A Week of Dining Out

Frank and I dine out probably far too often, but this past week found us in restaurants everyday from Tuesday March 12th to today, March 17. We also already have plans for dinner tomorrow to round out the week. It just worked out that way from celebrating my niece's birthday to dining with friends, to wishing our Philadelphia friend good bye after her 2 month visit in Sarasota. 

So, let me tell you where we ate this past week starting with last Tuesday, March 12 in Sarasota at Trader Vic's best known for their Mai Tai, which was ok. There were about 15 of us and I can only speak for Frank and myself, but wec were not thrilled with the food. We shared the Ahi Tuna appetizer with was probably the best dish we had there. I ordered the Fish and Chips which was lacking adequate seasoning and Frank ordered the Hickory Roasted Beef Brisket which he proclaimed way to sweet. I hate to pan any restaurant but this one, with it's nationally known name, didn't live up to our expectation.

Next up was Wednesday lunch at Oxford Exchange in Tampa across Kennedy Blvd from the University of Tampa. it is partially housed in a 120 year old brick building near downtown Tampa. The building included the Restaurant, a book store, a retail store of home goods items and The Commerce Club a private club, among other areas of interest in the building. Check our the link earlier in this paragraph to find out more about The Oxford Exchange and it's history. We had a lovely lunch with Denise and her husband, Thomas. The space is very cute and the food was very good. We shared an appetizer of Crispy Chick Peas (more please). I opted for the Lobster BLT which was loaded with chunks of fresh lobster meat (I've been on a lobster kick for the last couple of weeks, if it is on the menu  as a sandwich or bisque if will find a way to the plate.) Frank raved about the Chicken Burger served on a bun with avocado,  jalapeno, tomato and queso blanco. Frank said the burger was very light as it was composed of minced chicken mixed the the other ingredients before it was grilled. We would highly recommend Oxford Exchange.

Thursday we met a group of friends for dinner at Simply Delicious in Kenneth City between Clearwater and St. Petersburg. It is billed as a New York diner/deli. There were six of us in our group and I think everyone enjoyed their meal. I refer to the decor as Kitschy New York. It was a fun evening with good reasonable priced food in a different style atmosphere than the frequently used Florida Beach. Check the link above to see some photographs of the interior. We shared a appetizer with the table, Pastrami Reuben Egg Rolls. Crispy and tasty. In New York style, I had a 1/2 Corned Beef Sandwich (very tasty and tender) and a cup of Chicken Noodle Soup. Frank enjoyed the Chopped Chicken Liver Sandwich - tov meod (very good). Thanks to Bob G for a good suggestion. Oy Vey! 

Whew, I am getting full again just typing this post... but it is time to hit the road again for dinner in Bradenton to wish our dear friend Deirdre a safe journey hope after a two month stay in Sarasota. Six of us dined at Edelweiss near downtown Bradenton, Frank, my nephew Biff, his friend Butch, Deirdre and her friend Geri. Oh, I was there too. After some wine at Biff's we headed a short distance down the street to Edelweiss selected by Deirdre for two reasons; The chef's name is Frank and Deirdre knows all the lyrics to Edelweiss, makes sense to me; although we never did got to hear her sing it in its entirety. Next time Deirdre.
We had a very nice meal; Frank and I each ordered the Schnitzel a la Vienna prepared with the optional chicken instead of veal. It was very lightly breaded, tender and tasty. The service was very good (always part of a positive experience in our book). I'm sure we would all return to Edelweiss. 

Next up, a home cooked meal by our friend Carol F. served at her home. She  prepared a wonderful Shrimp Scampi in a very light sauce served with a nice caprese salad. We all dipped into the pasta bowl for seconds. Dessert was an ultra light Angel Food Cake with fresh strawberries. Yummy. And Carol's sister, Lois made Chocolate Chip Cookies for Frank and I to take home. I have to lock them away so I don't finish them today. Thank you Carol and Lois for a nice evening.

Tomorrow, Monday, evening we have tickets to see Leonard Cohen in concert at the Straz Performing Arts Center in Tampa. We will be dining at Maestro's Restaurant at the Center before the show. If you want more information on Leonard Cohen check his web site (link here) or read his biography, "I'm Your Man" by Sylvie Simmons.  Needless to say, I like Leonard Cohen.


That's all I'm saying

Philadelphia Visit

Another trip, it is. On December 4 we boarded a U S Airways flight from Tampa to Philadelphia to visit our good friend Deirdre who lives in Newtown Square outside of Philadelphia. She had arranged a visit to Longwood Gardens situated in the Brandywine Valley in Kennett Square, PA, for the evening of Dec 5th. Susan, another friend from my working days at CIGNA joined us for the Gardens and dinner. It was a perfect evening, with clear cool weather. The Christmas displays outside and inside in the Conservatory were as beautiful as you will see in the photographs which I will leave to speak for themselves. We were very fortunate as this was the best weather of the trip, a large portion of displays of decorated trees is outside. 

After the visit to the Gardens we enjoyed a lovely and tasty dinner at Half Moon Restaurant in the old Downtown of Kennett Square. The menu included standard fare such as, say, Bison, Kangaroo, Caribou Hot Dog, Gator Gumbo and other wild game options. They also served a mean Smokey Exotic Mushroom Bisque which was to die for, OMG. I'll take more please. But none of us ordered any of the exotic items from the menu but opted for the more traditional items. Frank and I had perfectly cooked and marinated Flat Iron Steak, Susan enjoyed a brie stuffed wood smoked chicken, avocado salsa sandwich, with avocado, while Deirdre, being the adventurous sort had, a basic hamburger (passing on the buffalo burger).

[Historic Aside: "Kennett  is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over a million pounds of mushrooms a week." from Wikipedia.]

The next evening Deirdre, Frank, I and a friend from Prague, Vaclav, met in the University City district of Philadelphia for a great dinner at White Dog Cafe. I met Vaclav on my first trip to Praha and the Czech Republic when another friend suggested I consider using Vaclav as my tour guide for my three day stay. He is currently studying for a Masters Degree and attending the University of Pennsylvania. The White Dog Cafe focuses on locally source products. Frank and I both enjoyed "the Spicy Lamb Bolognese Sweet Stem Farms Ground Lamb, Severino Rigatoni, ‘Jersey Fresh’ Preserved Tomatoes, Organic Baby Spinach, Shaved Grana Padano, Whipped Basil Ricotta" *extracted from the menu. It was very tasty however just a tad spicier than I like. But I did lick my plate clean. Vaclav ordered a Hamburger with sliced pork tenderloin stacked on top. (I frequently use the menu on the restaurant site to aid my memory, but I was not able to find this on the currently posted menu. So just imaging a very nicely prepared tasty sandwich). Deirdre opted for the same sandwich but with only the sliced pork, omitting the burger. Maybe Deirdre, Vaclav or Frank can fill in the comments section for me due to my lapse of memory.

One night Frank prepared his "always good" and tasty Tilapia Meuniere. Yummy. 

The next day we visited the National Constitution Center across from Independence Hall. It was interesting multi-media presentation of the founding of our country. While interesting and educational it would not be in my "A" list of sites to visit when in Philadelphia considering the other places to see.

Finally, after forcing you to read through all of our activity and eating, here is a link to the photographs - primarily of the Longwood Gardens. The only regret was that Deirdre's adorable dog, Barney, didn't get to go with us to the gardens - he would have had hundreds of acres to play in.

Click on the photo to view the album in Picasa.

Philadelphia, PA Dec 2012

Miguel's is French

Tucked away in a corner of a non-descript strip mercantile building on Siesta Key, FL you will find an excellent French restaurant. This was our first visit to Miguel's (link) based on a recommendation our dining companions from New Jersey had received from someone in their condo complex. Eileen and Michael were visiting for a week and met up with Frank and me at this 25 year-old restaurant for a fine evening of dining and reminiscing The decor is traditional and rustic - a charming space that was packed with locals when we arrived for 7 PM reservations. (Note - I would always make reservations here especially in the season. They offer Early Bird specials which attracts a large crowd earlier in the evening. It is Sarasota of course.)

Naturally, the menu leans heavily to the French side, while they do have a few Italian items for the early birds. 

Some of us started the meal with La Soupe du Jour a wonderfully rich and flavorful Sweet Potato Bisque. From the Entree menu I opted for the Lamb Shank, the special for the day. I want more :-). It was cooked to perfection with a lovely dark sauce - tender and moist, I cleaned my plate. It was served with potatoes that had been roasted with the lamb which added a great flavor to the potatoes. 

Frank order Le Canard Roti Maison - roasted young duckling served with a l'orange sauce. I had a taste and would agree with Frank that it was top notch - again tender, moist, and tasty.

Eileen enjoyed her Le Boeuf Diane - beef tenderloin tips nicely sauteed with mushrooms, garlic, brandy and demi-glace served with puff pastry. 

Michael selected Le Petit Filet Mignon, a nice 6 oz steak, with a béarnaise sauce.  He proclaimed to meal to be great.

We expected the meal to be pricey, but with drinks, soup, entrees, house salad, dessert, and coffee/espresso the bill came to $50 per person. Not bad in my opinion for this quality of dining.

We were all very pleased with the entire dining experience at Miguel's and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Sarasota area. 

Kouzinna

OK, here are a couple of words you don't often hear together. Greek Cuisine!

Yeah, maybe you know a few places in your area that serve some gyros, or Greek salads.  Maybe, some spanokapita.

But Greek cuisine?

Well, a few weeks back, Dick and I decided to check out some real Greek cuisine.  Albeit with a Disney twist.

The impetus of all this was an email from the Buena Vista Palace resort in Downtown Disney promoting a $79 dollar a night special fall discount rate.  Considering I had stayed at that same resort previously for several trade shows at twice that amount, it really sounded like a bargain.  So Dick and I jumped at the chance for a change in scenery,

The next decision was, where to eat?

Both Dick and I and had on several occasions discussed dining at Cat Cora's Orlando restaurant in the past.  For those of you who may not be familiar, Cat Cora is a celebrity chef who has not only competed (and won) in Iron Chef competitions on the Food Network, but who has also gained a reputation for successfully combining the flavors of her Louisiana upbringing with her Greek heritage.  No small feat.  

Add to that the fact that she is not only a renowned female chef, but also a renowned lesbian chef.  And darn attractive and telegenic to boot.  A combination that is both formidable and laudable in what is still, for the most part, a male dominated field.

Needless to say, both Dick and I arrived with a great deal of anticipation for her Kouzinna restaurant.

Kouzinna means "kitchen" in Greek (think cocina or cucina in Spanish or Italian, respectively.)  The restaurant is nicely ensconced in the Boardwalk area next to the Epcot resort area.  The decor is very casual, and evokes the atmosphere of  a Greek or Turkish taverna.

The menu is heavy on the Greek influences, with only a smattering of the LA bayous.  And all is done with flair.

Dick decided to order the fish stew (a Greek version of bouillabaise.)  For my part, I ordered the sampler (pastitsio, lamb sliders, and a chicken stew.)  The fish stew was excellent, redolent with the aromas of well prepared fish stock and perfectly cooked seafood.  No rubbery shrimp or overcooked scallops, here.  All was expertly prepared in what was, to be honest, a simple recipe that all too often many restaurants screw up.

My sampler was great.  The pastitsio may have been a bit heavy on the bechamel (not so much a crime in my book), and the sliders may have been a tad too spicy (a bit of Cajun exuberance, perhaps?), but all was forgiven with the chicken stew.  Who knew that cinnamon, with a judicious hand, could have provided such a sublime result?  

A bit of Greek wine, a shared baklava, and a final douse of chilled ouzo capped off the evening.

All in all, it was a great evening in a comfortable, welcoming environment.  Disney has a LOT of great dining options (and a lot of crappy ones, let's be real here), but anyone who happens to be at the resort and is looking for something not too expensive, casual, and above all, different (i.e. Greek cuisine), give Kouzinna a chance.  

As Dick would say, "That's all I'm saying..."

Frank

Duck Two Ways

Quack Quack !! Over the last couple of weeks I have enjoyed roast duck breast twice. The first at K Restaurant in the quaint  College Park section of Orlando, followed by an "At Home" preparation last Friday. Both were wonderful. 

Labor Day weekend found us a our good friend Carol's home in Mount Dora. Carol is a foodie and a very good cook in her own right. We have dined at most of the good restaurants in Mount Dora in the past so this trip we decided to branch out to Orlando. We made reservations at K Restaurant and Wine Bar which is located in an old house in this old neighborhood. The service was good and the food was even better. 

I opted for the Duck l'orange served with a side salad, and duck fat roasted cubed potatoes, it doesn't get any better than that. The duck was a perfect medium rare with crispy skin, and the l'orange sauce was superb. There were even bits of candied orange peel in the sauce.

Carol enjoyed the Mussels in a Tomato Broth with an Arugula Salad with sun-dried cranberries, candied pecans, blue cheese and a wonderful house-made grain mustard dressing. Very good!

Frank selected the Penne a la Vodka which he gave a double thumbs up. I was "allowed" to try a bite of Frank's and Carol's selections and would gladly order either on another visit.  The menu changes daily so you never know what might be offered next time, but I would like to return. Highly recommended. 

On Sunday, Carol prepared a sumptuous Pork Tenderloin cooked to a perfect degree of doneness. Maybe Carol would be so kind to remind me what the sauce was on the pork - I only remember how much I enjoyed the meal. Thank you Carol.

About a week later, this past Friday, we decided to fix our own Ducky-Duck dish at my place. We were inspired by a segment from the Kelsey Nelson series on the cooking channel - Kelsey's Essentials. She prepared a Seared Duck Breast with Fig Sauce. (The recipe will follow at the end of the post). 

A touch of sweetness in a duck sauce is aways a good addition, and the fig sauce was a perfect accompaniment.  Frank ended up doing most of the cooking as I wasn't up to 100%. He did a wonderful job of preparing the duck to a delicious medium rare. (Notice a trend here on how we like our duck prepared). He served it with Haricot Verts Almondine with lemon and shallots. We will prepare the duck recipe again - it is a keeper. If you are not a friend of the duck, I would suggest the sauce on a pork tenderloin - it should work great.

What can I say, we enjoy good food whether prepared in a restaurant or at home. All of these meals exceeded our expectations.

That's all I'm Saying 

Seared Duck Breast with Fig Sauce

Recipe courtesy Kelsey Nixon

TOTAL TIME:

45 min

Prep:

10 min

Inactive Prep:

5 min

Cook:

30 min

YIELD:

4 servings

LEVEL:

Easy

INGREDIENTS

DUCK:

•                Four 6-ounce boneless duck breasts, skin scored in crosshatches, at room temperature

•                Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

•                1 teaspoon vegetable oil

FIG SAUCE:

•                1 shallot, minced

•                3/4 cup dry sherry

•                1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

•                1/4 cup fig jam

•                1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

•                Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

•                2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

•                Fresh chives, chopped, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

For the duck breasts: Sprinkle each duck breast liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add the duck skin-side down and reduce the heat to low, cooking as the fat slowly renders and the skin becomes crispy, 8 to 10 minutes.

Once the skin is crispy and golden brown, flip and continue cooking until a thermometer reads 128 to 130 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the breast (for medium-rare doneness), 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate or cutting board and allow to rest about 5 minutes. It will carryover cook to about 135 degrees F. Don't tent with foil in order to ensure the duck skin will stay crispy.

For the fig sauce: Pour off all but 1 or 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet, reserving the excess for another use. Over medium heat, add the shallots and cook until softened. Add the sherry and reduce by half. Next, add the chicken broth, fig jam and balsamic vinegar, and continue simmering until the sauce has thickened and is syrupy, another 5 to 7 minutes. (It took more time to reduce the sauce - more like 10 minutes – just watch it until it reached the right consistence. My comment) Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and whisk in the butter. Garnish with chopped chives.

Serve the sauce alongside thinly sliced duck breast.

Haricots Verts Almondine

TOTAL TIME:

25 min

Prep:

10 min

Inactive Prep:

--

Cook:

15 min

YIELD:

6 servings

LEVEL:

Easy

INGREDIENTS

•                Kosher salt

•                1/4 cup almonds

•                1 1/2 pounds haricots verts (French string beans), root ends removed

•                3 tablespoons unsalted butter

•                1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

•                2 shallots, minced

•                Freshly cracked black pepper

•                1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, toast the almonds over medium-high heat until golden brown and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, finely chop and set aside.

Blanch the string beans in salted boiling water until crisp but tender, 2 to 3 minutes. The salt will impart flavor as well as help keep the string beans crisp. Immediately drain and run cold water over the beans or plunge into an ice bath to cool and stop the cooking process, then remove and completely dry.

Return the saute pan to the burner over medium heat and melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the shallots, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until starting to brown, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. Toss the drained beans with the shallots and add the lemon zest and juice. Cook to heat the beans completely through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Toss with the toasted chopped almonds and transfer to a serving dish.

Family Gathering

Dateline: Maggie Valley, NC:


The Simpson/Smith clan and the Leinar family gathered again in Maggie Valley, NC for the 4th of July followed by my brother's birthday celebration on the 5th. My Brother (Chuck) and his friend (Peggy) spend their summers in Maggie Valley so we all spend some time with them for his birthday. This year Frank and I flew up from Tampa to Greenville/Spartanburg and drove to Maggie Valley late on the 4th. While we missed the Maggie fireworks, we saw a number of local community fireworks from the highway. 


For the birthday "boy" (many years older than me, but definitely with more hair) 19 of us went to Sagebrush Steakhouse in Waynesville, to feast and imbibe in celebration. I will NOT go down the list of each participants entrees but let me say my rare Prime Rib was very good and everyone left full and satisfied. On Friday we visited another family favorite, Grandma's Chicken Palace which specializes in Southern Fried Chicken, (duh)! Since we ate the chicken last year, Frank and I decided to try the fried catfish. It was very good and not heavily breaded. Again everyone left full and happy. (even though Granny doesn't serve alcohol).


Frank and I spent Friday driving through the Pisgah National Forest to reach Brevard NC near the South Carolina border. The drive was a typically curvy mountain road, but a lovely drive. I spent a number of summer vacations at Brevard College attending what was then billed as "Florida Distance Runners Camp". (Now called Brevard Running Camp - happy someone is carrying on the tradition). We ran through trails in the National Forest and at least once during the week we were bused before dawn to the Blue Ridge Parkway to watch the sunrise through the fog cover in the valley below. It was fun to revisit after at least 20 years.


On Saturday, we drove to Black Mountain to visit an ex-coworker of Frank's. Pat and her husband Bill just moved to Black Mountain from Tampa and are building a house there. We enjoyed the visit and the lunch in town. 


Sunday Frank had to leave for a week in Eastern North Carolina for work, and I flew home on Monday. As always we had a good time visiting with the family, as crazy as always.


That's all I'm saying.

The Birthday Boy and Peggy - what a lovely couple

The Entire Gang

Amelia's Azaleas

One of the shops in the shopping area on the resort property.

The azaleas were in bloom all over Amelia Island when we visited this past weekend for a 4 day get-away at the Amelia Island Plantation Resort. The island is in the north-eastern most corner of Florida, near Jacksonville, FL. The weather was wonderful all weekend with blue skies, sunny, and comfortable temperatures in the high 70's during the day time. We didn't test the water temperature, as we figured it would be like a very cold shower. 


We departed from Tampa after lunch on Friday and headed eastbound on I-4. For some reason there was a traffic jam from the Lakeland area to north of Orlando that we estimated cost us at least 1 hour of drive time. Oh, not an issue (except for Frank who did all the driving in the backup - thank you sir) as we had no plans except for dinner at the Verandah Restaurant, one of the main restaurants at the resort. You knew there would be some food comments somewhere in this blog. After Check-In at the extremely friendly front desk, and a brief visit to our room - 5th floor, overlooking the Atlantic (as are all the rooms at the hotel) we headed to The Verandah Seafood Restaurant via the free resort shuttle.(click to view menu from their website - MENU). Frank ordered the Chipotle Honey Glazed Grilled Salmon and I opted for the Grilled Grouper. Both were very good and the portion sizes were perfect. For dessert we shared the Mud Pie - wonderful I say.


After breakfast the next morning we shuttled to the Fitness Center to burn off some of the calories we were consuming. Today we spent some time exploring the resort and some of the shops. The Plantation is very large with many private homes and condominiums as well as rental villas and the hotel.


For Saturday dinner, we had a reservation at Le Clos in Historic Fernandina Beach. It is a lovely French restaurant located in at 1906 cottage in the heart of downtown. Click MENU if interested. We started with a shared Pork and Chicken Liver Pate- very nice. For our entrees Frank ordered the Steak au Poivre cooked to a perfect medium rare. I opted for the Lamb Shank, tender and falling off the bone. For dessert we shared the home-made Vanilla Ice Cream with Caramel sauce, a great finish to a lovely dinner.


Sunday was another day of relaxing, eating and (shhhh) drinking. We spent more time roaming the property in a rental golf cart, called an Island Hopper. That was a fun way to cover the property with ease.


Lunch was back in town. Frank was familiar with a Sushi restaurant that he had dined at on a previous visit to the historic downtown area. Unfortunately it is closed on Sunday. We finally settled on The Crab Trap. It was OK, but not worth spending any time to cover on the blog.


Dinner was at the hotel bar where we ordered a nice cheese plate, Shrimp Cocktail and off the Ocean Grill (also closed on Sunday) menu, one of the restaurants in the main hotel. That was a nice way to wrap up our visit to the Amelia Island Plantation Resort. We had a very relaxing time, which was the intent of this journey. 

Tallahassee - at the Avenue

Last Monday evening (3/12) Frank (on a business trip) and I (just tagging along) had dinner at a new Tallahassee dining spot called Avenue Eat and Drink. The restaurant sits on a park very near downtown and serves Southern Fusion food. We have an Avenue Eat & Drink in St. Petersburg but don't know if that are related. Frank had read some reviews on the Tallahassee Avenue Eat & Drink before we went to Tallahassee. Always on the lookout for a new dining experience, we decided to try it. 


The location is downtown not far from our favorite hotel - Hotel Duval, and near the Florida State Capitol building. Fortunately the senate and house were not in session. The decor was very nice, the service was at times a little slow, but the food was superb.


So, here are our selections:


First Course:
Dick - HEIRLOOM TOMATO AND BURRATA MOZZARELLA SALAD

Sliced heirloom tomatoes, fresh burrata cheese, basil chiffonade with extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic glaze. This was wonderful - if you have never tasted burrata Mozzarella and have an opportunity to try some, you must - the mozzarella has a tender exterior and a rich and creamy interior.


Frank - SIDE SALAD 
Fresh vegetables, gourmet greens and house vinaigrette; a nice mix of ingredients and a very tasty vinaigrette.

Main Course
Dick - BONELESS SHORT RIBS

Braised boneless short ribs with mashed parsnip and potatoes, rosemary Cabernet reduction. This was deep with flavor and extremely tender and the Rosemary Cabernet reduction was a perfect accompaniment. 

Frank - PELAGOS

Locally sourced season Gulf seafood in a slightly spicy tomato fennel broth served with garlic infused baguette (similar to bouillabaisse, a fish stew.) Every bite of seafood was perfectly cooked and loaded with flavor 


Dessert:

We shared a slice of MIKE’S REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER PIE 

Creamy peanut butter filling topped with chunks of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups drizzled with chocolate ganache and caramel


Can you tell we both thoroughly enjoyed our meals? Go, you will not be disappointed.


That's all I'm Saying

The Rest of the Story

It is now Monday in Anaheim and the last day of the trade show for Frank at 1:00 PM. Since we were now paying for our room, I had booked a room with a Disney Fireworks view for our last 3 nights. We only got to view them from the room one night, but it was fun to watch away from the crowds.


We had reservations at Napa Rose for dinner on Monday night. The restaurant is on the first floor of the Grand Californian Hotel on Disney property. The hotel is very similar to the Wilderness Lodge at WDW, but the decor is Arts and Crafts. The restaurant is comparable to the California Grill at the Contemporary Hotel. We enjoyed a drink in the fireplace room, off the lobby before heading to our dinner reservation. 


We started our meal with a shared appetizer of seared sea scallops in a lobster sauce - very nice. Frank ordered the venison chops, tender and cooked to Frank's desired doneness. While I selected the Duck Confit. Both dishes were good although the duck lacked a depth of flavor I would expect. (Yes, the food snob is here again). Frank won the prize for selecting the best dish of the evening. We concluded the evening with a cheese plate - just OK, but still a nice finish to the meal.


Tuesday; We purchased a 1-day Park Hoper pass so we could visit both parks on the same day, Disneyland and California Adventure. Frank had to wheel me around in a wheelchair or I would not have made even one park. Thank you my Friend. It was embarrassing, but I swallowed my pride and let him push away. We did managed to ride a few "easy" rides plus Frank rode solo on the Matterhorn bobsled ride. 


We had lunch at Wine Country Trattoria Restaurant in the California Adventure park where I had Penne Bolognese and Frank opted for the Goad Cheese Mixed Green Salad. After lunch we moved from California Adventure area to Disneyland where we rode more rides including Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (that's my speed) and the Haunted Mansion among others. Dinner was in the Grand Californian Hotel at Hearthstone Lounge, off the hotel lobby. We shared two Blue Cheese Hamburger Sliders and a Cheese Plate.


Wednesday was a fun and interesting day. We booked a full day mini-bus tour of LA and Hollywood with pick-up at the hotel - nice. We toured through much of the city with stops at Hollywood Blvd, (Walk of Fame, Grauman's Theatre, and a view of the Hollywood sign above the city), The Farmers Market (lunch), and Marina del Rey. We drove down Sunset Blvd and Rodeo Drive and through some of the residential street of Hollywood. It was a good overview tour of the area.


Wednesday evening,to complete our journey to Anaheim we returned to Orange Hill Restaurant, see PCH post from earlier in the trip. The view was so nice and the food very good that we wanted to conclude the trip with those memories. I selected the Prime Rib and Frank opted for the Filet Mignon, Both meals were very nice, but someone needs to get a handle on portion control. My prime rib was listed as 3/4 pound, while Frank's Filet had to be at least that much. Way too much food.


Friday was spent at airports and on airplanes returning to Tampa. Our flights were both FULL but uneventful - a good thing I would say.


It was a fun trip., Frank's first to Disneyland and my first return visit to Disneyland since the mid-50's not long after it opened. 


That's all I am Saying

Home Again

I arrived home last night about 12:30 AM after a flight back from Anaheim.  Both legs of the flight were delayed due to passenger boarding issues. Customers were asked to check their "carry on" luggage as the flights were FULL, and there would not be enough room in the overhead space. Since some of the people could not grasp that concept, they were lugging on their large roll-aboards onto the flight and having to check it anyway. Oh, well, that is how it goes when you are flying these days. Now, it is happy blog time (no whining).

Next, first three days of dining.

Friday: After Frank finished with Day 1 of the trade show, we had dinner at Tony Roma's Restaurant close to the hotel. Enough said about that.

Saturday: This was covered in the PCH post a few days ago, so I will jump ahead to Sunday.

On Sunday, I had lunch at Rainforest Cafe (don't bother) at Downtown Disney and walked around the shopping area for a while. The best part of the day was meeting up with a second cousin, Abigail,  who is now living in Hollywood in search of stardom. Before moving to LA she spent 3 years as a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader which is quite an accomplishment. She just finished filming a movie with Adam Sandler (small part - Abi, not Sandler) which will be released next summer. I wish her well - she deserves it.

Abi picked me up at my hotel and she drove us to the foothills east of town to Orange County Mining Company, which has similar spectacular views of the valley like last nights dinner at Orange Hill Restaurant. Abi ordered a pasta primavera and I opted for the Scallops sauteed in a mustard cream sauce.   My only criticism is that the scallops should have been seared, not sauteed. We enjoyed the meals but as with Orange Hill Restaurant, the view stole the show. It was nice spending an evening with Abi - the last time I saw her was at her high school graduation party.

I will catch up on the rest of trip over the next few days. But while you are waiting, here is a shot of Abi and me at the restaurant.

FSS in Philadelphia

Friday Saturday Sunday (<---  click to view site) is open on Monday. Fortunately for us since we had reservations at this Center City Philadelphia restaurant for dinner last Monday. We just returned from a short visit to our friend Deirdre. We took a recommendation from our friend Liz blog Never Trust a Skinny Cook and booked at this long established restaurant.  It was great. There were 5 of us in the group, Frank, Deirdre, me and two other friends from my Ireland trip with Deirdre, a few years ago. All agreed the food and service was really good. I had the "rack of lamb" basically two of the thickest chops I have ever had and cooked to a perfect medium rare. Frank had the butternut squash ravioli in a sage brown butter sauce - loved it. Fran ordered the steak, again cooked perfectly, to which she proclaimed, "This is the best steak I have ever eaten". Els, (Fran's sister) had the crab cakes - another winner. Unfortunately I don't remember what Deirdre had, but she liked it too. (Bad memory).

The ladies had the coconut cream pie (Wow! I had a taste) and Frank and I split the bread pudding.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was a great suggestion, Liz. Thank you. And thanks to Deirdre for the wonderful hospitality during our visit.

Kool Beanz

When in Tallahassee, FL try Kool Beanz Cafe. Frank and I had dinner there last Monday and had a very nice meal in a cool funky setting. People were waiting on the patio for a table by the time we left. The restaurant was packed attesting to it's #3 out of 242 Trip Advisor rating in Tallahassee.


We started with a shared appetizer of Escargot in a garlic butter sauce - very good. Frank followed this with the Boneless Duck Breast in an Ancho-Cranberry sauce which he enjoyed. I opted for the Linguini, with crawdads, tasso ham, mushrooms, roasted garlic cream sauce - which was very good but could have used a few more crawdads. However there was definitely enough food on the plate.


The decor was bright and colorful, the food was very tasty, and the service was good. We recommend Kool Beanz Cafe.

CORRECTION to "The Spoon is Still Saucy" post

I made an error in my post yesterday about the Saucy Spoon. The special wine paring dinner was on Tuesday September 27, not Monday the 26th. They are normally closed on Tuesday except for special events like this.. Bottom line, the Saucy Spoon is open on Monday and closed on Tuesday. (Thanks to Carol for catching this error)


Check the Saucy Spoon website to verify opening hours and days.