Florida's Kitchen — Restaurant in Texas

Before I get into the actual review and bore you I just want to tell you if you want some amazing food you definitely need to go here. I see this place a few times a month and always just drive right by. I'm from out of town, and come to visit someone at Polunsky. Anyways I always think about being on this huge Lake and there has to be a place that has really good catfish. I have Googled best catfish places in Livingston and get a ton of results from various things on Google such as Yelp and TripAdvisor I think it was TripAdvisor, anyways this place has never come up that I can remember. A lot of places pop up but I'm usually so ready to get home and they all look like they're going to be hard to find so I give up and just go home. LOL and I honestly didn't even realize that this place was a restaurant. It's right before the prison and located on a really sharp curve and easy to miss if you're not paying attention. It definitely doesn't look like a restaurant. It's one of those hole in the wall type situations that doesn't look like much, a true diamond in the rough. I was at the gas station down on the corner and asked them if they knew of a good place to get good catfish that was easy to find. They pointed me in the direction of this place and I am so glad they did. Now all I can vouch for is the catfish the fries and the hush puppies because that's what I ordered. And it was really good. The price was reasonable too. I think I paid $15 for three large catfish fillets a to-go Container full of fries and hush puppies. Definitely worth every penny. The fries were very crispy but soft on the inside, same with the hush puppies and the catfish. Now the recommendations I got from the folks at the gas station on the corner were that they have really good burnt ends, whatever that is. They said that she makes a really good blooming onion and they were talking about how good the barbecue is in general. And then of course there was a few people that said the seafood was killer. So yeah I'm pretty sure whatever they make there is going to be really good. I noticed when I pulled up that it had a big banner on the front that said #1 restaurant in Polk County. It was some kind of Voters Choice Award put out by a news station or maybe a newspaper. But anyway long story short, they definitely have good food and had a really good atmosphere. the employees were all super friendly ladies, especially the one running the register. The place was packed. I was in there around 3:30 today, a Saturday, and there were no parking places open and no seating inside. They had a pretty big crowd waiting to be seated. So if you're a local that just hasn't had the opportunity to eat there you definitely should and if you're traveling you should definitely get off the highway and go give it a try and if you're going to visit somebody in the prison then you should definitely stop because you got to go right past it anyways and you will be...

This is a self serve restaurant so if you're looking for a place that caters to the customer you'll be sorely disappointed.

That said, the lack of a traditional server doesn't detract from this restaurant at all, in fact it helps to induce an atmosphere reminiscent of an old country diner.

While here the cashier recommend the Chicken Fried Steak, so that's what I got. CFS with Fried Okra, fries and coleslaw.

The CFS is a huge portion, enough to feed two with ease. (As it did with me and my daughter.) The batter is a traditional but very well done with the steak being just beyond a medium well.

The Gravy is the star of the show though. It has a very robust and slight savory flavor.

The fried Okra was done to perfection. The inside was tender and moist and the outside had a great crunch and a wonderful flavor.

The coleslaw; The coleslaw is a good tradional southern style with a mayo base. The cutting is a tight small chipping with a high level of variety and a good presentation. There are at least three types of cabbage with a good mixture of carrot, Romain lettuce, onion, and a few other things. The flavor is a semi-sweet and savory blend with a strong carrot flavor and slight onion undertones. The only thing lacking is a bit more pepper.

All in all this was an excellent meal, well prepared and with a good...

I got the shrimp and tenders that came with fries, toast, and a side salad. The thousand island dressing had onions, the tartar sauce had onions, the ranch dressing was runny and had a strange flavor, and everything fried was cooked in the same oil as the seafood, including the chicken fried steak. This was my first and probably last visit. The water tasted off and they charge way too much for the sodas.

Update: The waitress had no idea what she was doing. She obviously needed help as she looked like she was running around and panicking. Also, she overcharged us. After I had paid and asked for the receipt, I told the cashier and had to explain four or five times what was wrong with the ticket. The waitress was called over so the cashier could tell her that her mistake was costing the restaurant and that she was gonna tattle to the boss rather than just refunding me what was needed and talking to the waitress in private. Meanwhile, people are waiting behind me to cash out as well. I did not have a pleasant experience while there nor after. I will not go into...