Restaurants
 

I like going to Restaurants that are not just the usual or are better than normal. Especially since they change hands here and good goes bad or mediocre. To start

- Braised Onion Ocala
- Los Magueyes Mexican Restaurant - Wildwood

Sam's St. Johns Seafood
O'Shucks
Texas Roadhouse

Katya - Ocala
Morevino's - Ocala
Mark's Prime - Ocala
La Cuisine - Ocala
Stirrup's - Ocala

McDonald's.
Burger King.
Pizza Hut.
Denny's.

The problem with O Shucks is sharing the table with tons of flies and mosquitoes, especially when sitting outside.

Prime 3 Leesburg
Rose Plantation Fruitland Park
Oaks on 4 at Continental Country Clu
Stirrups and Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala
Mesa de Notte Ocala
Villages Blue Fin, Chop House, Harvest, Lopez, Palmer and Prima
Riccardo's Belleview not fancy but excellent Italian food

I won't sit outside at any restaurant.

The restaurant scene is the one draw back for me as I soon move to TV. I’ve just become too used to non-chain mom and pop ethnic restaurants in my adulthood (Thai, Indian, Greek, Lebanese, Cuban, Filipino, Ethiopian, etc.). I’ve spent most of summer in TV, trying out almost every restaurant. So many on the square serve the same, generic, Sysco-purchased bar food (World of Beer, City Fire, Gators, TooJays, Cody’s Roadhouse) - nothing special about any of these places, though they seem extremely popular with so many. To me, all these restaurants are interchangeable, and their food is mediocre at best. Within the bubble, I have only found one restaurant that I find good (Harvest), with Blue Fin being OK. The Italian, Mexican and Chinese restaurants are not good, I can do much better cooking myself at home. McGradys, Fenney Grill and the country club restaurants are all disappointments. I liked O’Shucks, and luckily there are many good restaurants less than an hour south in the Orlando area, to get authentic and fresher sushi, and more variety than just bar-food type restaurants. Do you if just one French-type bistro opened in TV it would be successful? Check out the rating for the restaurants within TV on Yelp, almost all have average to poor ratings. Sad.

It is my experience that most Villagers mindset regarding restaurants, is quantity over quality.
Michelin Stars in TV are awarded for the cheapest bill, not the chefs expertise!

Love O'Shucks! Never had that problem there. Besides, they don't eat much.

Eating in the Villages is definitely different than the eating I have done all my life. Just the fact that no one knows what a steak tip is changes what I eat. I hate fancy and just want my food on my plate, places that smooth out the mash potatoes etc are not for me. Give me Red Sauce or The Back Porch any day.

What is a steak tip?

We each had over 25 bites and when we mentioned it to the waitress she brought over a can of bug spray.

The diversity of taste is why we have the diversity of places to eat. We all have prejudices and bias (you know, those places where we came from where the best restaurants are) so the market will always decide.

Villa Pinar Cuban Cafeteria. Family-run, very low-key, great food and reasonable prices.