This past weekend I went out to the Backporch Restaurant to eat lunch. It had been a few years since my last lunch out there, and almost 15 years since I worked at the restaurant while in high school. Much has changed, yet much has remained the same. The quaint restaurant is part of the ever popular Barn and Stable shops that sit a few miles outside of Lake Alfred, FL. The restaurant and shops are owned by the Wales family. For a number of years the Wales also ran a summer camp at the ranch called Lazy W and sponsored a Lakeland summer league soccer team call the Double T We-Wa's.

If you haven't been to the restaurant they have a unique ordering process. Patrons fill out a paper menu via check-boxes and put their name and table number on a post-it note. Your food is then delivered in a small picnic basket. When the restaurant was much smaller there were no table numbers. Patrons just wrote their names on the post-it notes. This led to a popular prank among the staff...handing a basket with a fake name to one of the servers, then watching as they walk aimlessly around the restaurant saying, 'Steve?......Steve?.....Steve?"

The menu is still the same, but the quality of the food is constant. The popular sandwich combination includes a gourmet sandwich and your choice of soup, salad and dessert. The menu lacks a vegetarian sandwich, but that's ok because salad combination provides you generous helpings of all the salads plus a dessert.

Each day features unique soup, salad, sandwich and dessert options that supplement the daily menu. I've been a fan of the French Country Vegetable soup since I was a kid. When I worked there in high school I once asked Tom Wales what the recipe was, he told me it was a family secret. I'm not sure if he was serious or was just kidding with me because later that day when the soup was running low he told me to make some more. He then proceeded to tell me the recipe. I make a large pot of the soup at least once a year.

The restaurant is only open from 11 till 3, Tuesday through Saturday (Closed Sunday/Monday) during the season. Next time you're looking for something a bit different for lunch make the short drive out towards I-4 on Hwy 557. It's worth the trip. Phone: 863-956-2227

Update: Man About Town blogs about his recent visit to The Barn.