Kelly’s Roast Beef
Two of my favorite places to visit are Kelly's Roast Beef and Florida. And the food and fun gods have answered my prayers because Kelly's Roast Beef is now in Sarasota, Florida. Kelly's cares so much about the quality that they're shipping everything down here. I mean, the clams, the lobster, the beef, the buns. They also found a GM from the Saugus and Lynn area named Jeff Doward. He knows all about the Kelly's experience. So they brought him down here to make sure it's perfectly spot on.
"I've been in the restaurant business for 30 plus years. Started off at the Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus…. I've come down here and heading up the Kelly's brand and our growth in Florida. The New Englanders and the Bostonians absolutely love us. nd you can't get New England seafood like we're delivering or roast beef. There's nothing like it here. And so people are just very, very excited to have us here."
The layout is different here in Florida. As you can see, it's a big open kitchen and you can see them slicing the roast beef. To me that’s like dinner theater. But you still order at the counter and they give you your number and then the food comes out on the famous Kelly's tray.
Kelly's claim to fame is the roast beef sandwich which they invented 70 years ago. Of course it starts with the beef, it is thinly sliced, medium rare and it always comes out hot, juicy and perfect. You have to order it large and three way three way means that comes with James River barbecue sauce, a famous barbecue sauce that is delicious. A slice of American cheese and a little bit of mayonnaise.
"We take a slow roasted top round, roast it overnight till it's perfect, medium rare. It's supposed to be messy. You can't get that anyplace else down here. There's nothing like it. 10 out of 10."
And the roll, the roll is key. It's a sesame seed bun. Kelly's takes the roll and butters it and then grills it on the flattop. So inside of the roll is squishy, outside is all crispy. So you take all these textures and temperatures and flavors, put them all in your mouth at one time with a big bite and bang. The flavor just takes off like a fat Revere Seagull flying to Florida for the winter.
The fried clams are brought in fresh from the cold waters of Ipswich. And people in Florida have never had anything like this. These are whole belly clams. They're gigantic. They're fried and battered just right. So you can really taste that clam flavor. I mean, it's like they're right out of the ocean…
You also can get a fried seafood platter. This one has a combination of scallops and shrimp served over a bed of fries or onion rings or I like to get the combination of fries and onion rings. It's a massive platter of food with so much flavor.
I need to talk about these onion rings because nobody makes onion rings like this anymore. They everyday hand cut the onions, hand-batter them, lightly fry them so you can really taste that onion flavor. Then they add some salt and some pepper and some garlic resulting in maybe the best onion ring I have had this year.
If you want handheld seafood, they do have a fish sandwich. But I recommend the lobster roll, one of the most popular items here at Kelly's. As you can see this thing is absolutely jammed with lobster.
"It's a Maine lobster again comes in twice a week. We are tossing it to order. It's a touch of celery and some lemon aioli."
The hot dog bun is grilled so when you bite into this thing, you're getting the cold lobster and the warm roll. It really just explodes in your mouth with that flavor of the ocean that they're so famous for.
This may be beef blasphemy but my favorite item here at Kelly's is the double cheeseburger with chopped onions and I said chopped onions. That's how I asked for it because when they chop it up that means you get a little bit of onion and every bite…. two big beef patties, two slices of cheese… It's definitely something you want to try.
In breaking food news, there are two massive additions to the Kelly's here in Sarasota, Florida. First of all, beer and wine, which is great. I don't have to red Solo Cup anymore like I do on Revere Beach. Second, soft serve ice cream, a perfect end to a meal at Kelly's. Now you can get a cone. My problem with a cone is you're fighting the Florida heat, it could melt before you finish your ice cream. So I prefer the frappe, comes in vanilla, strawberry or chocolate. It's very thick with milk and ice cream. You got to work to get through the straw, but it's worth it.
Kelly's has a drive thru window and they are on Uber Eats but the vast majority of the people eat inside the dining room. I think that's because they're just really craving the full Kelly's experience down here in the Sunshine State.
"Here you're gonna get high quality fresh product every single time and a product that you just can't get anyplace else in the state of Florida. I mean that roast beef sandwich, the fresh seafood…. unlike anything else that I found in the state of Florida thus far."
So tell your family and friends that Kelly's roast beef is now in Sarasota Florida and there are a lot more Florida locations on the way. They should hire a guy dressed up like Paul Revere to go up and down the coast of Florida yelling ‘The roast beef is coming! The roast beef is coming!’ Kelly's Roast Beef, one of my all time favorite places.
