Seminole Inn Restaurant, Indiantown, Florida: a Review

The Seminole Inn located in the quiet town of Indiantown, just 30 miles northwest of West Palm Beach, is a Florida landmark, built in 1926 before the advent of air conditioning and locked doors. It sits directly on State Road 710 (also known as Beeline Highway and Warfield Boulevard) and has a red tiled front porch with hanging plants and rocking chairs. It is both a place to stay and a place to eat. It serves up brunch every Sunday, lunch all year long (except Mondays) and dinner (Friday and Saturday only) usually from October to March, but this year until June.

Inside is a large furniture filled lobby. On one side of it sits a large cage containing the Inn's pet African Grey Parrot, Cracker; on the other side is a small gift shop selling everything from hand - decorated socks to books and coffee beans. The entrance to the Foxgrape Café is located at the back of the lobby and down a flight of stairs. The seating area has a country kitchen feel, with a hot bar at one end, a carving station in the middle and large windowed wall looking out over the Inn's back garden.

The Seminole Inn's Chef, Lesber Cuadra, buys his fresh produce from local U-Pick-It farms. He is part of a growing trend of Florida chefs who are involved with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). This not only supports the Indiantown economy but also makes an extremely flavorful salad bar experience.

We went into the Foxgrape Café for dinner on a Saturday night and were immediately greeted by a very friendly waitress who gave us glasses of ice water in jam jugs. We started our meal with a portion of Fried Green Tomatoes ($5.95). Three arrived on a small plate with a side creamy horseradish sauce. The tomatoes were lightly breaded and were very crispy without a hint of greasiness. Their slightly sour taste was complimented by the spicy horseradish dipping sauce.

The salad bar included garden - fresh vegetables such as lettuce, sweet tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, celery, and pees. There was also a selection of fruit including cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, and watermelon.

For our main course we ordered the Sirloin ($9.95) and Chicken ($8.95) dishes to which we added a full salad bar for $1.95 extra. Both dishes came with a choice of sides. My husband chose a vegetable kabob and I went for a vegetable medley.

Each dish also came with a generous portion of sweet potato pie, mashed potatoes (skins on, adding to their earthy-fresh flavor), and brown gravy. The pie portion was more like a dessert, with a base of creamy sweet potato, followed by brown sugar, then corn flakes, pecans and topped with toasted coconut.

The steak was larger than I expected for the price and was remarkably tender. Chef Lesber - who came out to see how we were enjoying our dishes - said he marinated and aged the steak, in Worcestershire sauce to tenderize it before cooking. The chicken was also remarkably moist and tasty.

My husband's vegetable kabob had huge chunks of tasty zucchini, green peppers, red onions and mushroom caps on it. My mixed vegetables, while tasting garden fresh, were overcooked and drenched in butter.

We didn't order dessert because of the sweet selection of fruit on the salad bar. We did however get some decaf coffee after the build-up by Chef Lesber. He said he had a special blend of Columbian coffee specially imported for the restaurant because he believed in serving only the best to his guests. We were glad we took his recommendation. The coffee was very smooth and rich in flavor, an unusual trait for decaf coffee.

The whole experience was very delicious and particularly enjoyable because of its low cost. Seminole Inn definitely understands value for money meals. We plan to go back for their very affordable Sunday brunch at $13.95 per adult (children under 10 are half price).

Located: 15885 S.W. Warfield Boulevard, Indiantown, FL 34956
Phone: 772-597-3777

Sources:

www.seminoleinn.com/main.php
www.florida-agriculture.com/consumers/community_supported_agriculture.html