yum!!!

Food in and around The Villages
 

I’m from Chicago and like you, we have the best Italian, Chinese, Polish, etc. We were so lucky have have experienced such incredible food. I must say that so many people have experienced great food from all parts of the country but of course I’m still in love with Chicago food. OK but ya sure can’t beat the weather or the people in the Villages. I love it!

Do not think that anyone who works at a Walmart has a clue as to what a nice crusty bread tastes like.

I have lived in The Villages (aka la, la, land) for 12 years and will NOT tell you to stay in MA. And I mostly eat at home because for 3 years I avoided being indoors with a crowd of people due to COVID. Now I understand that the _ _ IT is still going around. So, to be helpful (to you) I would suggest a city to visit for restaurants and culture that is about 1 plus hours drive away----------Tarpon Springs. If you Google it you will find a rich history of Greek sponge divers (still an industry). For 30 years sponge harvesting was Florida's biggest industry (bigger than citrus or tourism). In 1940 there was a sponge blight, but today Tarpon Springs is one of the world's largest natural sponge producers.
.........The Greek influence means that today there are great Greek restaurants in the area. Lots of great-tasting fish like mullet and swordfish and whatever are available. Several years ago I spent an enjoyable day there and ate at a wonderful restaurant.

Thanks! I will definitely check out the area. Love Greek food too!

I would think that "ultra-lean" would mean max protein and minimum fat, which would be best for a diet. Interestingly, we would all agree that fat means flavor in terms of meat products. Beef cattle get fattened before slaughter to max out the fat and taste. Bacon is extremely tasty. Like a toasted bacon and cheese sandwich. We could agree that many things that taste good are bad for you----- health-wise.
........But, I also think that people who live up north where it is colder can keep their weight down and be healthier while still eating more calories than their southern cousins. If you are extremely active in cold weather, you can consume bacon (which is delicious) for breakfast often. Also when you are younger you can throw off those calories from fat better. And being younger, your taste buds are more sensitive so the consumption of bacon fat is a super treat.
........As people age, some / many find weight to be a problem, so they need to FORGO taste sometimes for health. Personally, I have not eaten BACON (even though it tastes great) in about 10 years. Same thing for ice cream - too much fat, BUT great taste. I made the switch to frozen yogurt.
........I am just saying that with respect to food and restaurants, when I lived up north (Pittsburgh) and was younger, I would indulge myself more and eat more fat (for taste). Then as I moved to Florida and aged and my taste buds lost their sensitivity, I found that, personally, restaurants were a waste of time and money for me. I have developed other hobbies and interests. If there were ZERO restaurants in The Villages, I would NOT be negatively affected. But, I understand the statement, "different strokes for different Villagers". Just don't get me started on GOLF!!!

Food
 

This is not hate. - you said please no haters. Have you visited? If not then you are unaware. We just do not have really good places to eat here. They are not what you would get in a big city. Plenty are OK, but I'm a bit worried since you have high standards. This is love - please visit first and see if you want to live here despite our restaurants. Thanks.

There are some more acceptable places in Ocala if you want to live in the far north Villages and drive 20 miles north. Brazillian steak house, La Cuisine French, a tiny family run but delicious Korean, and an authentic Latin American food restaurant. None are like what you would find in Boston, however.

Not to digress too much but completely disagree with this. I lost 30 lbs on keto, lots of fat, lots of flavor. No carbs. My blood pressure improved, my pre-diabetes went away, my cholesterol improved. So I'll take a double bacon cheeseburger please, hold the bun. :D

Visited twice, absolutely want to move there. Bought a house. My point in my first post, about this being for fun, is the food isn't a deal breaker. We found plenty of decent food just in a few of the squares. We didn't even begin to have enough time to explore outside the bubble. I'm just asking what may be there that's similar to what I like. But again, not a deal breaker at all.

OMG . . . a real PU PU PLATTER!!! Add a Scorpion Bowl and I'm in heaven :)

My grandfather, who was brought up in a strictly kosher house by his own Orthodox family, would take me for "Pastrami specials" at lunchtime across the street from his office every month. Finger-drip-greasy crispy-edged grilled pastrami, with swiss oozing out from under crunchy grilled rye with spikes of raw red onion sticking out the sides. He and my grandmother kept a kosher home but they were Conservative, and would "cheat" when they weren't in the house. Grandma loved hot lobster rolls.

You can get Perri sausage at Publix. Perri is a New Haven company, I temped there doing payroll for a couple of months. My office window looked out onto the floor where they ground the meat and stuffed/cut the casings. Really good sausage, I use it to make my sauce and lasagna.

It's North End style pizza. Massachusetts doesn't have a "state-specific" style, but the North End of Boston does. It's a round, hand-tossed crispy crust with an even (but generous) amount of simple sauce of tomato puree and oregano, fresh shredded mozzarella, a generous pinch of romano sprinkled over the mozz, and a drizzle of olive oil. All toppings are placed evenly over the whole thing, out to just under an inch short of the edge of the pie.

New York style is similar but the crust has different proportions in the ingredients and their crusts are thinner, with the bubbles left intact at the edges.

New Haven style is not perfectly round, has big charred bubbles on the edges, and can be so thin that it falls apart when you try to pick it up.

The sauces for all three are similar, but never exact since REAL pizza doesn't get sauce from a jar, it gets it from a stew pot.

And yes - New Haven 'za is the best.

Piesanos is the best (for the villages) Bravo is good in Supter landing. We found that the Cinese take out in the Publix shopping Center in Colony Plaza is very good. If your into Mexican in the same Shopping Center Mexican Grill is very good. Don't think you'll ever find ike you had back home. We're from Brooklyn NY and still haven't found anything close to what we had. Pizza is always better in the restaurant then at home after being in a box.

Home Piesano's has all your favorite pizzas and pastas | Piesanos

Pizza is hit or miss. Kung Fu has some dishes that are close. Yes they had some inspection violations, but show me a restaurant that has had none.
Kelly’s actually has 2 places way South of here. But nothing of note locally.
Seafood, there is Boston Fish on Aloma in Winter park or during the winter Lena’s (from Salisbury) in the Ocala forest. Both are drives but the real deal in NE Seafood.