[collie1228]

We loved our Lifestyle Preview that ended on August 1st, and thought we would share with you TVers our impressions of the restaurants we enjoyed courtesy of the good folks at TV (free food - what an enticing concept). We used all of the restaurant freebies on the card, as well as both rounds of golf and two of the four movie tickets. Only things we didn't try were the bucket of range balls, free tennis, the 20% off at the Fifth Avenue Salon and the 20% off at the day spa. My only concern is reviewing restaurants when I didn't pay - how could it be bad? But anyway, here are our impressions:

The Veranda - had lunch on the last day here, and found the food to be good and the service excellent. Ate outside on the veranda and it was the best service we had in a restaurant at TV.

Palmer Legends Club - Had lunch after golf (a lightning storm hit as I was putting out on 18 so we decided to stay for lunch and wait it out). The lunch was outstanding - I had the crab cake appetizer and Linda had one of the sandwiches with fries. Good friendly service at the bar. Liked it a lot.

Lighthouse Grill - Had dinner here. Way too noisy, but the food was OK. We both had fish. The service started out good, but ended badly. I tried several times to get my bill, and was ignored at every turn. Finally got the bill but couldn't get the server to take the money. After a frustrating ten minute wait, I left the money on the table and left. I left a 20% tip, but looking back, I probably should have reduced it to 10%. We had heard that this place is known as being the "rowdy" spot in the area, and I'm OK with rowdy, but the noise levels were extremely high.

Cane Garden Country Club - Excellent dinner, excellent service, highly recommended. I had beef; Linda had chicken. Also shared a couple appetizers - spinach dip and crab cakes. Both were excellent. The room was very pretty, and the acoustics were good as well. This was our favorite restaurant at TV - but I realize that there are about 50 more that we never got to visit. The server wanted to make sure we got our "free money's worth", so he gave us a desert to go. Nice touch.

Cattle Baron Club - We had a choice between Cattle Baron and Katie Bell's, and each got $50 credit toward dinner at whichever one we picked. We met a couple people earlier in the week who didn't recommend Katie's very highly, so we went with Cattle Baron. They have a special $50 menu including a choice of about 6-7 entries, salad bar, nonalcoholic drink and desert. We went with that and had t-bone steak and a chicken dish. Both were cooked to perfection, and our table looked directly down on Katie's live entertainment, so we got the best of both worlds. Alcoholic beverages were pricey, but everything else was free, so who's complaining?

The only other restaurant we tried was TJ Gator's for dinner upon our arrival, before we started the program. The food was fried, kind of heavy, so I wasn't all that pleased. The website says they have a fresh fish selection, but they didn't have one that Sunday night. If you are in the mood for fried fish, this is your place.

Finally, I wanted to mention Urban Flatts too. We never ate here, but on 4-5 nights we stopped to have a beer or a glass of wine and enjoy conversations with the locals. We learned more about TV here at the bar than at any other place. What a great bar - right on the corner and across the street from the live entertainment at the square. This bar must be a gold mine - it was crowded every night we stopped.

I recommend the TV Lifestyle Preview to everyone I talk to - it's a great deal, and I can't think of a single downside. No real estate sales pressure, a lovely home to stay in, a free golf cart, and lots of free dining options. For $75 per night (I think it's $100 in the high season) you just can't do wrong with it. And it worked - we love TV and when we retire in 2 years or so, we'll probably become TVers! Thanks everyone for a good time.

[Niels]

My wife and I were at TV for our lifestyle preview at the same time that you were there. I agree with most of your comments concerning the food at the different restaurants. The one exception I would make to your comments was the Cane Garden Country Club. My wife and I had horrible meals there. I had the stuffed mushrooms that were gross. Unfortunately, I ordered the stuffed fish which had the same stuffing from the mushrooms. My wife ordered another fish dish that was not cooked properly. The best part of the meal was the cheesecake that my wife ordered which they buy from an outside vendor. . I know several people have stated that they had good food there so maybe our experience was just an exception. Maybe we just ordered the wrong things or went there on a bad night.

We also went to TooJays deli in Lake Sumter Landing, which is a deli but has a wide variety of good sandwiches and salads. In addition, we went to the Legacy restaurant at Nancy Lopez Golf Course. We liked that even better than the Palmer Country Club. It was certainly more crowded but the food was delicious. We also ate dinner at the Bonefish Grill which had been recommended to us. It’s a good place but there was a wait to be seated.

[collie1228]

Niels - I had forgotten that we also ate at Nancy Lopez. We had lunch by the pool, and I had the big burger (can't remember what they called it) was big and very good. We loved the pool and the bar service - didn't love the thunderstorm that blew in about an hour after we arrived! We heard only good things about Bonefish Grill, but never really got to spend any time in that part of town.

Hope you had as good a time as we did - TV is an exceptional place.

[Niels]

We spent a lot of our time at Lake Sumter Landing because that is where we were staying. We only went to Spanish Springs twice. Once we just rode thru town and then we went to Cattle Barons. We went to Bonefish Grill our last day there. That was the only time we went to the shopping plazas except when we went to the Sweet Bay grocery store.

Yes, we both my wife and I enjoyed our stay there

[Russ_Boston]

Niels - I'd suggest that you give Cane another chance. I've been there 5 or 6 times on my TV visits and sat outside. Great views, very good food, decent service (for TV, nothing is fast around here anyway). Being from Boston I've got to learn to SLOW down and enjoy anyway!

[Niels]

Well, like I said Russ others have told me they liked Cane Garden Country Club. Maybe I’ll give it another try sometime.

[Pookirgirl]

Niels.... do give Cane Garden another try next time you visit. We have been there several times when we get down there! We have never had a bad experience.
By the way... last time we were there was in March...where is the Varanda? I am not familiar with this place. Urban Flats is awesome!
And about slow service....right...Mr. Boston is correct. We NORTHERNERS need to take time to smell the roses and slow down. Everything is slower there. But as we grow older in The Villages... that is a good thing!

[Niels]

The Veranda is the restaurant that is attached to the Lake Sumter Landing Sales Center. They serve soup and sandwiches for lunch and are one of the restaurants included with the Lifestyle Preview Card.

[Russ_Boston]

I enjoyed the quiche at Veranda.