Hop's - Sanford, FL

Today we went to Hop's Restaurant in Sanford. I know you are probably thinking this blog is too chain centric and I have to agree with you. We'll go ahead and get these chains out of the way that we have close to our office and then get down to the nitty gritty of some real local restaurants. I am trying not to be the jerk that always has to choose my suggestion for lunch, so please bear with me as I give my lunch companiions some say in our lunch decisions.

I need to provide you a little bit of information about Hop's. Hop's is a restaurant that also brews their own beers. I have had their beers and ales and have to admit they are quite good. The only problem we have usually had there is that it can take a long time for us to get through a lunch. Today was entirely different. We believe that the economy is truly taking an effect on the lunch crowds and many restaurants must be suffering from the smaller crowds. $4.00 a gallon gasoline is truly starting to pinch people's wallets.

My lunch companions today were Kraig and John again. Kraig is looking to lose a littel weight, so he wanted to come to Hop's for their salmon and vegetables. He ordered the brocoli as his side. You'll notice that John shows up frequently in this blog, as he is like me and recognizes lunch as an important staple in the daily life of a man. Kraig will be in and out as he brings his lunch from time-to-time and eats in the office. I need to be joining Kraig during his endeavor to lose some weight, but I could give less than a shit about my weight. It is what it is and I am enjoying myself. I have a beautiful wife and daughter, so I don's have to worry about a 32" waist and weighing 175 lbs. I've got mine, you get yours!

We get seated pretty quickly in the bar area and put in our drink orders. I order a root beer and find that because they are brewers of beer, their root beer is the real old fashioned type. This is not a sweet glass of Barq's or A&W, but it is really good. Again, I order some soup, which is baked potato today. The soup is creamy and chock full of bacon and cheese. This stuff is heavenly. For my lunch, I order the Rueben as it has been good in the past. Today is no exception. The sandwich is full of great tasting, lean pastrami with swiss cheese, saurkraut and thousand island dressing. Kraig gets a great piece of salmon with steamed brocoli and John gets a chicken sandwich. We are all quite pleased with our meals today and the time needed for us to get our meals. Our waiter did a great job refilling our drinks and checking on us throughout our meal. It was really a good experience today.

I hate to see good restaurants hurting due to the crunch on the economy, but have to admit it has helped us get in and out of places that usually are known to be a bit slow. This worked well today for Kraig as he had a meeting at 1:00 to introduce JY to his team. More on JY later in the blog as he plays an interesting role in all of our lunches, without ever attending. My guess is I will have more to report on JY as early as tomorrow.

If you are looking for a good lunch with a nice atmosphere, I have to recommend Hop's in Sanford. They have other locations locally in Florida, so I can only assume the others are just as consistent. If you have the kind of job that allows you to have a drink of God's gift, try any of their ales or stouts. They are all quite good.

I have to give today's visit to Hop's three Stiffy's!

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry