I’ve been anticipating my visit to the Mill since the 15th of August- opening day.  I drove by the new location that day and they were putting the finishing touches on the place, I hadn’t been back since.  I resorted to stalking their menu until I could find the time to go.   This past Friday night that time finally came and I had successfully convinced my husband to go.  Best Decision Ever!! and he’ll vouch for that.
The Mill has this cool vibe to it.  The lighting is dim and gives the illusion of an industrial place – like a Mill but also has a romantic vibe.  It’s the perfect place for either date night or family night.  The menu is broken up in first, second and third plates each offering generous portions.  Everything was beyond amazing and totally worth the trip.  In hindsight, it was probably better that I didn’t go on opening day because we were able to sit and enjoy our time.  I was even able to get my little foodie to try everything we ate and expand her palate.  Here is a breakdown of all the yummy goodness we had.

Cheese & Charcuterie

This cheese and charcuterie gives you so many options to choose from. You can choose from a choice of three, five or seven house made charcuterie and cheeses.  It comes with the standard accoutrements of Mostrada, Honeycomb, Seasonal Marmalade, Carmalized Garlic, Porter Mustard, and Bitter Chocolate.  Now fasten your seatbelt because here is where things get exciting.  The Mill Charcuterie is all made in house and will send your taste buds on a roller coaster ride.

Duck Bacon * Espresso Venison Pastrami * Foie Gras Torchon * Mill Pork Rinds

Lamb Belly Bacon * Octopus Bacon * Exotic Mushroom Terrine

Canadian Gator Bacon * Smoked Salmon * Confit Oysters

We selected the option of 5 which included Canadian Gator Bacon, Duck Bacon and the Foie Gras Torchon for our Charcuterie and it was paired with Brie and Gouda cheese.   I had enjoyed a cheese tasting once before and I throughout enjoyed it.  This however was something I will never forget, it was a life changing experience.  This dish was meant to play on all of your taste buds: Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Sour and Savory.  First of all, I’ve never had honey comb before and if you haven’t it is a must!  The honeycomb itself was almost waxy but in a delicate way.  The honey was soft and sweet almost velvety when you bit it.  The chocolate was great and although it was a bitter chocolate it didn’t taste bitter at all.  The caramelized garlic was delicious, I didn’t care if my breath was about to stink because I was going all the way in (it didn’t smell garlicky after all).  The brie was smooth and I kept spreading it on the toast over and over and just eating it.  Lastly, the marmalade was so freaking yummy, I ate it by itself lol.
Now the Main Event, the Star of the Show, the Talk of the Town – The Charcuterie.  Say it with me,  Bay- Bee (in your most southern voice)!  The Canadian Gator Bacon was tender, salty, smoky.. it was everything.  My daughter enjoyed it so much that we just let her have at it.  It’s always nice when kids try something new so I wanted to feed her enthusiasm about it.  The duck bacon was amazing, but then again when is anything duck not amazing.  We split the slices of duck amongst us until we could no longer cut slivers.  Lastly the foie gras, this was at the bottom of the list for both my husband and my daughter but I enjoyed it.  I paired it with some of the porter mustard and had at it.  If you’ve made it this far without drooling on yourself congratulations.  My jaws are getting that tingling feeling just from writing this and I’m getting the itch to go again.

Watermelon Bruschetta

The name of this should really be mouth watering melon bruschetta. I don’t even know where to start so I guess I’ll tell you what’s on it.  Layered atop a rustic loaf is watermelon, tomato, European cucumber, whipped feta, and smoked pistachio brittle with Añejo agave syrup drizzled on top. All I can say is good googly moogly that thang is good.  Everything about that bruschetta works in unison. The cucumber, watermelon and tomato remind me of summer day. The pistachio brittle adds texture and was an unexpected surprise. When you visit even if you get another first course,  you have to add this.

Sweet Potato Soup

I believe that the best way to welcome fall is with soup.  Even though Florida doesn’t really have a true fall season, it’s still  nice to enjoy a bowl of soup during the fall months.  Soup not only warms the body, it also warms the soul.   The right soup can bring back many memories.   This sweet potato soup is one of a kind. I’ve had tons of tomato soup, butternut squash soup and lobster bisques.  This soup was like thanksgiving in a bowl. It had the perfect amount of sweetness and was balanced perfectly with the pecans.  They truly captured the essence of a sweet potato pie in a soup.  It was the soup of the day so if you catch it on the menu ORDER IT. I promise you won’t be sorry.

Sorghum Braised Pork Cheek

From the second plate we ordered the Sorghum Braised Pork Cheek.  It was served in a cast iron skilled on a bed of sweet corn casserole then topped with spiced apple cider slaw, natural jus and crispy smoked onion.  The pork cheek was so tender you could tell that it has been roasting away for hours in the natural jus.  We were so full at this point I only took a few bites then packed it up to bring home.  The next day I reheated it and man oh man it was just as amazing as the night before.  You know something magical has been created when you can reheat it and it tastes just the same or better.  The sweetness from the corn casserole was balanced out by the jus and the pork cheek.  The apple cider slaw added just enough acidity to give it a nice crunchy bite.  The second bite is enough for two people to share as a large appetizer or one person to eat as a main entree.  I truly believe this entree recipe was dreamt up in a southern chef’s kitchen because everything about this says southern comfort.

I’m looking forward to going back and trying the third plates and trying either the seared  diver scallops, honey seared tuna or the lamb shank pot pie.  So many delicious options to choose from but after experiencing the first two plates I’d expect nothing less.  If the Mill isn’t on your list of restaurants to visit, it should be.  I see the word regular next to customer and my name in the near future.