Restaurant Review Petro Florida
Ocala
This "Restaurant Review Petro Florida Ocala" is
a
review of the restaurant at the Petro Stopping Center in Ocala, FL,
USA, based upon our
own expectations of what a restaurant that caters to
professional truck drivers of commercial motor vehicles should be like
-- as well as our own preferences in foodstuffs.
Restaurant Review Petro Florida Ocala
Date: 6/2/2010
Location: Petro Stopping
Center,
Ocala, FL, I-75, exit 368
Overall Facility: Restaurant Review Petro Florida Ocala
- There is an area for
diners
just inside the restaurant (usually populated by professional truck
drivers) and plenty of seating in the back past the
buffet.
- A buffet is featured
daily with various items.
- Diners may order from the
menu.
On this evening, we ate from the buffet, which featured barbequed
meats. The cost for the buffet was $10.99 each.
Pros: Restaurant Review Petro Florida Ocala
- We were immediately
greeted when we entered the restaurant.
- We were greeted in the
area beyond the buffet by a waitress, Donna, who was very glad that we
came to sit in her area.
- Donna was friendly,
listened and laughed as we shared some humor.
- We
noticed that there were napkin holders on the tables. Having extra
napkins was handy because diners like to wipe their hands after
handling barbequed ribs.
- There were three areas on
the bar: a salad and fruit cold bar, a soup and dessert bar, and a hot
bar with dinner foods.
- Mike
ate barbequed ribs, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and
black eyed peas; a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded
cheese, diced hard boiled egg, bacon bits and Thousand Island dressing;
and chocolate cake, blueberry cobbler and spiced apples.
- Vicki
ate fried chicken, one bite of barbequed rib, mashed potatoes, green
beans, cooked carrots, corn, black eyed peas and squash; a salad with
lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded cheese, diced hard boiled egg,
and Ranch dressing; chicken and rice soup; chocolate cake and blueberry
cobbler.
- Rolls with butter were
also offered, accepted, and eaten.
- During the course of our
dining experience, three different people came by to whisk away our
plates and ask how we were doing.
- The blueberry cobbler was
excellent, not being too sweet or too tart.
Cons: Restaurant Review Petro Florida Ocala
- Before we even got into the
restaurant, Vicki
smelled something a little strange. If it was barbeque she smelled, it
smelled like it had been cooked too long.
- The
area near the croutons on the salad bar had plenty of crumbs in front
of the food containers. This indicated that the area needed to be
cleaned. Mike said that the croutons were running down.
- There was no cottage cheese on
the salad bar.
- In
order to get beverage refills, we had to set our glasses near the edge
of our table to draw attention to the need to fill them.
- As
our dining experience went on and Vicki's water glass was refilled,
there was too much ice added to the glass and not enough water.
- The piece of barbequed rib meat
that Mike gave to Vicki was dry and tough.
- The hot vegetables that Vicki
ate -- carrots, green beans, black eyed peas and squash -- were
overcooked.
- Except for the barbequed
foodstuffs, the rest of the food was pretty bland, not being well
seasoned.
- The
grape tomatoes on the salad bar looked a little past their prime. Vicki
had to be selective about the ones that she chose for her salad.
- The amount of shredded cheese
in the crock on the salad bar was almost non-existent.
- The amount of lettuce on the
salad bar was low when we came through.
- Mike
said the coating on the fried chicken was so thick that he had
difficulty discerning which piece was which. He likes to be able to
tell a breast from a thigh, etc. He also stated that the fried chicken
was tough and overcooked.
Note: Restaurant Review Petro Florida Ocala
Our dining
experience here on this night was in contrast to our previous
dining experience here. We wonder if the restaurant has had a change in
cooks, the one working tonight not being willing to season the food or
cooking for those on a no- or low-salt diet. This experience was also
in sharp contrast to our experiences at other Petro Iron Skillet
restaurants. Although the food was edible, we were disappointed. We
encourage management to eat in their own restaurant as if they were
paying customers and ask if they would serve this food in their homes.
Overall Grade
Overall grade for this
restaurant at
this
facility on a scale of A+ to F- (with A+ being the best, F- being the
worst): C
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