Tag: Winter Haven

Breweries are popping up everywhere in the United States, sometimes in the most unexpected places. Winter Haven, Florida is no exception. Not far off the main road I came across Grove Roots Brewing Company. I actually passed by it and took a double take, not sure what the building was.

The place was busy both inside and outside. They make all their beers on the premises. They have so many to choose from it was hard to narrow it down. Luckily they do offer tastings. That is what I did.

     

I tasted Pineapple Hula. This was a cider and it was the only tap that belonged to a “Guest” – Cider Boys. This cider had a slight sweet taste, with strong pineapple overtones. It was good but I did not think I could drink a whole pint.

The next beer I sampled was called Hopwarts Express. It caught my attention because I thought it read Hogwarts Express. This was a lighter beer that did have a hoppy aftertaste. It was refreshing to me so I ended up ordering a pint.

While enjoying the company I was with, I noticed a sign that was advertising a local business called A Cow Named Moo. They made homemade ice cream sandwiches. They had a deep freezer set up in the brewery, selling a few of their flavors.

I went for the Peanut Butter Cup. This ice cream sandwich was amazing. The ice cream was super creamy and full of peanut butter flavor. The cookie part of the sandwich was a dark chocolate cookie. It was soft and sweet. The chocolate flavor complemented the peanut butter. The cookie made the dessert absolutely perfect.

     

Grove Roots Brewing Company is a fun place to hang out and drink some local beers. You can also enjoy some local treats and place giant Jenga.

Check them out at www.groveroots.com

Enjoy!

T

There is a quaint local bar on the main street in Winter Haven, Florida called Central Tavern. While visiting them one evening I got to talking with the manager and he mentioned that the first Sunday of every month they do a special brunch. They offer a Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar along with some homemade food. It sounded like a fun time so I made sure to put it on my calendar for the next month.

     

So Sunday rolled around and I made sure to get to Central Tavern when they opened up. There was already a line when I arrived. It turns out that the brunch buffet is actually free. I was shocked. It was an assortment of homemade breakfast dishes and fresh fruit prepared by the management team. It is all first come first serve, so when they are out, they are out. It allows customers to enjoy a bite to eat while ordering a few custom made cocktails.

Naturally the menu of food items changes each month. This visit I got to enjoy:

     

• Veggie quiche – The fluffy eggs were filled with fresh vegetables.
• Sausage Balls – Spicy ground sausage was loaded with cheddar cheese.
• Sausage & Cheese Hash Browns – The crunchy potatoes were topped with a ton of cheese. This was my favorite dish.
• Shrimp & Grits – This was both creamy and cheesy. The shrimp were fresh and tender.

They also offered up some fresh fruit. It was the perfect blend of peaches, pineapple, and mango. I even put a few pieces in the mimosas I ordered.

The star of this Sunday brunch is the Mimosa and Bloody Mary Bar. They give you a menu and you get to select every aspect of your drink.

For the Bloody Mary, I picked spicy Old Bay on the rim for a little kick. For the ingredients I went for the classic – Worcestershire, celery salt, horseradish, and Tabasco. When it came to the garnish, I went a little safe – celery, bacon, bleu cheese olives, and pepperoni. I could have gone wild and add a pork rib but I passed. The flavor was just the way I like it with a hint of spicy.

The mimosas were a lot of fun to get to put together. Since they were not huge I was able to try three different versions.

The first I ordered was Peach. The peach juice came with fresh peach garnish. This was my favorite because it had such a fresh taste.

Up next was the Raspberry Lemonade. There was fresh raspberry garnish that gave this a great sour taste that made my lips pucker a little.

Finally I tried the Blackberry. The blackberry juice was accented with fresh blueberries. There was a slight tang from the juice but the blueberries were sweet.

Central Tavern was a really fun place to hang out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Check them out on Facebook at www.linksterstaproom.com

Enjoy!

T

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

There is a cute bar I found in Winter Haven, Florida called Ave Bar. It is located between Arabella’s and Bistro Pizza.

Inside you can either sit at the bar or enjoy a seat in one of their leather chairs. It is a great place to go with friends to enjoy drinks and conversation.

     

The other thing I learned about Ave Bar is that it is owned by the same company that owns Arabella’s and Bistro Pizza. So patrons can actually order food from either of those restaurants and have it delivered to the bar.

I started off my visit with a cucumber martini. This drink had an extraordinary fresh taste.  I could taste the cucumber throughout each sip. I saved the fresh slice of cucumber to eat at the end.

     

I wanted to make sure I tried something from each of the restaurants. From Arabella’s I ordered their Zuppa del Giorno (Soup of the Day). The day I was there the soup was a fresh made minestrone soup.

The vegetable broth had a great savory taste. It was loaded with fresh vegetables, including tender cannelloni beans. They also used a generous amount of pasta which ends up being my favorite part of the soup. This was a great starter to the meal.

From Bistro Pizza I ordered the Pizza alla Boscaiola. This this crust pizza was covered with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, and artichokes.

The crust was nice a crispy. The combination of veggies paired well together. The olives added saltiness, the mushrooms added an earthy taste, and the artichokes added a little crunch plus additional saltiness. The cheese added a smooth, creaminess that helped cut out some of the salt taste as well as the sweetness of the sauce. The pepperoni also added additional salt taste but it did not last long because I have a habit of picking off all the pepperoni and eating it separately.

Ave Bar was the perfect hang out spot for a Saturday night. The drinks were perfect and the food tasted wonderful. I would definitely go back again to hang out.

Check out what they are all about at www.arabellas.us/ave-bar

Enjoy!

T

Driving around Winter Haven I came across a pizza place called Slyce. I had not had pizza in a long time so I thought today would be a good time to try somewhere new.

     

I was there on a Sunday so to my luck they had a special on mimosas. Only $3!!!! I knew that it probably would not pair well with pizza but I could not pass up that special.

They offer both wood fire and brick oven pizzas.

I went for the hand tossed sausage and pepperoni pizza. It was topped with arugula and a chipotle honey mustard drizzle.

The drizzle gave the crust a wonderful sweet taste. The pepperoni was bite size and they used a lot of them. The sausage was tender and full of savory seasoning. The arugula added a peppery taste to the pizza which paired perfectly with the sweetness from that chipotle honey mustard drizzle.

I am so glad I decided to pop into Slyce. The pizza hit the spot. They have so many other options on the menu so I plan on stopping by again for something else. You should check them out, either eating there or take it home. www.slycepizzakitchen.com

Enjoy!

T

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

Central Florida is not shy of water. There are dozens of lakes all around. Recently I visited Lake Shipp in the Winter Haven area. Unfortunately when I got there one of Florida’s famous pop-up rain showers started. So since hanging outside was out of the question I decided to check out a restaurant right along the lake called Harborside.

They had a great view of the water.

As soon as I looked at the menu the red sangria called out to me. It was very classic with oranges and maraschino cherries added in. The only thing I would have changed was the ice. Now that may sound really strange but the reason for this is because they used crushed ice. So every time I took a sip a bunch of ice came with it.

The waitress brought a fresh basket of garlic bread. This bread had just come out of the oven because it was piping hot. It was soft on the inside with a slight crunch with the crust. There was a ton of garlic and butter on the outside of this bread that additional butter on the inside was not necessary. I could have eaten the entire basket myself. But I knew if I did then I would have no room for anything else.

After tasting the bread, I knew the perfect accompaniment would be a bowl of clam chowder. This was not a thick chowder. However, even though it was not thick, it was still extremely creamy. I really like that it was not thick. I felt like the flavor was more powerful. I could taste the herbs they used. The chowder was also loaded with tons of fresh clams and chunky potatoes. The clams were tender, not chewy. They added a meaty taste to the chowder.

To continue my meal I ordered the crab cake. This crab cake came out in a metal pan because they broiled it instead of frying it. This crab cake was loaded with fresh lump crabmeat. They did not use any breadcrumbs to make it. I loved this because they made this all about the crab.

There was a creaminess to the crab cake that was enhanced because it was broiled. It was amazing. it also came with a side dish of my choice. I went for the mashed potatoes. They used red potato and left the skin on. I love them prepared this way because it adds more texture to the potato. I also love red potatoes because they are sweeter.

I also wanted to make sure I wrote about the lobster roll. Now I did not order this but someone at my table did. It looked really good so I got to try a little of it. This roll was loaded with large chunks of lobster. The meat was tender and somewhat sweet.

This lobster roll did not use mayo. The lobster was just prepared with butter and lemon juice. It was served in a roll that looked slightly like a hot dog bun.

I am really glad it rained that day I visited Lake Shipp. Because of Mother nature, I was able to try a great new restaurant.  Check out their menu at www.harborsidefl.com

Enjoy!

T

Winter haven is a small town in Central Florida. They have a cute little downtown area that is having a restaurant boom. Fire is one of those hot spots.

They are pretty big inside. There is an area where bands play. They have an outside patio area, with a full bar. This is also where you can go with your dog.

  

I was pretty hungry when I arrived because I had worked through lunch that day. I started off with the bacon wrapped scallops with an Asian slaw.

The scallops were large in size and wrapped tightly with crunchy bacon. The scallops were very tender and paired well with the bacon. It was as if the were soul mates with one being salty and the other sweet.

The Asian slaw added so many flavors to the dish. It consisted of cucumber and Mandarin oranges. The cucumbers added a crunchy element and the oranges added sweetness. Then drizzled across all of this were three different sauces: a hot sauce, a cucumber aioli, and a sweet and sour sauce. That may seem like an over use of sauce but they all worked spectacularly together. The hot sauce added heat that was quickly extinguished by the aioli. This was great with the scallops and bacon. The cucumbers and oranges were great tossed with the sweet and sour sauce. This was my favorite part; it was extremely refreshing. I would consider making this at home for a side dish.

I also ordered the fried green beans. I do not see these very often so I was happy to order them. They came with a red pepper dipping sauce. The breading had a subtle salty taste. The green beans were really fresh. I could tell as soon as I took a bite. Fresh green beans have a unique earthy taste to them. This is how I knew these were fresh. The red pepper dipping sauce was not spicy at all, it was slightly sweet and added extra flavor.

I also got some wings. They had a couple of flavor choices; I went with classic Buffalo sauce. I wanted them extra crispy because this is how I prefer my wings. They did come out crispy but they could have stayed a little longer in the fryer. They have nice meaty wings. The sauce had that great tangy kick that I have come to expect from Buffalo sauce.

I really enjoyed everything I ordered at Fire. It was all appetizers however, they do have a full menu with many options. I would want to come back and try one of their burgers, they looked great.

Check out their menu at http://thefirerestaurant.com/

Enjoy!

T