The Florida Dine and Dash: Great Food Coming From a School Bus

Sometimes, you can stumble upon a place that seems old-school, looks old-school, is located in an old-school location, but the institute is actually quite new. Old School Coffee Stop is a place self-aware of its behavior and style, but nonetheless delivers some of the best food in the area. The oddities of this place are what drew me into trying it out. Located in the classic small town of Christmas, Old School Coffee Stop can be found next to a small theme park that runs like a zoo (Animal Kingdom-style). The family running the place (driving the bus actually makes more sense here) has been doing it for a mere 4 years, but its uniqueness and its ability to deliver excellent food to multiple locations within the state will be sure to keep the franchise running for years to come. Besides, where else can you find a restaurant that cooks all (I mean all) their meat in different types of alcohol?

Let’s put down all the uniqueness in a couple of paragraphs, shall we? The kitchen is a school bus, a movable school bus. It is both a good thing for them, but a bad thing for those looking for the place. We passed by the theme park (and very small sign saying “Old School Coffee Stop” ) and noticed a variety of chairs and tables, but the signature school bus was nowhere to be found. A few miles later, we take a U-turn and practically guessed where the school bus was going to arrive (we were right, by the way). What complicates the scenario is that while they claim they run on set hours, the hours isn’t always guaranteed. The easy solution to this is to call before heading out over there, because you never know. Me and my cameramen arrived at the place around noon, when they weren’t ready to serve lunch until a little after one. Luckily for all of us, there was a lake full of friendly gators roaming around separated by a fence.

Like I said before, there is a small park full of animals located right next to the institution. While the park isn’t well-known outside the general area, they do have the largest gator in the entire planet. That’s an accomplishment right there. All their meats are cooked in a variety of alcohols, but set at over 170 degrees in case you are driving. The menu itself is a mix of Floridian and your typical restaurant chain: they do cook gators but also have pasta, BBQs, an assortment of salads, smoothies, and even breakfast. The last major oddity is a very nice one in their part: they do not price anything. This place gives us a range of prices on ach of the items and depending on your financial situation (or how much you can shell out) you pick how much you are going to pay. Any restaurant that can twist and turn its prices like that deserves plenty of praise.

The cast running the place is very friendly, not an ounce of hostility can be observed amongst the four cooking, cleaning, organizing, and maintaining it. We started with a round of cream sodas (underrated drink if you ask me) and ordered our meal. We started with our very first helping of gator. Appletini Gator Bites consist of gator tail marinated in vodka, lime juice and mango seasoning. This dish is breaded in butter and served with a mango sauce. The result is absolutely delicious, with the texture resembling that loosely of chicken, but the taste being something totally different. It tastes different, but it was very good, and the mango sauce helped it for sure.

While waiting on the main courses, we were offered free samples of baby back ribs and swamp juice. I didn’t get a chance to try the ribs, but my cameramen (Michael and Josh) definitely liked them, as the meat separates itself from the bone quite easily. The swamp juice was very good too, has a Sprite-like kick to it. The juice is actually an assortment of different sodas combined together. While we waited on the food, Matthew, one of the four owners of the place, was cooking and talked to us, engaging in a variety of fun conversations. Clearly they take their time cooking the food, no hurries in rural Florida.

My dish was The Club. By the way, the Mixed Grills portion of the menu consists of meats mixed in with an assortment of food and can be served in a tortilla bowl, or as a wrap. My Club was in a bowl, and was a mix of turkey cooked in rum and coke---served with potatoes, ranch sauce, cheese, bacon, and butter. While I am not usually a fan of meshing foods together into a bowl (KFC’s food bowl was a disgusting disaster), the end result here was spectacular. They give you plenty of turkey, and the other ingredients enhanced the taste. While I forgot to ask to remove the tomatoes, it wasn’t too much of an issue because some of the best bacon ever was contained in my bowl. The chives, cheese, and potatoes were also great.

Josh ordered the philly cheesesteak-like bowl, which was a blend of steak cooked in rum with a variety of other flavors. Michael orders the top sirloin bowl, which resembled mine, except different meat. Let’s just say all three of us were in heaven, as we had our food and alcohol all in one. Best part is: no hangover intact. Just a full stomach. The three bowls looked great, tasted great, and the atmosphere was very friendly---even when the weather was at its ugliest.

Yes, another free sample. We were given gator pudding, which was something Josh and Michael definitely did not want to sample. Given that I’ve already tried gator, I decided to give a gator-infused dessert a shot. The end result was fantastic and extremely sweet. The others, being surprised at my reaction, gave it a try. After a little more torture, the owners revealed that gator pudding was nothing other than sweet bread pudding. Gator or not, it was good. We order a cinnamon roll, which was also sweet, and paid our bill. We waited a bit, but the service, food, and total experience was well worth it. I’ve uncovered yet another hidden treasure.

Bottom Line: This extremely unique place was very satisfying, very fun, and very tasty. No food stood out, but all the foods throughout our lunch was very good. The staff was amazing and also very good cooks, as they prepare their food in a unique yet successful way. I can truly classify myself a Floridian now, knowing that there is a gator’s tail in my stomach. Fantastic all-around experience, I highly, strongly recommend. Just be sure to call first.

Thanks Lonnie, Julie, Matthew, and Katie.

Open: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Hours: Look at Picture Below