Food: Unique Dining Experiences for Labor Day

This Labor Day weekend, me and the guys took a little road trip around central and north Florida.  We found some interesting restaurants along the way:

Cafe One

Cafe One is a concept that I have not seen before - a full-on breakfast and lunch diner crossed with a pinball arcade. Now, I've seen plenty of "barcades" (bars combined with arcades), but never one that offered a full menu, kitchen, and table service like Cafe One, with omelettes, pancakes, burritos, burgers, and the like.  The food is decent, and better than the average barcade, but not spectacular.

Where Cafe One really shines are the pinball machines - around 20 or so of the latest Stern games, including glossy new licensed machines like Godzilla and John Wick. They're a bit expensive (a buck a play), but if you take pinball seriously, there's no substitute. Just wipe the biscuits and gravy off your hands before you play...

2/4 stars

Hollerbach's

Hollerbach's is a family-owned German restaurant in Historic Downtown Sanford that serves up traditional fare - bratwurst, pretzels, schnitzel - with gallons and gallons of good German beer (including multiple non-alcoholic varieties). Seating is on beer hall style tables, with live entertainment on weekends.  Suffice it to say, this is not a place to have a quiet romantic dinner:

When we got to the restaurant, there was a half hour wait, so we took the time to check out the other Hollerbach's properties nearby, including their "German Market" grocery store and their "Outfitters" clothing shop (hello, Lederhosen). When we got in we were treated to a warm, party-like atmosphere, platefuls of hearty food, and some of the best Black Forest cake and apple strudel for dessert.

For its commendable ability to instill Gemütlichkeit in its patrons, Hollerbach's receives Shangrila Towers's highest rating:

4/4 stars