Category: Restaurants

mangroves along the bay

Tidy Tidbits: Filling Time

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OUTLETS

So, other than the routine activities such as our daily walk on the boulevard and the treadmill in the afternoon, what do we do to break the sameness of days?  

Social Distancing

The Chief Penguin has always been the household baker.  It used to be desserts, but since retiring, he’s dedicated himself to experimenting with different kinds of flour to create tasty oatmeal bread with molasses, healthy bran muffins with a touch of orange marmalade, and multi-day adventures resulting in lovely round loaves courtesy of a famous Parisian recipe.  The house smells toasty and warm, and his oven products are both beautiful and satisfying.  We can’t possibly eat all this bread—some loaves go into the freezer for another day and some he gives away.  

I, on the other hand, have been caught up in condo association business, writing notecards to my granddaughters and others, and reading for pleasure.  I have two stacks of new books in the den in addition to the stacked bench in the bedroom.  Plus, I always have a stash of unread titles on my Kindle.  

But my newest diversion is Scrabble GO on my iPhone.  The original Scrabble app which I liked a lot is no longer available.  This new app has lots of prizes and incentives which I personally find very distracting and unnecessary.  But you can play multiple games at a time and they tend to move quickly.  When someone takes a turn, you get a tone and then you can play your turn.  At one point, I had six games going simultaneously!  Scrabble GO quickly eats up any extra time on your hands!

NOVEL PLEASURES

Secrets of Nanreath Hall by Alix Rickloff

For a change of pace, I read this historical romance set in Cornwall, England, in 1913 and 1940.  Anna Trenowyth, a Red Cross nurse was injured at Dunkirk and, mostly recovered, has been assigned to a grand estate, Nanreath Hall, now turned into a hospital.  It also happens to be the former home of her late mother, Lady Katherine Trenowyth, and a place she has never visited before nor had any contact with the family there.  Anna is curious about her relatives and her mother’s youth, and the novel alternates between the 1940 present and Lady Kitty’s escape from her proper upper crust family to a wild affair with a dashing young painter.  Morris is good on the gritty details of nursing war injuries and the nightmarish aftermath of surviving in battle while serving up an intriguing stew of family secrets. 

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

This title is this month’s selection for the book group here.  I put off reading it for several weeks because I thought it would be extremely depressing.  But, it’s a moving story of one man’s determination to live long enough to have a life outside the concentration camp.  Lale, a Jew from Slovakia, is smart and knows several languages and thus, he’s given the higher status job of tattooing numbers on the incoming prisoners.  His schedule and his assignments provide him with more opportunity to move around the camp.  He takes risks to confiscate jewels and money left from murdered Jews which he uses in exchange for food for others and himself.  Attracted to a young woman, Gita, he vows that he will one day marry her.  

Based on real people and portraying horrific events, it is yet an inspiring and uplifting novel.  Morris uses Lale’s powers of observation and his quiet determination to keep a distance between the reader and the horror.  It isn’t exactly detachment, but a matter-of-factness that keeps one from drowning in emotion. ~(JWFarrington)

LOCAL TAKEOUT

Thai Palace

Thaipalacebradenton.com

This small restaurant in a strip mall on Cortez Road in Bradenton is one of our favorites for lunch or dinner.  I am especially fond of their curries and had a yen for one, so I ordered online and specified our desired pick-up time.  It wasn’t curbside, I had to go up to the entrance; consequently, I put on my fabric mask for the first time and waited, with two tables between me and the server, while he checked on the order.  It was already bagged and hot.  The curries were in tall plastic containers, the rice in the usual Chinese takeout boxes, and some steamed veggies in a square foam box.  Everything was still hot when we opened the bag at home and, it was so delicious!  

Savannah Dining: From Grits to Chocolates

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EATING SOUTHERN

You will not go hungry in Savannah.  Portions are generous to very large and shrimp and grits appear on almost every menu.  Other local favorites are fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese, ham and biscuits, and crab meat.  Here’s where we dined.

Husk

We had lunch in their upstairs dining room which was largely empty and pleasingly quiet.  Service was excellent and while we ate more than we had intended, we found the food delicious.  Their homemade pimento cheese with benne crackers and the ham and biscuit starters were both great.  We also sampled the roast cobia with sour grits and collard chow chow (slightly different) and the pastrami tongue sandwich (man-sized).  This is upscale sophisticated dining and the menu changes frequently.

Gryphon

This charming café, located in a former apothecary and set up like a library, is owned and run by SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design).  It is cozy and welcoming and a relaxing spot for lunch.  We enjoyed the very shrimpy shrimp salad, the crusted medallions of goat cheese on a mound of greens, and the salmon club sandwich.  Our delightful waitress was a current SCAD student.  

Six Pence Pub

For a change from just Southern cooking and because it was a cold day, we opted for comfort food at this English style pub.  The shredded beef pot roast with mashed potatoes, gravy and baby carrots hit the spot for two of us.  Our friends ordered the shrimp bisque and a salad and one of their hearty sandwiches; both were pleased with their choices.  And the Chief Penguin succumbed to the bread pudding with whipped cream.  Beer and wine, of course, were available. 

The Olde Pink House

First off, the pink house is a large mansion with a beautiful deep pink exterior.  Our hotel concierge felt it had become more touristy in recent years, so we lowered our expectations and were pleasantly surprised by how good everything was.  There are many dining spaces and ours was large and tastefully decorated, but noisy.  The maître d’ stopped by to ask how we were and would have re-located us had we insisted, but we had already ordered drinks and so declined.  

They specialize in Low Country cuisine and the menu is extensive with many choices of platters, appetizers, soups and salads, entrees, and sides.  Having had lunch out, we ordered mostly appetizers and salads.  The shrimp, crab and sausage spring rolls with honey mustard drizzle were delectable as was the sautéed shrimp in ham gravy with a cheddar cheese grits cake.  

Equally pleasing was the BLT salad:  fried green tomatoes, bacon, and lettuce with a buttermilk thyme dressing.  Their rendition of a chicken potpie was not as satisfying as the one at the 1540 Room, this from a lover of potpies. 

Vic’s on the River

This is a very popular restaurant and given its location was crowded and busy the night we dined here.  Pluses:  excellent jumbo lump crab cakes with Parmesan risotto and baby arugula, tasty meat loaf, reasonable sized portions (except for the humongous wedge of meat loaf), and nicely presented romaine wedges with cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices on the side.  Minuses: Very noisy and we felt a bit processed, read hurried, by the wait staff.

Edgar’s Proof & Provision

Wall of bottles in the bar

Bar cum dining venue in the De Soto Hotel.  Noisy, but the drinks and the food were very good, especially the seafood chowder, fish tacos and chicken wings.  Also, the wicked garlic chips with chipotle dip.

1540 Room

Breakfast and dinner venue in the De Soto Hotel.  We had breakfasts here and one dinner on a rainy night.  The skillet chicken potpie was excellent.  One of our group also had their version of shrimp and grits.

SWEETS

Other than the bread pudding the Chief Penguin enjoyed one lunch, we skipped desserts.  That said, we are chocolate lovers and so could not resist stopping in and then purchasing a few truffles at Chocolat by Adam Turoni.  In 2011, this millennial brought a box of his own homemade chocolates to his dinner hosts and, from there, was born this firm.  

Turoni’s flavor combinations are innovative, his creations beautiful to look at, and even better to taste.  The shop we visited, one of two in the city, is modeled as a library with shelves of books interlaced with shelves of chocolate.  You pick up a tray, a bit like an old-fashioned card catalog drawer except narrower, and walk around filling it with the chocolates you wish to purchase.  The truffle flavors range from Mint Julep Truffle to Coconut Meltaway with white chocolate to a Café American to Blood Orange and more.  Double yum!

Note: Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Tidy Tidbits: Friendship & Food

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FRIENDSHIP

The experts say, and I’m inclined to agree, that the older we get, the more we appreciate and value long-term friendships.  I now have close friends I have known for more than forty years and some more than fifty.  We recently had lunch with my girlhood friend and her husband.  I’ve known J. since we were in 4th grade.  She lived across the street from me for some years, and I was in and out of her house, much quieter than my home.  We played together, compared and competed on grades through high school, and often discussed and debated the differences between her religion’s Catholic teachings and my Protestant ones.  

Through college and into our 20’s, we had opportunities to get together, but then, didn’t see each other for several years at a stretch.  We kept in touch at Christmas and birthdays and through sightings by our mothers or our families.  I got to know several of her aunts and uncles and cousins and she my three siblings.  Later on, I and the Chief Penguin attended her wedding and then rejoiced with them when she and B. adopted a daughter.  Other than the Chief Penguin and my siblings, she has known me longer and better than anyone else.  Our mini reunion this week was a happy event, and we picked up right where we left off the last time!  We parted, vowing to be in contact more frequently. 

DINING AROUND

Bradenton Buzz—Chateau 13

Chateau 13 is a relatively new wine bar and restaurant in downtown Bradenton and it’s a winner!  Offering sophisticated and inventive fare, it’s worth a visit.  There’s bar seating, high top tables, and then a smallish dining room with standard seating.  They don’t take reservations, and by 5:30, shortly after they open, the dining room was full.  The menu has light bites, small appetizers, and full-size entrees.  For the bites and appetizers, think tapas.  We stuck to these sections of the menu and sampled some Parmesan truffled popcorn (fun!), Calabrian chili shrimp with broccolini, beef tournedos with foie gras, croquettes with prosciutto and a Caesar salad.  These are small portions so if you are very hungry, try an entrée. The shrimp, tournedos and croquettes were all superb!  Nice selection of wines by the glass too.   Closed Sunday and Monday.

St. Pete Beach—Leverock’s Great Seafood Restaurant 

Leverock’s is in the South Pasadena section of St. Petersburg and a great spot for lunch or dinner.  We met friends there for lunch and Tabitha, our waitress, greeted them warmly as they are regulars when they visit Florida.  Leverock’s fish is very fresh, and they have a wide selection prepared in a variety of ways, from sandwiches and wraps to salads to entrees with rice and veggies.  Two of us tried salads, the black and blue one with rare tuna and a Caesar salad with a perfectly grilled piece of salmon.  Our friends ordered their favorite salmon entrees.  Service was friendly and efficient.  Worth another visit.

Note: Header sunset photo ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Florida Frolic: St. Augustine

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FLORIDA FROLIC:  ST. AUGUSTINE

In our quest to become better acquainted with our home state, we’ve been taking short trips to cities not that far from us.  For the last two years, we and good friends made a December trip to Winter Park to visit the museums, cruise on the lake, and sample the local eateries.  This year, our destination was St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States, located on the east coast, and about four and half hours away.  Christmas was the theme and there were several decorated trees in the square, plenty of holiday lights, and an overall festive feel.  

St. George Street is pedestrian only and the main drag in the historic district.  To be frank, our initial impression was a negative one.  Too many souvenir shops, too many hokey “historic” sites, and a plethora of pubs and bars.  It seemed a combination of Lake George Village and the worst of the Jersey Shore.  Add to that our inauspicious lunch at the Bull & Crown marked by glacial service and, with the exception of the delicious sausage rolls, food that was just average.

With a bit more poking around, life improved.  We discovered some attractive shops and galleries, we toured the main Flagler College building which was formerly the very luxurious Hotel Ponce Leon, and we signed on for an Old Town Trolley excursion around the city.  

Fountain in courtyard at Flagler College

This hour and a half ride (you can get on and off at any stop all day long, but we didn’t) gave us a good feel for what’s here—from the Fountain of Youth Park to the first Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum, to the distillery, to the historic fort, to several architecturally distinguished churches, to the Lincolnville Neighborhood with its distinctive frame houses.  Our trolley drivers made too many references to discounts and which attractions were free, but otherwise they were informative.  

Given that we like good food, we selected restaurants ahead of our arrival.  The two dinners and our second lunch were all delicious.  Here’s where we ate. We’d happily return to any one of these restaurants.

Collage.  I’d call their food continental, rather than French.  In any case, the small dining room is an elegant coral-walled space and the dinner service was most professional.  Several of us had the yummy carrot datil bisque to start followed by bronzino on a bed of spaghetti squash and couscous with cherry tomatoes.  Others enjoyed the superb black grouper and the diver sea scallops.  Datil peppers, hot like Scotch bonnets, are grown locally. 

Black grouper entree

Sangrias Wine & Tapas Bar. We were the only diners at Sangrias at lunchtime, but the food exceeded expectations.  We ordered the chicken pesto wrap and the crab cakes with salad along with a few beers. Our food appeared quickly and everything was tasty.

Catch 27.  This is a casual place that serves excellent food, all very fresh.  We dug into the trio of dips (guacamole, pimento cheese fondue, and pico de gallo) with chips to start.  The guys began with Minorcan seafood chowder, and then we were on to flounder with risotto and sherry cream and red sorrel that was amazing, buttermilk fried chicken, and fish tacos with a house salad.  Everything was supremely good!

Penguin cheer

St. George Inn.  We stayed overnight here (this hotel consists of six buildings around the historic area) and found their wine bar, Bin 39, most inviting in the evening.  It was also the breakfast room each morning. We were pleased that the small buffet included bagels, croissants, bread, cheddar cheese, sliced ham, and salami with a selection of jams and spreads.  Just about perfect to begin a day of sightseeing!

Note: Photos and text ©JWFarrington.