Fromage Steaks And Subs

Are there not enough roadside emporiums dishing up burgers, wings and fries?

Certainly the thought must have occurred to the chef Brett Hill before he jumped from a 17-year career with the Walt Disney World conglomerate to open his own restaurant -- Fromage Steaks & Subs -- in a nondescript sliver of a strip mall on U.S. 92 between Lake Alfred and Haines City.

That he will celebrate the restaurant's third anniversary this November is certainly testament to Hill's abilities, both as businessman and short-order cook, albeit overqualified for the latter.

Not very long ago Hill was hanging his apron at Citricos, the sunny, Mediterranean-inspired fine dining establishment at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.

Here, where Old World charm meets Mickey and Minnie T-shirts, a plate of short ribs with a swipe of blood orange demi-glace will set you back $38. A recommended glass of 2008 Valpolicella, $12.

Hill is not aiming for the moon, or anything remotely celestial, with Fromage, a name that conjures notions of a French bistro, or at the very least a diner where cheese might play a starring role. Neither is the case, and that is a bit perplexing.

There is a grilled cheese sandwich, but it's relegated to the kids menu. It comes with chips for $4. Why not an adult version oozing with Swiss, Gruyere or any number of savory combinations, a chutney dip on the side?

Another puzzler is the "Fromage" burger ($7), an admirable, half-pound affair, nicely charred and served with tomato, chopped lettuce and a dollop of a creamy herb dressing. It's a burger of substance, but not terribly original, though the accompanying fries, advertised as hand cut, were as good as they get.

But hiding beneath the garden topping was a wafer of white American cheese, too thin to contribute any flavor, if, that is, white American cheese had flavor. One would think the "fromage" crowning a cheeseburger at Fromage would be, well, less wimpy.

Another blunder is the Crabby Burger ($9), a poor man's surf and turf that just doesn't make much sense. In this case, an otherwise decent beef patty is topped with a fried, just-this-side-of-fishy, crab cake and spicy remoulade. Separately, the two get along just fine. Together? Not so much.

There is, however, much on the menu to admire.

You can get an excellent plate of wings in assorted sauces. A small basket of the Buffalo variety ($6) offered eight pieces fried to a light, golden crunch, the zesty sauce mild enough for most tastes. It came with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.

Fromage also makes a hefty, pressed Cuban sandwich ($7) that's as good as any in these parts, piled with thinly shaved ham, roast pork, pickles and, praises, plenty of Swiss cheese.

Hill considers his cheese steak THE signature dish of his restaurant. It is a very good sandwich, a soft hoagie stuffed with lean, shaved beef, grilled onions, peppers and -- surprise -- mushrooms, all bathed in a sauce of melted yellow cheese.

The menu includes many more sandwiches, hot and cold, and a few standard salads, including a $9 Caesar topped with grilled chicken. Inexplicably, no one pushes the restaurant's lone dessert -- brownie ala mode.

Servers are friendly and informal, sometimes to the extreme, as when a waitress topped off drinks while, somehow, balancing a toddler on her hip. But it is, after all, a sandwich shop, with counter service, do-it-yourself soda dispenser and a flat-panel television.

The restaurant was cited for four violations during a May 3 inspection, two of which were critical, but all were immediately corrected.

To distinguish itself from all those other roadside sandwich shops, Fromage would benefit from a little more creativity on the menu, not to mention more attention to the cheese.

Meanwhile, they're dishing up pretty good value for the money, worthy enough of three stars.

Ledger Reporter Eric Pera can be reached at eric.pera@theledger.com or 863-802-7528.