Having finished my first semester at UF earlier this week, I now have some time to catch up on some non-school work, such as a much-needed blog update. I'm going to try a different format than usual so I can cover more ground. What follows is quick, bulleted takes on several local restaurants:
- Mark's U.S. Prime: What a pleasant surprise. Traci took me here a few weekends ago for my birthday (being 30 feels the same as 29, but certainly seems "older"). Great experience. We've been to many of the "chain" steakhouses (Morton's, Ruth's Chris, Capital Grille, Palm, Shula's, Fleming's) and top-tier independents (Bern's and Charley's in Tampa), and Mark's compares very favorably. Our fillets were perfectly prepared (served on a sizzling plate of butter a la Ruth's), good service, good sides, nice environment. Our new favorite special occasion place in town. Mildred's was a nice experience, and Mark's is certainly more expensive, but worth it in my view.
- Louis' Lunch: Shifting to the other end of the price spectrum, we tried out Louis' Lunch for the
first time a few weekends ago as well. Owned by the same family since it opened in 1928, Louis' may be the oldest restaurant in Gainesville. Louis Pennisi, the diner's namesake, lived to 106, passing away in 2003. Louis' has a run-down, step-back-in-time charm to it, which Traci and I love. One long-time customer we chatted with on our first visit appropriately called Louie's a "living museum" about old Gainesville. Old pictures line the walls. If you like homemade burgers, fries, onion rings, shakes and history, I recommend checking out Louie's while it's still here.
- Satchel's Pizza: Before moving to Gainesville this past summer, we had tried out Satchel's for dinner one night and had been impressed. I think the only reason we hadn't been back since was that Satch
el's is on the other side of town, we knew there'd be a wait - and then we found Blue Highway Pizzeria in Micanopy, which is closer to us with little or no wait and very good pizza.
Well, we hit Satchel's last night and were reminded just how good the salad and pizza is here. Prices are still reasonable, but certainly not cheap. Maybe I'll change my mind after eating at Blue Highway next time, but for now I think Satchel's edges out Blue Highway for best pizza in town.
- Pearl Country Store: A classmate turned me onto the Pearl Country Store, which, as the name implies, is a gas station/convenience store/barbecue joint. The barbecue isn't the best I've ever had, but is solid, the people are friendly (ok, they turned friendlier on our second visit), the prices are good, and Traci and I tend to like most places where you can sit up at the counter. You know you're in the country when half of the customers are wearing camo, everyone seems to know each other, and the girls & guns magazines are on sale at the front of the store next to the country jams and other homemade items. Pearl is right down the road from Blue Highway on US 441.
- No Good Cuban Sandwiches in Gainesville: I'm now pretty convinced that a good, authentic Cuban sandwich simply doesn't exist in this town. (For that matter, I haven't found yet a great deli/sandwich shop here, either. Hogan's is better than a Subway/Quizno's etc, but that isn't saying much). I've now tried Cubans at Virtually Cuban, La Familia, Mi Apa Latin Cafe and Flaco's. All of these places are fairly skimpy on toppings and/or use bread that might qualify for a Miami-style Cuban, but not a Tampa-style Cuban. La Familia gets their bread from Tampa, but was skimpy with the meat, cheese etc (plus, they have an Italian name/motif and use bread from Tampa, but no salami?). The only Latin restaurant in town I haven't tried yet is Emiliano's. Our favorite Latin place here by far is Green Plantain's. Agree? Disagree? Where are we missing?
Send your Gainesville-area restaurant suggestions to: flfoodhound@gmail.com.
As always, thanks for reading and happy holidays!
