It was a wonderful evening in Florida. There was a new restaurant that was recommended for me to try called Tanners Lakeside.
It is located between Lake Mary and Lake Howard in Winter Haven, Florida. Since it was such a nice evening I wanted to make sure that I sat outside. They had a great deck that was over the water.
I had great seats so that I could watch the boats go back and forth between the two lakes.
I also watched all the cute little turtles swimming around and popping their heads up out of the water. Luckily I did not see any alligators swimming around the deck. But I am sure they were out there.
I started off this wonderful evening with the chips and mango salsa. My great waitress Vanessa recommended that I try this salsa. They make the salsa fresh at the restaurant. The fresh chunks of tender mango was mixed with chopped onions and cilantro. It was sweet over all in taste with a hint of spice coming from the cilantro. I could just eat the salsa with a fork however, it did taste good with the crunchy tortilla chips.
An appetizer that was also recommended was the fried lobster. The large pieces of sweet lobster meat was hand breaded and then deep fried. It was cooked perfectly; the meat was extremely tender. They served a melted, roasted garlic butter on the side, which was savory. However, I thought the lobster tasted amazing with the fresh made cocktail sauce.
Another appetizer I tried was the blackened yellow fin tuna. The rare tuna was slightly pan seared on the outside. It was covered with a Cajun seasoning. The seasoning had a slight kick to it. They drizzled a Creole butter sauce over the thinly sliced tuna. The sauce had a mustard taste. The tuna was fresh and perfect as it melted in my mouth as soon as I took a bite.
Finally for my dinner I ordered the Grouper mango. The Gulf Grouper filet was lightly blackened and pan seared. The blackened taste, which was slightly salty, complemented the sweetness from the mango salsa that they layered on top. If that was not enough, a loaded baked potato came on the side. It came with all the fillings including cheese, bacon, butter, and sour cream.
My meal was exquisite and the views were extraordinary. It was the perfect way to kickoff the weekend. I would highly recommend Tanners Lakeside. Check them out at www.tannerslakeside.com
Enjoy!
T
