Kazbor's Grille Lakeland
09/24/2009 - By Trent Rowe
Kazbor's Grille is a good spot for lunch. The Lakeland store is clean and bright — a sports bar, with more than a dozen TV sets scattered around.
Like wine, some restaurants get better with age.
Kazbor's Grille in Grove Park in Lakeland was reviewed six months ago and it earned a half star less than average. I said I would revisit to see if the operation had matured for the better, and I did.
Ron Bohinski and a partner opened the franchise in March 2008. Bohinski has it all to himself now.
At lunch, you wait to be seated. That could take a few minutes. You get a printed list of five specials for $5.95 each. They all looked pretty enticing for the money.
I wasn't ready to give my order when my server was ready to take it. It took a long time for her to come back, and the restaurant was not very busy just after noon.
Buffalo Shrimp had been small and sadly overcooked on my first visit. They're still small but, if anything, a tad undercooked this time. That's the better option. Ordered medium in the spice department, they had plenty of sinus-clearing kick, moderated nicely by a dunk in blue cheese dressing ($6.95).
Kazadillas, from the starter section of the menu, cost $8.95. From the lunch specials they are $5.95 and you get black beans and yellow rice. For that, you get four quarters of two flour tortillas sandwiching chicken or beef, cheese, peppers, tomatoes and onion with sour cream and salsa on the side. Mine had ample tender beef. It's not a lot of food, but it's not a lot of money either.
A nice-size portion of beans and rice were tasty, and like be-bop musicians — cool, man, cool.
You can add chicken to a bowl of Penne Alfredo, a lunch special at $5.95. It's not really needed to make the tender, cheesy pasta good, but it does add something. A little more sauce would have been nice. So would the garlic bread the menu promised but didn't get there.
I quibbled about the fish and chips in the first review. The menu said, 'Beer Battered.' The fish was dry-coated ($9.95). The menu hasn't changed, and neither has the coating. Regardless, the four fish fingers were delicious. So were the double-cooked chips. The only problem is not the food. It's the wording on the menu. Don't change the fish. Change the menu.
A Kazburger costs $6.95 on the menu and includes fries or cole slaw, broccoli, mashed potatoes, baked potato or black beans and rice. As a lunch special the price drops to $5.95 and includes fries. Ordered medium, the lean, thick hand-formed 8-ounce portion reminded me of black-and-white TV — not a hint of color. Once the toppings were added, the burger had plenty of flavor and moisture to be good.
Side dishes, including salads, potatoes, vegetables, fries, onion rings and guacamole, run to $3.69, so when one is included in your meal consider yourself in-pocket.
The drinks and desserts menu has no prices. Last time I was here I got the fried cheesecake. The alternatives include chocolate lava cake, shakes and sundaes.
I still don't know how much the fried cheesecake costs, but it's an old friend I met years ago at Saltwater Grill in Winter Haven. A nice piece of cheesecake is rolled in a flour tortilla and deep fried, then presented with vanilla ice cream and plenty of caramel sauce. This is a memory it's nice to rekindle.
Come time for the bill. I was undercharged by $1 for the chicken on the pasta. My server asked, 'You want me to fix it?' I'm sure the management would prefer it.
The owner assured me that anything found during the last inspection (in June) has been cleared up.
A couple of things they can do to improve are:
Make sure the beans and rice are hot.
A little more sauce on the pasta — and remember the bread.
Kazbor's has come up in the world, at least enough to earn three stars.
Trent Rowe can be reached at trent.rowe@theledger.com or 802-7512.
