Eat Like a Local 2024 by HAVEN & LKLD Magazines

EAT LIKE A LOCAL

Locals know all the best spots to wine and dine. Don’t you want to know too? Eat Like a Local is an annual dining guide chockfull of the best food around Polk County. Whether you’re looking for a pub with great grub, a crave-worthy cheeseburger, or a restaurant with culinary delights – we’ve got you covered. Welcome to our community, newcomers and visitors. Locals, check us out for your new favorite spot. Flip through our one-of-a-kind dining guide and Eat Like a Local!

Honeycomb Bread Bakers

Honeycomb Bread Bakers’ Benjamin Vickers, has turned one loaf into many. Starting with one loaf of bread at Concord Coffee in Lakeland, Vickers turned his baking passion into a recognizable honeybee brand providing a local source for handcrafted breads and pastries.

Vickers, a man driven by his passion for baking, attended the Culinary Institute of America in upstate New York. “It was a whirlwind starting out, but I haven’t looked back since,” he said. Vickers did his externship at Manhattan bakery, Dominique Ansel. He was even part of the team that brought into being the famous croissant, donut hybrid – the cronut. From there, he worked in several fine-dining restaurants and resorts including Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, baking and composing desserts.

Vickers started his cottage food business making bread, Honeycomb Bread Bakers, in February 2018, though Honeycomb’s official birthday is October of that year. He joined Catapult Lakeland, a coworking space for entrepreneurs, and began selling at the Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curb Market a month later. He eventually opened a space in downtown Lakeland for a short time before debuting at the Winter Haven Farmers Market in January 2020.

• TAKIN ’ CARE OF BURGERS • WINTERHAVEN

& DAVENPORT

In 2021, Vickers secured a building for his bakery in Winter Haven. The Ave. B building, roughly 1600 square feet, including additions to the structure, was a gas station in the 1960s and, more recently, an auto glass repair shop.

Honeycomb has been Winter Haven’s go-to breakfast, bread, pastry, and coffee shop for the last three years. Guests can enjoy a cup of Ethos Coffee Roasters coffee, brewed locally in Lakeland.

“That’s one of the things that I’m trying to cultivate – a brand, on one hand, that is really accessible because bread should be humble; it shouldn’t be too expensive or unattainable. It should be easy to find and delicious and nutritious and fill your belly,” said Vickers. Bread should also come from a brand you trust and believe in. “When people see the little gold bee, it should have a resonance or a meaning.”

Honeycomb Bread Bakers

140 6th St SW, Winter Haven (863) 662-5513

FB: Honeycomb Bread Bakers IG @honeycombbread honeycombbread.com

Tues-Thur: 12 pm - 8:30 pm, Fri-Sat: 12 pm - 9 pm 833.633.4745 | 6035 Cypress Gardens Blvd, Winter Haven mediterraneanfreshgrill.com

VOTED THE BEST!

If you’re going to Eat Like a Local, you need to know who the locals think are the best. Here are just a few winners and runners up from the 2023 Best of Haven and Best of LKLD voters choice awards. Each year thousands of votes are cast by local residents for the best restaurants, artists, makers, and businesses in various categories. There are no nominations, no ballot stuffing, just write-in votes. Let’s dig in to the BEST Polk County has to offer!

BEST PIZZA (HAVEN)

BISTRO PIZZA

326 W Central Ave, Winter Haven (863) 875-4894 FB @bistropizza326 arabellas.us/bistro-pizza

Not to be cheesy, but Bistro is the best! Nestled next to Ave Bar, this Winter Haven pizzeria serves up hand-tossed, brick oven pizzas made with fresh ingredients. Create your own, or keep it classic. Bistro offers varieties, including the Pizza Italia, made with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic, and the Pizza Rustica, with mozzarella and ricotta cheese, ham, bacon, garlic, and olive oil. Pair your pizza with a calzone, stromboli, antipasti, baked pasta, oven-baked sub, or salad. Cheers with a glass of pinot from their full wine list or a cocktail from the bar. And don’t forget to ask your server about the “Pizza of the Day.”

2nd: J. Burns’ Pizza Shop

3rd: Pizza Connection

Editor’s Pick: Calogero’s Pizzeria

BEST PIZZA (LKLD)

PALACE PIZZA DOWNTOWN

114 S Kentucky Ave, Lakeland (863) 688-0045

FB @palacepizzadowntown IG @palacepizzadtwn palacepizzadowntown.com

This pizza shop reigns supreme! Palace Pizza Downtown is royalty in the Best Pizza category year after year. They bring over 25 years of experience to the table, along with fresh dough, quality tomatoes, and 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese. The Palace Pizza fam follows traditional recipes to give guests authentic Italian flavor. You can get pizza by the slice or pan with options like Neapolitan, Sicilian, and supreme. Or, build your own! (They even have gluten-free pizza.)

2nd: J. Burns’ Pizza Shop

3rd: Jet’s Pizza

BEST BURGERS (HAVEN)

ADLER’S

543 Ave B SW, Winter Haven (863) 875-6615 113 Ambersweet Way, Davenport (863) 438-4324

FB @Adlers.TCB IG @adlerstcb adlersburgers.com

If you already know ‘em, you love ‘em. These burger baddies just can’t be stopped! They’ve been takin’ care of burgers at their Avenue B, Winter Haven location for two years, where they serve up the best smash patties around. Voters love their menu lined with mouthwatering options like the Classic with LTOP, American cheese, mayo, ketchup, and mustard on an artisan bun. Others on Adler’s badass burger roster include the Italian, Bad Hombre, Twitty, Bourbon BBQ, and limited specials (if you follow their socials). Order it with hand-cut fries or jalapeno firecrackers and a craft soda from the fountain or beer on tap. Tell them Haven sent you!

2nd: Andy’s Igloo 3rd: Five Guys

BEST BURGER (LKLD) BURGER 21

1601 Town Center Dr, Lakeland (863) 937-8002

FB @b21lakeland IG @myburger21 burger21.com/locations/lakeland

These guys are bun in a million, according to Best Of LKLD voters! Now lettuce tell you why. Burger 21 chefs hand-cut and hand-patty each burger in the kitchen for every order. Their juicy Angus beef is a fan favorite, with plenty of other options, like chicken and veggie burgers (which are free of hormones and antibiotics). Polish your burger off with a shake and fries! “Our goal is to create a neighborhood spot where friends, families, and coworkers can come together and eat delicious quality burgers. With more than 21 burger varieties featuring chicken, seafood, veggie, and beef, a Burger 21 burger is like nothing you’ve ever tasted.”

2nd: The Chop Shop 3rd: Ford’s Garage

BEST BAKERY (HAVEN)

HONEYCOMB BREAD BAKERS

140 6th St SW, Winter Haven (863) 662-5513

FB @honeycombbread IG @honeycombbread honeycombbread.com

Honeycomb won again?! You bread-er believe it. We hear they buttered up the voters. Benjamin Vickers “first lit the hearth” in February 2018 and opened his Winter Haven storefront two years ago (I remember it like it was yeast-erday) in a renovated 1960s gas station. Honeycomb has become a choice breakfast and lunch destination offering a selection of coffee and tea and sought-after sustenance like truffle fries, baked brie and apple butter, bagels and schmear, salads, and sandwiches on their freshly baked bread. Grab a loaf of sourdough to go!

2nd: Gourmet Goodies Bake Shop

3rd: Publix Bakery

BEST BAKERY (LKLD) BORN & BREAD BAKEHOUSE

1113 Florida Ave S, Lakeland (863) 450-4513

FB @bornandbreadbakehouse IG @bornandbreadfl bornandbreadbakehouse.com

“Each day, our lifework is to make the highest quality product, to maintain excellence, to serve our community with our hands and our hearts and to work as a team with love and empathy. Together we will create, learn, and travel through life. We were made for greatness,” says Born & Bread Bakehouse. Each week, resident baking badass, owner Jenn Smurr and her team make fresh bread, cookies, pastries, breakfast sammies, and other handcrafted treats that the community craves. Born & Bread is a hub for hungry patrons seeking bread, pastries, breakfast, and lunch. We recommend, well, everything… But to be more specific, you haven’t lived until you’ve had a B+B baked pot pie (which you can order hot or get a take + bake) or their Benton’s BLT finished with a scallion cream cheese, crisp butter lettuce, and fresh tomatoes.

2nd: Publix

3rd: Meraki Bakehouse

Get a taste of The Real Florida Magic at charming, serving up fresh local flavor here in the BBQ Capital exceptional culinary scene, attractions and natural experiences you won’t soon forget. Come savor

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HARBORSIDE :: WINTER HAVEN, FL