Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Bacon Salt

Once again, my buddy Gary is the catalyst for one of my posts. Gary knows the guys that started Bacon Salt and has been telling me I had to try this if I ever saw it in the store. Being a lover of bacon, I knew I would like this product if I could only find it. I went on their site and they have a great section with logos for all of the stores that carry their products. However, there is a disclaimer of sorts letting you know that all stores in a particular chain may not carry the product, so you just have to be diligent in your search.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for some Fat Fred's rub and couldn't find it anywhere. Finally, I checked our local Winn-Dixie store to see if they carried it. While I wasn't able to find the Fat Fred's that I wanted, I did stumble upon the Bacon Salt. This was like going out to a bar hoping to meet some chick and instead meeting Gemma Atkinson (check-out Gemma at www.wwtdd.com). Needless to say, I was quite excited. I ended-up buying a bottle for myself and one for Gary.

The true madness begins once you get the Bacon Salt home. All you want to do is cook various things that you think will be enhanced by the Bacon Salt. I was grilling steaks on the night I found it and making baked potatoes. When the potatoes came out of the oven I put on my butter and sprinkled on the Bacon Salt while tending to the steaks that had come off the grill. Suddenly, I was hit with the great smell of bacon wafting through the kitchen. The smell was incredible and more importantly, the taste was out of this world. I have been trying to put this product on just about everything. I have put it on corn on the cob, french fries, popcorn and even created a poor man's BLT. The BSLT is now a reality.

Now I can't speak for the geniuses at Bacon Salt, but I think they would agree that Bacon Salt cannot replace bacon. It is to be used when you want bacon flavor, but are not able to use real bacon. It is a flavor enhancer for all of those things that you would not be able to put bacon on, but want to have that great smokey flavor baconphiles love and crave. For instance, you can't put bacon on french fries, but you can put on bacon salt.

I call these guys geniuses because they have not stopped at just Bacon Salt. They also have a product called Baconnaisse. (These guys must sit around thinking about bacon the way the rest of us think about sports or women.) God bless them. Yes, this is a mayonnaise product that includes bacon flavoring. Unfortunately, I have not found this product yet, but my search continues. Some of you may be thinking this would not be good, but can you imagine having a cheeseburger and putting this on that burger instead of just plain mayonnaise? My guess is Baconnaise takes sandwiches and burgers to a whole new level.

See, I put these guys right up there with Ben & Jerry. A couple of guys trying to make the world a better place through bacon. I hope to meet them someday and thank them for their good work. You can check out all things bacon at www.baconsalt.com. Also, you should know that Bacon Salt comes in Original, Natural, Hickory and Peppered Flavor. All I have been able to find thus far is original, so I still have something to look forward to when I find the others.

I have to give Bacon Salt and the boys at Bacon Salt the ultimate endorsement of five Stiffy's. Good luck finding this product as I know you will enjoy it if you are a fan of bacon.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wings Pizza N Things

Wings Pizza N Things
Bellaire Plaza
2563 N. Atlantic Avenue
Daytona Beach, FL 32118
386.898.0626
www.myspace.com/wingspizzanthingsdaytona

We finally ended-up at Wings Pizza N Things after a suggestion by Gary. He had been here once before, but I had never heard of this place. I was totally stunned upon walking in the door. This place is in a plaza and is huge inside. They have a ton of screens, great seating and they even had poker going on when we got there. I am not much of a card player, but I thought that was a nice touch and they had a lot of people playing while we were there.

We found a spot in the middle of the restaurant facing a couple of very large screens upon which we figured we would watch the end of the race. We sat down and were told by no less than three different waitresses, "I'll be right with you guys." We probably sat there about 10 minutes or so just shooting the bull before one of the waitresses came to take our drink orders. It seemed they were quite intent on making sure all of the poker players were well taken care of. I can let that go as I figure those guys are probably in there every Sunday and given this economy a server has to know on which side his or her bread is buttered.

We ordered our drinks and food all at the same time. My friend Kelly was hungry and decided she needed an appetizer and ordered the fried pickles. Take a look at one of my earlier posts to determine whether or not I shared any of those with her. The other folks at the table said they tasted great. I'll have to take their word for it.

Gary and I decided to get after 20 wings and split them along with an order of fries. I just went on their corporate site to get the flavor of wings we ordered and their hottest shows, Wing On Fire(Watch Out). However, I could swear this location had their hottest listed as "Intense." I could be wrong, but can tell you they were pleasantly hot. Gary and I both thought the wings brought the heat to your tongue, but didn't give you that sweat and burn that many of us pepperphiles crave. (I think I may have just made up a new word.) I really liked their hand-cut fries. They still had the skins on and were thinly sliced, crispy and hot. If you go there and have a burger or sandwich, I would strongly suggest you get some fries. Same goes for if you are eating wings and could split your fries with someone. Kraig had some wings and I believe Kelly and John opted for burgers. All in all, I think everybody was pretty satisfied.

Given the theme of the day, we knew something had to go wrong, but couldn't figure out what it could be until we got our checks. At least until Kraig got his check. It seems Michelob Ultras here cost $3.76 a piece, which is surprising on a slow Sunday afternoon when the rest of the town is running specials. Speaking of specials, the wings were $.50 a piece on Sundays. That's a darn good deal.

With our bellies full and Kraig's wallet empty, we decided to call it a day. I definitely would like to go back to this location during football season when I have to assume they are packed and the crowd is lively. For my first visit to Wings Pizza N Things, I give them three Stiffy's.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Cruisin Cafe Bar & Grill


Cruisin Cafe Bar & Grill
8 South Atlantic Avenue
Daytona Beach, FL 32118
386.325-3663
www.cruisincafe.com

After leaving The Oyster Pub, we decided that we should check out the Cruisin Cafe Bar & Grill as they would definitely have the race on for us to watch. I have lived in Daytona Beach now since 2001 and have never been to Cruisin Cafe Bar & Grill. We just felt that we had to check it out since none of us had been there before.

Boy, were we wrong about the race. We get in the bar area and the race is not even on any of the many screens they have operating. They have a ton of screens in this location and I have to think this would be a cool place to check out during race week in Daytona Beach, however, I was shocked the race wasn't on until we asked them to put it on. We didn't eat anything here, so I'll have to go back and make that report at a later day, but we did order beers.

Everybody ordered their drinks and all was well and good, but when I ordered a Bud bottle, it was presented to me in a bottle can. I hate those things. I don't care what anybody says, the beer does not taste the same as when it is served in the actual brown bottle. I drank about half of it before we decided to leave. We were there for all of 20 minutes maybe.

I promise to go back to Cruisin Cafe Bar & Grill to get a bite to eat and I will give them a grade later. I don't feel comfortable grading them just on the bottle can incident. I will, however, have either a Bud draft or a Glenlivet rocks the next time I get there. More to come regarding these guys in the future.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Monday, July 27, 2009

The Oyster Pub


The Oyster Pub
555 Seabreeze Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32118
386.255.6348
www.oysterpub.com

Yesterday started off well enough as I planned on meeting some friends at The Oyster Pub to watch the Brickyard 400. I cannot begin to tell you how quickly my day changed.

I met up with Kraig, Kelly, John and Gary with the intention of drinking some beers and having some food. I ordered my first Bud bottle with Kraig as we sat there waiting on the rest of the folks to show up. We really like going to The Oyster Pub as they have a lot of televisions and there are usually tons of sports fans there to make the atmosphere interesting. They have free peanuts all the time, but during the football season, you can also get brown water hot dogs for about a buck and shrimp at $.25 or $.50 per piece. Usually, we just get after some peanuts and then order wings once everyone gets there. Their grilled wings are pretty good.

John shows up and orders a Yuengling draft and Kraig and I order another beer as well. Kraig is having Michelob Ultra. The waitress brings back our beers and everything seems to be normal until I go for that first sip. When I put the bottle to my mouth, I taste the distinct taste of oysters on the bottle. How I was able to keep the beer in my mouth without spitting it out is beyond me, but I did. Figuring the bartender was also shucking oysters and tending bar, I just take a napkin and wife the offending smell off the top of the bottle. I figure this was just an anamoly as the first beer I drank was fine. I power this one down and order my third beer. Sure enough, it too reeks of oysters. Now, I know a normal person at this point would be done if not having checked out on beer two, but I am thinking this is going to make for great blog fodder. I had no idea this was going to get even better.

Kelly and Gary show up as I finish this beer and Gary orders a draft. I tell him what is going on and that we have to leave, but order one more beer so he is not drinking alone. This final beer also reeks of oysters and I am now done. At this point, I am starting to fear I may get sick. In fact, I was going to post this last night after getting home, but wanted to wait and see if I had any additional information to report. Thankfully, I am alive and kicking. We ask for our checks and I feel I have to tell our waitress about this mishap. I know, I know, I should have told her earlier, but this conversation was worth the wait. The following is my discussion with our waitress:

Me: Hey, I just want to let you know that my beers tasted and smelled like oyster juice had gotten onto the neck of the bottle. It was really rank.
Waitress: Yeah, that probably comes from them storing the oysters above the beer cooler.

Me: Do you think that's safe? It really made the drinking experience awful.

Waitress: Consider it a bonus. I didn't charge you for any oysters. I could have brought you some horse radish sauce if you wanted it.

I swear that was the conversation we had. I was so stunned, I couldn't say anything else. We left and headed to our second spot, which was intersting as well, but not as bad as this. Stay tuned for that report.

While I have had many great times at The Oyster Pub, I have to give this visit one Stiffy.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Saturday, July 25, 2009

The Pickle Story





Many of my friends have been to lunch with me and taken notice of my ordering technique when I want a burger. It is always pretty much the same, "Bacon cheeseburger, medium-rare, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, no pickle. Not on the sandwich and please no spear on the plate." I just cannot eat dill pickles and it goes back to a horrible experience I had as a kid. The following is my story.

When I was about 10-years-old, I came home from school one day and prepared to spend the afternoon in my favorite way. Turning on the television and watching Popeye trying to hook-up with Olive Oyl. On this particular day, I felt I needed a snack as I watched my cartoons. Rummaging through the cupboards really didn't produce and answer to my hunger, so I decided to check in the refrigerator. Again, nothing stood out as a viable snack, but as I started to close the door, I spotted it. A jar of whole dill pickles. You need to understand that these were whole pickles, not spears like they have today. Not that spears would have saved me from what I am about to tell you, but I feel you need to know the full story.

I call out to my mother who is in another room and ask, "Mom, can I have a pickle?"

She replies, "Yes."

"Nice," I say to myself.

After grabbing a paper towel, I pull my prize from the jar and head back into the living room. I don't remember the Popeye episode from that day, but surely Popeye and Brutus were getting after each other in some form or fashion. So I am watching my favorite show, chomping on my pickle and life is good. The first one goes down rather quickly and was quite tasty. Figuring my mother had already given me permission to have a pickle, I take it upon myself to have another. Life is good and I am noshing on pickles like there is no tomorrow. After the second pickle, I go to get another and notice there are only a couple left. At that moment, I have an epiphany and think, "It would be a shame to leave just two pickles in the jar at this point." With my mind made up that I was going to power all of these dill delicacies, I step up the speed with which I ate the first two pickles and start on the third. After all, I don't want my mother to come into the room and put a stop to my magnificent feast.

Two more trips to the fridge and I have completed my mission of putting down these pickles. Being a 10-year-old, I just place the empty jar back into the fridge and go back to watch my next cartoon. Please take this moment to note I powered all five dill pickles during one half hour collection of Popeye cartoons. Sitting on the floor watching my next show, it occurs to me that those pickles have now made me thirsty. I trot off to the kitchen and grab the refrigerator door to get a cold drink.

At this point, lets take a side bar and consider what we know about the average 10-year-old's mind. The average 10-year-old does not understand the concept of "too much of a good thing." They live in the "if it feels good do it" realm. So when I opened that refrigerator and saw that jar with the remaining pickle juice, it looked like manna from heaven to me. My 10-year-old mind is thinking, "I'm thirsty, the juice will quench my thirst and it will taste just like those wonderful pickles I just ate." And there my friends came my undoing.

I drank that pickle juice the way a convict drinks water on a chain gang. In the summertime. In the hot Georgia sun. While taking a break from digging ditches. They way they drank water in Cool Hand Luke. I think you get the point that I slammed the pickle juice home. Proud of myself at this point, I put the top back on the jar and throw it into the trash. Stealthily getting rid of all of the evidence of my pickle soiree. Little did I know, my mother would soon find out what I had done. She never even had to look into the trash or the refrigerator. It became all too evident.

I don't know, but lets call it about an hour or hour and a half later when the rumble in the jungle starts in my stomach. By this point, I am a little light-headed and starting to sweat a bit. But again, a 10-year-old does not know what is about to happen to his body after consuming five pickles and drinking the brine they have been soaking in for the last six months. I just know I am not on my A-game at that point.

I am going to spare you the details of what happened to my body that night, but I will tell you, a dill pickle doesn't taste as good the second time it hits your taste buds. To this day, I have never come close to repeating the events of that evening and I have had my fair share of bouts with tequila. I just know the next day I thought I never wanted to see another pickle for the rest of my life.

I went to Hooter's once and wasn't real hungry so I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. I have never ordered anythng but wings in Hooter's, so how did I know all sandwiches came with a full dill pickle spear? I about fell off my chair when it arrived, but when I realized the pickle juice had soaked into the bread, I was done. It had to go back. To this day, I cannot eat, pick-up or smell a dill pickle.

So that's it. At 47-years-old, I remember it like it was yesterday. "No pickles please," is my new mantra.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry



Friday, July 24, 2009

The ChiDog



The ChiDog
Hot Dogs & SnoBalls
210 S. Cental Avenue
Flagler Beach, FL 32136 (One block west of pier)
386.693.4931
www.thechidog.com

My buddy Gary lives in Flagler Beach and has been telling me I need to come up and join him for some hotdogs at The ChiDog. He took me by there a while ago to show me where they were located, but we had not been able to go before today. I am glad he stayed on me about this place as it is well worth the short trip from Daytona Beach.

My dad and I headed out to meet Gary for lunch and beat him to the location. Their building is a nice little place with a few picnic tables outside and about eight seats inside. It is small, but hotdogs are easy enough to eat if you have to stand. When we arrived there was only one woman there having lunch. While there only one other guy came in to get his lunch and that was about it. I didn't ask, but my take on it is that the proprietors are a husband and wife team that has moved here from Chicago. When the gentleman came in wearing a White Sox hat, she asked him about the perfect game recently pitched by Mark Buehrle and whether or not he was a fan. Of course he was.

I was a little taken aback by the lack of folks visting their location on a Friday afternoon. If you like hotdogs, I implore you to visit these folks and support their business. They serve a really good hotdog. First, they have the real deal steamed poppy seed buns. Secondly, they serve Vienna Beef hotdogs. Third, they serve that vibrant bright green relish on their Chicago dogs that is so hard to find and finally, they seem to be great people trying to serve great food.

I ordered a couple of chili cheese hotdogs with mustard and oinions. My dad opted for the Polish sausage and Gary had a couple of true Chicago dogs. My only aversion to the Chicago dog is the inclusion of pickles on the dog. I know I could ask them to take them off, but then it would not be a true Chicago dog and I won't be a part of tarnishing a legend. Our food was prepared within a couple of minutes and it was pure heaven. The buns were so soft and fresh, the hotdog had the perfect snap to them and my chili was nice and flavorful. They had about six hot sauces on display and I chose a hot Caribbean sauce that gave my dogs a great kick. Gary had gotten his dogs delivered first so he was a little ahead of me when I got mine. I tried the hot sauce I put on mine and decided he needed to get another dog to sample the hot sauce on a grander scale. His third hotdog was with coleslaw, which would provide a cooling effect to the hot sauce. I couldn't be oudone and ordered myself another dog with sauer kraut and brown mustard. It was incredible! The sauer kraut had a great tangy flavor and was nice and crisp. My dad also enjoyed his Polish sausage.

I am excited about this place as my most favorite hotdog location is Mel's all the way over in Tampa. I don't get over to Tampa enough to satisfy my hotdog craving, so The ChiDog is going to fill that void. If you find yourself traveling down I-95 get off on Highway 100 and head towards the beach. After going over the intercoastal, make a right on S. Central and you will find The ChiDog about a block down the road on the right.

If you can't tell by now, I really like this place and plan to visit often. For my first visit to The ChiDog I am going to give them four Stiffy's.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Thursday, July 23, 2009

McDonald's Big Angus

It has been a few weeks now that I have been hearing about the new burgers at McDonald's called the Big Angus. I've been meaning to go and check them out, but have just not had the opportunity until today.

The Big Angus is a third pound burger being offered in three different versions. There is a regular angus hamburger, the bacon and cheese and a mushroom and swiss version. Today I sampled the bacon and cheese version. I was really hungry today and decided to get after the poor man's surf and turf. A burger and a filet-o-fish sandwich. I definitely should not have gone for the fish sandwich as this burger brings it.

I went through the drive-thru and was all jammed-up when ordering as I was not sure what comes on these burgers. Not wanting to be one of those people that screws things up in the drive-thru line, I just ordered the bacon and cheese without knowing what comes on the burger in terms of condiments or dressing. The bacon and cheese burger actually comes with ketchup, tomato,red onion and pickles. I am not a big pickle person. (I'll have to share my pickle story with you in another post.) However, I decided in the interest of research, I should try the burger as it was meant to be presented. The meal I ordered was as a combo meal, so I got fries and a drink along with my burger.

When I got home, I decided I needed to add some mayonnaise to my sandwich and it did help tremendously. I don't think McDonald's has put mayonnaise on a sandwich since the Big N' Tasty, where the hot side stayed hot and the cool side stayed cool. I know I am dating myself as it has been a while since that burger was around. So after adding some mayo to my sandwich I was ready to dig in. I have to tell you, this sandwich is the real deal. The burger is served on a large bun with sesame seeds and the beef tastes great. Just what you would expect from an angus burger. Obviously, anything you add bacon to is going to be great and this burger did not disappoint. It was full of flavor and taste.

If I am a VP of Product Marketing for Chili's, TGIFriday's or Applebee's, I'd be worried. The combo meal at McDonald's cost me $5.99. The same thing from most of these places puts me in the $10.00 range, plus tip. (My buddy John will be pleased to hear this fact.) Plus, you get a serious meal in mere minutes and able to take it on the go. I think McDonal's will do very well with these burgers. I know I plan on going back to get after one of their mushroom and swiss burgers. This is a great burger offering in a quick service restaurant setting. I strongly urge you to check them out if you are a burger fan and looking for a true value meal.

While I do not eat at McDonald's often, I have to give them four Stiffy's for their Big Angus burger. I suggest you go out and get one soon.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Daily Grind Burgers

Daily Grind Burgers
1665 Dunlawton Ave., Suite 104
Port Orange, FL 32127
(386)492-2975
http://www.dailygrindburgers.com/

I recently had the opportunity to visit Daily Grind Burgers in Port Orange. I had been hearing about this place and was anxious to check them out since I love a good burger. The name is a little confusing since there is a Daily Grind Coffee Shop in Port Orange as well. As a matter of fact, I got a Twitter invite from the Daily Grind, which I accepted, only to find out it was the coffee shop and not the burger joint.

My friend Kelly and I met for a burger one day and found the place with a good crowd and really nice decor. The restaurant is very welcoming and comfortable. Their set-up reminds me of many of the Firehouse locations around with the kitchen on the right when you enter and seating on the left of the room. The drinks are located in the rear very similar to Firehouse.

Daily Grind has a cool food challenge that is a four pound burger that must be eaten within 45 minutes and it is free if a diner completes it successfully. Personally, I would have made it 44 minutes and 44 seconds, but what's 16 seconds between friends? I could never do a challenge like this as I like to eat, but I don't think I have the capacity to eat four pounds of ground beef in such an allotted time. God bless those that can.

The one thing I can say about Daily Grind Burgers is they have a wide variety of burger creations for you to choose from. If you like different toppings on your burger, this is the place for you. Personally, I like to play it safe and not top my burger with a lot of stuff that may overpower the flavor of the meat and went with a bacon cheeseburger. I think Kelly went with the Black and Bleu burger that is coated with black peppercorns and accompanied by bleu cheese. We both ordered fries with our burgers along with a drink.

Once we placed our order, we found a table and waited for our numbers to be called. Kelly's burger came up first and when mine came up, it was covered with barbecue sauce and onion strings, which come on the Southwest Burger. I told the gentleman working the counter that I had ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger and he told me he just assumed it was a Southwest Burger and put the barbecue sauce and onion strings on mine. He was quick to offer to make me another burger. I had originally ordered my burger medium-rare, but since the order was messed-up I think they felt pressure to get me something quickly and called my number soon after starting me a new burger. The burger came our rare, but I would rather have them err on the side of rare versus well done, so that wasn't a big deal.

Normally, I would put lettuce and tomato on my burger, but Daily Grind has a fixings bar and I am not big on self serve fixings. I also am not a fan of salad bars either. Just the thought of other people picking through my fixings shakes me up. I know there are thongs on the bar, but that is just an issue with me. They do have their condiments in dispensers with cups that allow you to get all of the mayonaisse, ketchup and mustard you need.

Once we got down to eating, the burger was good and the fries were also. I was also impressed with the pricing of their burgers as you get a good size burger for a nominal price. If somebody told me they were looking for a burger joint with a wide variety of offerings, I would send them to Daily Grind Burgers. If they told me they just wanted the best burger in the area, I would have to send them to the Brickyard in Daytona Beach. Daily Grind burgers are good, but that is just my personal preference.

For my visit to Daily Grind Burgers, I would have to give them four Stiffy's even though there was an issue with my order, but this place is the real deal. I am sure I will go back at some point.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Daytona Beach Barbeque Festival

I had the opportunity to attend the Daytona Beach Barbecue Festival tonight and have to say I was a little disappointed. They had a great crowd attending the event, which speaks to the need for such festivals in the Daytona Beach area. However, there were not enough vendor selling barbecue to allow people to sample good barbecue. I knew we were in trouble when we parked a ways away and we did not smell any smoke on our walk to the festival. This led me to believe we were not going to be pleased with what we found once we got there.

My buddy Gary joined me with this son Vuk and we cruised the entire festival before making a choice on what we should eat. Unfortunately, given the limited numbers of vendors, the lines were very long and did not seem to be worth the wait. There were a couple of true contenders there that had the longest lines as they were actually cooking meat at the time people were trying to purchase food. Big props to Gaff's Meats and the Renaissance Restaurant for their efforts tonight as it seemed they were cooking great barbecue and had the longest lines. There food offerings looked great, but due to the overall lack of vendors, they were not able to serve customers in a very timely manner. Waits were long, but I do not know whether or not they were worth it. I can say I think they were as I saw the food they were serving and it looked tasty.

I do not want to sound negative about this festival as I think the City of Daytona Beach is doing a great job to provide events for residents and visitors that will bring people into the city. I just think there are some things that need to be addressed to make this more of a success.

1. Was Beach Street closed off early enough to give vendors time to start cooking food to have it available for attendees?

2. What are the costs to vendors to set-up a booth at the festival?

3. Does it make sense to invite professional barbecue competitors to attend to raise the bar on the food available?

4. Can more tables and chairs be set--up to provide adequate seating for people looking to eat their barbecue selections?

5. How can they add more children's activities to make this event more family friendly?

The bands they had playing were cool and the crowd seemed to be having a great time. However, at the end of the day, I think people want to attend and sample some great barbecue. This festival has great potential given the crowd that was there tonight if they can attract more barbecue vendors to feed the masses.

I look forward to attending this event next year and maybe even being a vendor myself. Stay tuned for more information about me and Gary possibly setting-up a booth next year.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry


Friday, July 17, 2009

Barbeque Festival



The Daytona Beach Barbeque Festival is this Saturday, July 18 on Beach Street. The festival is scheduled from 6 p.m. to midnight and offers live music, kids activities and barbeque that can be purchased from various vendors. I have been to festivals in the past and found them to be a great time, but have not attended this one yet. My guess is this should be a good festival if the numbers of vendors selling barbeque are plentiful. A couple of cold beers and a plate of ribs should make for a fine evening. Just need to hope it doesn't rain.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Stonewood Grill & Tavern


Stonewood Grill & Tavern
100 S. Atlantic Ave.
Ormond Beach, FL 32176
(386)671-1200

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Stonewood Grill & Tavern in Ormond Beach. I say I "had the opportunity" because given my employment situation right now, I have not been going out to eat as much as I would like. With that in mind, I wanted to make sure we went somewhere for a really good meal. This would make my fifth or sixth visit to a Stonewood location, so I felt confident we would get a good meal. I was not disappointed.

My wife and I arrived around 7:00 knowing we would have to wait for a table. However, this was of no concern to us since Stonewood locations have really nice bars and have martini specials on Saturday nights. This special offer has no effect on me since I was drinking scotch on this night, but it does make for some nice eye candy in the bar area. My wife and I had a great time watching Larry the Lounge Lizard hitting on all of the seemingly single women in the bar area. He was easily in his 60s, but he didn't let that bother him at all. At one point, he is ready to leave, but when he turns to go and realizes a woman has sat down in the chair behind him, he decides to stay and have another drink. This guy was truly worth the price of admission, but our buzzer went off and we had to leave to be seated.

We were taken into the restaurant and seated at a great booth by the window. Our waitress was very attentive and showed up at the table immediately upon our seating to take our drink order. We start to go through the menu and I find myself in a quandry over what to do about an appetizer. Do I go with the clam chowder or share the seared sushi grade ahi tuna with my wife? We decide to order the tuna since I know I want a steak and the chowder would probably fill me up. The waitress returns with our drink orders and we place the order for the appetizer and entrees.

The ahi tuna appetizer arrived in a timely manner and was delicious. It was sliced thin and full of flavor. The order was accompanied by a couple of dipping sauces that provided just a little bit of kick. We were very pleased with this selection. My wife ordered the filet and I had the New York strip. Both steaks were perfectly cooked and the sides of garlic mashed potatos and creamed spinach were perfect. When my steak arrived I asked the expeditor to bring me some steak sauce. He said he would be right back and in the meantime, I took a bite of my steak. It was clear that I did not need any steak sauce on this steak as the flavoring was so incredible already. It has been a long time since I have had a steak as flavorful and tender as what I found that night. My wife said her filet was incredible as well.

While we were tempted with some great desert choices, we were stuffed and decided to call it a night. I have found the Stonewood Grill & Tavern to be remarkably consistent. Previously, I have dined at the location in Lake Mary and found that to be enjoyable as well. For this last visit to the Stonewood Grill & Tavern I give them four Stiffy's. If you are looking for a nice dining experience at reasonable prices, I would have to recommend a visit to Stonewood.

Eat, drink and be merry!
Harry