great place to celebrate in ocala. top notch.. wow. last night my girlfriend and i celebrated her birthday dinner and were nothing short of impressed. i mentioned in my opentable.com reservation that it was my girlfriend’s birthday. when we arrived, our table was festively decorated with “happy birthday” confetti. it truly set the tone for a perfect celebratory dinner.
we order fried green tomatoes as an appetizer. they were thick cut, not too greasy, and came with a spicy cream sauce. i think it’s safe to say they were the best fried green tomatoes i’ve ever had. (i’m not even sure of another place in ocala that offers them on their menu.) the complimentary rolls were served with a unique sweet orange-zest butter and our dinner salads were served with a tangy orange house dressing.
i had to order the 8 oz filet. i’m a huge fan of a well cooked steak and i must say, it was absolutely perfect! it came with something i thought was strange at first - an upright plum tomato that appeared to be roasted with the top sliced off and a generous amount of fresh pesto on top. i mixed it in with my steak and garlic mashed potatoes and it was incredibly delicious. well-played.
my girlfriend is lactose intolerant so she couldn't have the creamy risotto that came with her grouper filet since it had milk in it. our server cindy, gladly substituted the risotto for adeliciousvegetable couscous and steamed spinach which rested under her perfectly seared grouper filet (pictured below).
after dinner, we went to the bar for a drink and walked out onto the beautiful pool deck overlooking a large paddock. it’s such a relaxing atmosphere that truly does not feel like you’re in ocala.
author’s is by-far ocala’s best kept secret. if you’re looking for somewhere in ocala to take a date or to enjoy an upscale meal, i recommend author’s at the hilton ocala. top notch.
side note: they also have a very reasonably priced lunch menu which i glanced at before ordering dinner - mostly sandwiches, burgers, etc.