A Casual Steakhouse
Brandon, Florida, USA
Dined in August 2015 and July 2016
By Sean Overpeck (CFE)
With 75 locations in 10 states currently, Headquartered in Orlando, the Brandon, Florida location of Miller’s Ale House was a nice little treat for good quality food, at a great value compared to other steakhouse style competitors. A very relaxed atmosphere, catering to veterans and active duty military as well as police and fire. Between lunch, dinner, or happy hour, they have what you need to satisfy, including 75 beers on the menu and growing. Their wine selection is also growing, but most of what they offer is commercial and big name brands instead of small boutique. Here was our experiences at the Ale House…
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From the Miller Ale House home page:
Welcome to Miller's Brandon Ale House! Located on West Brandon Boulevard near South Lakewood Drive, the Ale House restaurant provides top-quality food at a great value.
Can’t decide between a steak, fresh seafood or Buffalo wings? Our restaurant menu has it all – from New York Strip to lobster, original pastas to fresh salads, and favorites like Zingers® boneless wings and homemade desserts. Our full-service bar features more than 75 beers, as well as wine and liquor.
Brandon Ale House is your casual neighborhood tavern. Bring the family, watch the game with friends, lunch with co-workers – however you come to relax, you will have a good time and great food at the Brandon Ale House.
Main review:
My first visit to Miller’s Ale House was in August of 2015. My father and stepmother have been living in Brandon Florida since 2003, and every time I would visit, they would either take me to when of their favorite spots, or somewhere new altogether. Miller’s had become one of the places on their list that they would frequent since the menu was large, the drink selection as far as beers was really good, and the prices were cheaper then other restaurants. When they wanted a treat they would go to another Florida chain also close by to where they lived called Stonewood Grill and Tavern. While home we popped into the Brandon location, one of seventy-five restaurants throughout Florida and ten other states. The menu was pretty big, not as big as The Cheesecake Factory, but nearly. I also agreed with my dad, the prices were really good. I would be curios with such a large menu, if the the quality of food matched the pricing. Speaking of their menu, this was the breakdown:
- World Famous Zingers®
- Appetizers
- Salads
- Soups
- Flatbreads
- Pasta
- House Favorites
- Great Steaks
- Seafood
- Burgers and Sandwiches
- Fajitas
- Light Fare
- Sides
- Kids Menu
- Desserts
The Zingers and Appetizer menu portions are extensive, and though they have trademarked the Zinger section of the menu, Zingers have been around a little bit longer than Miller’s Ale House. For example you have the classic American snack cake produced and sold by Dolly Madison and Hostess. It is also a word defined as shocking, revelation, interesting, or amusing. Is it as the definition says? You will have to find that out, because we skipped over that section.
This article is going to combine two separate visits to Miller’s Ale House in Brandon. The first as I mentioned above was in August 2015 with my father and stepmother. The second visit being more recent in July 2016 with my wife and again with my parents.
Skipping over the Zinger section which essentially are fresh chicken tenders, and chicken tender melt, or some wings. The appetizer menu was similar to several other chain restaurants ranging from buffalo shrimp, calamari, guacamole, spinach dip, cheese-sticks, quesadillas, loaded french fries, fish dip which you see on many Florida restaurant menus, nachos, and finally the one that I chose during the first visit, the pork dumpling potstickers served on a bed of cabbage with plum sauce. The product tasted good, but did not have the same taste as a fresh and made from scratch like their Zingers advertised.
My stepmother and I both had salads to go before their meals, to which they offer a tossed, caesar, blackened shrimp or chicken cobb, a Zinger salad, asian chicken, apple walnut with romaine, southwestern bistro steak and an odd salad that seemed out of place but perfect for Florida, the blackened chicken key lime which was very southwestern style based on the corn salsa and black bean ingredients only with a Florida key lime dressing. My stepmother had the regular tossed salad while I had the caesar.
For drinks my wife had a glass of sauvignon blanc from the Uppercut winery in California (Scroll down below the main review to see wine tasting notes) and I enjoyed a flight tasting of some craft IPA Beers from their extensive list of offerings. The four beers on the flight were the Rebel, Electric Peel, Guinness Nitro, and the Blue Moon White. Guinness is usually a favorite but I like drinking it when i’m in Ireland or England. The stuff that is sent over to the states does not have the same flavor or taste, even quality as the beer in the home country. Of these four beers the rebel and blue moon were my favorites.
As we ordered entrees we stayed to the pasta’s, favorites, fish, lighter fare, and steaks, so before I go into details on the entree’s, since the menu is so big, I’ll do a quick a review of the sections we bypassed. Starting with the flatbread section with five offerings from the zinger, pepperoni, classic cheese, and a bbq chicken. Next was there fajita section with steak, chicken, or a combination of the two.
Sandwiches and steak burgers ranged from regular, turkey burger, to a build your own and for the lighter entree side with the sandwiches you could have a fish, beef or chicken Philly cheesesteak, French Dip, or the Big Red, which was a cheese smothered chicken breast on brioche served with french fries. From the seafood section there was an English style fish and chips, fish or shrimp tacos, two Mahi selections of a piccata or a plain that you could have grilled, blackened, or broiled, and an Alaskan salmon. For other shellfish they had twin lobster tails, fried shrimp entree, snow crab dinner, or a seafood combo platter.
From the House Favorites, my father enjoyed the baby back ribs from the first visit, slow roasted and smothered with their southern bbq sauce, with cole slaw and a choice of a side.
Other selections on house favorites included a teriyaki Asian chicken dish with pineapple, a Louisiana style jambalaya where you could choose from shrimp, chicken, or sausage with vegetables and cajun rice. Finally from that menu was the ossobuco pork shank served with mash potatoes which my stepmother had on our second visit.
Under the great steak sections between the two visits my father had the filet mignon, eight ounces, though he burned it, as he likes his steaks cooked well done.
Also during the first visit, I ate the ribeye steak, twelve ounces, with perfect grill marks. You could also add additions to the steaks such as boom-boom shrimp and lobster tails, or even a blue cheese or queso crust.
From the Pasta section which has two shrimp dishes, one with scampi and the other with alfredo, they both have 35 sautéed shrimp on the platter with linguini noodles, followed by a seafood macaroni and cheese with five cheeses in the mix, shrimp scallops, and vegetables, a chicken parmesan, and finally my wife's selection which was a cajun chicken pasta, again with linguine, mushrooms, green onions, tomatoes and garlic toast. It was very tasty.
Under the lighter fare section were Zingers once again, except grilled instead of fried, salmon, chicken and my selection a Bahamian mahi wrapped in aluminum foil and baked. With the fish was broccoli, zucchini, marinated onions and wine. The vegetables were wonderful, but the fish lacked flavor.
Dessert:
On both visits we were all completely fool and could not get dessert, however they had a few options that looked really good to include the captain jack’s buried treasure Oreo ice cream cake, and a nutter butter ice cream cake. The other desserts were typical of most chains like a brownie and sundae.
A brief look at the wine list:
Miller’s Ale House like most of the restaurants in Tampa and St Petersburg want to cater to their clientele when it comes to wine, and most of them have an uneducated basic table wine style palette. My wife is helping me to expand mine, but it is hard for us to find places that offer boutique wines, which are sometimes cheaper then the mainstream, and have a better taste. This area is held captive by large corporate alcohol vendors like Empire and Southern Wine & Spirits. So you are always going to see your typical basics like Sonoma-Cutrer, Benzinger, Clos du Bois, Cavit, Sutter Home, Yellowtail, and Beringer.
The wine list consists of house table wines at $5.00 per glass or $20.00 per bottle. The main focus here at Miller’s is the beer.
Wine Tasting Notes:
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Wine & Grape:
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Nose (Bouquet):
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Palette Experience:
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Uppercut Sauvignon Blanc
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Winemaker: This wine is bright, lush and brims with pure fruit expression. Vibrant aromas of pineapple and citrus leap from the glass. My Tasting: A very typical California Sauvignon Blanc, very acidic and full fruit flavored, with heavy lemon and citrus notes |
Winemaker: A hint of Asian lemongrass is typical of Sauvignon Blanc. The wines crisp lemon drop finish is like a squeeze of lemon over fresh caught grilled swordfish or marlin. A little spicy, with some glove and orange tints on the palette, with a smooth finish, |
So, with the meal complete, and our culinary appetites fulfilled, lets see how Miller’s Ale House rates overall shall we. Here is how my rating system works….
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5 stars
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is Extraordinary
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4 Stars
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is Outstanding
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3 Stars
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Exceeded Expectations
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2 Stars
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is Above the Average
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1 Star
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is an Average Dining Experience
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No Star Rating
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The Restaurant is Basic, Poor, or Appalling
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Rating Breakdown And Analysis:
Professional Restaurant reviewers like the New York Times, or the San Francisco based Chowhound, and the sophisticated travelers sight Gayot base their reviews on single or multiple experiences, giving their opinion + a specific rating to that restaurant. These reviews and accolades tell the whole story and inform the diner of what to expect. Now social media from places like Facebook, the review and events page Yelp, the International Restaurant focused site called Zomato, and Trip Advisor have started to replace the traditional media readership. A large majority now look at these social ratings and write-ups judging the restaurant on them versus the use of review sites like this mine or the professional ones mentioned above. Social media is now the new make or brake to a Restaurant. Most times instead of being skeptical to a social review, people will see low ratings, and they will likely bypass and go elsewhere. Whether it is here on Wine, Dine, and Play, or the Elite Traveler’s Guide, the one thing I do is give an unbiased opinion, giving you the most information I can. The ratings given here are based on the overall experience, so use this review as another source of information to help make your decision.
From the tasting of the Chef’s specials to the lists of wines, prices, customer service, property, setup, flow, and cleanliness; these are just a few of the items I look at when giving a rating for a review. Sometimes I visit a place once-or many times-and I base it on the facts, versus a user on social media who writes a bad review because he had a bad day, or has a personnel dislike to an employee. I am one of many thousands of reviewers on this Earth, and my main job is to inform. I do this for fun as it is something I truly enjoy. I don’t not get paid or represent a special interest group. You may end up having a completely opposite experience then the ones I write about, but in the end it is all in the eye of the beholder. I’m just giving you more information then what you see or here on social media.
On Wine, Dine, and Play, I have an overall star rating scale of six levels with the lowest being a poor or appalling experience (zero stars), up to an extraordinary experience (five stars). This rating scale is formulated by braking down individual experiences such as (1) wine, (2) plate presentation, (3) ambiance, (4) wow factor, (5) customer service, plus (6) food quality and combines them on a separate scale of zero to ten, with ten being the best. In the next paragraph, I brake down how and why I come to the conclusion of the rating numbers listed in the overall review chart below.
I have been to Miller’s Ale House two times, and it is a nice relaxed atmosphere, so I would return again.
The overall star rating from Wine, Dine, and Play that I give to Miller’s Ale House is a two, meaning that they were above the average dining experience, and my expectations are set at a high standard compared to other reviewers out there, so this rating may seem lower, but it is still good. They stand above a few other chains out there. I came to this conclusion based on all the other factors listed above and how they rated.
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Overall Star rating by Wine, Dine, & Play:
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2 of 5
Above Average
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Ambiance:
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4 of 10
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Quality of the Food:
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6 of 10
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Plate Presentation:
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5 of 10
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Customer Service:
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6 of 10
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Wow Factor:
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4 of 10
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Wine Selection:
(See the full list under the review basics section below)
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1 of 10
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I rate ambiance on several factors from the most important being cleanliness of the dining room and restrooms, to organization and flow. I look at the atmosphere, character, the tones, artwork, and the design styles to see if they match the themes of the food. During the daylight hours natural lighting versus electric is also a strong enhancer of enjoying a meal, and of course the styles of furniture, or if it is inviting and comfortable.
Miller’s Ale House is a typical chain restaurant, with odd pictures on the walls, casual service, televisions with sport channels, and all around casual. With this I rate the ambiance at a score of 4 out of 10 possible points.
The quality rating bases the essential or distinctive characteristics that the food offers, or if I see that it is of a higher grade, superiority, or excellence. Also important is the taste. Did the chef pair or match distinctive ingredients together, and did he send my palette on an adventure?
The food was fresh as advertised, and most had good flavor for the prices that they offered them for. The sides and salads were basic to most chain restaurants so I would give them a rating of 6 out of 10 points.
The plate presentation is based on the art of how the food is put together and displayed as it is brought out. Does it look unique, or have interesting garnishments, or built action style at the table? Does it make you look twice and go “wow”? All of these attributes help add to this rating.
Basic restaurant plating with no excitement or garnish except for the ossobuco dish which was presented very nicely. In fact that presentation helped raise their score to 5 out of a possible 10 points instead of four.
Customer service can make or break a restaurant. You can have the best quality of foods, and plate presentations that put Escoffier to shame, or the most beautiful ambiance, and fantastic wine or bar list. However if you have a service staff that is not attentive to the needs of the guest, or has an unclean uniform, smells like a cigarette after returning from a break, does not act professionally, or lacks knowledge on the menu, food, and restaurant, then you have a major problem. On the other hand a great server can bring a customer back over and over again even if the food is mediocre. People go to restaurants for the show. They think they are experts because they watched a reality tv show on the Food Network, but what needs to be understood is that as amazing as a kitchen staff and Chef’s may be, the front of house is just as great.
The service on both visits was nice and relaxed. Attention to detail was given no matter how slow or busy the restaurant was at the time. For this I give Miller’s a score of 6 out of 10 points.
The “wow” factor as I like to call it is a quality or feature that is extremely impressive. It can be something that is seen or done that is funky, surprising, or pleasing. It is something that just makes me go “wow”. This rating is also the hardest to get high marks for. The wow factor is a combination of ambiance, quality, plate presentation, customer service, and wine or mixology that goes above and beyond what you would expect from a restaurant.
The wow factor is hard, and based on the visits I give them a 4 out of a possible 10 points. Many restaurants I go to average between 3 and 5 points, with some going lower. It is hard to really wow me when you have been to nearly twenty of the top one hundred restaurants in the world, then visit a chain and expect them to compete.
The wine selection can vary from place to place, and I base the ratings not just on the quality of the wines offered but also the selections. Wine is grown everywhere around the world these days and the demand for it has increased ten fold. Distributors in every major city whether they work for a large named company like Empire or a small boutique company can provide any restaurant any wine if they want it. Some restaurants will choose to have brand name wines only and that to me will lower a rating faster than a plane nose diving. If they make an effort to have even a small selection with variety such as a wines from Napa California, Willamette Oregon, Bordeaux France, Stellenbosch South Africa, the Yarra Valley near Melbourne Australia, or the Piemonte in Italy, to name a few, then that rating will shoot up higher on my review list.
As I mentioned in the “about wine” section above, most restaurants in central Florida cater to the public, and the public does not have a palette or decent wine knowledge, so basic and bland wines are all you are going to see, with the rare exception from time to time. With the time and effort that miller’s has put into their beer list, they could easily hire a sommelier or wine steward to help them. At Stonewood Grill which is a competitor and chain restaurant as well, they have nearly one hundred bottles of wine on their list. Most of it caters to the uneducated public, but you have a few great selections in there. In other words you are given a choice. Because Miller’s does not have that choice, I give them a rating of 1 point out of 10 possible points.
This rounds up the review and rating for Miller’s Ale House, and from this experience, I would compare our experiences here on these two visits to a few other places either I, my family, or my fiancé and I have been to in the past such as another chain who holds its roots and founding in central Florida called Bonefish Grill. Fantastic selection of land and sea, and to boot a great wine list, and top notch service. I would also compare them to a little eatery in Canton, Ohio called
91 Wood Fire Oven and the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington.
Other Brandon and Tampa reviews on Wine, Dine, and Play:
Council Oak Steakhouse in Tampa
(coming soon)
Kona Grill
Rock 'n Raw
Ferg’s
First Flight Wine Bar
Food Prices
(excluding, alcohol, taxes & gratuity)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur’s**
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My food bill:
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Currency:
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Price chart:
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$112.00
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$$$
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£84.00
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Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
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££
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€100.00
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European Union (EUR)
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€€€
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$145.00
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
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$$$
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$148.00
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Australian Dollar (AUS)
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$$$
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¥748.00
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Chinese Yuan (CNY)
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¥¥¥¥¥
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Alcohol Prices:
$20.00
This Bill is based on the July 2016 visit
***
Customary starting gratuity for restaurants in the United States begins at 15%
Of your total food bill and increases based on the level of service you received.
In Europe, Australia, Africa, and some Asian countries it is not
common to leave any gratuity as it is already included into
the check, but you may feel free to leave extra anyway. Alcohol gratuity
is calculated by a separate 10% or higher if you wish.
***
Review basics:
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Wine selections by region:
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1 of 10
Old world:
New World:
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Corkage fee’s:
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The Restaurant does not list any corkage fee’s however, most American restaurants charge $25.00 per bottle
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Restaurant style:
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Casual
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Reservations:
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Not Required
Walk-Ins:
Accepted, but not guaranteed
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Dress code:
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Casual, or Conservative attire
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Child policy:
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The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in attendance, unless they have been trained in proper etiquette.
Hire a Babysitter.
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Cuisine style:
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Contemporary, Steakhouse, Seafood, American, Southern, & Vegetarian
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Experiences:
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Rustic, Tourist grabber, Chain Restaurant
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Payments:
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Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
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Parking:
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Public lot
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Wifi
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The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
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Noise level:
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Medium
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Smoking:
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Nonsmoking restaurant
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Patio:
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No
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Miller’s Ale House:
1817 West Brandon Boulevard
Brandon, Florida
33511
GPS Coordinates:
27.936937
-82.313353
Contact Information:
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Maître d, reservations:
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+1 813 643 0511
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Restaurant website:
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Serving Hours:
Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5:00)
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Sun-Wed: 11:00 am - 12:00 am Thur: 11:00 am - 1:00 am Fri-Sat: 11:00 am - 2:00 am |
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Email or webpage contact:
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Groupon:
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Social Media
&
Accolades:
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****
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You can also use these sites for reference on the top restaurant categories:
All of these guides are helpful to find what you're looking for, starting with The Best Restaurants Near Me by the Trip Advisor Restaurant Finder, followed by my favorite, the top 100 in the world Elite Traveler’s List, also its competitor and more recognized the San Pellegrino Top 50+. For the individual continents, start your adventures in North America with the Best of Canada, then for the United States with the100 Best New York Restaurants try Timeout.com. Hope to the west coast for the Los Angeles Times top 101list. The enjoy meat and potatoes with the Top 100 Steakhouses in the USA. For social media lists you can view theYelp Top 100 In USA, the OAD Guide 100 in USA, the OpenTable Top 100 and finally The EATER 38 Top Places to Eat. For Central and South America you have the Latin America top 50. Across the pond focusing on Europe you have the Michelin Guides, and the top 50 Best. Move south to explore the wilds of Africa’s Top Restaurants from Cape Town to Cairo, then enjoy desserts of the desert in the 10 best Middle East guide, with an even greater focus on the top 7 Best in Dubai. Head north to explore the Best of Russia, then the far east with the 101 Best in Asia which includes India and the island nations. The trip around the world is nearly complete with the final continent’s best Down Under Australia top 100, and its island neighbor New Zealand’s Best 15 Restaurants. There are many more guides out their, but these are a start.
So many great wines in this world, here are a few of my favorite tastings:
|
Meerlust Wine Estate Rubicon Stellenbosch, South Africa |
Hoopes Vineyard Napa, California, USA |
|
Jonata Winery Santa Barbara, California, USA |
Yarra Yering Yarra Valley, Australia |
|
Penner Ash Wine Cellars Willamette, Oregon |
La Motte Franschhoek, South Africa |
|
Biltmore Estate Winery Asheville, North Carolina, USA |
Bergström Wines Willamette, Oregon |
|
Silver Oak Alexander Valley, California, USA |
Eagles Nest Winery Constantia, South Africa |
|
Ghost Block Vineyards Yountville, California |
Pahlmeyer “Jayson Wines” Napa, California, USA |
Reviewed by:
Sean Overpeck (CFE)
Picture below was taken in
with James B. Mallory III, Major General (Retired); CG 108th Training Command (IMT); Deputy CG NATO TNG MISSION-AFGHANISTAN
About Sean:
I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for the past twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef in Basra, Iraq. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta, Georgia prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army Food Service Program. The idea for Wine, Dine, and Play started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by friends to write down the experiences from a few Jordanian restaurants, plus the wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra. Since that time, over 200 articles have been written on restaurants, including fifteen from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide. There are articles on exotic world locations such as Victoria Falls, and South African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; country cuisines such as Afghan, and Peruvian; tasting tours of world cities like Charleston, Cape Town, and Dubai; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, with much more to see and write about.
Who is John Galt?
“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,
But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)
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TTFN
