Pizza Hut - Wing Street

Route 17-92 in Sanford

I know I haven't been writing recently, but there has been a lot going on in my personal life since I lost my mother at the end of September. My father is not doing that well and I had to go to Virginia to bring him back to Florida. Hopefully, we can help him get beyond his depression and I can get him to start eating again. It is hard to believe as much as I like food, I am having problems getting my father to eat.

I felt compelled to write this evening about my visit today to a Pizza Hut - Wing Street visit we did today. I was joined by John and Nick from the office. We thought we would go to Pizza Hut today and get after the buffet. This is always a good bargainas you get a lot of good food for a pretty good price.

I should tell you that this restaurant was a regular on our lunch rotation last year, but it suddenly closed and we hadn't visited in a while. Given that many locations are now changing to delivery locations, we thought that was the fate of this location. We were wrong. They are now a Wing Street location and we couldn't be happier.

The new restaurant has been totally remodeled and has taken on a sports bar feel. There are a number of flat screen televisions around the restaurant with most tuned to sporting events. I think it would be interesting to visit these locations on the weekend when there are games actually being played. I wonder how many people choose these locations to watch the games?

We got there today and immediately chose the buffet as our lunch option. This location is notorius for not keeping up with the crowd in the restaurant and not having enough pizza on the buffet. Today was not that bad as there were a number of pizzas to choose frome when we got there. I think Pizza Hut makes some of the best pizza, but I am partial to their pan pizza. The only problem is that the pan pizza crust must be more expensive than their other pizzas as it is often difficult to get them to put pan pizzas on the buffet. In that same vein, I cannot figure out for the life of me why they do not put out their new pastas for people to sample. During a previous visit they did have the chicken alfredo pasta out and it was extremely delicious. Given that their pasta offerings are new for them, you would think they would want people to sample them as much as possible to increase sales.

We had some great pizza today and had an overall good experience. There was a short moment when we were waiting for drink refills, but overall our visit was great. Given that Philadelphia won the World Series last night, John actually picked-up the check and bought Nick and I lunch. That is unprecedented and needs to be noted. Let's hope the Eagles continue to have a good season.

I give our visit today to Pizza Hut - Wing Street three Stiffey's.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Nando's

I have never been to Nando's as it appears from this clip that it might be a chain in Australia, but if I ever get there, I'll have to check out their double breasted chicken sandwich.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

The Power of Soup!

I am not sure that I have ever shared with you my penchant for soup, but I am a true soup lover. Nick and the crew love it when I order soup as they know I feel that soup should be served lava hot and most of the times that is not how you get it. They love it when I have to send it back to get it warmed up and know I am already dropping points off the restaurant for serving me tepid soup. Another pet peeve of mine is when the soup does not show up right away and comes to close to the meal. You should be able to enjoy your soup and then have five to ten minutes before the entree hits the table. I am a big fan of chowder, lobster bisque and french onion. I'll have to order some soup sometime soon and let you know who is serving the best.

Anyway, here's a commercial for soup that I hope does not represent any of my readers in any form or fashion. I hope you like it.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Smokehouse

State Road 46

Sanford, FL

Next to the BJ's Location



Let me start by saying sorry for not being able to post more often recently. I have been doing quite a bit of traveling helping my father after losing my mother three weeks ago. Hopefully, things will begin to return to normal and I will have the opportunity to post more often and in a perfect world, daily.

Recently, I received a recommendation to eat at a restaurant not far from the office in Sanford called quite simply, Smokehouse. Not The Smokehouse, not Ellie Mae's Smokehouse, not even Jimmy Mack's Smokehouse, just Smokehouse. I should have known this was going to be a stretch, but it did come recommended by members of my design team at work. They know my fickleness when it comes to restaurants, so it was quite a stretch for them to make a recommendation. Although, one of the team members that will remain nameless (Elizabeth), recently slammed me on my choice of Macaroni Grill as the spot for our annual team lunch.

On this particular day, I am accompanied by Nick and Trey. Mind you, Trey doesn't go out with us often as he is steadfast on his commitment to fitness and many of our lunches do not fit into this category. It becomes even more impotrant that the meal is good since we don't want Trey to find another reason not to join us at lunch.

My first clue that we might be in trouble is when we get out of the car and I do not smell smoke. How can a place called Smokehouse, not be tickling my nose with the sweet smell of hickory or mesquite upon exiting the car? The second clue is uncovered when we get out of the car near the back of the restaurant. I notice that there is no wood stacked-up to feed what I think must be their smoker. This is going to be interesting.

We go in and I notice that they have a nice theme inside. It is a lot of wood floors, with vintage type signage all over the walls. They have a full bar if you want to have a drink, which is a good thing. You order your food, get your own drink and then take a table. A server then brings you your food. On this day, we all decided to try the pulled pork sandwich. I went with the sweet tea for my drink, which I have to admit was excellent.

In a rather timely manner, our food was delivered and the waitress asked if we knew about their sauces. We asked if they had a hot sauce and she said she would get us some. We meant a hot barbeque sauce, but what we got was a ramakin of pure hot sauce. That just doesn't cut it. The fries were hot and good and the bun on the sandwich was nice and soft. However, the meat did not have a smokey flavor at all and was devoid of any flavor that one would call barbeque.

At one point the manager was walking around the restaurant and I told Nick I wanted to ask him to take me in the back and let me see his smoker. Nick thought that question sexual connotations and would get me thrown out, so I never did find out if they have a smoker for their meat.

I may give this place another chance, but I seriously doubt it. I was warned by Kraig that it wasn't good and should have listened, but his warning came just a few days after they opened and I thought maybe they had gotten their stuff together.

I have to give Smokehouse one Stiffey and urge you to find another spot for barbeque in Sanford.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Sonny's Real Pit Barbeque

I just finished reading the Daytona Beach New-Journal and read an article about a number of area Sonny's restaurants closing their doors. Seems that the locations in Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach and Port Orange will be changing over to Gator's Dockside locations. We have a Gator's Dockside in Lake Mary near the office which we visit often. They specialize in wings and fashion themselves as a sports bar. However, with a Hooter's and a Wing House right down the street on International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach, I don't know how much I will be visiting Gator's.

There's a lot to be said for the eye candy at both Hooter's and Wing House as all of these locations deliver pretty good wings. There is not a lot to separate these locations from each other besides the fact that the girls at the Wing House tend to be younger than the Hooter's girls. I'll have to keep you posted and let you know how Gator's does once they open. My guess is they will change over these restaurants well before the 2009 Daytona 500. In this town, if you miss that date, you are probably going to miss your revenue number for the year.

Stay tuned and eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que

Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que

447 East Rochambeau

Williamsburg, VA 23185

(757)565-2955

http://www.pierces.com/

I recently spent a couple of weeks in Tidewater Virginia and had the opportunity to visit Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que in Williamsburg. During my visit, the Today Show was filming from Colonial Williamsburg doing a segment on the election and how important Virginia is to the outcome. At one point in the show, Willard Scott told Al Roker that he had to get to Pierce's while he was in town. The next day, Willard called him on it again and asked if he had a chance to get to Pierce's. That's how good this place is if you like great barbeque.

Pierce's specializes in their pulled pork sandwiches. Their barbeque is a vinegar based sauce with meat that is slow smoked and full of flavor. The sandwiches come in a regular and large size and you can get your sandwich with cole slaw on the bun or without. I suggest you get it without if you are not a fan of cole slaw, but the sandwich is really money with the cole slaw on the bun. The sweetness of the cole slaw balances nicely with the vinegar in the sauce.

If you order a basket you also a side dish, which I strongly suggest you get the fries. The fries come in a bag and are always hot and fresh. They are a great compliment to the sandwich. Pierce's also makes great sweet tea, which you will find at the drink station while you wait on your order to be prepared. Pierce's is one of those restaurants where you place your order and then get your drinks and try to find a table. Seating here is ample, but because this place is always busy it can be tough to get a seat inside. If you know me, you know that I am not a big fan of eating outside when I can be inside with the comfort of air conditioning on a hot, sunny day. I do have to say that people rotate in and out at a pretty steady pace, so you need to stay on your toes watching for a table to come open while waiting for your order to be prepared and announced over the loud speaker. Because Pierce's is located right off the interstate in such a popular vacation destination, many folks have found this place and crowd it everyday. If you do have to sit outside, you should find plenty of seating at the many picnic tables scattered around the property.

Because I tend to be a creature of habit at some restaurants, I have never tried anything else at Pierce's besides the pulled pork. The next time I visit, I promise to give the ribs a try and report on that after my visit. It should be noted that you can enjoy Pierce's even if you do not make it to Williamsburg as they do offer their pulled pork in four pound tubs via the mail. Pierce's claims that one pound of pulled pork will make four sandwiches, so a four pound tub will keep you in Q Heaven for a few days.

Being a long time favorite I have to give Pierce's the ultimate in my grading system of five Stiffy's. Try to check them out soon. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry