McCall’s Tavern is located in The Villages in Central Florida. We visited on a Monday at lunchtime.
There was Karaoke at the time and the crowd was entirely “retired” I am also retired but seeing someone sing Karaoke while steadying themselves on a walker. It was a well-appointed clean restaurant and definitely an upgrade from some of the dives we have visited.
We ordered a B.O.W. and a Caesar chicken salad. I “grilled” our server ( who did a great job especially since she was also the bartender, busser, and the only person in the front of the house.) about what was included with the sandwich and how the meat was cooked. She answered my questions and offered to provide a pickle since it did not come with it. She then went to the kitchen to put in our order to the cook.
About 40 minutes later, our food arrived. Only about 20 people were in the room, and nearly all of them had food already. The BOW was served with fries and was presented on a plate so small the fries spilled with any movement of the sandwich.
There was horseradish, ketchup, and 3 slices of a strangely flavored pickle. Our server said she had to cut up the pickles herself.
The Beef: I asked for medium rare and
received medium well. The beef appears to be presliced deli beef. It was tender and had flavor. Score 2 points
The Bun:
After visiting some BOW places that used boulder-size salt, McCall’s used basically table salt. The fine grind of the salt made the roll taste VERY salty. The retention of the toppings was good. The roll was dry with no discernable dipping in Au Jus. It looked much better than it tasted. Score 2 points
The Au Jus:
I had to ask for Au Jus and was brought a tiny cup (by my standards – good au jus should be served in soup bowls), but it had great flavor! Not only did they use pan drippings (maybe), but there were small pieces of beef in the Au Jus Score 1/2 point 1 point for the Au Jus – 1/2 point for me having to ask for it.
The Horseradish:
The horseradish was quite mild. I prefer that the horseradish make itself known immediately to my sinuses. Sadly, while the color was good, it was very mild and I used the entire container on half a sandwich. Score 1 point
The Pickle:
A pickle is not included in McCall’s offering. Our server made a valiant attempt to provide a pickle but, at the end of the meal, three slices of the world’s weirdest flavor pickle just don’t get it. Score 0 points
OVERALL: The fries were mediocre and tasted like they were old. There are much better (and a few worse) sandwiches in Central Florida. If you visit the Villages, you may go, but we will not return. All of the patrons ( including us) were elderly, and I suspect that some of the food choices were based on that demographic. Total Score: 5 1/2 points
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