Month: September 2018

Hollywood Brewing Company – Hollywood, FL

There is a brewery right on the beach in Hollywood, Florida called Hollywood Brewing Company. What better way to enjoy beer than at the beach.

They have a great painting on the wall that explains the beer making process. It is simple but gets the key points across.

I sampled a few of their beers but they were a little too hoppy and bitter for my liking. But if you are a fan of German style beer then they will be perfect for you.

 I went for one of their cocktails. The Victoria’s Lemonade sounded great. It was vodka, Sprite, and a splash of pomegranate juice. It was a refreshing taste that was not too sweet.

Naturally I had the munchies while I was enjoying my cocktail. I saw a pretzel on the menu. This freshly baked pretzel was covered in salt. It also came with a side of mustard. The mustard had a wonderful sweet taste. I enjoyed the pretzel but it was a little over cooked, so as it cooled down it got slightly harder.

There were these dumplings on the menu that caught my attention. There was not much of a description so I asked my bartender about them.

These were Russian style dumplings. The bite size pasta was stuffed with ground beef and lamb. They were boiled in a chicken broth. The broth added a salty taste to the pasta itself. The meat was tender and full of flavor. I was very surprised that these little dumplings were so savory.

Hollywood Brewing Company was a fun, little surprise along the beach. If you need to get out of the sun or work up an appetite after swimming, check them out. http://hollywood.beer/

Enjoy!

T

Fire – Winter Haven, FL

I have written about Fire Restaurant before. I was back in town and I wanted to stop by again.

To my surprise the entire restaurant had been remodeled and the menu had been slightly updated. What I remembered about the restaurant before was it was dark with rich wood beams and wood paneling on the wall. Now it has been brightened up with trendy gray paint, fresh decor on the walls, and cool updated light fixtures. It really was a transformation.

     

I was excited to try some of the new menu items. I started with the chicken noodle soup. The soup was a little thick; it reminded me of chicken and dumplings. The broth had a great savory taste. They include lots of fresh vegetables and noodles. Plus there are large pieces of fresh roasted chicken.

I also ordered the grilled shrimp skewers. My waitress mentioned that this was one of her favorite dishes. The shrimp had a sweet teriyaki glaze. It paired really well with the grilled taste of the shrimp.

The shrimp rested on top of a slaw salad made with cucumbers, red onion, and feta cheese. It was tossed in a Vidalia onion like dressing. The flavor was amazing. It was sweet overall and the feta cheese added a subtle tang. The cucumbers soaked up the sweet taste and added crunch.

They had a few flatbreads on the menu. The fig, prosciutto, and Gorgonzola cheese pizza sounded like an interesting combination. The fig added a sweetness, the prosciutto added the saltiness and the Gorgonzola added tanginess. When eaten all together it was a trifecta of flavor. They all worked off each other. The crust was super thin. It was a cracker like crust but still sweet. Because it was so thin, the pizza toppings took center stage without the crust taking over.

The changes at Fire are well worth another visit. Their new dishes were great. Check them out at www.thefirerestaurant.com

Enjoy!

T

House of Blues – Anaheim, CA

There are House of Blues in many major cities in the US. I recently went to one location in Anaheim, California not far from Disneyland.

As soon as I walked in I noticed this beautiful decorated column. It was covered in different beads and it blew me away.

     

Since I was there for an event they had a few food stations set up around the restaurant. The food choices were different dishes off their main menu.

They had this amazing jalapeno cheese cornbread. The cornbread itself was moist and the cheese added saltiness. The jalapenos (which were chopped up) added a slight amount of heat. The heat was subdued when I spread the creamy honey butter on top. The butter was so sweet that it almost made the cornbread a dessert.

They served some fantastic street tacos. They used fresh flour tortillas and loaded them up with chopped smoked chicken. Then they drizzled BBQ sauce across the top. They loaded up the taco with fresh pico de gallo, crispy shredded cabbage, and sour cream. The chicken was very tender and the BBQ sauce blended well with the sour cream. The tacos were very addicting.

The other fun part of the event was the mashed potato bar. They made really creamy mashed potatoes and served them in a martini glass. I had creamy queso poured over the potatoes. On top they added BBQ pulled pork. This added a sweet and smoky taste.

Then shredded cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes, and crispy bacon all covered the top of the pork. I loved that I was able to customize this to my liking. The cheese went really well with the BBQ which I normally do not see. The bacon added great crunch and the tomatoes added a hint of freshness.

Although I was there for an event, they really went all out on the food. The cornbread and the street tacos are on their regular menu so I would encourage everyone to try them. Check out their website at www.houseofblues.com

     

Also check and see when they have entertainment. It will make your visit even more fun.

Enjoy!

T

MIX – Anaheim, CA

Sometimes when I am traveling I do not get a chance to leave the hotel that I am staying at. In most cases the hotels have wonderful restaurants that I can try. MIX was one of those restaurants found inside the Hilton Anaheim in Anaheim, California.

     

Since it was just me having dinner they were able to seat me right away. I had a wonderful waitress, who was very attentive. She actually hung around and had a conversation with me about different things to see and do in Anaheim.

To quench my thirst I ordered an Arnold Palmer. For people who are not familiar with this drink it is a blend of ice tea and lemonade and it is named after one of the most famous golfers. I had never seen one made like this. They were able to get it layered perfectly.

I started off with the French onion soup. It had been a really long time since I have had a bowl. When my waitress brought out the bowl with the melted blanket of gruyere cheese on top, I could not wait to dive in.

Underneath all that cheese were sautéed onions that were caramelized to perfection. They were tender and sweet, which complemented the saltiness of the broth. Mixed with the onions were croutons that soaked up additional flavor from the broth and the cheese. The soup base was a blend of veal and chicken broth and topped odd with an accent of sherry.

For my main dish I ordered the Halibut. It was the chef’s special for the evening and it sounded delicious. The Halibut was extremely flaky and the skin was crispy around the edges.  The fish sat on top of tender couscous. I could taste accents of saffron throughout.

Also on top of the couscous was fresh broccolini and carrots.  The carrots were tender and still a little crispy. The broccolini was salty and buttery that made the leafy flowers very tasty.

The meal was the perfect end to the day. The food was good and the perfect serving size. It was nice to not feel overly stuffed at the end. If you are in the area of the Hilton Anaheim you should check out MIX.

www.hiltonhotels.com/Anaheim

Enjoy!

T

 

Two Henry’s Brewing Company – Plant City, FL

So inside Keel & Curley Winery, which I had previously written about, is a brewery called Two Henry’s Brewing Company.

They offer beer flight as well as cider flights. I went for a cider flight that allowed me to select five of their homemade ciders.

     

  • Elderberry – this was almost like a light fruit punch. It was sweet and full of flavor.
  • Mango – I could smell the mango as soon as I put the glass up to my nose. There was a sweetness that was throughout. It was very tropical in nature.
  • Pineapple – Since I love pineapple so much I knew I needed to try this. Overall it was slightly bubblier than the other ciders. This too was sweet and the pineapple taste was strong.
  • Strawberry – I could smell the strawberry. When I tasted it however, there was only an essence of strawberry. It was as if the apple cider was trying to push through.
  • Strawberry-Lime – This had a subtle sweet smell to it. The strawberry did not stand out. I actually thought I tasted banana, which is weird since there was no banana in the cider.

I also ordered the conch fritters to enjoy while sipping my cider flight.

They had a great crispy crust on the outside and soft and moist inside. There were large pieces of the actual conch mixed throughout the filling. It was a great complement to the cider.

If you like beer tastings or even interested in trying a cider flight, head over to Two Henry’s Brewing Company. Check out their menu at www.twohenrysbrewing.com

Enjoy!

T

Keel & Curley Winery – Plant City, FL

Florida has several wineries around the state. There is one not far off Interstate 4 as you are heading toward Tampa called Keel & Curley. I was excited to get to visit along with my sister.

They are much larger on the inside than what I was expecting. They have a full restaurant along with two large bars. We grabbed seats at the bar for more personal attention.

     

We both decided to do a wine tasting. This allowed us to try four of their homemade wines. We both decided to make two of our four choices different each other, that way we could each taste something different, basically six different wines.  We were just trying to maximize our experience.

My selections included:

     

  • Strawberry Riesling – this was sweet with a slight essence of strawberry, not overwhelming.
  • Tangerine Tango – I could taste the citrus when I first took a sip but there was a bitter aftertaste.
  • Key West Key Lime – This was the perfect name for a Florida wine. There were hints of coconut in the taste and scent. It was great for sipping. It almost had a tropical cocktail feel.
  • Black Raspberry – This had a sweet flavor with a slightly dry aftertaste.

There were two wines that my sister ordered that she let me try.

  • Sweet Blueberry – I could really taste the actual blueberries that they used in the wine. There was a slight tangy aftertaste.
  • Wildberry Pinot Noir – There was a sweetness to the wine but it did not linger. It was an interesting flavor.

While we were sampling all this wine, we did order something to munch on. The pretzels with beer cheese hit the spot. Three large pretzels came out with a little salt on top. There was a sweet taste to the dough. It almost seemed like they deep fried them to make the outside crispy. The cheese was creamy and there was only a hint of beer flavor.

We had a blast during our visit to Keel and Curley. It is a fun place to go for wine, food, and music. They also offer tours of the winery every hour. I did not get a chance to do that bu I plan on going back. Check them out at www.keelandcurleywinery.com

     

Enjoy!

T