Days 11-20:
Stationary in Orlando, Florida
Part 5 of 4 (BONUS)
Okay, I know I said that was going to be the last post about Orlando before resuming the road trip driving, but it just got to be too big of a post, so I'll put the last part here as a bonus. I guess if I'm accurate, this one isn't Orlando, it involves driving in the X5 as well.
Whenever I'm in central Florida, I have to drive to Tampa for a dinner at Bern's Steakhouse. About 90 minutes each way from Orlando.
Recommended to me maybe 15 years ago, Bern's is probably the best overall dining experience I've ever had. And that's saying something--I've traveled extensively around the world, sampling every major culture, in many different countries. I've done the entire spectrum, from living in a tent, eating street food, to 5+ Star hotels, eating in gourmet restaurants. From dirty to snobby, shabby to chic.
Good food at Bern's, good service, multiple courses, expert wines, professional tours, and a whole second half of desserts. This is one of the top experiences I can show you on this trip.
Bern's is in an old-timey, eclectic area of Tampa.
Some nice cars parked outside, both before and after the dinner.
Pretty swanky inside.
That Beard award is significant. In addition to the good food and experience, Bern's has a wine cellar of thousands, and thousands of bottles of wine.
Bear with me as I share just some of Bern's menu. It's changed since I was here last, as it used to have pages and pages of info and choices for steaks--cuts, thicknesses, cook temps, cattle choice, etc.
Have you ever been to a restaurant where the full wine list is maybe 500 pages long?
I chose to start with smoked trout caviar. Mmmmmm... a rare treat
After a discussion with the sommelier, about what I was looking for in a wine, preferences, tastes, he gave me samples of two recommended wines to choose from. Me definitely preferring one over the other, he poured a full glass.
This is a 2018 Frog's Head Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. Full bodied, rich in flavor.
For the 2nd course, all steaks come with Bern's signature French Onion soup, unless you choose an alternative. Simply amazing.
Third course, even the house salad was delicious.
Main fourth course. OMG. Just looking at this picture makes me drool. That's a 14 oz, 100 day aged, Delmonico steak, cooked medium rare. Bern's signature fried onion, which by itself is worth the price of admission. (you have to try it)
Normally they also include a loaded baked potato, but I chose to get extra vegetables this time.
That's a truffle infused butter in the back. And I just love a side of sauteed mushrooms with steak. They brought a whole bowl full.
Holy hell. I'm in heaven.
After dinner, as your stomach is settling, Bern's offers personalized tours of the kitchen and vast wine cellar, given by waiter trainees that are trying to earn their place on staff. These tours are also worth the price of admission just by themselves.
Sadly, this is another victim of COVID. (grrrr). So my "tour" this time was looking through the glass window into the kitchen as my waiter explained things and answered my fascinated questions. And no wine cellar tour this time, which would have been good for pictures, but I've done it several times before.
But wait... there's more! We're only half done! Bern's has a whole separate restaurant upstairs, that is just for desserts. A separate reservation is required for people just going for dessert. A reservation is automatically made for patrons that have dinner.
So, after dinner, you trundle your full body upstairs (there's also an elevator if you're feeling extra full), and have a seat in really cool big barrel booth-types, with a wonderful darkened relaxed mood.
Remember that 500 or whatever paged wine list before? Well that was just for dinner.
This is an entirely different wine list, just for dessert wines. And even THIS one is so big, it has a multi-page table of contents!
I forgot to take a picture of my "Bern's Cappuccino". Coffee beans marinated in Kahlua and liquors for 10 weeks, with chocolate melted in. Delicious.
After a good, gastronomic meal, I really enjoy a good cappuccino, bit of dessert, and/or dessert wine as a digestiv to settle the stomach.
This is the popular macadamia nut sundae, and a glass of Grahams 20 year old tawny port.
Wow. Just wow. Everything was simply amazing.
Fantastic foods. Some items were the #1 best of its type I've ever had in the world, and the others would probably still be in the top 5. And the overall dining experience is still probably the best I've ever had, even traveling and experiencing things worldwide.
Can't recommend Bern's enough.
Okay, NOW I'm done with Florida.
That was an amazing way to end the Florida stay. Let's get back on the road and resume this road trip!