Southern Surprise at White Wolf

We often look for excuses to eat at the White Wolf Cafe, and my Mom visiting us this week made a good one.  She likes this place as much as we do.

A funky (do people still use that word) cafe in the middle of Orlando's Bohemian/Antique district, White Wolf started as an antique shop itself and visible price tags tell you that much of the decor is still for sale.

Cloths never hide the polished marble table tops (sides left rough) and that, along with the tile flooring, means there is nothing to dampen the busy restaurant noises.  To me this is just auditory decor, but it could bother some in my age bracket.

My wife ordered the Moroccan Salad, chunks of chicken breast tossed with bananas, raisins and nuts in chopped romaine with a sweet curry dressing.  She asked for the croissant in the picture, it usually comes with wedges of pita.

This is our mutual favorite and we often just order one to share - at White Wolf you always get more than you can eat.  

We didn't share this time, though.  My surprise was one of the specials on the chalk board - Country Fried Steak with sausage gravy, eggs and potatoes.  It's always been on the menu, but I had never noticed it amongst items like the aforementioned salad, Citrus Salmon Salad, kabobs and lasagna.

They call it country fried but I'd say chicken fried steak.  Wrapped in a thick but light, flaky crust, it was better than Grandma used to make, and I loved hers.  The gravy was loaded with sausage flavor and just the right spiciness.

I substituted grits for the potatoes and as good as the place is, they don't understand this dish.  It wasn't seasoned at all, and a second issue is visible in my picture.  Tell me what you think it is in the comments and check back in a couple of days for my upcoming post on grits.

Mom had the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich, which was excellent despite not being a real Philly - no Cheese Whiz.  That's okay, I don't keep it in the house either.

The next day we had leftovers for lunch, with the wife and me splitting the remaining salad and steak.  Still yummy.

Pancakes and Ponce de Leon

My theory about Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth says that when the Spanish explorer discovered and named la Florida on Easter Sunday in 1513, spring break was in full swing at the native village of Daytona.  Seeing that the revelers were mostly under twenty years old and their behavior even more adolescent, he thought something in the water must be reversing the effects of age. He didn’t realize the coconut shells with little palmetto leaf umbrellas sticking out of them contained a liquid they called dai-quiri.

Okay, it’s just a theory, but thanks to his search for the Fountain of Youth, old Ponce got a governorship.  He was the first Florida promoter to use the Fountain story and today a number of places claim to be the site of his spring, including at least two different state parks.  One of them is Deleon Springs State Park, located in the west Volusia County town of Deleon Springs.  The town was known as Spring Garden until it changed its name in 1882 to hype a new resort.  See a pattern?

The park is worth a visit and in keeping with the youth theme, be sure to bring the kids.  They will love The Old Spanish Sugar Mill Grill & Griddle House where guests cook their own pancakes.

Most Florida parks have some kind of restaurant or canteen, but this may be the only one that has a wait time of an hour or more before seating guests, at least on a sunny Saturday morning.  That isn’t a bad thing, though, since there is plenty to do while waiting.  Within just a few steps is the rejuvenating spring (72º - works every time), with swimming, sunning, fishing, canoeing, and even spring diving for those with scuba gear. If you are in the water when your party is called, don’t worry: the dress code asks only that you dry off thoroughly before entering.

Inside, there are two rooms packed with as many tables as possible, each seating up to ten and having two griddles built into the top. Bare legs can feel the heat radiating from the underside of the table, but there is enough wooden tabletop surrounding the cooking surface to insure a safe distance and provide a place for the metal lumberjack style plates.  Servers deliver two pitchers to the table, one with a regular white batter (“It’s supposed to have the lumps,” they explain to newbies,) and the other a five grain blend, along with any toppings requested, which can include chocolate chips, pecans, bananas, peanut butter and other goodies.  All that is missing is a teppanyaki chef named Ranger Bob juggling spatulas.

Lacking a chef, the server gives a quick lesson in pancake cookery – spray some oil on the griddle, pour batter on it until it looks like enough, then add your topping.  When it bubbles, flip it and let it finish cooking.  The five grain mix takes a little longer. You are now a chef, please don’t juggle the spatulas.

The pancakes are good, depending, of course, on the chef’s skill, and they don’t really need the add-ins, although the Mrs. enjoyed some very youthful chocolate chips in hers.  The five-grain version had an interesting nutty flavor, but we kept going back to the plain.  It’s all you can eat, so whenever a pitcher comes up empty, another appears from the kitchen.  One minor disappointment: there is honey and maple syrup to drizzle over your cakes, but if you don’t want that Yankee stuff, they don't have cane syrup, only molasses.  It’s close, but not the same.

It isn’t all pancakes, though.  In addition, there actually is a kitchen serving up sides of bacon, sausage, ham and eggs, all tasty enough to complement the tabletop masterpieces, or if you just want to skip the flapjacks, they can bring you French toast, a sandwich or a salad.

As required at such places, there is a small gift shop where those who find “all you can eat” is not enough can purchase Old Spanish Sugar Mill Pancake Mix, as well as Florida survival gear like insect repellent, gator tail jerky and datil pepper sauce.

This is a place that every Central Florida resident should experience at least once, but don’t come just to eat.  Bring the kids, make a day of it and get young.