Backwoods Bistro

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  I have been here twice, once for dinner, and once for a show in the bar.  The food could be good, but the servers don't seem to care about it much.  I ordered the Grouper and it clearly spent much time drying out waiting to be delivered.  I waited so long for it, one hour and fifteen minutes) that I was afraid to send it back.  
  
  They carry some great beers, and the menu reads great on paper, but the owner needs to fire the entire front of the house and start over.  Too many kids, not enough adults working here.  
  
  Disappointing on all counts.  A bummer for them, and me.

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  Posted on 05.17.13 Juancho V.

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  Went here for brunch (big sign outside advertising same) and found out that they were not doing brunch that day - really?
  
  We should have known that it was going to be less than stellar since there were no cars in the lot when we parked.
  
  Our service was good but the food was just okay. Something is seriously wrong here since the location alone should be a plus.

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  Posted on 04.11.13 Dave W.

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  The outside is deceiving!
  
  I thought this place would be a hit because of the location and the outdoor look. No. I had a Cesar salad and it was terrible. For some reason there was this sweet bbq sauce drizzled on top... which ruined the salad.
  
  Disappointing...

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  Posted on 04.06.13 Lucy L.

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  Went at lunch with a friend who had eaten several times at the original Sopchoppy location. Got a surprise when the lunch and dinner menu was the same. That made pricing a bit high for midday. Service was so-so. Food wise my shrimp salad , Greek style, was excellent and quite large.

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  Posted on 04.03.13 Michael C.

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  The Con pizza.  The first time I came to BB I had this as my entree and was very pleased.  The next two times we've gone we've gotten this as an appetizer and it's been equally enjoyable as the first time.
  
  The waitstaff has always been courteous and I find the menu selection presents a nice mix.
  
  Now that I've said something nice...
  
  This place has a management problem.  
  
  One visit we sat at a table in the bar.  The wait staff huddled around the end of the bar talking about those things that waitstaff will talk about when they huddle together.  Maybe because we were in our server's line of sight we had no problems, but two tables in the restaurant area (my friend says three) had to come into the bar to get their server to attend to them.  We saw no manager that entire day.
  
  Another visit, after the lengthy time between drink orders and delivery, we were told "a bunch or people didn't show up for their shifts."  This was the day after the FSU/UF football game in 2012.  I get that.  But again, no manager in sight.  It's my fervent hope he/she was slinging in the kitchen, but we watched while the albeit very friendly and courteous hostess went about her other duties while two different tables of people sat so long before water was brought to them that they got up and left.  This isn't the fault of the hostess, but the manager missing from the floor.  That is unacceptable.
  
  I really like the food here.  I like the beer and wine selection.  Everyone we've encountered has been great.  But there's little to no leadership and that's a recipe for failure.

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  Posted on 12.17.12 p d.

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  One of the best places to eat in the Big Bend. Awesome food, lots of flavor, great service and plenty of variety on the menu. I can't recommend it strongly enough.
  
  The kitchen has always been willing to make changes to a dish, or create something special when asked.
  
  Great vegetarian options.  Try the pizza - or the pasta... both are excellent.
  
  Good bartenders, great staff.  I stop here all the time- good for get togethers with friends, or small one on one lunches.

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  Posted on 11.27.12 Alan B.

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  Nothing great. To many loud (really) drunk people at the bar. Could hear them belching while  we were trying to eat.  Food was quick, but really ordinary. Maybe just a bad day, but wd won't be going back.

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  Posted on 10.22.12 Greg M.

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  We tried BB for an early dinner with another couple who are long time friends and choosy about their restaurants.  We were seated right away by friendly staff and our drink orders were taken.  The restaurant atmosphere was cool, modern and pleasant.  I ordered the crab and apple stuffed grouper, my guy ordered one of their burgers.  Our friends ordered pizza and a chicken pasta dish.  My order came out a bit later than the others, which was fine with me since I had a house salad to work on.  The salad was good, with baby greens and a very nice house basalmic vinagrette to go with it.  My guy liked his burger, which was medium and huge.  His fries, which I tasted, were very good.  
  
  My grouper was excellent.  I am a picky eater when it comes to fish as it often does not agree with me.  This was moist, tender and beautifully presented.  Served on a slice of grilled watermelon, the grouper was stuffed with crab and chopped apple.  All crab and very little filler other than the apple.  The fish was fresh and the entire dish was drizzled with a delicate lime tequila sauce.  Service was fair to good.  They appeared to be a bit short staffed, but we are not particularly demanding customers.  They kept my guy's drink glass full, which is a chore considering how much diet soda he consumes in one sitting, so that's a plus.  The waitress apologized for my dinner being later than the others, so I was offered a free dessert.  I was so full, we took it home with us.  Key lime pie was the choice.  I tasted it later and found it to be creamy, tart and not too sweet.  It was just right.
  
  We will go back and try the restaurant again.  The food was good and the service was all right.  Everyone has an off day, and classic chicken parmigiana is pan sauteed, not deep fried. ;-)

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  Posted on 09.12.12 Cyn P.

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  Decided to give it a shot and even stayed after walking in and realizing it was anything but a bistro. Sat at the bar while waiting for table. Few ok beers so that was a plus. After that, there really wasn't much to be impressed about. There was no ambiance, in fact it had no appeal. The wait staff was pleasant enough but the menu was pretty unimaginative. We
  both had shrimp and they were flavorful and my red potatoes were tasty. Again, not overwhelming, just adequate. The salads arrived halfway through dinner (without an acknowledgement of bad timing).  Just don't see this lasting if they don't step it up.

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  Posted on 08.19.12 Greg K.

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  Where shall I begin. First off, ordered a lemon drop and it came with salted rim..no comment.  Food was nothing special. Burger was dry & way overcooked, buffalo chicken sandwich was bland, as well as the tuna sub. There were 3 of us and the food, we all agreed, was undesirable. Service was lack luster. It was slow and when we finished eating the plates were stacked & never cleared. I was not impressed & will not return. Do not recommend!

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  Posted on 08.04.12 Melissa C.

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  We visited Thursday July 5th, 2012.  We ordered a cheese/pepperoni pizza and the chicken parmigiana.  We also ordered the mozzarella drops (cheese sticks basically.)  The mozzarella drops were tasty (but not hard to cook..all you do is throw them in the deep fryer).  The side salad costs $4.50 and is very small for that price.  The pizza came out and it was overloaded with cheese.  It had so much cheese on it, that we weren't able to taste anything else.  It was pretty bad.  Half the pizza was missing bread underneath the cheese...I think they tossed the dough too thin.  The tomato sauce on the pizza tasted like it came out of a can...very generic and bland tasting.  The chicken parmigiana was even worse!  The problem is, I'm not sure they know what chicken parmigiana is.  Classic chicken parmigiana is a breaded chicken breast that is deep fried, then baked with marinara sauce and cheese on top.  The chicken parmigiana they served us was just a plain chicken breast on top of noodles with a marinara sauce.  The chicken wasn't breaded..it wasn't fried...it was grilled.  It was bland, flavorless, and tasted freezer burned.  To make matters worse, it seems they use the same marinara sauce in the noodles that they do on the pizza..it tastes like canned ragu.  I wanted to tell the manager that the chicken parmigiana they are selling is not actually chicken parmigiana.  The only cheese to be found on the dish was dry non-melted mozzarella that was lightly sprinkled on the top.  The bill came to a little over $40 bucks.
  
  The service was average..it wasn't good or bad..just in the middle.  The food was absolutely terrible and I doubt I will be going back.  Somebody needs to show them what chicken parmigiana is so they can stop serving what they are serving now..it's very misleading.  I think it would help a lot too if they made their own tomato sauce..it's very obvious to me that it's canned.

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  Posted on 07.09.12 Kurt H.

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