Plantation Bar & Grill

Fine dining arrived in Northern Ormond Beach, FL with the opening of Plantation Bar & Grill. They are located in the Halifax Plantation Shopping Center just off of Old Dixie Highway at the top of "The Loop."

They have been in business for several months now. The better half and I just visited them as treat to celebrate getting approval from seller's bank for our "Short Sale" offer. We should be closing soon, but that is a post for a different time and place.

The ambiance was very relaxed and the wait-staff were attentive at first but was quickly distracted as more customers arrived. Our waiter failed to bring the "crab cakes" we ordered as an appetizer, luckily for them, we were not charged for them either. He did sell us on their version of "Greek Salad" which had an unusual dressing and delicious.

I had their chef's version of Osso Bucco which was a braised and slow roasted Pork Shank instead of the traditional Veal Shank. It was served with lightly steamed baby vegetables, rustic mash potatoes and a cherry-beef gravy. The pork shank was perfectly prepared, tender, juicy and delicious. The gravy was an interesting concoction but their was only enough to dip the pork pieces into. The mash was left begging for a sauce.

My Better-half had the Chicken Roulade. It had pancetta, spinach and cheese as its filling. There didn't seem to be a lot of pancetta in the stuffing, but the high degree of saltiness seemed to beg to differ. Not only was it salty, the chicken was dry and overcooked. It was also served rustic mashed potatoes, vegetables and a side of sauce that also left the mash begging for more moisture.

Good thing we had our wine to wash down some of the elements. I had two glasses of simply delicious Malbec from Tango Sur. It was so tasty, I had to stop in their adjoined package store and buy a bottle for home consumption. I think that Malbec is quickly becoming my favorite variety of Red.

The Better-half had what they called their "House Chardonnay" which is from Linea Margherita. She thought it was one of the better Chardonnays that she's had.

We finished our meals with dessert. I had their Creme Brulee. It came with a fancy strawberry sauce design on one side of the rectangular plate opposite the brulee. Dragging a spoonful of the vanilla custard through the sauce saved it from being ho-hum. My darling Better-half had the their "S'mores Bread Pudding" which was made from donuts that were soaked in Kaluha and dressed with a chocolate sauce and topped with whipped cream. It was very rich and tasty.

The entire meal, before tip was just under $90.

Taste 6.5
Service 6
Bang for your buck 5.5