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The Ultimate Dining Experience

  The Palace of the Versailles was the official residence of the kings of France from 1682 to 1790, and, although Versailles is now the name of an exquisite restaurant located directly off Barrancas Avenue & “H” Street in Pensacola, Florida, it eloquently re-creates the atmosphere of a French palace. Upon walking into the restaurant, you will be amazed by the wonderful ambiance of this modern, yet old-world French setting. Each table is lined with a beautiful white satin table clothes, and fresh white roses adorning each table, making the restaurant irresistibly perfect.
             
 
   Not only is the atmosphere positively suburb, but the service is something extraordinary in itself. Tom, the head-waiter at Versailles, says that the service is so great because “we return to old-world values and techniques - we are present in the dining room at all times and are always available to please our guests.” Tom wants to re-create the type of service that was used 50 years ago - professional service, rather than “the ‘fast-food-type’ service that is now being used in our more modern day society.” Versailles takes the time to make sure every guest is more than satisfied. They even exercise the use of “Gang-Service, or Russian-style Service,” meaning each plate is set down in front of each guest at exactly the same time. Now that’s what I call service!

   Chef Keith Hoffert hand prepares every meal and claims that each meal comes with a lot of TLC, but his favorite dish is “Ossobucco - a cut of veil that has been slow-cooked in brown gravy for over 5 hours. The meat is so tender it simply falls apart in your mouth.” If you have a chance he also says to try the Chilean Sea Bass. No meal would be complete without diner rolls, and Versailles has the best dinner rolls in town. They feature dinner rolls stuffed with Italian Herb Ricotta, Buffalo Mozzarella, and Sun dried Tomato paste. As for desert, the gourmet-chef says everyone must try “the Chocolate Bomb;” this desert is any chocolate-lover’s dream.

   Versailles even has a one-of-a-kind bar, featuring 150 wines, including a reserve wine list. The bartender, Brandon, also serves the best Apple Martini found anywhere. So remember to try some of these exclusive wines along with Brandon’s famous Martini. The food is always made fresh, and it is guaranteed to satisfy every appetite. This is a must-try restaurant! Call (850) 438-7772 for reservations and more information.

Aura Lei New – Journalist
Gungho City

Decadence has entered Downtown Pensacola.

With European decor, supreme service and succulent flavors, the Versailles Fine Dining Restaurant and Banquet Facility adds an unmatchable elegance to its exquisite cuisine.

Open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, Versailles doesn’t miss a step on customer satisfaction. It’s not just great food. It’s a dining destination. “The experience speaks for itself,” said owner Jeff Podojil. No reservations or tie required, patrons enjoy up-scale dining in a business-casual environment. Executive Chef Keith Hoffert ensures the Versailles touch resonates through every course.

Come in for lunch for a soup of garden peas and morel cream or the truffle-infused French onion. Follow with a spinach and prosciutto salad with grilled peaches or a fresh Maine lobster salad on a French baguette with fried green tomatoes. Lunch entrees, all priced from $9 to $13, include such creations as couscous with summer vegetables and nori-crusted sirloin with shitake mushrooms and wasabi.

The dinner menu boasts even more delectable dishes. Soups include a pacific rim consomme and a blue crab and green pea bisque. Appetizers: There’s Versailles’ award-winning jumbo lump crab cake, the Apalachicola Roasted Oysters Rockefeller or the mouthful “Pan Seared Pancetta Wrapped Northeast Diver Scallops Quail Egg topped with Foie Gras Butter.” The entrees, ranging from $20 to $40, will have patrons salivating from the menu. Try the slow-braised, center-cut Osso Brucco with a saffron rosemary demi-glace paired with garlic risotto, caramelized pearl onions and sweet asparagus tips. Seafood lovers will savor the wasabi-crusted Chilean Sea Bass. It’s served on a bed of pan-seared Swiss chard and nestled in a sweet misu broth.

Catering is available, and private parties can expect top-of-the-line service in the exclusive “Court of Versailles.” Larger events have a place in the European-style banquet facility that seats 250 guests.

Read more about Versailles and check out photos at www.VersaillesDining.com.

Angela Fails – Journalist
Gungho City

It’s all about the food!  A simple motto that goes far beyond simplistic expectations at this little restaurant in downtown Pensacola.

Eat! Is a unique dining experience that feels and tastes like incredibly fine-dining fare, but it doesn’t overwhelm your wallet in the least.

Let’s peruse the menu for a moment.  Brunch offers everything from poached eggs over friend green tomatoes to a blackened prime rib with scrambled eggs.  Perhaps you’d prefer a crab cakes benedict or a grilled mahi mahi burger.  The list just goes on and on, and we still have two menus to go!

For lunch, let’s start with a baked brie with caramel and herb flat bread, followed by a cobb salad with crawfish, then a nice entrée of blackened redfish medallions, and lastly by a seven layer chocolate sin cake.  Whew!  Had enough?  That’s not even scraping the top of what Eat! Has to offer.

Dinner rolls around and we’re hungry again so this time let’s try the fried green tomatoes with feta cheese and balsamic drizzle.  We’ll move on after that delicious dish to a seven-crusted salmon over sun dried tomato basil vinaigrette tossed greens.  Or maybe we’ll just go ahead and skip the greens since our entrée will be served with baby organic greens or a ceasar salad.  For an entrée, tonight let’s try the broiled lemon rosemary lamb chops, with a port wine mustard jus.  And let’s not forget the wine.  Eat! Offers a huge variety of wines meant to please the palette and enhance the food. 

A bit overwhelmed by all the possibilities (even though we’ve only listed about a 10th of what’s available)?  No worries!  Try dining at the chef’s table, where the head chef, Chef Lee, prepares a custom menu of 5-6 courses just for your pleasure.  He’ll even help you with choosing which wine’s to pair with your meals.  Even if you decide not to go all the way for the chef’s table, the servers at Eat! Are very well versed in the courses and will helpfully explain your choices.

For just a little bit of information on Chef Lee:

The guy has more awards and honors as a chef than we have time to list!  Just a couple of neat tidbits about Chef Lee:

• He has been sought after to cater weddings such as U.S. Senator Joe Scarborough and Abigail Spencer. 
  
• He has over 15 years cooking experience and was the winner of the Chef Challenge at the 2004 Sysco food show.

We could go on, but really, in the end what you need to know is simple.  Eat! Is exceptional food at absolutely wonderfully low prices, prepared by a renowned chef who really knows his stuff!   You won’t regret stepping into this restaurant and taking a little while to bask in the wonderful flavors and textures.

Maybe you still want great food, but you’re just not sure about the Spotlight. Check out these other wonderful restaurants in the area:

Atlas Oyster Bar

• Goodgrits
• Seafood
  

• 400 S. Palafox St. 850-469-9898
• Southern
  

• The Melting Pot
• Fondue
  

• Bonefish Grill
• Seafood
  

• Dharma Blue
• Coastal
  

• Good Grits
• Seafood
  

• 12 Via De Luna Dr, Gulf Breeze 850-916-2999
• Coastal
  

• Yamato
• Japanese
  

• 27 S. Palafox St. 850-469-9926
• Tapas
  

• Copeland's
• Click on Locations for Pensacola
• Cajun
  

If you have any restaurants or know of any restaurants that could be spotlighted or listed, please send suggestions, website information, phones numbers, or any other pertinent information to:

Editor in Chief:
Editor@GunghoCity.com