Random Taste for Thursday 9/8/16

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

NOTE:  This establishment qualified for the REDEMPTION ROUND in 2017.   

Look for the updated "taste" here:  

https://50tastesofflorida.blogspot.com/2017/03/random-taste-for-thursday-33017.html

Establishment:  Miller's Ale House
Location:  Ft. Lauderdale
Meal:  Lunch on Labor Day
Drink:  Dr. Pepper and two sips of a Pepsi
Appetizer:  n/a
Main:  Zinger® Mountain Melt
medium garlic Zingers® piled over crispy fries and smothered with melted Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, applewood smoked bacon and green onions.Side(s):  Ranch Dressing
Dessert:  n/a
Server:  Corey
Website:  https://millersalehouse.com/locations/ft-lauderdale/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Millers-Ale-House-181208372285760/

Full disclosure -- this was the FIRST time I set foot inside this particular (mostly) Florida chain of ale houses (as is required to be included in this series), but with 75 locations now all over this state and a few others, it is also very likely that I was once inside one of the Orlando editions of this business (because I'm pretty sure it's down the road from our corporate call center where I met a work colleague for appetizers a few years ago).  I was tempted by the menu to order the OssoBuco (pic below), but then the more I looked at it, the more it reminded me of a human heart, so I had to pass.  See here for how the food I DID order led to the score below:

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (I like walking in a place and the first impression I get is how I had no idea it would be soooo big and this was one of those places, with a big big bar in the middle and full dining rooms on either side of it ... as a sports bar, it had the requisite team things hanging all around ... and I was especially happy to see booth after booth after booth [I love me a booth] ... and there was a mini-arcade with a pool table and a Golden Tee to help promote the "bar" side of the "bar" restaurant ... a point lost for there being more TVs than customers [although the holiday might have had something to do with that)
FOOD:            6/10 (in the spirit of that full disclosure I mentioned above, this meal was eaten after a night out of bar crawling, so that may have affected my taste buds ... but a point lost for a registered item called a zinger [breaded chicken strips] that, quite simply, didn't have any "zing" ... another point lost for fries that just didn't seem like they were cooked all the way through [especially those underneath the zingers] ... a third point lost for there not being more zingers on the dish ... and a final point lost because you're always going to lose a point with me if you chose to serve Pepsi [boo!] over, Coke [yay!]
SERVICE:      9/10 (we actually met the server at the door, which he held open for us ... and I'm not sure if that was protocol or just coincidence and he was checking the weather right when we walked in ... for someone having to work on the holiday, he was very friendly and very smiley and joked about pulling up a plate to join us so he only gets a point docked because he free-refilled my Dr. Pepper with a Pepsi ... of note, when I pointed out the error, he immediately apologized and fixed it)
BACON:         9/10 (I found seven references on the online menu ... and I appreciate that the place is very versatile with its uses ... on top of fries, added to burgers and sprinkled on salads .. just a point lost because, as you can see from the picture of my main dish, it could have used a bit more of those applewood smoked bacon crumbles)
BONUS:         6/10 (+3 for keeping the pesky kids away from the pool table [only those 21 and over are permitted to play, according to a sign on the wall] and a +3 for having helpful checks that included the total of the bill divided by the number in your party so you didn't have to do any math)

TroyScore:  39 out of 50 -- aka 78, a high C

Random Taste for Thursday 5/12/16

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

Establishment:  Sage French Cafe
Location:  Ft. Lauderdale
Meal:  Sunday Brunch
Drink:  (Complimentary!) Mimosa
Appetizer:  Fresh Croissant
Main 1:  Le Steak Anglais
Grilled tenderloin, grilled tomato, mushrooms, poached eggs, potatoes
Main 2:  Crepe Languedoc 
Sausage, garlic, apples, tomatoes, cheese
Side(s):  n/a
Dessert:  n/a
Server:  Gregory B (but I will think of him as French Iain [sorry Iain M ... I didn't get a photo of him], because he looked like a former co-worker of mine)
Website:  http://www.sagecafe.net/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sagecafe.fortlauderdale

I know it's not usual to have multiple main dishes (although I did it recently for the Italian feast a few weeks ago), but at Sunday brunch, the rules can be loosened, aided on by the free mimosa -- which is good, because I actually liked the dish I'm calling the first main (and giving the primary photo slot) better even though I had officially ordered the second one.  Halfway through the meal, we switched plates so that I got a chance to taste half of each.  'Cause teamwork ... and Sunday brunch ... (and mimosas) ...  

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (I do like a place with the option for outdoor seating, but I also got a peek at the inside and this one [in a strip mall, as so many restaurants are in Florida] was very cute, with a piano in the corner inside that I'm sure adds a nice touch during the times when it is played ... and it was good for people watching, including an elderly gentleman customer who started doing tableside magic tricks for the staff ... however, a point has to be deducted for not changing out the dead potted plant that sat next to my seat during the whole meal [see photo below]) 
FOOD:            9/10 (the croissant was extremely flaky [although not quite as hot as I was warned it would be] ... and the crepe was clearly quality with a beefy tomato sauce that had a spicy kick as an aftertaste [which was excellent in its own right but not quite breakfasty enough for my taste] ... the steak and eggs dish was delicious and the roma tomato with pesto on top was deserving of high praise ... plus -- fresh fruit on the side ... there was not a doubt that care and pride went into each creation, and there's just one point lost for a lack of seasoning on the steak)
SERVICE:      8/10 (I often wonder if the servers at a restaurant of a certain cuisine are acting the accent the customers expect ... but this one seemed French enough, whether authentic or not ... that being said, a point is lost because I had to grab my own salt and pepper for the outside table midway through the meal [they didn't have enough for all of them], and because the server delivering the food asked our party if we were table five and, after all, as the customer, I had no way to answer her)
BACON:         3/10 (for a series of mine, you would think I'd be going to restaurants that featured more bacon dishes ... but this is yet another one where it was barely on the menu -- I'll give a few points for having Canadian Bacon on a dish I didn't order)
BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for having a nice quality pen to be used to sign the check, another +3 for being an establishment that, after you pay that check, you actually stop and think about how you got a really great deal when considering quality and cost, and a final +3 for the busboy who made the table stop wobbling before we even realized it was wobbly in the first place [despite me being tempted to penalize him for wearing a man-bun], and a +1 for being a place to which we would return -- if only to eat at its sister location Qbar next door, which DOES have lots of bacon on its menu)

TroyScore:  39 out of 50 -- aka 78, a high C

Random Taste for Thursday 3/10/16

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

Establishment:  Shawn & Nick's Courtyard Cafe
Location:  Wilton Manors
Meal:  Late Lunch
Drink:  NOT Coca-Cola (I think it ended up having to be root beer?)
Appetizer:  n/a
Main:  Grilled Monte Cristo 
Ham, turkey, swiss on french toast
Side(s):  Tots (12 of them ...)
Dessert:  n/a
Server:  John
Website:  http://www.wiltonmanorscourtyardcafe.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CourtyardCafeWM/

It's always nice to get in a place you've driven past so many times and to be surprised with the layout ... in this case, that a strip of little cottage stores "on the Drive" included a covered courtyard in the back.  Of course, we *almost* didn't eat in the establishment, because, upon walking in, we got looks that were less than welcoming.  That, combined with the fact that the sign said the specials ended at 3pm made us think that maybe they were about to close, and so we spun around and headed out the door until we realized our mistake.  All in all, for a late lunch, it was adequate ... and, as stated below, I have a feeling that it might get a higher rating at a different time of day ...

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (as an animal lover, I didn't mind sharing the space with local lizards, a few birds and a french bulldog at the table next to us ... just a single point lost because it looks like it could use a quick freshening up)
FOOD:            7/10 (a point lost for being a Pepsi establishment [what is this?  the seventies?], another lost for the tater tot rationing, and a final point lost for there being too much of a powdered sugar dusting on the sandwich)
SERVICE:      7/10 (one point lost for the attitude when we entered, one point lost for a server who seemed taxed when trying more than one task at a time and one point lost for having to stand up and corner that server to pay the bill so we could leave)
BACON:         9/10 (thanks to serving breakfast all the time, bacon is mentioned 32 times on the menu [I searched online ... I didn't sit there and count while at the cafe], so I'll only deduct one point because I didn't think to ask to have it added to MY sandwich at the time)
BONUS:         7/10 (+3 because it's open 24 hours through the weekends to serve all the drunky-drunks, +3 because it's a fixture of the community and +1 because it is a place to which I would return, only because I feel like the experience might be different in the evening [or at four in the morning])

TroyScore:  39 out of 50 -- aka 78, a high C

Random Taste for Thursday 1/21/16

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

Establishment:  Andrews Diner
Location:  barely in Wilton Manors (just over the river which serves as the border) on Andrews Ave
Meal:  Brunch
Drink:  Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream
Appetizer:  not applicable
Main:  Andrews Big 3 (3 pancakes, 3 eggs and 3 meats)
Side(s):  Whole wheat toast
Dessert:  not applicable
Server:  Denise
Website:  not applicable
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Andrews-Diner-120729957938009/

Lately, this place has been in the news for all the right reasons, because it's going to be featured on the Feb 5th edition of American Diner Revival on the Food Network.  With company in town and a day off from work, it was the perfect opportunity to finally stop by a diner we've driven past over and over again to get a sneak peek at what was done.  (Part of the reason we've driven past over and over again without stopping is that they have very limited hours of operation [being open for diner dinner only two nights a week], so they are almost always closed when we drive by.)  It remains to be seen whether our waitress Denise will soon be a TV star or will be left on the cutting room floor (ask her about it), but, in the family owned diner category, it was the right fit for brunch before a trip to the county fair later that day.  And speaking of family owned, my only regret is that we didn't get the owner to explain the assorted photos and stuffed animals at the register ... as I'm certain that they each had special significance to the family.

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (point lost for limited hours of operation ... but other than that, it had just been "revived", so there's that AND we got the second best seat in the house [a booth in the corner where we could observe everything, bested only by a VIP section behind the check out station!)
FOOD:            7/10 (although I thought mine was just fine for diner food and had no complaints, there were those at our table who thought the hashbrowns they ordered could have been crispier and/or better seasoned -- but on a positive side, the omelets made with three extra large eggs they ordered were quite good and the perfect size)
SERVICE:      9/10 (super fast and super friendly and quick to tell a story, but point lost for "hovering" busboys, including one who almost cleared my plate when I still had a piece of bacon on it!)
BACON:         5/10 (yes it was on the menu in multiple places, but the waitress asked me whether I wanted "sausage or bacon" when the answer is clearly always going to be bacon ;( ... and then there was that aforementioned busboy bacon incident)
BONUS:         9/10 (+3 for being on television in a week or two, +3 for taking an anti-cell-phone stance at dinners and Sunday mornings [see photo below] and +3 for serving breakfast all day and for the low prices)

TroyScore:  39 out of 50 -- aka 78, a high C+