Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Five Guys vs The Brickyard

About seven or eight years ago while on a trip to Richmond, VA for a race, my cousin and I planned to meet for lunch. He told me he had a new place he wanted to take me that he thought I would really like. That place was Five Guys Burgers and Fries. They started that company in northern Virginia and were beginning to expand throughout the state at that time. I was really impressed with their burgers and fries and began telling everyone they needed to try this place when they had the chance. It took a while, but one day while driving around Orlando, I saw a new Five Guys opening and was ecstatic that they were now in Florida. I took some of the guys from our JumpTV office and they loved the burgers and fries as well. Five Guys makes good burgers and fries, but I have figured out why they are so successful.

In my opinion, Five Guys is so successful because they serve a good burger in a quick service manner that far surpasses their competitors. Their fries are also pretty tasty as well. However, I am going to tell you, they are not the best burger in my town. For me, that distinction goes to The Brickyard. I think it is important for me to break this argument down and tell you why I feel this way.

The other day I was on IM with a buddy of mine, affectionately known by me and a few others as Pony Keg, when he asked me if I have ever been to a Five Guys. I told him I had and liked their burgers, but I still felt there are better burgers out there. He too agreed, stating that he thought they were also a bit expensive. In fairness, I haven't done much comparison in that area, but do remember my last meal being over $10. He and I both went back and forth for a couple of exchanges saying there is something about Five Guys that isn't quite right, but we couldn't put our fingers on it. Finally, he pointed out the exact problem I have with them compared to others. His IM said, "I think it is that their meat has no flavor." At that moment, you could have knocked me over with a feather. It is exactly what I couldn't put my finger upon previously.

The Brickyard in Daytona Beach is an independently owned restaurant that serves great burgers. The burgers are cooked over an open flame and are made with prime ground chuck. I think what is most important that sets them apart from Five Guys is that you can get your burger cooked anyway you wish. At Five Guys, all burgers are served well done. Sorry, but I am a medium rare kind of guy that believes burgers are juicier and more flavorful when cooked in that manner. In the simplest terms, a burger at The Brickyard has far more beef flavor than a burger from Five Guys. It is something I thought during my last Brickyard visit about three weeks ago, but didn't confirm until Pony Keg broke me down.

The Brickyard is just a small restaurant here in Daytona Beach, but there are restaurants like this all over the globe. You just have to hunt them out and try different places. Again, don't get me wrong, Five Guys makes good burgers. I just think you can find even better if you look around and keep an open mind. The Five Guys in Port Orange opened a few months ago and now they are opening a new one right here in Daytona Beach about five miles from my house. Will I go there and have a burger when they open? Probably. Will that be my go-to place when I want a good burger? No. By default I will always choose The Brickyard as my first choice.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Carrabba's Italian Grill


Carrabba's Italian Grill
2200 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386)255-3344
www.carrabbas.com

The generosity of women continues to amaze me. On September 4th, my wife and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. How she has put up with me for 11 years, I will never know. My hope is that what happened to us at Carrabba's on that day is not a hint of things to come.

We had to attend a wedding that afternoon and on a whim decided to go to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. We also invited our friends Ronda and her husband Jeff to join us. My thoughts about where to go included Stonewood Grill, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba's or Gene's Steakhouse. How I made such a colossal mistake in choosing Carrabba's over all the others is still a mystery to me. We told Ronda and Jeff we would meet them around 4:00 at Carrabba's.

We get there a little bit late and find them waiting for us in the lobby area. I notice that there are a ton of tables open, so I ask Jeff how come they haven't gotten a table yet. Jeff tells me they were told they do not have enough wait staff to handle all of the tables at that point. I am sorry, but if you open your doors and you are short on staff then the manager on duty needs to take some tables. That's just my opinion. Admittedly, we only waited about 10 minutes, but when it was time to get a table we were escorted past no less than 20 tables and booths to a table located right outside the restrooms. I immediately voiced my displeasure and asked to be seated elsewhere. We did get another table suitable to our liking and sat down to peruse the menu.

Our waiter shows up pretty quickly to take our drink orders and we made our dinner choices. I ordered veal Marsala and decided to go with soup and garlic mashed potatoes as my side. Everyone else got salads with their entrees and vegetables as their side, except Ronda who also chose the mashed potatoes. Our soup and salads arrived in short order and the first thing I notice about my soup is a layer of grease across the top of my lentil and sausage. I decide to power on and give the soup a solid stir before taking my first taste. The soup was cold, so I remove the bay leaf I find on my spoon and sit it along with my spoon on my bread plate and begin to wait. Surely the waiter will come back to check on us and I can get him to bring me another soup or heat this up. Well, that never happened. After about 15 minutes our entrees show up. The expediter delivering our entrees sees that I have not eaten my soup and asks if there was anything wrong with it. When I tell her it was cold and I was waiting for our waiter to return to tell him, she immediately apologizes and makes an offer to get me another. However, at this point our entrees are on the table and I don't want to eat soup as my meal gets cold. Again she apologizes profusely, which I appreciate, and promises to send over the manager. She leaves and about 30 seconds later I hear the manager telling the kitchen to check the temperature on their soups. Oh well, too late for me, but maybe that will help others.

I cut into my veal Marsala to find it nice and tender. It has a great flavor, but when I take a bite of my garlic mashed potatoes, they are cold as well. I am beginning to see what is going on here. Either these foods are not being stored at safe temperatures or sides are being put on the plates way too early before the main course. I ask Ronda how her potatoes are and she agrees that they are cold. At this point, I just really want to get out of there. I leave my potatoes on the plate and finish my veal. The manager never comes to our table, so I ask for the check. Next to us is a table of six with a number of children and when I see their dishes come out it is clear the way to go at Carrabba's is pasta. All of the pasta dishes being served were steaming hot.

I take full responsibility for this debacle as I should never have gone to a chain like this for an anniversary dinner. Its just that I like Carrabba's and we never go because my daughter doesn't like it. Given that she put the kibosh on a suggestion of Bennigan's two years ago and then they closed their doors two weeks later, I should be taking her advice. I was so upset after this meal that if Johnny and Damian would have been in the restaurant that evening, I would have clunked their heads together they way Moe does Larry and Curly. It was the worst!

I have had good meals at Carrabba's in the past, but I am done with them now. For this, my last visit to Carrabba's, I give them one Stiffy.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Havana Cuba Restaurant


Havana Cuba Restaurant
210 N. Woodland Blvd.
DeLand, FL 32720
(386)736-7726
www.planetdeland.com/havanacuba

In posts past I have commented on the plethora of independently owned restaurants located in DeLand. I continue to be amazed with the number of these restaurants and the good food that they serve. Unintentionally, my friend Kelly has seemed to become my DeLand restaurant dining partner. She and I have discovered a few places and have also failed to find some locations we were looking for, but that is the beauty of having so many choices. Recently, Kelly told me about a small Cuban location called Havana Cuba that we needed to check out. Since I am always ready for a new food adventure and love Cuban food, I immediately agreed.

Kelly and I arrived at Havana Cuba just a little before noon and it is a good thing that we did. The restaurant is small and cozy with seating for about 30. As soon as we sat down we were greeted by our waitress who took our drink orders. We ordered sodas, but it should be noted they do have a selection of Cuban sodas available. I thought that was a great touch that added to the authenticity of the place and made a mental note to try one on my next visit. For lunch, I ordered the Cuban Sandwich and Kelly ordered Arroz con Pollo, chicken with yellow rice. After taking our order our waitress took our ticket to a gentleman sitting at a table with a couple of other people and he went straight to the kitchen. The restaurant began to fill with others while we waited for our food and chatted. It wasn't ten minutes before our waitress returned with our food. This was really quick service.

I ordered the full sandwich, but will tell you a half would have been plenty. As a matter of fact, their special that day was a half of sandwich with a side of black beans and rice. I did order a side of beans and rice, but with a full sandwich it was way too much food. The portions here are generous. Kelly's chicken and rice looked outstanding and she confirmed my suspicions by saying it tasted really good. My sandwich was packed with ham, pork and cheese with a great Cuban bread pressed just right. The beans were flavorful and the rice fluffy and hot. We were very pleased with our food. Our waitress came back to check on us often and kept our glasses full.

It appears this restaurant is family owned with everyone pitching in. While it is small, they serve up food that is big on flavor and size. If you enjoy Cuban food and like a nice, family atmosphere when you dine out, you have to check out Havana Cuba Restaurant. I know I'll be back often.

For my first visit to Havana Cuba Restaurant, I give them four Stiffy's.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry