So we are in the Keys again and I thought it well worth sharing our day of food.  We have our regular go to spots and on occasion we try something new.

Since we last blogged from the Keys, the Big Pine Restaurant has closed down.We have missed their great food and service.  So we had to find another spot to go for breakfast and have found a great one in the Galley Grill on Summerland Key. We have never tried anything other than breakfast but expect that it would be great for lunch as well. Their food is great and their service is excellent.

This morning we went to the Galley Grill with our friend and hairdresser, Becky.  I had an omelet. I did not see what I wanted on the menu so I asked if they would make it and they said of course.  That was a pleasant surprise! It was an omelet with ham, mushrooms, onions, spinach and swiss cheese.  It was very good.  I had toast and grits along with an iced coffee to drink. It was an interesting omelet as the add-in's were not inside but were mixed into the eggs.  There was cheese inside and a bit on top. I really enjoyed it although I could only eat about half of it.  Carol had 2 eggs, home fries and rye toast. She ordered the eggs soft scrambled and they were delivered to satisfaction.  She also had turkey sausage which she enjoyed.  Becky had eggs over medium with home fries, bacon and rye toast.

One of the best things about the Galley Grill is their service.  We usually have the same server, a young lady named Rachel, I think...  Though she has only ever seen us around 5 times total, and that over a number of years, she remembers us and what we usually order.  She always goes over the top in service.

We skipped lunch as our breakfast was late.  We went into Key West to walk around a bit and to visit Kino Sandals shop.  We thought we would go to the beach and find the Shave Ice truck and have shave ice.  The truck wasn't there so we ended up at Baby's Coffee, another of our favorite places to go along the way.  Iced coffee, frozen coffee, smoothies were and always are great.

Then we decided to stay in for dinner.  We got steaks, shrimp, baking potatoes and corn on the cob at Winn Dixie.  Carol grilled the steaks to perfection over a charcoal fire.  She and Becky had T-bones and I had a filet. Becky made amazing coconut shrimp with a sauce to dip that was divine!!!

All in all we had a great day in food.  Tomorrow, perhaps back to Key West for sunset and Pepe's.  Will blog that too.

Steaks and freinds!

Dinner at home tonight was quite exquisite!  Friends Nick and John brought filet mignon steaks purchased at Joseph's Classic Market in Boca Raton as the basis for this amazing meal. They were some of the best steaks I've eaten. We had a caprese salad to start our meal with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and basil, a simple but great salad. The main meal featured the steaks, shrimp on skewers, baked potatoes and asparagus! We had butter, sour cream and chives for the potatoes and complemented the main meal with Sister Schubert's Hawaiian sweet rolls. There are several varieties of Sister Schubert's which can be found in the freezer section at the grocery store. These rolls are just about the closest thing to homemade around.

Dessert was homemade peach cobbler with vanilla and/or rum raisin ice cream to top off a delicious meal with great friends,

Big Pine Key Restaurant

In the Keys again for a short vacation and thought we needed to blog the weekend's food experiences.  It has been way too long since we posted.  We always enjoy eating at the Big Pine Key Resraurant and this time was exceptional as always. We stopped in for breakfast this morning. Our server was excellent and quite attentive to our needs.  I always appreciate it when restaurant staff are willing to give you want and don't have to stick to a rigid menu. We both wanted iced coffee,  not too difficult to find a way to make that happen and sshe did. Just coffee poured over ice but it hit the spot quite nicely!

I ordered a spinach and swiss omelet with added ham. Sides were grits and white toast. I loved the fact that I tasted ham, spinach and cheese from the first bite. It was a simple meal and quite delicious! Carol ordered the corned beef hash with two over easy eggs on top.  Sides were biscuits and tomato slices. She says it was excellent.! The eggs were served right on top of the corned beef which is great if you like to mix it in . The hash was crusty on top and had a smokey taste to it. The biscuit was not even warm, which was a disappointment.

Though the waitress did not bring straws with our coffe, she still gets a four straw rating as she was there to ask if I wanted a refill when I was ready to ask for one.  Wait staff at this restaurant are always pleasant and attentive.

Always inexpensive and always great food, this is a restaurant you will not want to miss  on your next visit to the Keys! We've been here for every meal at one time or another and have always found it a great experience.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Seems we forgot to mention that we're relaxing in the Florida Keys for a mini-vacation and brought Carol's mom with us...

Today we went down to Key West, which is about 30 miles from where we're staying. We did a little shopping, gave Mom the nickel tour of the island, saw the sunset at Mallory Docks, then had a delicious dinner at El Meson de Pepe, a wonderful authentic Cuban restaurant we first went to with Lisa's sister, brother-in-law, their daughter Katie & son Scott.

El Meson de Pepe has a medium-sized dining area that feels much larger due to its high ceilings. The atmosphere almost feels a bit like you're in EPCOT. All servers speak perfect English but feel free to order in Spanish if you want to use your old high school Spanish.

After glasses of water were delivered (and no inquiry about whether we wanted other beverages), a basket of hot Cuban bread arrived. As is the custom in Cuban restaurants, the bread was split, buttered, and grillled on a flattop to crispy goodness. Also accompanying the bread were two small dishes of sauces...one was a garlic mojo-type while the other was rip-your-lips-off hot. The hot sauce was very tasty but not typical since Cuban food isn't spicy.

Mom wasn't too hungry so she had only a bowl of black beans, sided by white rice. She said the black beans were pretty salty but adding the rice cut the salt.

Lisa ordered ropa vieja (English translation is "old clothes" since the beef is shredded and resembles old clothes or rags), which came with black beans, rice (choice of white or yellow...she chose white), and sweet plantains. Ropa vieja is Lisa's "usual" when we go to a Cuban restaurant and she likes Pepe's version which contains red wine.

Carol had the "Completa Tradicional", a combination plate that included lechon asado (roast pork), a tamal Cubano, and the prerequisite sides of black beans, rice, sweet plantains, and yucca. The pork had been marinated in a cumin-mojo sauce and had been roasted perfectly...it was succulent and flavorful! The tamal was a Cuban version of a tamale...a cornmeal base with some meat, steamed in a corn husk. The menu stated these were "filled with roast pork" but Carol didn't find any meat at all! That was a disappointment... Yucca is something Carol has tasted before and hasn't enjoyed but she gave it one more try. She found it, as in previous attempts, to be kind of tasteless. Even the garlic sauce that came with the bread couldn't help it much.

We all enjoyed eating at El Meson de Pepe! Not only is the Cuban food great but you can't beat the location adjacent to Mallory Square!

El Meson de Pepe 410 Wall Street, Mallory Square Key West, FL 33040
305-295-2620
www.elmesondepepe.com

Baby's Coffee and Shave Ice in Key West

We had two new experiences in Key West today. The first was a stop at Baby's Coffee. We had a late breakfast so decided to skip lunch and go directly to coffee and snacks. We each had a frozen coffee which is just like a frappucino. Carol and I had mocha and Mary had a latte. They were very good and hit the spot just right. We each had a snack to go with. Oatmeal cookie, chocolate crumb cake (the crumbs were chocolate) and mocha chocolate chip muffin. It was an excellent mid-day snack. Apparently, Baby's is the spot for folks who are on long bicycle rides to stop. There were three who stopped in while we were there.

We were on a roll with snack foods so after taking a driving tour of Key West, we stopped along the beach at the shave ice truck. These are much like snow cones only the ice is very finely ground and mounded to where there was almost as much ice on top of the cup as there was inside. We chose dark cherry, pineapple and lemon. She asked if we wanted evaporated milk on top. I thought that was a strange concept but wanted to try it. Of course we did not get the milk on the lemon flavored one. I don't know how much the milk added and I don't think I would add it the next time. But the shave ice was very good! It was an excellent snack and quite refreshing

Craig's Restaurant - Tavernier, FL

On our way into the Keys and thinking of a place to stop for lunch. Of course, the locale and the mood says we should eat fish! Carol suggested we stop at Craig's and try their "world's famous fish sandwich." So we did!
Carol had a fried grouper sandwich with coleslaw. I had a grilled mahi-mahi sandwich with pasta salad (cost a dollar more for grilled). Mary, Carol's mom had clam chowder with a grilled cheese sandwich and fries. The food was excellent if a bit pricy. Carol's grouper sandwich was $18.95!
 The sandwiches come on wheat bread. The grouper was breaded with a light cracker crust. Grouper is a light mild flavored fish that is firm but flaky. An adult grouper can weigh up to 800 lbs. though they average 20 lbs. I will not post a picture of the fish... They are UGLY! Back to the food... The sandwich was a bit messy as fish sandwiches tend to be. There was PLENTY of fish in the sandwich. The sandwich came dressed with American cheese, tomatoes and tarter sauce. The coleslaw was chopped finely and was sweet with a nice tartness. The mahi-mahi was well spiced and plentiful. Mahi-mahi is a light flaky fish that is not so firm as grouper. Again the sandwich was quite messy. It was hard to keep all the fish on the sandwich. There was enough going on with the sandwich that it was hard to taste the tarter sauce. In this case, that was not a bad thing. I chose to have no cheese on the sandwich as all fish sandwiches come with cheese. It was an excellent sandwich. I had their pasta salad as a side. It was made with sliced banana peppers and LOTS of olives! (Olives are one of the very few foods I will not eat.) In spite of that, the salad was good. I skipped the peppers and gave the olives to Carol. Mary says the conch chowder was ok. She expected some spicy heat and there was none. It was a bit sweeter than she expected too. The grilled cheese sandwich was typical and very good. She says the fries were the highlight of the meal. Potatoes were freshly prepared and the oil was clean all of which went together to make excellent fries.
Service was average, not spectacular. We found ourselves waiting for our server more often than not. Mary had finished the chowder long before the server was available to ask for hot sauce.
Overall, this restaurant comes highly recommended!

First Time Brisket on New Masterbuilt Digital Electric Smoker!

You may have followed the progress on Facebook of our overnight smoking of a brisket last weekend on our new Masterbuilt digital electric smoker.  Here are the details:

First, let's settle the issue of charcoal vs. electric smoker.  We own two CharGriller units that use charcoal to grill or smoke.  We've been very successfully with them but there are always issues because the units are very drafty and difficult to keep a steady temperature.  The Masterbuilt electric unit is well-insulated and holds its temperature very well.  It cooks from 110-275 degrees so its great for smoking jerky and smoking other things that need lower temps.  Of course, we'll still use our CharGrillers but the Masterbuilt allows us to do things like this overnight smoke with a minimum of trouble.  Now on to the brisket!

We used a 13 pound "packer" brisket.  This is a whole brisket in its Cryovac wrapping. A whole brisket includes both the "flat", the larger, narrow, leaner portion and the "point" (also called the "deckle"), the smaller, fattier (and therefore moister) part.  We neglected to take photos of the raw brisket but you can search Google images and see exactly what we mean.  Also, if you look at the final two photos of the cooked brisket the flat and the point can be clearly seen.

First, we wash the brisket under some running water to remove blood and that "raw meat smell".  We always wash our meat before we smoke it. We then like to trim it down to 1/4" of fat and also trim a lot of the fat between the flat and the point, almost separating the two parts.  Indeed, for this cooking we DID separate the brisket into halves to fit it into the smoker although one half had point and flat while the other had just the flat.  Your tolerance for fat might lead you to trim more or less of it off.  Some fat is necessary to baste the meat as it smokes.

After trimming we coated the brisket with our special rub (you may use store-bought rubs, find a recipe, or create your own), and allowed it to warm up a bit. There are conflicting opinions about allowing meat to come up to room temperature before cooking but we do it and are always happy with the results.  The photo shows the two halves waiting to go into the smoker.

We turned the Masterbuilt digital electric smoker on and set the temperature to 250 degrees.  Once it was hot enough we added a combination of hickory and apple wood chips.  Hickory, although it's been the favorite smoking wood for most meats, can bit a bit strong so we sweeten it up with the apple.

The meat then went into the smoker with the probe thermometer placed into the thicket part of the brisket but not into the fat.  We wanted the meat to cook to 165 degrees for this first step of the cooking process, which would take about 6 hours. The time was 1:45am...time to go to bed for a few hours!

Carol woke up at 4:30am and added more chips, then woke up at 7:30am.  The meat was at a perfect 165 degrees and so she removed it to wrap it.  We used a wrapping mixture created by chef Adam Perry Lang for his "Serious Barbecue" cookbook.  Combine 4 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter, 1/2 cup of honey, and a 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar to make this mixture...try not to taste it or you might end up finishing it all before you get it onto the meat!  It's delicious!  Here's a photo of the ready-to-wrap brisket, the two halves stacked...

Using a double layer of heavy duty foil, Carol placed the brisket onto it, partially wrapped it, then poured the wrapping mixture on and completely closed the foil.  The probe thermometer went back into the brisket and the brisket went back into the smoker to cook until it reached 200 degrees.  This took about 2 1/2 hours.

Advocacy Trip to Tallahassee, FL Nets Great Meals!

Every year we assist the Friends of our libraries in their advocacy efforts by joining them on a trip to Florida's capital city, Tallahassee. Although we certainly don't go hungry while we're there, as a college town Tallahassee is full of chain restaurants, bars, and pizza places. We're staying at the DoubleTree near the Capitol, and they have a restaurant, Jacob's On The Plaza, that leaves much to be desired. We told you about Jacob's in our post of Monday, February 15, 2010, "The WORST Restaurant Experience Ever!" Let's just say that Jacob's hasn't changed much in a year... Lisa noticed a restaurant right next door to the hotel...Avenue Eat & Drink. We decided to try it with the small group that was left here. What a terrific decision! Avenue has only been open about 6 months. The owner, Chris Clark, used to own what was (according to friends who live in Tallahassee) an excellent restaurant, Cafe Cabernet. Avenue Eat & Drink celebrates Southern Fusion cuisine that showcases many locally-sourced ingredients. We started with an Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Mozzarella Salad that featured both red and yellow tomatoes and soft, lucious burrata. For the unitiated, burrata is made just like the regular firmer mozzarella except that instead of throwing the formed balls quickly into ice water to firm up, burrata is formed into a pouch and filled with cream and scraps of mozzarella. It's a rich treat! Lisa had the Park Avenue Chicken Pot Pie as her entree, which was a different take on one of the most popular comfort foods. Avenue tops theirs with a corn souffle crust. Lisa thought there was more gravy (darker than any other chicken gravy we've had) than filling and would not order it again. Since we likely won't be back in Tallahassee until next year, we had to try other dishes. We tried the Anson Mills Grits with Smoked Cheddar and Stripling's Sausage. Anson Mills is an organic mill in Columbia, SC, and Stripling's is a family-owned sausage producer in Cordele, GA.. The grits were creamy, cheesy and rich, although they weren't very hot when they arrived. The small bowl of sausage crumbles tasted of sage, thyme, and mild pepper. Carol's entree was the Grilled Cheese and Pulled Short Rib Sandwich, served on sourdough bread with carmelized onions and horseradish mayo. Cheese was smoked cheddar. Short Ribs are the darlings of many restaurant chefs right now with their rich beefy flavor. All the ingredients in this sandwich work well together but again, it would have been better if it had been hotter. The side was sweet potato chips and they were good! A fun item that another diner ordered was chick pea fries...ground chick peas (garbanzo beans) blended with spices and formed into little logs before being rolled in chick pea flour and deep-fried. Dipped into Avenue's special ketchup, they were different and tasty. We HAD to try at least one dessert, and all shared the Bourbon Banana Pudding with Glazed Pecans. Avenue's version adds toasted angel food cake to the ingredients in the name. No one didn't enjoy this dessert! Strange as it might seem, we returned tonight for dinner! We had plans with our local friends to eat at another restaurant but we suggested Avenue since we knew they'd enjoy it and they also didn't know of its existence. We started with the Artichoke Spinach Dip with Tortilla Chips. Avenue changed the ratio of artichoke & spinach to creamy cheese sauce for a chunkier appetizer. The bowl was emptied pretty quickly! One of the reasons Carol wanted to return to Avenue was to try their appetizer of Braised Pork Belly With Cabbage. Yeah, she knows, pork belly is fatty...it's the cut used to make bacon. She thought having a small portion in a restaurant might prevent her from wanting to cook a whole piece at home. She decided to order it for dinner, along with a side of roast potatoes. The small chunk of pork belly was braised then deep-fried and served with spicy (VERY!) cabbage along with a vinegary dressing that cut the richness of the pork belly, although it was still unctious (Carol has always wanted to find a place to use that word!). Lisa's dinner was the Risotto with Boursin Cheese, Rainbow Kale, & Shitake Mushrooms. It was creamy and rich, but didn't have a lot of kale or mushrooms. On to dessert, again...tonight we had Mike's Reese's Peanut Butter Pie. Although not made in Avenue's own kitchen, it was delicious and surprisingly light, as the peanut butter filling was whipped. Before we close, we need to mention the service...at lunch we were served by Frankie and at dinner J.C. took care of us. Both gentlemen were extremely knowledgeable about Avenue's menu and were professional and pleasant. We're planning to return to Avenue Eat & Drink next year with our whole crew! Avenue Eat & Drink 115 East Park Avenue Tallahassee, FL 32301 850-224-0115 www.avenueeatanddrink.com

Smoking a Pork Butt & Brisket...YUMM!!

OK, I'll be honest...we actually smoked these meats a few weeks ago but have just gotten around to posting.

Here's a photo of the smoker we have, a CharGriller. We own two of these terrific smokers, which are really charcoal grills that have a firebox attachment added. This is the newer one; the older one is about 13 years old. (Yes, we know the firebox needs a new coat of paint).

We like to use fruitwoods such as apple & cherry for most of our meat and it always tastes great. Oak was recommended for brisket but we've found it to be too strong.

Here you see Carol applying rub to the meat. For the pork we use a rub Carol created that has a bit of sweetness, and the sugars create a nice bark (crust) on the meat. The beef rub has some spices that are also used for making pastrami.

We allow the rub to soak into the meat for about the time it takes to start the fire and get the coals ready to place in the firebox.

We spray apple juice on the meats while they smoke, spraying every 1/2 hour after the first hour of cooking. Here we've raised the cover to spray.

We loosely follow a method proposed by Adam Perry Lang in his book "Serious Barbecue" and it works great! Once the pork butt reaches 165 degrees and the brisket 175 degrees we place them on two sheets of heavy-duty foil and pour a sauce of melted unsalted butter, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Then we wrap the meat and place it in a cooler for about 30 minutes.
After removing the meat from the cooler we open the foil, pour out the drippings and mix a new sauce of some of the drippings and our homemade barbecue sauce. We brush that onto the meat and then wrap the meat in new sheets of foil. The wrapped meat then goes back in the smoker until the pork butt reaches 185 degrees and the brisket 195 degrees, and we remove the foil and allow a crust to form the final 30 minutes.

Barbecue in Boynton Beach, FL

Today we stopped by Bedner's Farm Market in Boynton Beach, FL. Our goal was to have some lunch from the Rolling Stove food truck that's become so popular in our area but we played golf this morning and got to Bedner's too late. So we "settled" on having barbecue from Porky & Beth's. We were pleasantly surprised!

Because we barbecue ourselves, we're a bit fussy about the barbecue we eat in restaurants. Porky & Beth's is definitely high up on our list of places we'd choose! They cook & serve from a brand-new beautiful trailer, and there are many picnic tables under a large canopy for you to sit and enjoy your meal. "Porky", whose given name is Robert, stops by every table and asks how you like the food. He's very proud of their product and he should be.

We had a "Three Meat Plate" which comes with two sides. We chose beef brisket, pulled pork, and ribs, and our sides were macaroni & cheese and collard greens. We also got an ear of grilled corn, husk attached. The brisket was good, although Carol would have preferred the "point" rather than the "flat" section that we were given...we'll have to ask next time if that's an option. The "point" is a bit fattier and more tender. The pulled pork was very good but we wished it had more "bark" (crunchy outside crust). The ribs were the best-tasting of the three meats and were so tender they had fallen off the bones. Paying customers like ribs this tender although judges in barbecue competitions are a bit hard on contestants who turn in ribs like this. Sauce options were sweet and hot, tomato-based, and were very tasty! The mac & cheese was just OK, and the collards were a little bitter. We liked the corn.

We talked a bit with "Porky" afterward and got a close look at their Lang smoker. Lang calls their smokers the "#1 BBQ smoker" and they do manufacture a great product. Porky uses oak for all his meats, and while he uses a bit of restraint so that his meats don't taste too "oaky", we prefer oak for beef and fruitwoods like apple & cherry for pork.

We'll go back to "Porky & Beth's BBQ" to see if we can't get a little of the brisket "point" and talk more barbecue with Robert!

http://www.porky&bethsbbq.com/

Bogart's Bar & Grill

Bogart's Bar & Grill is housed on the second floor of the Cinemark Palace 20 Theater here in Boca Raton. It is a great place to go for dinner just before or after a movie. We often pair this with the Premier movie experience at the theater. Tonight the Premier was booked so we went downstairs to see Secretariat. Great movie by the way!



We called early for reservations and they had none at the time we needed so we were quite pleasantly surprised to find we had only a 10 minute wait for a table. Ryan was our server and he was excellent. He was very attentive to our needs.



Carol had the Barbecue Chicken Pizza. She thought it was great. It had cheddar-Monterey jack
cheese, roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes, red onion and house made barbecue sauce.



I had the Organic Lemon Roasted Chicken which came with wild rice pilaf, broccoli and lemon thyme jus. So often when you get roasted chicken it comes quite bland. This had a ton of flavor. The rice pilaf was nutty and quite good as well.

We have frequented this restaurant in the past and we always find the food exceptional and the service great. Since it is a restaurant in a theater, they are always mindful of when your movie starts and get you out in time for the show.

We got there early thinking we would have quite a wait to get a table. Since we got in rapidly, we had enough extra time to have dessert so we shared the Turtle Ice Cream Sandwich which is layers of chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, Heath Bar pieces topped with hot fudge and caramel sauce. The portion was enormous so we had more than enough to share. It was quite wonderful!

We think this is an exceptional restaurant that may be missed by many because of its venue. It is a wonderful treat to go with your movie. Do not miss it.

http://www.bogartsofboca.com/

Great Food at Duffy's Sports Grill!

We've been to several links in the Duffy's Sports Grill chain; yesterday we visited the Deerfield Beach, FL location for lunch.

Duffy's has a wide variety of choices on the menu, ranging from appetizers like Loaded Potato Skins to Coconut Crusted Dolphin Fingers and Mini Crab Cakes. If you're going for a full meal you can choose from sandwiches (Carol likes the Buffalo Chicken), salads, and specialties such as steaks, pork chops, and pasta dishes.

On our visit yesterday, Lisa had the Angus Cheeseburger (her cheese of choice was Cheddar). She had sweet potato fries as a side ($1.50 extra). The burger was cooked to her liking at medium-well, and although she said it wasn't the best burger she's ever had, it was very good. The sweet potato fries were crinkle-cut and a bit bland...a cinnamon-sugar dip would be nice!

Carol went for a special...the Island Wrap. It contained blackened shrimp, lettuce, tomato, & chopped avocado, and she enjoyed it. She chose onion rings as a side (again, $1.50 extra). They had already cooled a bit by the time they arrived at the table.

Stop by a Duffy's next time you're hungry...you'll leave satisfied!

www.duffyssportsgrill.com

Pear Clafouti

Not easy to say but fairly simple to make, this is Ina Garten's recipe. I just did a google search for pear clafouti (fortunately it finished spelling clafouti for me). There are three pears inside along with a batter that is a lot like a pancake batter. We will put either a glaze or a caramel on top with homemade ice cream that Carol is making, a vanilla ice cream with a salted butter caramel swirl. Looking forward to dessert tonight.

Carol's mom is cooking, Italian! It promises to be an excellent eating evening.

Cheesecake Factory

One of our most favorite places to go for dinner out is the Cheescake Factory. We are fortunate in that there is one right down the street from us.

Last night's meal was exceptional. We started with the Cream of Chicken, Mushroom and Artichoke soup which was excellent. Be sure and try it if you are there when it is the soup of the day. Carol ordered the, Asian Carmel Chicken which was a special and not on the online menu. They have served it before when we were there so she knew she loved it. Lisa had her old standby, the Factory Burrito Grande. It used to be served with the rice and beans on the plate beside the burrito but recently the chef has been putting the rice inside the burrito. When she asked about it, our server Michelle said they could put the rice on the side. It was much better that way. It comes with chicken, onions, and many other things inside and a fresh tomato salsa, sour cream and guacamole on top. It was wonderful as usual.

We noticed last night that they were paying much more attention to service. They have always been good but last night, they went overboard. DeeDee, another server pitched in and brought us drinks when she saw we were below half way. A gentleman also came and asked if everything was ok. Several apologized for the slow service. It was not that slow but it was nice that they were concerned about it. We also noticed there was a staff member in the restroom helping out with anything that was needed.

We are almost always too full when we finish with our meal to even think about eating cheesecake and last night was no exception. However when we do order dessert, I LOVE the Warm Apple Crisp. I know, its Cheesecake Factory, but none of the cheesecakes hold a candle to the apple crisp. Try it sometime, you'll understand.

All in all, over the top service along with wonderful food made for a great evening out.

http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

Champs Americana

Friday night we had dinner with some friends from the Florida Library Association who were down to conduct several sessions discussing the new FSU program for in person classes for their Masters Degree Program. We met them at Champps Americana in North Fort Lauderdale.

Sam, our server was very good. He kept our drinks filled without us having to ask and was quite attentive to our needs.

Carol had the Bleu Cheeseburger with melted bleu and cheddar cheeses, topped with two
strips of apple wood-smoked bacon. She of course asked for medium rare and it was cooked very nicely. She loved the stake fries which were quite crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy inside.

Lisa had the Shroom Burger, a juicy burger loaded with sauteed mushrooms and
Swiss cheese. She had onion rings on the side. The meal was great. The batter an the onion rings was thicker and crispier than most and was very nice. She of course had her burger cooked medium well. There was no pink inside but she was ok with that.

All in all it was a very nice meal.
http://www.champps.com/

Tomasso's Pizza & Subs

Tomassos, one of the best pizza places we know of just happens to be right around the corner from us. It has been in business for MANY years and we have frequented it probably more than any other restaurant.

Tonight was a special night. They held a raffle to raise funds for breast cancer and the money went to the Boca Raton Regional Hospital's "Go Pink" Challenge. They raised $5000. The grand prize winner (not us) won a year's worth of pizzas; 52 pizzas throughout the year. The second prize winner (also not us) won an Italian dinner for 10. The third prize winner (again, not us) won an office pizza party for 10. There were several other prizes, none of which we won but that is ok. We did get a free large 2 topping pizza for buying a raffle ticket. They offered sausage peppers & onions in sauce, stromboli, cookies, cupcakes and sodas for free.

We met our friend Kathy there and ordered a large pizza half pepperoni and the other half ham, a gorgonzola salad, and garlic rolls (without the garlic). As always it was excellent.

We often go there for a quick lunch as they sell GREAT subs, salads and everything else.

We had a great evening supporting a good cause.

New Find: "The Whale Raw Bar & Fish House"

We found a great new little place tonight, thanks to discount cards from the Restaurant.com website we bought from Lisa's niece (Katie) and nephew (Scott)...

The Whale Raw Bar & Fish House is a true "find" for those who love fresh-tasting fish! It's tucked into a strip mall in Parkland, FL on State Road 7, just north of Hillsboro Blvd.. The owner used to own The Whale's Rib in Deerfield Beach, so there are a few similarities. The "whale fries" (housemade potato chips) and "whale juice", a honey mustard-type sauce served with the fries, are dead giveaways.

The decor is typical sports bar, with several TV's, booths, tables, and a full bar. However, there's a "Cheers-type everybody knows your name" friendliness that makes you feel like you've been coming here for years.

Tiffany, our welcoming server this evening, brought our soft drinks out promptly in very large (maybe a quart) glasses.

Since Tropical Storm Nicole had blown through the area today and it was still a bit wet out, we both began with cups of New England clam chowder. It was not the standard white, creamy bland base, but was more of a tan color and a savory flavor...a nice surprise! Carol wished for more clams, though Lisa was quite happy with the minimalist approach!

As for the main course...Lisa ordered the Mahi Mahi Island Style, which meant "plantain crusted, mango, Jasmine rice, vegetables, and citrus butter sauce". The vegetables were broccoli florets. First, let us tell you that Lisa's not the biggest fish lover, so her goal is to NOT have the fish taste much like fish. She had no complaints about the preparation but to her taste it needed more of everything to cover the fish taste. She loved the mango salsa and wished she'd asked for a bit more.

Carol was in a barbecue mood tonight so she asked Tiffany how The Whale's ribs were. When Tiffany began to make a face, Carol said, "OK, I hear you...they're not too good!" Tiffany said, "This is not the place to get ribs." So Carol thanked Tiffany for her honesty, then asked her advice and was steered toward the seafood (no surprise!). Carol ordered the Fried Fish Combo, which consisted of a nice hunk of cod, 3 large shrimp, 3 nice plump oysters, and fried clams that were really clam strips (disappointing!). Accompanied by the whale fries and a cup of whale juice, the crisp, greaseless assortment was delicious!!

We had no room for dessert but noted the "Peanut Butter Stack" on the "Specials" board and hope that's available next time!

Service: As noted above, Tiffany was a smiling, professional server who knows The Whale's strengths. She didn't pass Lisa's "straw test" but that's only because we never needed drink refills. We have to say that the silverware, wrapped in the napkin with its little adhesive paper band, was polished to a gleaming finish...something we certainly can't say about most restaurants.

On the way out, we spoke for a while with Perry Spivey, the General Manager who greets you at the front of the house. With many years of extensive restaurant experience, Perry is another good reason to stop in to The Whale and have a small bite or a full meal! The discount card might have brought us there the first time but the food and friendly service will make us go back again & again...and we can't wait!

The Whale Raw Bar & Fish House
7619 No. State Road 7
Parkland, FL 33073
Phone: 954-345-9190
Fax: 954-345-9140
http://www.thewhalerawbar.com/

Emeril's Tchoup Chop

One of our all time favorites, Emeril's Tchoup Chop in Orlando at Universal's Citywalk never dissappoints. This time we had quite an adventure along with our meal.

We rode with a friend from the hotel we were staying at, virtually across the street. She has a Toyota Prius, which holds 3 people much better than my little Miata. We left the car with the valet and went in to sit with drinks until we were shown to our table.The staff at this restaurant are consistantly some of the best we have ever seen. One time we went with a group of 20. We sat at one table and when the wait staff brought our meal, there were 20 of them and they served every meal in unison! This visit was no exception. Garrett, the bar tender was working on 7 orders at one time while he fixed our drinks. He worked fast and efficiently and had all 7 orders done in no time at all. Asia, our server was quite exellent as well. We got seated at our table, met Asia and opened our menu when the valet came in saying he couldn't get the car started. Ruth went out with him and had no more luck than he did. So she called AAA. They warned that they were facing some delays but that they would send out a truck.

In the mean time, we ordered appetizers and dinner. We had the Crispy Chicken Egg Rolls with Orange-Chile Dipping Sauce. There were 4 halfs and they were quite excellent. The sauce was the perfect accompaniement with a bit of a bite to it. For the meal, Ruth ordered the Organic King Salmon Filet with Purple Potato and Sweet Corn Succotash and Yamasa Ginger Butter Sauce. She said it was quite wonderful. I had the Mongolian Barbeque Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Sweet Onion-Orange Confit and Stir Fried Lomein Noodles. It was very good. The the tenderloin had a little less spice than I am used to but it went with the noodles well. Carol ordered the Tender Sake Braised Beef Short Ribs on Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes with Hoisin-Honey Infused Veal Jus. She said it was ok but the Short Ribs were not spiced as well as she would have liked. They needed salt and the whole meal lacked flavor. I must say this is the first time we have ever had a meal at this restaurant that we could not say every dish was absolutely exceptional. The kitchen was backed up a bit and it took a little longer than normal to bring our meal out but we were not going anywhere soon so we hardly noticed that. By the time we finished our meal, we still had not heard from AAA so of course we HAD to order desert! Carol and I ordered cappuccinos and were served espressos. They told us the guy who prepared it for us was new and quickly fixed their mistake. Then we ordered 2 deserts to share among the three of us. We had the Kahlua Chocolate Cake which is Peanut Butter Mousse Filled Chocolate Cake Topped with Bananas Foster Sauce, quite excellent, and Blueberry Bread Pudding Served with White Chocolate Crème Anglaise and Buttermilk Ice Cream also very decadent.

We really enjoyed our meal and the opportunity to take our time and relax while eating it.

We left the restaurant to go outside and wait for the AAA guy to come. He showed up after a 2 hour wait but we did not have to wait outside for long. He was going to jump the car but then discovered that they could not even unlock the car. Thus, a locksmith was called upon, another 30 minute wait. The locksmith arrived and set to work opening the door, then Ruth reached into her purse and discovered a second key. Evidently, the key they were working with belonged to her son's car... The second key was hers and started the car right up! We had quite a good laugh at Ruth's expense and all agreed that it was a wonderful evening in spite of the extra adventure.
http://www.emerils.com/restaurant/7/Emerils-Tchoup-Chop/

Margaritaville - Orlando

We're in Orlando for a meeting and decided to be "wastin' away in Margaritaville" for lunch. Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe is at City Walk at Universal Studios. The only negative thing is that you have to pay a $15 parking fee just as if you were going to the theme park.

Carol is a HUGE Jimmy Buffett fan and listens all day to his Radio Margaritaville channel on Sirius satellite radio. Since they broadcast most days from the Orlando cafe, she really wanted to eat there. Lisa, being the good sport she is, went along!

The interior of the cafe is outfitted with artifacts of the ocean, boats, and Buffett...oh, and there's a giant "live" volcano that erupts whenever they play Jimmy's hit, "Volcano". It's VERY cool (well, no, it's actually very HOT!).

They seated us not far from the Radio Margaritaville broadcast booth. J. D. Spradlin, the afternoon D.J. (hey, that's "J.D." backwards...) was rockin' the joint (and the country) with Jimmy's hits and other singers. Carol had to go over and meet him. She thanked him for the great music and made a request..."Jolly Mon", which we never ended up hearing. Oh, well, we did hear lots of great tunes!

We HAD to have a "frozen concoction" to "help us hang on", so Carol ordered a "Havanas Bananas", a nice mix of Cruzan dark rum, Bailey's Irish Cream, Bols Creme de Banana, and Island Oasis Coconut Mix. My, it was good! Lisa had a "Tropical Hurricane", which contained Appleton Estate V/X rum, and Island Oasis Guava, Papaya, and Mango Mixes. While we wouldn't have minded just ordering another round of these drinks and just hanging out all afternoon, we did want to eat...

On to the food...since we hadn't had breakfast, we were hungry! Menu items have names that are inside jokes for Jimmy's songs. For instance, we ordered the "Jamaica Mistaica" chicken wings, which are named for his song about his private plane getting shot at when they tried to land in Jamaica for some jerk chicken. Obviously, they have a "Cheeseburger in Paradise", and it's served with Heinz 57, french fried potatoes, and a "big, kosher pickle"! Carol's had it at the Key West location and it's delicious! Anyway, the wings are glazed with a habanero-honey sauce and come with a mango-ranch dip...they had a nice bite and were pretty messy!

Lisa had the Fish of the Day Sandwich, which was tilapia. The fish was grilled with a little seasoning, served on a wheat bun with french fries. Carol had the BBQ Pork Sandwich, served on toasted garlic French bread with Guava Barbecue Sauce, topped with onion rings, and a cup of sweet cole slaw.

Service was pleasant and efficient from Sara, who even passed Lisa's "Straw Test"! We both enjoyed our food, our drinks, and the music & videos! We got to see the volcano erupt and the "lava" flow down into a giant blender container!

Copper Canyon Grill

We have visited the Copper Canyon Grill in Boca Raton several times and each time we walk away with mixed feelings.

The service is great and always has been. Up until tonight they seemed genuinely concerned as to if we liked the food or not. (No one asked tonight.) Robert, our server tonight was very good though he didn't pass the straw test. Okay, I'll explain. I like to drink soda without a straw. Most often the glass is handed me the first time with a straw in it. The observant server will notice that I take the straw out and when they bring the drink back after refilling it, there is not a second straw. This time I ended up with 2 straws on the table, unused and unusable. Also the observant server will see when you are done with a drink and bring another glass immediately. That didn't happen either. He did bring me another drink later and it was before I had to ask for it. On the other hand, he had a good conversation with Carol to ensure that she got her steak cooked the way she liked it.

Carol had a rib eye steak with canyon mushrooms on top, with smashed potatoes and sweet glazed carrots. The steak was cooked perfectly and quite tender. And the sides were quite good. I had the chicken pot pie. I have had it before. The first time we went to this restaurant that is what I ordered. At that time I was quite shocked because it tasted like they had poured a bottle of hot sauce in it. It just seemed like two tastes that were not meant to go together. The pot pie was good but it was too spicy for me. When the manager asked how the meal was I mentioned that. He asked me if the server warned me that it would be spicy and I said no. So that night I got my dinner for free. That was a nice touch. We have had other meals in the past and found none spectacular. So you may wonder why I ordered the chicken pot pie a second time. I read in the newspaper that the restaurant had made several changes and that they had a new chef. When we went there the last time we had a discussion with our server and he said they were not putting so much spice in the pot pie any more. So I gave it a second chance... It was still quite spicy. Not quite so bad as the first time but let's just say I will not order it again.

So, while we really like the atmosphere and the service there, and we really want to love this restaurant, so far we have had only one REALLY good meal and the rest have been mediocre. Will we go back again? We'll see.