Wine Dine and Play: The Floridian

Regionally Inspired Southern Comfort

St. Augustine, Florida, USA

Dined in December 2016

By Sean Overpeck (CFE)

They call it 'Innovative Southern Fare for Omnivores, Herbivores and Locavores.' They support local growers and producers, keeping it fresh, sustainable, and when possible organic. The menu changes with the seasons, but they keep to their Southern roots. During our visit, we experienced the autumn menu. This restaurant is The Floridian, located in the heart of the old sector of Saint Augustine. They creolize the southern traditions, also adding Native American, and Thai flavors as well. This is our story telling their story…

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Main review:

My wife and I were on the first leg of our honeymoon, wanting to take advantage of the cities history, culture, and the famous Night of Lights, where almost every building is covered and decorated with fantastic well designed light displays for the Christmas season. We read about the Floridian and loved some items from their menu, knowing that the menu did change, and they may not have what we looked at by the time we got their. Items like the BLT pork belly caprese from lunch and the brisket posole from dinner looked fantastic.

We were also very impressed that they offered local and organic selections not only for more herbivores centered people like my wife, but still managed to please strong carnivores like myself. Don’t get me wrong, my wife likes to eat meat, but focus more on healthier vegetable and fruits. They focus so much on as they call it “locavore” and practicing the sourcing of fresh, and sustainable products that they were recognized on season 3 episode 9 of 'Emeril's Florida,’ titled ‘Farm-to-Table.’

Here are some of the local companies and farms that they source from:

CartWheel Ranch Meats

Fresh Start Hydroponics

Wainwright Dairy

KYV Farms

We were busy touring the city and stopped in for some lunch, where my wife started with an afternoon cocktail called the garden gimlet with St. Augustine Distillery gin or vodka, muddled Basil and cucumber, lime, and elderflower. I had a glass of 2013 BTG Catena malbec which is a blend of four Argentine vineyards.

My wife and I each ordered an entree, and as we do in most places, shared. She had the Autumn Salad with a grilled shrimp addition. The salad had some goat cheese, chickpeas, beets, sunflower, and homemade dressing.

For my entree, I enjoyed the FGT BLT, a staple classic that stays on the menu no matter the season. The sandwich came with fried green tomatoes, bacon jam, and crisp lettuce on toasted African sweet bread with basil mayo. From there we added pimento and the soup of the day to go along with it. It was a tomato, corn, and black bean combo of complete yumminess.

Other Noteworthy “Style food” favorites:

High Cotton in Charleston, South Carolina

Grace 17.20 in Atlanta, Georgia

The Mill Restaurant in St. Petersburg, Florida

Café du Monde in New Orleans, Louisiana

Stella’s in Gulfport, Florida

Final notes and observations:

A fantastic menu and the same type of experience all around. I look forward to eating their again, when my wife and I return to Saint Augustine.

Over all from this experience taking the six factors I use on Wine, Dine, and Play to produce my rating, I give xxxxxx a 3 out of 5 stars, meaning that they exceeded my expectations and were far above the average dining experience of most restaurants. The six factors used to get this rating include reviewing of their wine selections; overall customer service from host, bar, service, and management; the restaurant ambiance, noise level, lighting, and bathroom quality; plate presentation, which includes garnish, color, and art; quality of the food, where it is produced, and how it is prepared; and finally the “wow” factor. Did the restaurant wow me in any way not listed in the five factors above? Some restaurants do, but most do not.

Overall Star rating by Wine, Dine, & Play:
Ambiance:	9 of 10
Quality of the Food:	10 of 10
Plate Presentation:	10 of 10
Customer Service:	8 of 10
Wow Factor:	7 of 10
Wine Selection:	5 of 10

Other Saint Petersburg reviews on Wine, Dine, and Play:

MOJO’s Old City BBQ

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**

My food bill:	Currency:	Price chart:
$33.00	United States Dollar (USD)	$
$44.00	Australian Dollar (AUS)	$
£27.00	Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)	£
$43.00	Canadian Dollar (CAN)	$
¥228.00	Chinese Yuan (CNY)	¥¥¥¥
€31.00	European Union (EUR)	€

Currency rates as of January 2017

Alcohol Prices:

$30.00

The Floridian:

72 Spanish Street

Saint Augustine, Florida

32084

Contact Information:

Maître d or host:	+1 904 829 0655
Restaurant website:	The Floridian
Serving hours: Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5:00)	Sun-Mon 11:00 am - 9:00 pm Tuesday: Closed Wed-Thur 11:00 am - 9:00 pm Fri-Sat 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Email or webpage contact:	Contact the Floridian
Social Media & Accolades:	Facebook link
Social Media & Accolades:	Instagram

Review basics:

5 stars	is Extraordinary
4 Stars	is Outstanding
3 Stars	Exceeded Expectations
2 Stars	is Above the Average
1 Star	is an Average Dining Experience
No Star Rating	The Restaurant is Basic, Poor, or Appalling

Overall Star Rating:	4 of 5 Stars: Outstanding Experience
Wine List:	Click here to view the restaurants wine list
Corkage fee’s:	The Restaurant does not list any corkage fee’s however, most American restaurants charge $25.00 per bottle
Restaurant style:	Casual
Reservations:	Not Required Walk-Ins: Accepted, but not guaranteed
Child policy:	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!
Dress code:	Casual
Cuisine style:	Contemporary, Modern, Seafood, American, Southern, Gluten Free, Vegan, & Vegetarian
Experiences:	Place for foodies, Trendy, Hot spot, Great bar, Great outdoor dining, Good for special occasions, Rustic, Tourist grabber, and a Neighborhood gem.
Payments:	Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
Parking:	Public lot, or Street Parking
Wifi	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.
Noise level:	Low
Smoking:	Nonsmoking restaurant, but a smoking patio
Patio:	Yes

****

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Silver Oak Sustainable Old World Style in The New Alexander Valley, California, USA	Eagles Nest Winery Not Kehlsteinhaus, Exceptional Shiraz Constantia, South Africa
Ghost Block Vineyards Exceptional Cult Sauvignon Blanc & Cabernets Yountville, California	Pahlmeyer “Jayson Wines” Iconic Napa Bordeaux Blends Napa, California, USA

Reviewed by:

Sean Overpeck (CFE)

Picture below was taken at FOB Shank,

Afghanistan in 2012

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, wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra. Since that time, over 250 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; ethnic 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)