Monday, July 15, 2019

The Old Jailhouse, Sanford

I tried this American restaurant on South Palmetto Ave tonight. I thought they were kind of new, but, they opened in February. I had Low Country Shrimp and Sausage for $23. It came with collard greens and cheese grits in a sausage gravy. Aside from the price (a shrimp and grits - which this basically is - usually goes for $15), it was very good. The shrimp (5) were medium sized and seemed to be a cut above frozen bag shrimp. The sausage (4 thin slices) was fine. Didn't seem to have too much provenance. The greens were plentiful. A little salty. Stewed in a vegetable or chicken stock. The gravy was thin. Pleasant. The grits were the best component. I was going to order a $24 bouillabaise, but, it only came with a crostini. Those two sides would have added around $10 dollars to the bill if taken as sides. The plating was fine. White dish. Grits in the middle. Boy - Girl Boy - Girl on the sausage and shrimp. Greens at the top of the plate. Gravy moat. The apps were all around $10 and basic. Wings, cheese fries, soup, pork belly, Caesar salad, etc. The mains were all over $20. Sans a burger ($15). Two chicken dishes, steak, fish special, etc. They serve beer, wine, hooch. It seats fifty in the middle room. Twenty on the patio. Maybe more in another enclosed side patio. Eight or so in three different private areas. It is purported to be the site of the old jailhouse, They built on that reputation. It looks Western. Which is cool because I always feel Sanford had a ghost town type charm and should play that up. The interior is white washed, red brick. Black ceilings. Metal fixtures. Gray tile floor. Natural wood tables. Black plethora chairs. Old time photos. A few tvs. Service was ok. They had six or so waitresses/floaters, so, each table had their own server. Mine seemed to get lost more than she should have. The food also wasn't exactly streaming out of the kitchen. They don't do lunch and are closed on Sundays. Seems like an odd schedule for the area. I found it charming and the food was good enough. It will be on the Favorite's List. A slight trim on the pricing or more creativity on the menu would be welcome but not required. It was about a quarter full at 6pm. There didn't seem to be a dress code. Nice addition that I wish I had learned of earlier.

*Sanford has had some turn over. Shannon's is back in a new location up the street. Another place opened in her old location. Seemed different from the last replacement. Zocalo (a new one or a resurrection) is next door. It remember another place with that name on the main street. A bar (Throwbacks) is a few doors down. I forget what it replaces. The "fish" bar is a cigar bar. A Buddha something place is next door. I think it was food. These are all on that street one down from Palmetto (I forget the name). A F&D Italian is opening on the main street into town (also forgot that name).

**Saw a recipe on Cook's County for North Carolina Lemon Pie. It looked cool. Like Key Lime Pie, but, a saltine crust!

***The news said that the I-4 project is almost 260 days behind schedule and has two years left. They tried to say that it will be done by 2012. Late 2021! As in 2022!

Cherish this post because you (all five of you - thanks Google shadow banners) aren't getting a new one for a while.

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