Florida Cracker Kitchen is the product of a 20-year-old mini family dining dynasty on Jefferson Street in Brooksville. This collaboration of brothers Ethan (a formally trained chef) and Blair (silver-tongued southern charmer and veritable one-man PR firm) Hensley is worth the drive from wherever you may be situated in the Tampa Bay area. Their mother, Larie Dewitt Hensley, owns the nearby acclaimed Mallie Kyla’s Café. The restaurant opened two years ago serving breakfast and lunch only and recently expanded service to include dinner hours on Friday and Saturday.
The vibe at Florida Cracker Kitchen is kitschy, old-school-Florida at its finest and service is both attentive and small town friendly. But don't let the down-home decor, Christmas lights, vintage advertising signs and requisite Adirondack chairs and rockers out front fool you...this is no Cracker Barrel.
The vibe at Florida Cracker Kitchen is kitschy, old-school-Florida at its finest and service is both attentive and small town friendly. But don't let the down-home decor, Christmas lights, vintage advertising signs and requisite Adirondack chairs and rockers out front fool you...this is no Cracker Barrel.
Portions of everything are huge at Florida Cracker Kitchen, so be prepared to take a to-go box home with you because you will want to sample it all. For starters, the house-smoked fresh mullet spread could be a meal in and of itself and is one of the finest renditions to be found in the Greater Tampa Bay area for my money...and I can be extremely judgmental when it comes to fish spread. Creamy slices of avocado were an unexpected garnish, but made a surprisingly delightful foil for this nicely spicy pescetarian's delight.
Likewise, you don't want to pass on FCK's escalated riff on crab rangoon. These flaky, sherry-laced lump crab and Gruyere stuffed phyllo purses are a study in luxurious decadence.
The term "shrimp" is something of a misnomer here, as Florida Cracker Kitchen's shrimp cocktail features some of the largest specimens of said crustaceans I've ever laid eyes on, served chilled and nicely spiced.
Entrees were equally impressive, reasonably priced (all but the Filet of Beef are under $20) and served with a starch, a fresh veggie and choice of soup or salad. While house dinner salads rarely do much to ratchet my heart rate up, this one did. UD's gorgeous bowl of fresh greens with red onion slivers, heirloom grape tomatoes, carrot strands and toasted walnuts was drizzled in a light, house vinaigrette and heartily snarfed.
The soup of the day was crab and corn chowder (which I can almost never pass up), so I had to admire the salad from afar. This was an excellent rendition and I appreciated that fact that no one was skimping on either the crab morsels or the trough size.
The bone of the spousal unit's 1 lb. grilled porterhouse pork chop with apple rum glaze looked like it had been bleaching in the sun for a month after he had his way with it.
I have no idea where she put it all, but little remained of our petite dining companion's fat and meaty Chassahowitzka river crab cakes after she tucked into them.
Lastly, I enjoyed perfectly pan-seared grouper cheeks with beurre noisette sauce with fluffy jasmine rice and some outstanding Brussels sprouts with sauteed onion that I daresay would be sweet enough to convert even the most hardcore cruciferous veggie haters.
Creamy, mile-high kumquat pie is a must-order for citrus junkies. When this shell-pink cloud arrives at the table atop its cinnamony graham cracker crust, you won't know whether to eat it or snuggle up in it. But go ahead and dive in (with your fork!)...the tangy and refreshing key-lime-meets-grapefruit flavor is quite remarkable.
The wine and craft beer list is short but thoughtful and most will find something on it to satisfy their taste. For the bona fide "Crackers", there are tall boy cans of Miller Lite, PBR and Old Milwaukee on hand.
Final Word: This was an extremely pleasing experience in all respects. The place is fun, it's friendly, the food is excellent and nicely presented, and (bonus points!) it's quite affordable. Everything you see here plus two glasses of wine and two beers set us back a relatively modest $125 before gratuity. Be aware that this is a cash-only business, but there is an ATM onsite for diners' convenience (if you're lucky, you might get some of your change back in whimsical $2 bills).
My blog entries contain the unmitigated, and sometimes unforgiving, dining truths and perceptions I experience as an ordinary restaurant patron. Every meal I post about has been fully paid for by one of the participating members of my personal dining party. I do not engage in the gratis blogger freebie dining events I'm constantly invited to attend and never will. If I ooze font-like love for a restaurant in my blog, it's because they totally earned it…not because they gave me free food or knew I was going to share the experience on the internet.
This place is our favorite! If you think dinner was amazing, you should go definitely back for breakfast. :)
ReplyDeleteOh my - love these pictures my friends. I think I would even try the kumquat pie!
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