by “The Food Guy” – Food Blogger / Restaurant Critic for Vero Vine
My next tasting experience takes me to a sandwich shop off of Oslo and 20th Street in Southwest Vero Beach. I think you know by now that Stacy Cook and I are diehard foodies and are always on the lookout for the next hot spot to get an awesome meal. He has been telling me how great this sandwich shop is for a while now, so I decided it was finally time to give them a try. Chef and owner, Mike Wood is a native Vero Beach resident, but after receiving his Culinary Arts degree from Johnson & Wales in Charleston, South Carolina, he decided to embarked on a 15-year journey working his way around the country. He traveled as far as Alaska, New York, and even down to the Keys. He eventually made his way back to his hometown of Vero Beach and settled in and opened the Wood N Spoon as we know it today just about 2 years ago.
Parking is adequate for the restaurant since they share parking spaces with some other businesses in the strip mall. Their trademark green color is evident on the sign over the front door and definitely on the walls inside the restaurant. There are two dining spaces on either side as you walk in, and the counter where you place an order is in the middle of the room. You can also just have a seat at an open table and a waitress will come to take your order. The dining room is clean and bright, and the owner and employee’s greetings are warm and welcoming. Everyone seems to have a passion for what they are doing here and it shows. One additional bonus you may not know about them is that they also serve ice cream!
Now on to the food! Let’s jump right in and see what I had to eat!
Brazilian Black Bean Soup – ($4.60 medium) – This was a new soup variety for me, so I was anxious to try this one. It’s made with black beans, onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, kale, and garnished with diced tomato. The soup was very hearty and had a nice southwestern flavor. The beans were perfectly cooked as were the rest of the vegetables. This soup definitely hit the spot on a cool spring day!
New England Clam Chowder – ($4.60 medium) – One of my all-time favorite soups is clam chowder! It’s made with minced clams, diced potatoes, onions, half and half, and thickened with a gluten-free flour. It has that wonderful creaminess that makes it so good, and a generous portion of clams as well. It could have used a touch more salt for my taste, but that is just a personal preference. So simple, yet so good!
Mediterranean Salad – ($7.95) – Mediterranean food is all about freshness, colors and bold flavors, and this salad has all of those boxes checked. This salad has spring mix lettuce, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, peppers, feta cheese, olives, and a tangy yet sweet dressing. It was definitely colorful and had the right balance of crunchy, sweet, tangy, salty, everything you would expect from a salad with all of these ingredients in it. It was definitely one of my favorite items I got to try during my visit.
Southwest Chicken Sandwich – ($7.09) – This sandwich is outrageously good! It has sliced chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, mozzarella cheese, a spicy mayo, served on a ciabatta bun. Now they listed the dressing on this sandwich as a “spicy mayo”, but told us it’s called “McBooha” sauce, which is a Moroccan inspired type of sauce. Whatever they call it, I call it amazing! It has this southwestern flavor without the cumin in it. I think it would make just about anything you put it on good, so I recommend you try it and see for yourself!
Turkey, Avocado & Walnut Pesto Sandwich – ($7.09) – This one is Stacy Cook’s favorite sandwiches here, and I tend to agree with him after having tasted it. It’s made with sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and their house made walnut pesto sauce on a ciabatta bun. They are definitely generous with the amount of meat they put on all of their sandwiches. Everything was super fresh and the walnut pesto was really fantastic. You could definitely taste the fresh basil and the garlic.
Ruben Sandwich – ($7.09) – I know I say this a lot, but this also is one of my favorite sandwiches, so I could not wait to take a bite of this one! It’s made with a generous portion of sliced corned beef, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, all on toasted marbled rye bread. The meat as you can see from the picture is a generous portion and the sauerkraut had a slight crunch and a nice tang to it. If I could find anything at fault, it would be that I would have liked a little more Russian dressing on it, otherwise this is another excellent sandwich choice on their menu.
In Conclusion:
I hate to admit it, but I guess Stacy was right about this one, their food is fantastic! Their sandwiches are all made to order and with extremely fresh ingredients. All of their soups are scratch made the day before to allow the flavors to come together, and most of them are gluten-free. Chef Mike and crew definitely take pride in their restaurant and it shows in the food they serve. From a full breakfast menu, bagels, soups. wraps, pressed sandwiches, and salads, they definitely have you covered no matter what you are hungry for!
Have you tried Wood N Spoon? What has your experience been with them? Sound off in the comments below and let me know your thoughts, or feel free to email me at thefoodguy@verovine.com with your questions or comments.
Atmosphere – 4 Forks
Service – 5 Forks
Food – 5 Forks
Rating Scale Legend:
1 to 5 Forks – 1 Bad to 5 Excellent
Wood N Spoon Website | Facebook Page
Wood N Spoon also offers a full breakfast menu and has an outpost at the Vero Beach Museum of Art. They also provide catering services for all of your event needs. Give Mike a call at the number below for more information.
| Wednesday | 8AM–4PM |
| Thursday | 8AM–4PM |
| Friday | 8AM–4PM |
| Saturday | 8AM–3PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday | 8AM–3PM |
| Tuesday | 8AM–4PM |
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