The 2011 Dining Awards
Editor Michele Salgado picks the best in Volusia, Flagler and the categories you gotta leave town for.
photo by Luke Bhothipiti
A Recipe For Success
In this issue, we celebrate the culinary arts. The people that have made great contributions to it, those leading the industry and the independent owners who put their money where our mouth is. The ultimate Darwinian industry, one has to go beyond delicious to survive the over glamorized task of keeping a restaurant alive. Here’s to all of you out there who make it work every day regardless of who’s on the list.
Every year, our editorial staff will bring you this list of the best restaurants in the region. As our picks go, we chose them because they are great at what they do – no matter how big or small the concept. Here, no amount of advertising, free food (or drinks for that matter) influenced our choices. According to our taste buds, these are legitimately the best of the best in each of their categories.
At FV, we understand that this is the type of list you are looking for – an unapologetic guide to local eating where nothing but the food on the plate, service, presentation and experience count. Refreshing? We thought so. Some publications like to list the top three, or sell premium spots on a list like this but as usual, we wanted to bring it to you raw and uncensored.
Led by local culinebrity*, restaurateur and FV Food Editor Michele Salgado, we thoroughly enjoyed most of the incredible tastes and smells that came along with this task. Together we sampled over 120 restaurants, tasted over 290 meals and in the process learned a lot about local eats. In some categories, we found local places that hit the spot; others led us on a drive just outside of town. There were those we agreed on, some we fought over and even a few where we decided to take categories off the list because we just couldn’t bring ourselves to recommend it. Let us know your thoughts; we love to hear from you. Write us, tell us where we were right, where we were wrong and what we should taste somewhere else.
photo by Megan Gross
27 Fathoms | Best New Restaurant
Take wild game, sushi, fresh seafood, a contemporary flare and cool ambiance and you have our favorite new restaurant which opened this year. Using local produce and making everything (including their ketchup) in house, it is a great new place.
// 5535 S Williamson Blvd, Port Orange Tel (386) 256-4791
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photo by Winter Teems
La Gourmandise | Best Bakery
Their French breads and pastries will make you say, “Ooo-la-la!” This award-winning bakery makes all of their goodies from scratch with no artificial ingredients or flavoring. Everything in the place is delicious. Bon Appetit!
359 West Granada Blvd, Ormond Beach Tel | (386) 672-5594
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photo by Winter Teems
Present Moment Cafe | Best Vegetarian
For this, we go out of town. If you think that you are what you eat then you’re destined to eat here, where food and philosophy are the same. Using the highest quality gourmet raw, organic food in an environmentally aligned, calming, and down to earth, at home atmosphere. It’s not just a meal; it’s a way of life.
224 West King Street, St. Augustine Tel (904) 827-4499
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Crabby Joes | Best Beach Day Stop
When it comes to a day on the beach there are few spots that one can go barefoot, wet and as you are. For some of the best beach views from 1,000 feet into the Atlantic, grab a quick bite and head back to the waves.
3701 South Atlantic Avenue Daytona Beach Tel (386) 788-3364
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photo by Megan Gross
Neighbors | Best Frozen Dessert
You scream, I scream we all scream for Ice cream! Neighbor’s Homemade Ice-cream has every flavor you
can think of, from bubble gum, almond joy, banana split, and shaved ice. Fantastically delicious. Get there!
5980 Spruce Creek Road Port Orange, FL32127 Tel (386) 492-2930
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photo by Danny Dorsa
Pat & Toni’s Sweet Things | Best Candy Shoppe
This shop couldn’t be sweeter with a variety Chocolates made fresh every day. With Chocolate-covered orange peels, Twinkies, chocolate-covered s ’mores and 13 different types of turtles, stop and cure that sweet tooth.
132 North Woodland Boulevard DeLand, Tel (386) 734-0066
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photo by Zach Prescott
Dancing Avocado Kitchen | Best Character
Hippies rejoice as this downtown favorite serves up some of the most fresh and fun creations in the region.
Here you can be as healthy as you want to be, with tasty entrees, yummy wraps and fresh jucies and smoothies.
110 South Beach Street Daytona Beach, Tel (386) 947-2022
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photo by Danny Dorsa
Panheads | Best Pizza
For pizza with a side of nostalgia, you will love Panheads. Nothing tastes better than a sweet and salty flashback while scarfing down a slice of Dr. Feelgood. The rich tasty slices are named after our favorite classic rock hits. So while your taste buds are popping Panheads is happy to serve you up a Whole Lotta Love.
113 S. Orange St New Smyrna Beach, Tel ( 386) 428-8738
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Daily Grind | Best Burger
Owned by one the best area butchers, this quintessential burger joint makes everything from scratch. From fresh baked buns to black bean patties, everything is cooked your way every time. From the grinder to the grill, you won’t find a more fresh approach to burgers in our area.
1665 Dunlawton Ave Port Orange, Tel | (386) 492-2975
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Shiki at the Beach | Best Sushi
We are serious about sushi and if you know Shiki you know sushi. The most fresh, most innovative sushi spot in the region is our favorite place to indulge on exotic and unusual flavors.
4192 South Atlantic Avenue New Smyrna Beach, Tel 386) 427-4930
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photo by Danny Dorsa
JB’s fish camp | Best Old Favorite
It may not be hard to find a seafood restaurant around town; it may hard to find one that’s been in business for over 30 years. JB’s fresh seafood attributes their success to quality and consistency over the years.
859 Pompano Avenue New Smyrna Beach, Tel (386) 427-5747
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Fresh Healthy Cafe | Best Healthy Selections
Take the freshest ingredients; keep as many of them as you can raw add some wheatgrass and throw in super knowledgeable and friendly staff and you get Fresh. From smoothies to soups, every is natural and nutritious without compromising your taste buds.
5521 S Williamson Blvd Port Orange, Tel (386) 675-6580
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photo by Danny Dorsa
Spanish River Grlle | Best Spanish & Best Sunday Brunch
With their signature Latin fusion inspirations we overrode editor Michele Salgado and deservedly gave SRG top picks for this award. Spanish River is consistently delicious, innovative and local Latin at it’s best. Brunch features farm fresh everything, dollar mimosas and live music.
737 East 3rd Avenue New Smyrna Beach, Tel (386) 424-6991
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photo by Megan Gross
World Of Beer | Best Beer Selection
This upscale classy venue has over 500 ales and lagers to choose from. Don’t get out much? Let your bartender be your tour guide. These guys and gals are trained to pin down your palate and help you pick the right brew for you.
3510 Nova Road Port Orange, Tel (386) 256-4992
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photo by Megan Gross
Top Of Daytona | Best View
It doesn’t get better than 26 stories in the sky when dining on the ocean. With a nice atmosphere and friendly servers and good food, if you are looking for a spectacular view, this is it. Our tip, make sure to make reservations during sunset - breath taking.
2625 S. Atlantic Ave Daytona Beach Tel (386) 767-5791
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photo by Zach Prescott
Nellies Deli | Best Deli Sanwiches
Take fresh homemade bread, finest cuts of meats, incredible cheesesteaks and fast friendly service and you have our pick, Nelly’s Deli. Packed during the lunch rush, for good reason, it is worth the wait for one of the best subs you can buy.
812 Mason Avenue Daytona Beach, Tel (386) 226-3440
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photo by Zach Prescott
Smoke Shack | Best BBQ
It seems everyone claims that their award winning BBQ is the best, but the most discerning BBQ lover knows the good from the great. The Smoke Shack and their slow, wood smoke cooked BBQ is the real deal, easily the best you will find in the area.
116 South Nova Road Ormond Beach, Tel (386) 673-7427
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Leanh’s Chinese | Best Take-out
Not your typical take-out, you are always welcome to enjoy their elegant dining room. We however love to pick some of their amazing Chinese on the way home from work. Simply the best stuff in a box…ever.
1780 South Nova Road South Daytona, Tel (386) 756-3578
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Sunset Harbor | Best Power Lunch
If you are invited (or are a member) consider yourself lucky. Sunset Harbor offers great service, solid lunch options and a room full of power players all wheeling and dealing. Want to get something done during lunch? Do it there.
861 Ballough Road Daytona Beach, Tel (386) 947-9900
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The Garlic | Best Outdoor Dining
Down a vine covered arbor, lush gardens, lit trees, flowers and a rustic wood burning fire place mix it up with an eclectically authentic Tuscan venue. While the food is good, the ambiance is mesmerizing and instantly transports you to another place.
556 E. Third Avenue New Smyrna Beach, Tel (386) 424-6660
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De La Vega | Best Mexican
Mix classical Mexican cuisine and a contemporary flare with the finest ingredients and authentic passion for their culture, De La Vega knocks it out of the park. As diverse as it is delicious, we could find something new to love on the menu every time.
128 North Woodland Boulevard DeLand, Tel (386) 734-4444
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Asian Sauce Box | Best Chinese
New on the local scene, this restaurant has taken Asian cuisine to a whole new level. With ideas as fresh as their ingredients, they have introduced a new standard of quality for local Asian fare.
5535 South Williamson Blvd Port Orange, Tel (386) 322-5528
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Tokyo Steakhouse | Best Japanese
Fresh and contemporary, Tokyo Japanese is a family friendly and most importantly - quality hibachi experience. Clean and inviting, tasty and entertaining, with a great sushi menu available, it is out pick when we crave a flaming volcano onion.
175 South Nova Road Ormond Beach, Tel (386) 671-0979
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Thai Erawan | Best Thai
With a chic dining room, beautifully plated dishes and some of the best Thai food we’ve ever had, this place is also one of the best restaurants in Ormond Beach.
219 E. Granada Blvd Ormond Beach, Tel (386) 677-0999
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Ruth’s Chris | Best Steakhouse
When it comes to real deal steakhouses, few genuinely make the cut. Our pick is a classic (a chain too) Ruth’s Chris. Consistent quality, fantastic service and great menu make it tops.When you are serious about steak, you are going to have to head out of town for a real steakhouse experience with the chops to back it up.
80 Colonial Center Parkway Lake Mary, Tel (407) 804-8220
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Charthouse | Best Seafood
Combine a flare with a hint of the exotic, renowned chefs with the freshest ingredients and it is a winning recipe. In a category where the competition for world-class seafood entrees is underwhelming locally, The Chart House soars consistently in its preparation and presentation.
1100 Marina Point Drive Daytona Beach, Tel (386) 255-9022
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Cracked Egg | Best Breakfast
A retro feel, engaged owners and delicious served-all-day homemade breakfast make The Cracked Egg different from all the little diners and joints across the region. Try anything on the menu, it’s no yoke.
3280 South Atlantic Avenue Daytona Beach Shores, Tel (386) 788-6772
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Aunt Catfish | Best Southern
A place where the servers are all your cousins, the catfish is fresh and the Blue Jean Sunday brunch is over the top - we get our southern fix here.
4009 Halifax Drive Port Orange, Tel (386) 767-4768
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Tomasitas | Best Carribean
When it comes to Caribbean fare, few places offer the quality and out right deliciousness that Tomasita’s. You can virtually taste the love in the Cuban specialties that are made daily.
803 West New York Avenue DeLand, Tel (386) 734-3007
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Booths bowery | Best Wings
When it comes to wings, the competition is fierce. We are going to catch some heat for this, but we do declare Booth’s Bowery to have the best. Anyway you like them (we like them grilled) they make them the best with a side of homemade fries.
3657 South Nova Road Port Orange Tel (386) 761-9464
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GT’s Top Dog | Best Hot Dog
GT Top Dog will bring back that flavor from an Old Chicago Neighborhood with their Italian Beef with Hot Giardiniera or Sweet Peppers, Vienna Hot Dogs (Chicago Style) Supreme Tamale’s, Fries and much more. Great and friendly staff, just don’t mention you’re a Packers fan.
3820 Clyde Morris Port Orange, Tel (386) 788-0515
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Tia Cori’s | Best Late Night
After any night on the town, you will find us at Tia Cori’s Tacos. Authentic, fresh, delicious and open until 3am on the weekends it is truly a late night savior that we love to savor.
214 N Beach Street Daytona Beach, Tel (366) 947-4333
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The Tasting Room | Best Tapas
A category that has us leaving town, good tapas are hard to find. When we crave sharing small plates, we head to the Tasting Room in St. Augustine with its contemporary Spanish menu and fabulous ambiance.
25 Cuna Street St. Augustine, Tel (904) 810-2400
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95 Cordova | Best Hotel Restaurant
If we will travel for tapas, we would certainly travel to eat at a great hotel. 95 Cordova shines over a collection of lack luster hotel restaurants in the region. With their menu inspired by Middle Eastern and Asian fusions, we love to get up there and stay the night after a fantastic meal.
95 Cordova Street St. Augustine, Tel (904) 810-6810
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Stonewood | Best Chain
When it comes to chains, people underestimate the great options out there. For their excellent service, ambiance and great menu, Stonewoods tops our list. We say visit the original one in Ormond Beach, the closest you’ll get to an independent version of the powerhouse chain.
100 South Atlantic Avenue Ormond Beach, Tel (386) 671-1200
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The Vineyard | Best Wine Bar
There are wine bars in the area that are great; however this is the food issue. In order to find a great wine bar with equally great food, it is time to head to The Vineyard in Lake Mary. Worth the drive, hands down the region’s best wine bar with food.
1140 Townpark Avenue, Lake Mary Tel (407) 833-9463
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Cress | Worth The Drive
Using ingredients from his own organic garden, Chef Hari Pulapaka cooks up fresh seasonal ingredients locally sourced from a nearby the Planted Earth Vegetable farm. With a frequently changing menu, it is well worth the drive to continuously rediscover his creative culinary side.
103 West Indiana Avenue DeLand, Tel (386) 734-3740
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Ocean Deck | Best Live Music
Where the local bands go, Ocean Deck consistently deliveres great tunes and good beach fare almost every night of the week. To have your finger on the pulse of the local music scene, become a regular at the Deck.
127 South Ocean Avenue Daytona Beach, Tel (386) 253-5224
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Kelly Clupper | Spanish River Grill | Best Mixologist
Bartending for 10 years, Clupper has developed quite a following of die hard cocktail lovers in her career at SRG since it opened. With her own collection of infused vodkas and tequilas, she brings something truly refreshing to the scene. Her favorite is the house infused citrus vodka with fresh tlime, lemon thyme syrup and a splash of club soda - amazing. She loves to play with different mixtures, is always experimenting and has a creative flair that is hard to find.
737 East 3rd Avenue New Smyrna Beach, Tel (386) 424-6991
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Chef Sam Moggio | Best Chef | The Cellar
With a couple hundred individuals in the region calling themselves “chefs” it is a tall order to separate the good from the great and identify the true crème de la crème. A chef is not just someone who cooks well, this is an individual who understands the entirety of the culinary experience - the patron, the front of house, the staff, service, wine list and then of course there is the food. This individual is the manager that ensures every detail of your experience is up to their standards and only those with the highest standards were considered.
For 2011, we find the region’s best chef cooking in a historic building in Downtown Daytona Beach. For the past 21 years Chef Sam Moggio has been serving some of the best culinary creations. A graduate of the renowned Culinary Institute of America, before moving to Florida he worked in New York and some of the most authentic kitchens of Italy. Today, he and his wife Lina are an incredible team who together with their dedicated staff serve some of the greatest food in East Central Florida at The Cellar.
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The Cellar | Best Italian & Best Desserts
There is serious competition when it comes to the area’s best Italian. Home to this year’s Best Chef, The Cellar edged out a collection of fantastic eateries inspired by the amazing food of Italy. Elegantly located within the home of President Warren G. Harding, this quaintly intimate restaurant is a local favorite and for good reason - the food is consisetnly great and the service is impecable. By visiting them, you feel like you are visiting one of the stately homes of Florida in another era. This dynamic duo has demonstrated a true passion for their food and their guests, making it a frequent repeat for the many loyal clients they developed over the year
220 Magnolia Avenue Daytona Beach, Tel (386) 258-0011
