The Story
Blair Hensley and his brother, Ethan, are actual “Original Floridians.”
Born and raised in Brooksville, the brothers now run 10 restaurants under the Florida Cracker label, spread across their home state. The newest, The Original Floridian Bar & Grill, might be the most Floridian yet — and it is easily the most Pasco County-themed.
The quaint restaurant, in St. Joe just outside Dade City, is hung with dozens of original signs from the town — longtime businesses, farms and other companies — that Blair Hensley went out of his way to track down. Many were donated. He wanted to embrace the town’s history, which is why each of the 10 locations has not only a different menu but a different concept.
“We’re always going to embrace Florida and being from Florida,” Blair Hensley said. “We’re always going to go local (with products and ingredients), and then we’re going to have the best happy hour in town — and since everyone knows everyone here (in St. Joe), we’ll be like ‘Cheers’ on steroids.”
Walking in feels like stepping into a time capsule, with all that history on the walls, including a mounted buck the restaurant bills as the biggest ever taken here. And as customers saunter in off Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, everyone really does seem to know their name.
Including the local legends the road is named for.
“Yeah,” Blair Hensley said coyly, “they’ve been in and they loved it.”
He is staying true to his word. The bar pours local liquors and brews, the kitchen sources its gator tail from Lacoochee, and there is even Dade City’s own Lanky Lassie’s Shortbread.
He said St. Joe and Dade City have changed a lot over the years, but Old Florida has not disappeared.
“It’s in the middle of nowhere, but in the center of everything,” Hensley said. “Old Florida isn’t dying. They’re still here and they still love it. The people, who all know each other, still love it.”
The short of it
Original Floridian serves gator tail, pizza, wings and catfish, but Blair Hensley is proudest of the Barthle Burgers. Every section of the menu takes its name from a Pasco County family or landmark, and the burgers’ claim to fame is short rib meat — and does that ever make a difference, especially on the Bellamy Brothers Double Cheeseburger. See what they did there?
The fresh-caught local catfish — Abraham’s, by name — is fried to perfection and makes the ideal basket. And it is hard to beat a good chicken sandwich: Take your pick of Wilton’s Chargrilled or Oakley’s Fried.
They just couldn’t keep Florida — and Pasco County — off this menu.
Pro tip
Two things can’t be passed up: the fried okra from the Lake Iona appetizers section and the fresh-baked cookies. Both can be ordered as sides. And under the Blommell dessert menu — named for the longtime St. Joe family — there is key lime pie, in case cookies aren’t Florida enough for you.
Final verdict
The Original Floridian Bar & Grill is the next best thing to stepping back into old Pasco County, with true Florida country dishes and drinks. Longtime residents will welcome the nostalgia, and everyone else will get a meal that shows just what it means to be an “Original Floridian.”
The Original Floridian Bar & Grill, 31936 St. Joe Road, Dade City, opens at 11 a.m. daily except Monday. For the full menu, visit flacracker.com/originalfloridian.
