I can't believe we've been wintering here in Winter Garden for the past three years and somehow have never made it inside the Plant Street Market downtown. We've certainly walked and bicycled by hundreds of times, and I always thought it looked interesting -- there's a craft brewery there, for goodness sakes -- but it can be very crowded. We're not fond of crowds so stayed away. We finally decided to give it a try now that so many snowbirds have left the area until next winter, so the crowds would be more local and less touristy. We picked a Wednesday, since this is our usual laundry day and not a day we do our longer road rides. Chores and gym workouts done, we hopped on our cruiser bikes and pedaled over from the RV park -- just under 1.5 miles each way. It's definitely less crowded earlier in the week than towards the weekend, and it was not bad at all when we arrived on this beautiful spring day at lunchtime. Inside, in addition to the brewery, there are various local eateries. It's kinda like an upscale, non-chain food court in a industrial warehouse space. There is an assortment of spots to choose whatever suits your fancy, and you can then eat inside or out. There's pizza, barbeque, sushi, even a butcher shop, high-end chocolate and gelato, and a bakery, which was closed (sigh...). "Mac'd Out", a macaroni-and-cheese spot, caught our eye and sounded good. Haven't had mac-n-cheese for a long time! The food in such a spot is not inexpensive, as you might imagine, but quality is definitely above a typical food court experience. We split a "build your own" mac-n-cheese, which we had made with chicken breast, broccoli, and roasted red peppers. The perfect comfort food, it was creamy and delicious and enough for the two of us. We also enjoyed trying a couple of different beers on tap at Crooked Can. Their Lime Gose was very sour and suited us both very well indeed. It was a perfect day to sit outside and enjoy a meal, and it never got too crowded -- but I would not want to be here on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday! We thought about dessert, but ended up passing. We had chocolate and yummy gelato back at Pearl. There was a place to buy fancy paletas (popsicles) in exotic flavors, but after living in Mexico where they are ubiquitous and cheap, the thought of paying $4 (and up) for a popsicle was just too much for me. I do appreciate small local businesses and like to support them, but I have my limits.
While we won't be visiting this spot weekly since it's kinda pricey, I hope we'll stop by from time to time. It was a fun change from our normal routine and a nice treat!
1 Comment
4/9/2018 08:36:32 am
Looks like a cool place. That mac n cheese looks amazing!
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Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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