Award-winning restaurant not phased by rough economy

The Great Outdoors General Manager Carol Doherty credits excellence in food, atmosphere and service as the three ingredients earning the restaurant a 2010 Golden Spoon award from Florida Trend Magazine.

Fresh meat.

Wet-aged for no less than 28 days, then grilled to order— dripping, juicy and oozing with flavor.

General manager Carol Doherty said if she had to name the absolute best thing on the menu at the Great Outdoors Restaurant, it would have to be the steaks. The 14-ounce New York Strip or the 22-ounce T-Bone would be her top picks.

They are just two examples of what earned the restaurant a 2010 Golden Spoon award from Florida Trend Magazine. The accolade recognizes excellence in food, atmosphere and service— the three things, Doherty explained, that make or break a restaurant.

“It’s a triangle. If one piece is missing, the whole thing falls apart.”

Another Great Outdoors manager, Sandy Flaitz, agreed that it’s the restaurant’s mastery of all three components that earned it this award.

“In the culinary world,” Doherty said, “it’s extremely prestigious.”

Though she holds that the steaks are the absolute best of the diverse menu options, she admitted they’re not what she usually has.

“Every day I eat the same thing— the Chop Chop salad with Ahi Tuna.”

That selection, she explained, is because she tries to eat healthy.

“It’s delicious,” she said, which makes eating healthy fairly easy. And the reason it’s so good is the fresh fish is brought in daily, and the dressing is homemade, meaning less sodium and preservatives, she explained.

She said that she, as well as the owners, Bob and Karen Bentz, and the executive chef, Tara McDermott, have worked long and hard throughout their careers to get to this point, and to receive the Golden Spoon is truly gratifying.

On Florida Trend Magazine’s Web site listing Golden Spoon recipients, is an article discussing the adjustments and adaptations occurring in the dining industry since the recession hit.

Restaurant editor Chris Sherman writes, “No question that the market in Florida cannot afford as many $100 dinners and gilt-edged settings as it did in the boom times.”

He goes on to praise those restaurants that have found a way to continue serving quality food, whether to a market of working-class diners eating out on a budget, or the rich and famous who can still afford to eat out nightly and indulge in entrees upward of $20 a plate.

Eating at the Great Outdoors can go both ways. Order a $4 hamburger on half-price burger Monday nights, or the 20-ounce bone-in Porterhouse; the most expensive item on the menu at $26. Either way, it’s the same historic ambience of original brick walls and windows in the dining room and intimately lit aura on the patio. It’s the same full table service and the same quality standards for all the ingredients and preparation.

Doherty credits that versatility and reliability with the restaurant’s continued success.

What makes it stand out, she said, is “We offer the perfect guest experience.”

Everyone, no matter what they order, she said, is treated like family.

According to Doherty, while many restaurants think frozen and pre-made equals cheaper and fresh is unaffordable these days, that’s not true.

As America tightened its belt, eateries have gone under left and right. Now in its third year, the Great Outdoors hasn’t so much as felt a strain. Without sacrificing ingredients or labor— which adds up quickly in a kitchen where every sauce, dressing and dessert is made from scratch, the restaurant is thriving.

Doherty said the numbers from Dec. 2010 were up 32 percent from Dec. 2009, and the entire year was up 24 percent.

It’s undeniable that whatever the Great Outdoors is doing, it works.

Doherty made it clear they don’t believe in, as she put it, “freezer to fryer” cooking.

“The bottom line is the guest knows the difference.”

Look at other places in the area as proof, she said. Beef O’ Brady’s in Alachua just closed, and what was once Floyd’s Diner in High Springs, where Doherty had worked and been part-owner, has changed hands twice since doing away with the original menu, which she said, was more fresh, less frozen.

The Golden Spoon was “a dream come true” for her. But she stressed that it’s a reflection of the entire restaurant and staff, not just management.

On New Year’s Eve, as the Great Outdoors was gearing up for what everyone knew would be a long, busy night, Doherty gathered her 20 servers for an “up front,” a meeting at the beginning of a shift to go over daily specials and reminders.

She told them, “I’ve set the reservation book, and the kitchen has set the menu. Now I’m turning the whole night over to you.”

When a busy dinner service runs smoothly, it’s magic. Nothing less than perfect leaves the kitchen, no guest is left feeling unattended and at the end of the night all the strain and pressure of getting it right is worth it. And when the next day runs smoothly, and the day after that, guests leave happy knowing they’ll return, and that’s when it’s golden.