February 13, 2008Today’s adventure took us to the Bedrock Cafe on South Florida Avenue, about a quarter-mile south of Edgewood Drive.  Here are some of the reviews:

“I have been to this establishment a number of times, so today I decided to try something new. I went with the Garlic Cajun wing instead of the traditional buffalo. I was a little apprehensive when they were first brought out because they were covered with chunks of garlic. However, I found that with a gentle tap against the plate the garlic shook right off, leaving the wonderful flavor behind without the unnecessary chunkiness. The wings were very substantial in size and lacked a thick breading you may find on competitors wings, which was a plus for my taste. Overall, I was very satisfied. I will say, however, that the name may be a little misleading because one might expect a Cajun wing to be spicy – I found them rather mild. I would give this plate a 4 out of 5 rating.

The restaurant itself was very clean, and I liked the open atmosphere. Our server was prompt with service, but stayed away when she wasn’t needed, which made for a better dining experience. I hate when servers are constantly at the table asking if everything is ok and what I need. Trust me, if something is wrong or I need something I will let you know. I can confidently recommend Bedrock Café to anyone interested in eating a good chicken wing. I will return soon.”
– Mike

“I ordered the same flavor combo that I do every chance I get - Teriyaki & Garlic. In this case the garlic was, specifically “Cajun Garlic”, although it didn’t seem very cajun-y to me. Overall the wings were good. They had a lot of meat on them, even though some were a little tough. Maybe the strangest part was that after eating 10 wings I was still hungry (insert fat joke here).”
– Timm

“Finally, hot wings with some heat. Bedrock’s hot wings were hearty and well cooked. Finally, after weeks of searching, these wings showed some promise in the heat department. It was almost more of a cayenne pepper sauce than buffalo wing sauce flavor. They were not the best flavor in town, however, I’d eat there again just to enjoy the heat. I’m really enjoying this job. I think if my current gig doesn’t work out perhaps I could be a foodie. I can’t wait until next week to do it again.”
– Steve

“I must have driven by Bedrock Cafe (on S. Florida Ave in Lakeland) several hundred times over the years but never stopped in to consume any food. To tell you the truth I was excited to try something new, which would surprise my wife as I don’t like to try new things. I ordered 10 wings and split the order between hot and blackened, again it was great that they allowed my to do this and they didn’t charge me anything extra. The wings were quite large which was great because I was quite hungry. The first wings that I sampled was the hot and to be honest I was a bit disappointed not by the wing itself which had a great consistency but by the hot sauce. It had a decent kick to it (more medium than hot) but the sauce was sweet and didn’t taste anything like what I would expect from a hot wing. And no I didn’t have to consume large amounts of water as Travis may lead you to believe. It tasted more like Tabasco sauce than anything else and I wasn’t impressed at all. Next I sampled the blackened wings which were well seasoned but I wouldn’t have considered them blackened. In fact at first glance I thought I had been given the wrong wings. Regardless of my initial impression they were really good and I found myself wishing I would have ordered all 10 of them in this style. Bedrock Cafe was decent and the service itself was good but there was nothing that really made it stand out and it lacked some things when compared to some of the other wingsday day establishments that we’ve reviewed in the past weeks (I.E. Decisions, Beef’s). As big as the wings were, I was still left with a void in my gut. That was easily satisfied with a large chocolate milkshake from Checkers. In conclusion I give Bedrock 25 (oop’s I mean 2 and a half stars).”
– Shawn

As for me, I went with 10 of the Aloha Black, a blackened wing with some kind of pineapple-y sauce. They were really good, except for the fact that the ones on top weren’t as flavorful as the ones on the bottom (sitting in a pool of pineapple juice). I’d go to Bedrock’s again, based just on the service and portion sides; the wings were good, just not the best.

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That’s it for today. See you next week!