamy sweet tart key lime filling, topped with lightly browned meringue (the authentic Florida Keys version made daily by Chef Jose)
Server:  Catalina ("like the dressing ... or the island ... or the RV ... or the sailboat ... or the car" she said)
Website:  http://www.fishhouse.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/The-Fish-House-and-Encore-Key-Largo-Florida-Keys-408923158764/

With company in town visiting and nearly two years of southern Florida living with only having gone as far south as Key Biscayne National Park, it was time to take the drive down the Keys.  Since it was just a day trip, we made it as far as Key Largo ... and to the "freshest of fresh fish" restaurant at mile marker 102 ('cause that's how people refer to places in the Keys).  Of course, the irony was not lost that, while eating in the sunny and 71 atmosphere, coverage of winter storm Jonas was on the bar TVs.  Despite learning that mahi mahi was dolphin (that made me sad), almost everything else about the experience was great (the main exception being listed below about the service that was some odd mix of "hurry hurry" and "the Keys are laid back").  Plus, the fried oysters I took off someone else's plate in our party (that's them in the corner of my dish) reminded me pleasantly of the Green Dragon stand back home.

AMBIANCE:   10/10 (it was *exactly* how you wanted a fresh fish restaurant in the Keys to look ... and to smell ... and our seat by the bar with the lights all over the ceiling and the assorted Keys tchotchkes was spot on [see photo below])
FOOD:            9/10 (point lost for plates so hot that the middle blue crab stuffing had a layer of char that had to be scraped off, but everything else was fresh [including a bit of sand in the clam chowder ... for which no points are being deducted because that's how damn fresh it was) and delicious ... and oh the key lime pie)
SERVICE:      7/10 (point lost for having to tell the server she should smile [her reply ... "I'm just tyring to get it to you fast"], and a second point lost because when she did smile, she had beautiful dimples [so we were robbed of seeing them the first half of the meal], and a third point lost because she spent time near the end talking to a busboy right in front of the table about how the server minimum wage went up on the first of the year)
BACON:         0/10 (I looked over the menu more than once and couldn't find ANY reference to bacon ... and it seemed like everything I ate could have been even better with bacon added to it ... although perhaps there are no pigs on the Keys?)
BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for being representative of the Keys, +3 for the fish lesson, +3 for that amazing key lime pie and +1 for being a place to return )

TroyScore:  36 out of 50 -- aka 72, a C (but only because one starts out 20 points behind on my scale when you choose to not serve bacon)