Floridiana Magazine

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Florida Eats: Farmer’s Market Restaurant, Webster, FL (CLOSED)

“Florida home cooking” conjures up an image of a Sunday afternoon meal.  Fried chicken or meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamy macaroni and cheese.  Add to that a variety of vegetables and greens, cornbread or biscuit and a tall glass of sweet tea. Then top it all off with a homemade dessert.

Brings back memories, doesn’t it?

Where can you find such a feast without having to don an apron and dust off the cookbook?  The Farmer’s Market Restaurant in Webster, Florida of course.

Farmer’s Market Restaurant Webster, Florida

The Ambiance

The restaurant sits in the middle of the Webster Farmer’s Market on Highway 471 and is open seven days a week.  Wooden rockers on the front porch reach out and welcome you to the restaurant.  Diners use it as a gathering place – whether they are waiting for someone to join them or relaxing after their home cooked meal.

This is a no-frills restaurant. A variety of kitchen gadgets adorn the walls. Shelves along the top of the walls hold plates and cups. A mixture of booths and tables provide seating in the dining area.

A second dining room has been added since our first visit a year ago. One of the waitresses says the room was needed to accommodate the large number of diners, especially on Mondays when thousands of people converge on the Webster Flea Market.

Second Dining Area

Home Cooking

After seating yourself, the waitstaff is quick to take your drink order and direct you to the buffet or offer a menu. The buffet appears to be the more popular choice and, whether you are there for breakfast, lunch or dinner, provides enough culinary options to satisfy anyone’s cravings. And the best part is you can fill your plate and go back for seconds. From one end of the buffet to the other, it’s a diner’s dream. Oh, and the desserts?  One word: scrumptious!

Small town restaurants serve up more than just food – they offer hospitality with a touch of home. The Farmer’s Market Restaurant is no different.  It is a place to sit down for a meal and hear the locals around you talking about their week or asking about each other’s families.  It’s a place where you can enjoy a meal without being rushed to make room for the next customer.

Hours of Operation

The Farmer’s Market Restaurant is open Monday – Thursday from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

How to Get There

If you’re ever in the area, stop by for a bite to eat or make a special trip.  If you’re traveling on Interstate 75, get off at exit 309 (County Road 673) and drive west about 10 minutes.

Whatever your reason for visiting, you can count on home cooking the way your mother used to make it.

Florida Eats: Cherry Pocket Steak & Seafood Shak

There are times when we are out and about that we run into some interesting places to eat.  Some are off the beaten track and known mostly by locals, where word of mouth draws in curious visitors.  Others are located on the main roads and hold some historic distinction. In this week’s Florida Eats, we made a stop at Cherry Pocket on the banks of Lake Pierce in Lake Wales.

From their décor to their newspaper-style menu, Cherry Pocket is one of those hidden gems.  The restaurant’s website touts the efforts by the current owners to keep it a unique “old Florida” place to visit.  The name Cherry Pocket, as legend tells it, comes from the two original property owners in the late 1940s, one of whom was named Cherry.  The “Pocket” part of the name was derived from the way the property sat on the canal (the owners thought it looked like a pocket).

The Ambiance

For folks who live in the area, Cherry Pocket is one of those laid-back kinds of restaurants they frequent regularly.  It’s a place for them to drop in for lunch or dinner or even just a drink.  The décor is comfortable and unassuming.  Dollar bills are attached to the walls along with license plates from around the country.  Fishing poles hang from the ceiling. Posted signs offer diners a suggestion or two – one in particular indicates the restaurant is a “No Whining Zone.”

If the weather is nice and you prefer to sit outside, there is an outdoor deck overlooking the canal.  In the center, a boat shaped bar.  Grab a stool and enjoy a drink.

The Menu

The restaurant bills itself as a “steak, seafood shak and oyster bar.”  From the appetizers to the entrees, the food is made from fresh ingredients and is cooked to order. The desserts are all homemade.

On our visit, we tried a few of the starters – the Cracker Platter and the Seafood Nachos.  Let’s just say the nachos were to die for!

A word of advice for newbies to the restaurant.  Don’t be in a hurry.  Since the food is made to order, it may take a little longer.  Just sit back, enjoy a drink, an appetizer and a friendly conversation.

Fish Camp

Cherry Pocket is not just a restaurant.  It is also a fishing “resort” offering rental cabins, RV hookups and boat slips.  Stay for a night, a week, or a month.  The cabins are fully furnished and include utilities and cable TV.  Make sure to call ahead to make reservations.

If you’ve never been to Cherry Pocket, just a reminder this restaurant truly is off the beaten path.  Rather than providing directions, it’s best for you to map it out from your location.  When you get there, make sure to ask for the Cherry Pocket Times.  Not only does it have the menu, but also a few “fish stories” you’ll want to read.

Cherry Pocket is located at:

3100 Canal Road
Lake Wales, FL 33898
863-439-2031

 

Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards

For years I would pass by Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards driving along Highway 27 or the Florida Turnpike. I’d look at that building up on the hill and think about the acres and acres of orange groves that once filled the landscape. But several years of hard freezes took their toll on the citrus industry and paved the way for a new venture: vineyards and wine.

History of Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards

Lakeridge opened its doors in Clermont in February 1989, along the hills of what is known as the Lake Wales Ridge – a ridge of sand running about 150 miles north and south through the center of the state. In the early 90s another company-owned vineyard (Lafayette Vineyards in Tallahassee) merged with Lakeridge in Clermont, quickly increased its production, and became Florida’s largest winery.

A walk around the grounds turns up some remarkable sights: lush green grapevines bearing the fruits of labor, rolling hills that make you think you are not in Florida, and if you’re lucky, a closeup view of sandhill cranes.

The winery sits on a 127-acre estate, of which about 75 acres are planted with several varieties of Muscadine grapes used in both their red and white wines.  Believe it or not, the grapes grown at Lakeridge are not enough to provide all they need.  To make up for it, they contract out to some local growers who also specialize in the same grapes.

In all, Lakeridge produces about 100,000 cases of wine a year, which if you’re good at math, adds up to more than one million bottles!

Tours and Tasting

So, how do the grapes get from the vines to the bottles?  That’s a question that’s answered on the complimentary tours offered seven days a week.  Those tours and the wine tasting afterward are probably the biggest draws to Lakeridge.

The tour begins upstairs in a small theatre where you watch a short video about wine making in Florida, the history of the winery and the family that started it all, the Cox family. Afterwards, a tour guide leads you along a catwalk overlooking the production area, where you see where the wine is made, bottled, and packaged.

A stop out on the balcony provides a breathtaking view of the vineyard.

What’s the purpose of seeing how the wine is made without actually getting to taste it?  A large u-shaped tasting counter downstairs is lined with empty wine glasses and taste testing sheets to record your thoughts about the wines you sample.  Instruction is given about how to hold the glass properly and how to swirl the wine around. Then, one by one, you are led through a tasting extravaganza of seven different wines.

In all, the tour and tasting take about 50 minutes to complete.  Once you’re done, you get a chance to walk through the gift shop, peruse the wine accessories and gourmet foods, and purchase the wines you just tasted.

Festivals and Events at Lakeridge

Besides the tours, festivals and events fill the winery’s calendar.  Music series, a holiday open house, benefit concerts and harvest festivals offer plenty of entertainment opportunities. One of the biggest events is the Annual Harvest Grape Stomp in August which offers up some good old fashioned grape stomping competition.

The large outdoor space and stage provide the perfect backdrop for the events. It’s estimated that more than 160,000 people visit Lakeridge Winery every year.

Additional Information

Besides Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards in Clermont, the Cox family owns another winery in St. Augustine. San Sebastian opened in 1996 and is now the second largest winery in Florida.

Lakeridge is just north of Clermont on U.S. 27 and is open seven days a week.  Hours on Monday through Saturday are 10am to 5pm and on Sunday from 11am to 5pm.