And So it Begins…Dan I Cook Agents Are Ready To Mobilize!
We had our first Agent meeting in the lovely private room at Runyons called the Library. We had a great time and it was anything but quiet as I went around the room and had each agent introduce themselves. LOL. I had each of them state their favorite food/drink and what they did for a living. Such a diverse group of people! Teachers, a nurse, chefs, home cooks, cops, firefighter, brewmaster, medical administrator, Taste of Coral Springs President, social worker, sercurity firm employee, and call center owner. There was one common theme…we all love great food! Also, the majority of us love to cook. What was crazy is this was only half of my agents. Many couldn’t attend because of the holidays or they were working. Overall, I’m at approximately 50 agents!
The Meeting
I discussed how their missions would be carried out as my agents. They would be activated 4 times a year for my Best of Series in Coral Springs and will be dispatched to three locations to sample the Best Of item. They will receive, via email, a grading sheet for each location and, after visiting all three locations, they will email me back their favorite and why. They will have two weeks to complete the mission. Whatever location wins the majority of most-liked item by my agents will be named the winner. A plaque will be given to the winning business and I will invite my agents to attend the plaque presentation, too. Pretty simple.
How Will I Find The Top Three?
I have stated this numerous times….I don’t believe in polls. They are popularity contests. I remember when I did a Best Of Wings in Coral Springs and one of the businesses was sending out flyers that said “Vote for us!” on this webpage…. blah blah blah. Well it worked and they were in the top three. I give that business a lot of credit because they wanted to win.
My nomination style will be different because if you are going to nominate a place I want to know why it’s great…not good but great. I won’t accept any nominations if an explanation is NOT given as to why it’s the best. Once I have the nominees, I will present them to my agents and the list will be narrowed down to three joints. I will have final say and approval on the top three.
How Do You Nominate a Place?
Well it starts now! You nominate thru my webpage, www.danicookeatdrink.com, my Facebook Page and Jeff Rosen’s Coral Springs Foodie Facebook Page. I’ll run the nominations for about a week. Starting today my first Dan I Cook Best Of using my agents will be Best Dessert in Coral Springs. I want y’all to tell me who has the best dessert in Coral Springs and why?
About Desserts…
How many folks order desserts these days? I would answer that by saying it depends on your age and how much money you have to spend. When you are young you can eat almost anything and not gain weight. When you are young having a sweet delicious treat after your meal was a no brainer. Now that I’m older I try and watch what I eat and how much. Getting dessert is a rare event for me. The money aspect is simple. In the restaurant world desserts pad the check. For you non-restaurant people, that means your check will be higher which in turn should make your tip higher. An outstanding restaurant server will always push alcoholic drinks and desserts to pad your check, the lazy ones won’t.
Now, I look at desserts as a guilty pleasure. There is nothing sexier than sharing a damn great dessert with someone you love. Better yet, on a hot day having a great Sundae with all the trimmings is heaven. Lots of our love for desserts stems from our childhood, just like all food we love.
The grading for the judges will be simple, 1-5 points for presentation and 1-5 points for taste. Ten points is the highest score. If all three places receive 10 points the agent will pick their favorite and explain why.
Let’s see it folks, who has the best dessert…not desserts… but DESSERT in Coral Springs?
Stay Hungry!
All photographs by Nickolette Mottola Photography.
Updated list for Best Of Desserts in Coral Springs FL. and here it is:
Carrabba’s Chocolate Dream
Millers Ale House’s Capt Jacks Buried Treasure
Tavolino Della Nonna’s Signature Cookies
Cherry Smash’s Cherry Smash Sundae
Runyon’s Chocolate Basket
Pasquales Zeppoles
Too Jays Killer Chocolate Cake with ice cream
Pizza Time’s Cannoli
Big Mikes Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes
Runyon’s Apple Crumble with vanilla ice cream
Nick’s New Haven Pizza flourless chocolate cake
Sicilian Oven’s Chocolate Torte
Big Bear Brewery’s Lava cake
Too Jays Banana Dream Cake
Melting Pot’s Chocolate Fondue
Big Bear Brewery Key Lime Pie
Just be clear, there are many people that I’m friends or acquaintances with that follow me who work or own restaurants in Coral Springs. Some restaurants who I’m familiar with have been nominated and some haven’t. If you don’t have a great dessert thank you for not nominating the place you own or work at for this contest. I only want the best! BUT if you have an outstanding dessert and you don’t nominate it I don’t want to hear any crying how this wasn’t a fair contest. There is no guarantees you will make the top three but at least you are in the conversation. There is about 3 days left to nominate a dessert and a business.