FloridaFoodHound

Cochon De Lait, Bunny Bread, Mojo Bar-B-Que and S.O.B.'s

Last weekend we took our annual summer trip to New Orleans to visit my family.  This year, we also caught the last weekend of JazzFest, which is not just great music, but also great food.  I tried the much talked about cochon de lait po-boy and instantly fell in love with it.  Who woulda thunk that shredded pork, cold cabbage and horseradish sauce on french bread could taste so good?

While we're on the topic of food, we visited the Whole Foods in New Orleans and were reminded how much we'd love to live near one of these "food amusement parks".  We do have Fresh Market and it's fine, but it's not the same.  On a visit to Rouses, a local grocery chain, we posed in front of loaves of Bunny Bread.  Growing up in New Orleans, Bunny Bread was synonymous with white bread like Xerox is to copies or Kleenex is to tissues.

Switching back to the local restaurant scene here, we did check out two restaurants in recent weeks with one hit and one miss.  First, the hit.  This past weekend, we decided to spend a day exploring Jacksonville.  Some reading beforehand on Chowhound suggested that Mojo Bar-B-Que was worth trying.  The self-styled "southern blues kitchen" didn't disappoint.  I ordered a plate of pulled pork and smoked turkey with coleslaw, corn and cheese grits (can't pass up cheese grits).  The pork was tender and the turkey slices were tasty.  Traci ordered smoked turkey with fries and corn.   The corn was knockout and you could see that it had just been cut from the cobb.  Mojo's does a variety of sauces.  Our favorites was the mojo, chipotle and mustard-style sauces.  Prices were reasonable for the amount of food we got.  The server was good and the atmosphere (casual, clean with a laidback, bluesy motif) fit nicely with the food.  If Mojo's wasn't  all the way in Jacksonville, we'd become fast regulars.

The miss was unfortunately closer to home.  Again, thanks to a positive comment on Chowhound, we decided to try S.O.B.'s of Newberry for dinner one night this past week.  Browsing S.O.B.'s website, the place sounded perfect.  S.O.B.'s cutely stands for Shrimp, Oysters, Beer.  Plus,  it is apparently owned by the same restaurateur that was behind Mark's Prime downtown and M.T.'s Chophouse.  Unfortunately, our dinner was a disappointment.  First off,   the place felt like the A/C was broken.  Second, our server was sweet, but announced it was her first day and didn't know the menu.  I ordered the all-you-can-eat fried shrimp special and Traci went with chicken fingers.  While it's hard to go wrong with fried shrimp and I thought the shrimp tasted fine, both of us agreed that the fries and coleslaw were pretty blah.   The prices are good and we wanted to like the place, but the food certainly didn't match with expectations.

As always, drop me a line with your favorite independent restaurants in Gainesville and beyond.

Mark's Prime, Louis' Lunch, Satchel's, Pearl, and More

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 Satchel'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!

FloridaFoodHound in GAINESVILLE Magazine

When I first arrived in town this past summer, my initial source for learning about local restaurants was by visiting the archives of the Gainesville Sun (particularly David Carlson's restaurant reviews) and GAINESVILLE Magazine.  I also picked up tidbits of useful info on sites like Chowhound and Yelp. 

This post is a bit overdue, but the October/November issue - "The Food Issue" - of GAINESVILLE magazine is now available.  As the title implies, this issue is full of interesting pieces about local restaurants, recipes and restaurateurs. The local food scene has certainly developed over the years. 

FloridaFoodHound is even quoted in the article, "Survival Amidst The Chains."  The three independent local restaurants I recommend in the piece are Satchel's, Blue Highway and Newberry Backyard Bar-B-Q.  Again, keep in mind I'm new in town and still feeling my way around. 

Anyway, even if I wasn't mentioned, this is an issue worth picking up - and keeping around! 

p.s.  Hopefully, I'll have time to post a new restaurant review or two this weekend...

 

David's Real Pit BBQ, Adam's Rib Co and Terrell's BBQ

As regular readers of this blog know by now, Traci and I are big fans of barbecue.  We can't go to a new place and not hunt for good, independent barbecue.  So over the past few weeks, we've tried several additional local barbecue restaurants.  What follows is a quick run-down on three more spots. 

David's Real Pit Bar-B-Que:  From the outside, David's sure looked promising.  Bright colored pigs on the side of the restaurant and a no-frills, but comfortable feeling inside.  I ordered a rib dinner and Traci had a turkey plate.  Service was fine and I liked the look of the place, but our meal was decidedly mediocre.  While my fries and slaw was fine, the ribs were unfortunately tough and chewy (far from being "fall off the bone" as described on David's website).  Traci's turkey tasted fairly bland and dry.  She thought the sides were okay.   Maybe at one time David's was tops in town for barbecue, but those days seem to be gone.  Also, I didn't think the price per plate was that great for what we got. 

Adam's Rib Co.: One of Adam's many coupons finally got us to try the converted-doughnut-shop-turned-small-barbecue-restaurant on NW 13th St.  We sat up at the counter.  There's also a handful of booths.  I went with a pork sandwich plate and Traci had a black angus burger.  Traci liked her burger and I had no complaints with my pork sandwich on garlic toast.  We had fun trying Adam's variety of barbecue sauces in hand-labeled bottles.  Coffee is served in mismatched mugs, which adds to the charm of the place.  Service was friendly and made us feel like regulars (I suspect it helps to sit up at  the counter).  I can't say there was anything exceptional about the food, but overall a good experience.

Terrell's BBQ:  The highlight of our recent barbecue escapades has to be Terrell's BBQ.  After reading several positive reviews on Terrell's, we decided to give the location on NE 16th Ave a try last weekend.  Terrell's other location is on S. Main St.  The NE 16th Ave location is little more than a fair-style mobile trailer set-up in a parking lot.  Carry-out only.  This is not a set-up for casual barbecue enthusiasts. I ordered a barbecue beef sandwich with a side of coleslaw and Traci ordered a chicken sandwich with a side of potato salad.  I made quick work of my sandwich.  The deep smoked taste of Traci's chicken was addictive and was much bigger than she could eat.  The downside is that both locations are carry-out only and they're only open Thursday through Saturday.  Prices are reasonable and the service was okay.

If someone would have asked me a month or so ago for the best barbecue in Gainesville, I would have confidently said Newberry's Backyard Bar-B-Q.  But after a lackluster recent experience at Newberry's, and, after since trying Terrell's and really digging its smoky, tender 'cue, this is a tougher question.  The middle of the pack is easier: Adam's Rib Co and Sonny's, and in the rear, David's (I may have just caught them at an off-time, but I can't remember the last time I had chewy ribs) and Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q. 

Agree? Disagree?  Are there any good local barbecue places that I'm missing?  Let me know.   

Boss Hog Ribs in Pinellas Park

A few weeks ago, I received an email out of the blue from one of the owners of Boss Hog Ribs, talking up his newish barbecue joint in Pinellas Park.  I wasn't familiar with Boss Hog and told the emailer I now lived in Gainesville, but that I would keep his place in mind for future Tampa Bay visits.

Well, Boss Hog also does mail order and offered to ship me out some ribs to try 'em out.  So in the interest of full disclosure, this review is about a place that did send me free food.  Do I think this might make me look at Boss Hog in a more favorable light?  Possibly.  Although, if the food wasn't good, free or not, you'd definitely hear about it.  As regular readers know, we eat lots of barbecue. 

I'm happy to say, though, that the slab of spare ribs we sampled from Boss Hog was very good.  We received a big package in the mail this week.  I've had trouble with reheating already cooked ribs before and ending up with dried out meat. The Boss Hog ribs are done no-smoke North Carolina style dry rub.  I'm not a big dry rub fan, as I generally prefer my ribs slathered in some sauce, but the Boss Hog ribs were pretty flavorful even without sauce.  Too much sauce can cover up the flavor of the meat. 

Boss Hog did include a sampling of their homemade sauces in the package.  This selection included sweet, tangy, cajun, hickory, southwest and hog hot.  We liked the cajun and hog hot sauce the best.  All in all, we were pleasantly surprised by the ribs and sauce.  Next time we're in the area, maybe we'll have to stop by Boss Hog and try them out anonymously in person.  Here's their online menu. 

If you live in the area, and have eaten at Boss Hog before, I'd love to hear your comments. 

0-for-3: Bahn Thai, Newberry's Bar-BQ, and Las Margaritas

Our honeymoon period with the G'ville dining scene is apparently over.  The past few weeks, we've unfortunately had several mediocre experiences at restaurants where we had expected more.  Below is my quick run-down on each of these establishments (one of which we've been to probably a half dozen times, so this was particularly a let down).  Thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Bahn Thai: A few weekends ago, we decided to try out Bahn Thai for an early dinner.  While the food was tasty, I thought the atmosphere was lacking.  Bahn Thai can't help that there aren't any windows in the restaurant to the outside world, but they could turn up the music and crank up the A/C.  I like quiet restaurants, but not places that are so quiet that every other table in the restaurant can hear your conversation.  Also, what's with using menus that aren't just old, but looked dirty and falling apart.  I'm all for tradition, and again the food was tasty and service was okay, I just couldn't get into the place.

Newberry's Backyard Bar-BQ:  This was the biggest disappointment for us, as we've been here several times before and were really in the mood for great cue last weekend.  We've learned from previous visits to not expect great service, but to always expect great food.  Unfortunately, not only did we wait longer than usual for our food on this visit, but the portions seemed smaller and the food tasted like we could have gotten it at Sonny's (that's not meant as a big slight, since the Sonny's in town generally tastes better than the Sonny's I remember in Central Florida).  I'm sure we'll be back, but this was a let down.

Las Margaritas: After many good meals at La Tienda, we decided to try Las Margaritas for dinner last night.  The two restaurants share the same owners.  Granted, our meal got off to a bad start before it even started (we were rear ended on Newberry Rd. in a five car collision with our car receiving the least damage!), but it was a decidedly mediocre experience.  The place was hot and packed, the food was ok (more tex-Mexy tasting than I expected.  We thought our recent meal at La Fiesta was a little better), the server tried; it just didn't click for us.  I'll take La Tienda - where the food is authentic, cheaper, and the place is more low-key.  I guess it depends on what atmosphere and kind of food you're looking for.

While these three recent meals were all let downs, we've still had more positive experiences than bad since moving here.  We love La Tienda and have also become big fans of Blue Highway Pizzeria.  Green Plantains has also been a pleasant surprise (we plan to try Virtually Cuban once they're open later again).  The various Leonardo's around town I have yet to understand what makes them special, except they've been around forever.  We also found Chopstix Cafe solid, while Wise's was lackluster.

Drop me a note and let me know where we should try next.      

Experimenting with Video on FloridaFoodHound

Trying something a little different today.  Below is my first attempt at adding video to this blog.  Nothing fancy, but I think video (actually seeing the restaurant and seeing the food) could help compliment the reviews on occasion.  This short clip is of Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q, a Jacksonville-based chain that we ate at last night.  I'd call it "Sonny's caliber" (i.e. ok),  certainly not in the same league as Newberry's Backyard BBQ.

Comments, thoughts, suggestions of course welcome.  Post below or email me at: flfoodhound@gmail.com.

p.s.  For those of you interested, this video was shot with a Flip Video, a new digital camcorder ($127 on Amazon, no tapes, no batteries to recharge etc and it fits in your pocket).  There is beauty in simplicity and this thing is "idiot proof."  My favorite new gadget in a long time.  Digital video for the masses! 

First Choice BBQ in Brandon: King of Tampa Bay 'Cue

Thanks to persistent praise from Sticks of Fire readers, we drove over to Brandon this past Friday to check out First Choice Southern BBQ for dinner. We thought we had arrived early enough to beat the dinner crowd, but instead found the line already out the door when we walked up.

The first thing we noticed while waiting in line, besides the great smells coming out of the kitchen, was that people were being friendly to each other. One guy turned around to the lady in front of us and said this was "the best bbq he's ever had." She agreed. Maybe great food puts everyone in a good mood. Whatever the reason, it was nice to see strangers getting along.

Listening to the chopping of the meat and the buzz of the kitchen just made me hungrier as we waited in line. The line moved quickly and after getting to the counter I ordered a pork and beef combo plate with sides of spicy macaroni salad and cole slaw. Traci ordered smoked turkey with fries and macaroni. Service is fast and next thing we knew we were paying for our orders and grabbing an open table. From our table we watched as the line built even further out the door.

The pork and the beef were both excellent (juicy and moist) and I loved the spicy macaroni, which was indeed spicy, but not too much bite to ruin things. I was tempted to order some macaroni to go. The smoked turkey was some of the best I've ever had. The coleslaw was good- not too sweet, but not bitter either.

My only complaint was that the two sides of bread that come with each meal tasted like ordinary hamburger buns. I would have preferred garlic toasted bread, but the great barbecue and macaroni on the side more than made up for it.

We left First Choice stuffed and only a little lighter in the wallet. While I haven't tried Big John's yet, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say First Choice is the best barbecue in Tampa Bay. This comes after trying Jimbo's (still good in a pinch and I like the inside dining room), Hickory Hollow (good food overshadowed by poor service), Kojak's (food was disappointing, but cool atmosphere), Fred Fleming's, and yes even Sonny's a few years ago.

I know I've reviewed a lot of barbecue places lately and that barbecue isn't for everyone. So drop me a line and let me know what restaurants around the area you'd like me to check out.

Bottom-line: When I first heard about First Choice, I thought the place was over-hyped. After eating there, I actually think this place isn't talked about enough. Simply great barbecue!

Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection - August 2006 violations - Critical (0), Non-Critical (1).

Hickory Hollow in Ellenton: Crotchety Servers Overshadow Food

We had been hankering for some good barbecue so Friday night we decided to try out Hickory Hollow, a barbecue joint best-known for its east-Carolina style barbecue. Hickory Hollow is located in Ellenton, a small town north of Sarasota that's best known for its outlet mall. A few months ago, Hickory Hollow made USA Today's list of the Top 10 barbecue joints in the U.S.

Now, I don't know how USA Today compiled their list and maybe we just caught Hickory Hollow at the wrong time, but after our visit last Friday this isn't a place I would put on any Top 10 list. While the 'cue was tasty and the vast selection of 25-plus side items was a neat surprise, the service was poor and the atmosphere (what is the deal with butterfly decorations all over the walls in a barbecue place?) was just average. Overall, I didn't dislike Hickory Hollow, but I wouldn't drive out of my way for it. It's okay if you're already in the area.

I ordered the east-Carolina style pork with cheese squash and creamed spinach as my two sides, while my fiancee Traci went with smoke turkey, roasted corn and steak fries. Both meals came with delicious corn fritters. I was happy with the pork and the squash, but the creamed spinach was missing something. Traci's turkey was very good.

While the food was above average, it was overshadowed by the poor service from the moment we walked in the door. We've eaten at lots of barbecue joints and these aren't the kind of places where you expect to find award-winning service, but that doesn't mean we should feel like we're bothering the waitstaff for eating there.

The level of service was night and day between Hickory Hollow and our visit to Newberry's Backyard Bar-B-Q a few weeks ago. I am still looking for an excuse to go back up to Gainesville to eat there again. While Hickory Hollow didn't knock my socks off, I still have high hopes for reader-suggested Big John's Barbecue in Tampa and First Choice in Brandon. Both are on my list. I still think Jimbo's on Kennedy is a good choice for 'cue in a pinch.

Bottom-line: Good food was overshadowed by poor service with the net-result being I can't see myself eating there again unless I already happen to be shopping in Ellenton and am in need of a major barbecue fix.

Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection: April 2006 violations- Critical (4), Non-Critical (1).

Jimbo's: Good Barbecue in a Pinch

Last Saturday Traci and I were craving some barbecue so we headed to Jimbo's Pit Bar-b-que on W. Kennedy Blvd in Tampa. Now Jimbo's isn't the same caliber of 'cue as we had last week at Newberry's Backyard Bar-B-Q, but Jimbo's has usually been good in a pinch. Saturday was no exception.

Jimbo's has been serving up good no-frills, home-style barbecue in the same location on Kennedy since the seventies. There is a sister location in Lakeland. I was told on a previous visit that Jimbo's was started by two brothers- one opened and managed the Lakeland location, the other opened up the Tampa location a few years later.

On this visit I ordered a Jimbo's salad with barbecue chicken on top (I like using Jimbo's warm barbecue sauce as my salad dressing but their homemade blue cheese is good, too), while Traci ordered an oversized hamburger and fries. I've tried their barbecue pork, beef and many of their side items (the hush puppies are particularly tasty, gotta love fried dough) and all of them are pretty good, although the homestyle fries are mediocre.

The menu is simple, as any good barbecue place should be, prices are inexpensive and service is quick and friendly. Again, Jimbo's won't knock your socks off, but it does the trick when we're in the mood for barbecue.

Other Tampa Bay area barbecue joints that are on my list to check out are Big John's Alabama BBQ on N. 40th St and Hickory Hollow in Ellenton. One local place that barbecue-wise I found mediocre was Kojak's House of Ribs on Gandy near Bayshore. The outdoor patio seating at Kojak's is nice and I know the place has been there forever like Jimbo's, but the food needs to at least be above average and Kojak's certainly wasn't.

Bottom-line: While Jimbo's barbecue may not be award-winning, it's better than average and certainly does the trick in a pinch. There's also a drive-thru if you'd rather get your 'cue to go. Keep in mind the drive-thru isn't "instant", which is a good thing.

Inspection Scorecard: Last inspection: May 2006 violations - Critical (4), Non-Critical (4).