There are  orange groves in central Florida, located in Lange Sun Country Groves on Highway 17 and Highway 92 between Haines City and Lake Alfred, and the classically-simple-home-spun restaurant is located right beside the orange groves. The front door is your passport to a delightful experience in dining and “indoor sunshine, as warm-fuzzy experiences.”   The unique gift shop is going to take some time, so allow more than just “eating time.”  There is a wonderfully varied selection from handbags to various canned and bottled food products to choose.  Most of the items are far more reasonably priced than the other “tourist stops” I visited in central Florida. Joe Lang, founder is pictured to the left.

Now, the main part!  Food!  Delicious, food.  The menu will vary some, but the sandwiches you can pick from include:  Tuna Croissant (homemade tuna salad), Florida Club, Cordon Blue, Hawaii Croissant (honey baked ham complimented with pineapple), and Classic Roast Beef.

Soups:  Clam Chowder, Cracker Cowboy Chili (a prize winning of quality ground chuck  seasoned just right!).  The “soup of the day.”

Sides:  Sweet Potato Salad, Citrus Cup, House Salad, Grapefruit Slaw

Wraps:  Turkey Bacon Wrap, Tuna  Salad  Wrap, Cordon Blue Wrap, Barbecue Wrap (How you respond to this is depending on what part of the country you are from – chicken breast strips, pineapples, barbecue sauce, etc).

Salads:

Spring Salad (includes strawberries, pecans, turkey, citrus dressing), Tuna Salad, Chicken Salad, Farm Salad (grilled chicken, etc), Taco Bowl Salad (Fritos covered with chili, salsa, etc.).

Miscellaneous:  Hot Dogs (One quarter pound – approximately – Black Angus Beef), Grapefruit, Slaw Dog, Chili Dog (Black Angus Beef Winnie).

There is a splendid  selection of Desserts

Strawberry Shortcake on cake or biscuit, Grapefruit Pie for which they are famous, and even the “no grapefruit people” go back for seconds!

Key Lime Pie, Pina Colada Pie (2005 American Pie Championship winner). 

There is a wonderful choice of shakes, smoothies, ice cream. 

This outstandingl place came about when Joe and Mary Lang opened the roadside stand to sell citrus from their groves.  Their daughter Carolyn and husband Lynn Miller joined the family business in 1969.  The business grew as a gift fruit packing house and in 1985, Carolyn and Lynn’s lovely daughter Debbie joined the business and started up a fully equipped gift shop. 

Debbie is worth coming to  Taste of Florida just to be around!  Beauty, energy, charismatic personality, and Florida sunshine all flow from her like the juice from the fresh picked Florida oranges.  She brought the recipes from the family to the tables  that generations continue to drive far and wide to eat!  Or, is it just to be around her and see that beautiful smile and feel the flow of energy?  As she asumes direction of the business this year, I am sure the "grand quality" will continue.

Taste of Florida

Serving Monday – Saturday

10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Ph.  863 956 1351

Location:  5900 Hwy. 17 and Hwy. 92

Between Lake Alfred and Haines City

For a copy of their famous recipes (including the very, very, famous Grapefruit Pie).

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Happy Traveling.