As many of you know, I just came back from Florida on vacation with my family. Of course you can look forward to lots of restaurant reviews because if there’s anything that Delps know how to do well–we know how to find good food! So today, I present you with the first of such blogs. . .a tale of our adventure to the Parkesdale Farm Market to sample their world famous strawberry shortcake.
Plant City (also home of the Florida Strawberry Festival) is about 45 minutes away from Orlando. That’s right folks! My in-laws were so convinced that this was the best strawberry shortcake in the world, that they were willing to drive a whole 45 minutes with 5 little kids in tow. . .just to obtain a bowl of the scrumptious treat.
After our 45 minute drive we pull into a small dirt parking lot and wait. . .in a line. Actually, we were told that the line was really short today and indeed we only waited about 15 minutes. These people have assembling strawberry shortcake down to a science and there is an assembly line of workers scooping strawberries, slopping ice cream, and topping with whipped cream.
Shortcake, in this case is a misnomer and they could legitimately call their concoction a strawberry tower cake instead. They top pound cake with sweetened strawberries, ice cream (if you want it), and whipped cream. The results? A stack at least 8 inches tall of sloppy strawberry shortcake goodness.
So was it worth the 45 minute drive? I have to admit that I’m on the fence about this one. The shortcake, I don’t think was homemade. This might not bother some people but I think shortcake tastes better when it’s from scratch. Secondly, the ice cream wasn’t homemade either but rather it was the soft serve kind that you could get anywhere. I realize some might say I’m being nit picky but again, the whipped cream was the plain old Reddi Whip you can buy in the grocery store.
So why exactly is it world famous with lines of people waiting for one dessert? It’s those strawberries. Never in my life have I tasted better, juicier strawberries. It was in fact, a really good dessert–despite the pre-made ingredients. Definitely worth the trip, however, I can’t help but feel that those strawberries deserve to be surrounded in lush homemade goodness!