The Floridian - St. Augustine, FL

 

While on a long weekend get-a-way to St. Augustine, FL we enjoyed some delicious fresh eats at this gem of a restaurant tucked away on a not so busy part of Cordova street in historic St. Augustine.  The Floridian was suggested to us from a guy working at the Pit Shop surf shop in St. Augustine Beach after I'd ask his favorite places to grab a bite to eat.  One thing I can say about St. Augustine is that this area has no shortage of great places to eat!  We actually went to The Floridian twice in our short visit to the downtown area, once for drinks and the next day we welcomed the warm sunny weather as we enjoyed lunch on their quaint patio.     

After sharing cornmeal dusted fried green tomato bruschetta, I had a the fresh flounder "chipwhich" - as their menu says: "if you've never tried potato chips on a sandwich, you're missing out on one of life's true delicacies"- and I would agree, it was excellent.  JJ had another signature dish, the Not-so-Mac and Cheese.  It was a big bowl full of warm cheeses and fresh grains with seasonal veggies and blackened shrimp.  Simple, fresh and delicious - everything was top notch!  

An interesting note about this restaurant is that it is located across the street from a beautiful church, which according to the bartender we met is the reason why they can not serve alcohol directly to your table.  So the way they get around this little rule is to have patrons order drinks from the bar & carry them back to their individual tables (or you can sit at the bar).  Worked for us - we had some tasty craft beer from The Native brewing company.

This is an awesome place to enjoy lunch or dinner.  The people were nice & friendly, the service was good and it was a busy afternoon and evening when we were there.  For the two of us, it was a great fit to the type of place we love finding while on vacation to a new city.  So thanks to The Floridan staff for a great experience and to the young man at the surf shop who gave us the recommendation!  

Johnny's Po-Boy Restaurant

JJ and I recently took a trip to New Orleans for a few days over the 4th of July weekend and on one of our many days filled with walking around the French Quarter we stopped at Johnny's Po-Boy on St. Louis Street for some authentic New Orleans sandwiches. Johnny's had been recommend to us by a friend who has spent some time in NOLA working with Give Back Cincinnati so I was very excited when we were able to visit the oldest family owned po-boy shop in the city.
We tried to hit up Johnny's on a Saturday around 1pm and we could barley stand inside the fairly small dining room, it was that crowded. So we changed plans that afternoon and hit up the shop the next afternoon when it was a little less crowded. After standing in line for a few minutes and staring up at the big white board filled with Po-Boy options, we decided to split a "Johnny's special" - roast beef, grilled ham, swiss & american cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickle - all piled up on some french bread.
While waiting for our sandwich, I loved all the people watching. Tons of people were bringing out their phones to grab a photo of these huge sandwiches that they were about to consume. The dining room is small, but I did notice some people where headed to the back of the building so I'm guessing there was some more seating back there.
Johnny's is 1 or 2 blocks north of the Riverwalk along the Mississippi River, so JJ had a great suggestion to get our po-boy to go and head over for a picnic along the river. I once saw a show on the travel channel where some guy was talking about po-boys saying that the way to tell if it's a good one is when the juices run down your arm when you take a bit out of it and let me tell you Johnny's did not disappoint - it was totally awesome!

Check out Johnny's Po-Boy if you ever get to the historic French Quarter of New Orleans. Don't be discouraged if there's a line when you visit - it goes fast and if it's a nice day, then I recommend getting it "to-go" and heading over to the Riverwalk area where there are plenty of benches and open green space for a picnic.

Dressing up for Dinner...

Located in the Mandalay Bay is a wonderful "progressive American cuisine" restaurant where JJ and I celebrated our one year anniversary. Aureole - pronounced with the "O" emphasis like "Oreol" - has been a fixture in Las Vegas since New York City's Master Chef Charlie Palmer expanded his culinary roots out West to open this location back in 1999. The restaurant eludes a sense of sleek sophistication the minute you walk through the door and see the four story wine tower housing the nearly 10,000 bottles of wine they offer. As you walk down the stair case surrounding the wine tower, you are welcomed to the dining room where crisp white linens and fancy china adorned the tables which are lit by candle light.

We were greeted by a gentlemen who offered us the choice of the Chef's fixed menu or a wide selection of a la carte menu options for our dining experience. We were also given Aureole's wine list. This was a bit overwhelming actually because their wine list is not presented on the traditional paper menu, there are so many choices offered to patrons that the wine list is stored on an e-tablet type computer. According to their website, they use the world's first electronic wine list to track their extensive collection. Luckily for us, once we narrowed our choice down to an Italian red wine, the restaurant's sommelier came to our table to help make a wonderful selection of a blended wine to compliment our dinner selections.

Watching the servers and house staff glide through the restaurant was like watching a tightly choreographed dance routine. Each table has several dedicated staff members attending to the table, always making sure items are removed as soon as they are used, while not being too over bearing. This finely crafted service allows guests to sit back and enjoy a wonderfully romantic evening.

My entree selection was the grilled New York strip steak served with a Mediterranean ratatouille and rosemary garlic pesto, which only has two words to describe the way this dish tasted - simply delicious. JJ went with the seared sea scallop minestrone prosciutto tortellini, which was beautifully plated and tasted wonderful. In addition to our entrees, we shared the truffle mashed potatoes and the buttered asparagus, both offering a great compliment to our entree selections. We splurged for the dessert sampler too, where we enjoyed small bites of meyer lemon creme brulee, mocha chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake - all amazing. We were also treated to the variety sampler of sorbets, including pineapple, watermelon and orange flavors - again, each one was amazing.

As we enjoyed our evening at this fine restaurant, it was a real treat to watch the wine tower in action. You see this four story tower not only houses the wine bottles, it includes a complex pulley system where "wine angels" glide up and down pulling out bottles of wine as they are selected by guests. For more details on this unique feature check out the wine angels who were featured on Oprah's dream job segment - click here for the video.

If your travel plans ever take you to Las Vegas and you're looking for a place to splurge on a wonderful evening out, do your self a favor by making a reservation at Aureole. It's the perfect place to dress up, sip wonderful wine, indulge in delicious food and enjoy a night out on the town.

El Jefe Burger Shack

The Luquillo area in Puerto Rico is know for its beautiful sandy beach & deep blue waters offering great waves for surfing & bogey boarding. It's also know to the locals as a great place to stop off after a day at the beach for some great grub! There's a strip of locally owned restaurants that runs right along the main highway in town. This area is called the Luquillo Kioskos. Here you can kick back with a cold Medalla beer and enjoy some local dishes like empanadillas and rice & beans.

If you stop by Kiosko #12, you're in for a real treat, you'll find El Jefe Burger Shack. This stand is know for it's hand packed angus beef burgers & some truly delicious pina coladas! We stopped off at the Burger Shack after a great day exploring the El Yunque Rain Forest. JJ and I were greeted by a nice young lady, who invited us to grab a seat and check out the menu.

The vibe is totally relaxed, with people mingling about, drinking cold beverages and exchanging laughs. We headed to an open table, near the back of the open air restaurant. We ordered up some of tasty drinks from the bar - a pina colada for me and a margarita for JJ.

Time for lunch - we decided to share a burger & some beer battered onion chips. We ordered up a 1/2 lb. burger, topped with sauteed onions, swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms, mayo, lettuce & tomato - all stacked between a fluffy toasted bun. Check out the picture below - now that's what I'm talking about, some serious goodness here people! Yummm...

The El Jefe Burger Shack in Luquillo, PR totally rocks - it's an absolute must visit if you are ever in the area. Now I know this is not the type of food you think of when you might think of "local" Puerto Rican food, but what I love about this burger joint is that lots of their products are bought from local farmers and they work one on one with a local bakery to make the buns that are delivered fresh to the restaurant. They make their sauces & dressings from scratch and their walls are covered with artwork from local artists. The owners fell in love with Puerto Rico and have created a gold mine, right along the beach - does it get any better than that, seriously!

Castillo San Cristobal - Puerto Rico

One morning we toured the Old San Juan fort areas. These massive structures were built during the 1500s-1600s time period. To stand in an area where battled took place is quite outstanding. The beauty of these structures is truly remarkable and it was a beautiful day to take in these historical sights. We spent most of the morning at Castillo de San Cristobal. This Spanish fort was completed in the late 1600s to fight of land attacks on San Juan. It's older, more famous neighbor, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, was constructed to defend against water attacks and guard the bay area of San Juan.

Here are a few interesting things I learned while visiting San Cristobal:

The Spaniards fired the first shot from this fort during the Spanish-American war in during the late 1800s. Below is a picture showing the main plaza area. The doorways lead into vaulted rooms where cannons were housed to fight of enemy attacks. There are a series of several underground tunnels used to connect all the areas of the fort. This picture below shows the 3 tunnel entrances. These tunnels were used for several things; including moving men and supplies during battle, mining galleries, and the tunnel on the far left leads to the only dungeon at San Cristobal.
Three flags fly over Castillo San Cristobal - the Puerto Rican flag, the US flag, and an old Spanish military flag, known as the Cross of Burgundy. I love the picture below, the true beauty of this place stands out to me in this picture. The flags flying against the blue sky background, the rounded windows of the sleeping quarters for the soldiers, and the old original brick of the structure - quite a remarkable sight and part of world history.
Castillo San Cristobal offers a breathtaking view up the coast line towards it's counter part - El Morro. Below you can see the waves crashing against the sea wall and off in the distance, the watch tower of El Morro.

The Wave is still standing...

We stayed at a rental house in the 800 block of Ocean Blvd called "The Wave" while we were on vacation to Holden Beach this summer. The home has an inverted floor plan: meaning all the bedrooms & baths are on the lower level and the main gathering area is on the top floor offering up some seriously awesome views of the sun rising, which totally rocked.
One thing we didn't know is that this particular house happens to be one of the tallest houses on the West end of the island. This fact didn't turn out to be a good thing when a storm rolled in mid-week. We enjoyed a nice morning with lots of beach time & sunshine, then the clouds darkened and the skies started brewing. Everyone hustled inside as the rain started falling and most of us decided to call it a day, and start getting ready for our dinner plans.

It sure didn't take long for the light rains to turn into a heavy down poor and thunder to start rolling in. The storm was quick and fast and over in less than an hour. But it sure did leave it's mark on "The Wave". After a couple of claps of thunder, I heard the loudest cracking noise I've ever heard in my life and seriously saw a white flash of light go through the whole room I where I was standing.

Lightening.

Seriously, our beach house got stuck by lightening! Talk about crazy. Some of us had just gotten out of the shower, others were still in the shower, and two people where outside on a covered porch watching the storm. I mean, how many things have to line up perfectly for a house to get struck by lightening while on vacation!

Everyone ran out of their rooms making sure no one was hurt, we were all safe, Thank God. No visible fire or smell of smoke, so after the shock of it, we all thought the coast was clear, no need to panic.

A short time later, someone smelled something like burnt electrical wires and noticed the ceiling fan was dislodged from the ceiling with a burnt black ring around where it was hanging. Turns out lightening hit the house, splitting the beam that was supporting the ceiling fan. The strike also knocked out the Cable, and toasted the DVD player & surround sound audio.

The rental company was on top of things, sending out the police & fire departments to check out the house to make sure there was no dangers lurking in the attic, etc. It was quite a sight really, but a nice comfort to know that we were cleared to stay in the house the rest of our time while on vacation. Enjoy these clips from this crazy afternoon at the beach...



At least we will all have a great story to tell every year when we reminisce about the summer of 2009 at Holden Beach. The Wave Beach House. Hit by lightening, Seriously.

Sugar Shack

Ocean Isle, NC is home to a fabulous Jamaican restaurant called the Sugar Shack. I'm not sure who in our group of vacationing travelers is responsible for finding this gem of a place, but I am sure glad it has become a tradition to visit the Sugar Shack during our vacations over the past 3 years.
The Sugar Shack story is told on their menu as something like this:

Once upon a time, a "corporate type" lady, Linda, took a vacation to Jamaica and fell in love with Dave. A year later, the two were married and moved to New York to try out big city living. Dave's authentic Jamaican style cooking became a favorite among friends and family and the couple decided to trade in their "suits" and head down south to Ocean Isle, NC. In 1996, the Sugar Shack was opened and has been a favorite for the locals and vacationers in the area ever since.

Visiting this restaurant is one of my favorite parts of our beach vacation. It doesn't matter if you go in the middle of the week or on a weekend, you can expect to wait for a table at the Sugar Shack. But no worries, it is totally and completely worth any wait you may encounter! There is a nice outside patio area where you can kick back and sip on a Red Stripe while you let your taste buds warm up to the lovely smells of the Jamaican cooking.

Our group is a huge fan of the Baby Back Ribs. These suckers literally fall off the bone and melt in your mouth. Jamaican cooking is all about spices, marinating, and slow cooking. There's no sauce on these ribs and you don't even miss it. The meat is tender and juicy. I ordered the Ribs & Shrimp special for dinner. It was a half rack of ribs, a half dozen fried coconut shrimp w/ a Mango pepper salsa, seasoned fries, and a tasty Cole slaw.

JJ's dinner choice was the Jerk Pork. A hunk of juicy smoked boneless pork loin served with a Jamaican dipping sauce. For sides, he had the slaw and red beans & rice. The staff at Sugar Shack is friendly and always willing to snap a group shot. I love how happy every one looks after a satisfying, delicious meal shared with family & friends.
Eating at the Sugar Shack, in my opinion, is the best way to wrap up the day during a relaxing vacation to the beach!

Day Tripin'

Last week during our vacation to Holden Beach in North Carolina, we had a few stormy and rainy days. Luckily there weren't any huge downpours that lasted all day, but toward the end of the week the weather was overcast with off and on light rain. On Friday, we decided to jump on the car and head north to the community of Southport, which is a lovely marina town located on the Cape Fear River.

On the way up to Southport, JJ and I stopped off at a few beach towns and enjoyed spending the day together on our last day of vacation. Our first stop was at the Island Brew coffee house in Oak Island. With yummy lattes in our hands, we cruised over to Beach Road and admired all the great ocean front houses and stopped off at one of the public beach access spots to grab a few photos.

Just north of Oak Island, is a small beach called Caswell Beach. JJ's family vacationed here once when he was younger and he remembered seeing lots of wildlife near the houses close to the ocean. This beach is also home to the Oak Island Lighthouse, which sits on property owned by the US Coast Guard. This lighthouse is one of 6 operating lighthouses in NC.

We then headed up to Southport, in hope of catching the ferry over to Bald Head Island. What I didn't know was that the ferry only runs until around 5pm and we didn't get into to Southport until 2:30ish and we were starving for some good lunch! We opted to save the trip over to Bald Head until next summer and make it a day trip, giving us plenty of time to enjoy the island and tour Old Baldy Lighthouse. (A former co-worker and friend is very familiar with Bald Head Island, so Blond Across the Pond, I'll need the lowdown on the must-do's before our trip next year!)

Our first stop in Southport was at the Visitor's Center, where we gathered some maps and then we headed over to the Fishy Fishy Cafe for lunch along the river. This place was great! The lunch menu offers tasty seafood choices and there was a nice selection of beer & wine to choose from making for a relaxing afternoon along the waterfront. I had the Shrimp BLT, which was fresh sauteed shrimp, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and a basil aioli sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla. JJ had the Fried Shrimp platter and this was some very good fried shrimp. The breading they used was a very light and almost had a flaky texture, not like that thick breading you'll find where you can't really taste the shrimp. Fishy Fishy Cafe has a nice lightly seasoned breading that compliments the taste of the shrimp. Not only was the food great, we enjoyed the nice laid back atmosphere out on their covered porch watching the fishing boats getting ready to take to the sea. I'd definitely recommend checking this restaurant out if you ever visit Southport, NC.
After lunch we road around the quaint town, checking out all the cute shops. The town is made up of tree lined streets, and beautiful historic homes. If it hadn't been rainy, we would have probably done the walking tour that the visitor's society recommends. Instead, we stayed dry and drove the streets of Southport to check out this charming community. I did grab this nice picture of one of the many trees that line the sidewalks. The limbs of the tress on each side of the walkway create this beautiful canopy effect as you walk along these streets.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual tour of the Southport, NC area. Check it out someday if you're ever in the southeastern coast of North Carolina, I think you'd enjoy it in person as much as I did.

Maui Honeymoon...

Last night we booked our plane tickets for the honeymoon! I have already posted about the second stop we'll be making in Kauai. So I thought I'd update everyone on our first stop, Maui. We've booked a room at the Westin on Ka'anapali beach.

I feel completely blessed to be going back to Hawaii. I'm really looking forward to exploring Maui and all the wonderful things it has to offer. We are staying in the more "touristy" area, but we've rented a car (convertible, of course!), so I know we'll be taking some road trips throughout the island while we are there.

A few things to do that are on the top of our list include driving the Road to Hana, checking out Haleakala National Park for a hike or bike ride, and eating at some good local restaurants. (Suggestions welcomed!)

We've also talked about taking a day trip to Lana‘i, Molokini, or Molokai island, we've heard good things about Trilogy tours. These sailing trips look cool because most of them offer the chance to snorkel once your reach the destination island. (Now, I'm not to big on snorkeling because the only time I tried it I had a really hard time relaxing and getting my breathing under control. I basically freaked out, gave up and spent the day laying on the beach while the rest of the group snorkeled and said it was a wonderful experience. I'm not going to let that bad experience hold me back though, I am going to try it again and I'm prepared to let myself relax in the water and enjoy the moment!!!)

So, the tickets are purchased, the cars are rented, the rooms are booked. Now all we need to do it pack our bags, get married and head off to those wonderful Hawaiian islands for 11 days of bliss!

Calgon Take Me Away!

There is a place near and dear to my heart has been calling my name for the last few months...
And when a place as beautiful and relaxing as Holden Beach calls your name, I say you must answer as soon as possible!

The countdown is on, we are minus 30 days until our vacation to the beach.

I. Can. Not. Wait.

The group has upgraded this year on the accommidation side of things. We're staying at The Wave, this place is completely sweet! Four bedrooms, all with private baths, a HUGE deck with lounge chairs overlooking the ocean, and drumroll please ..... a Swimming Pool!

Most days at Holden are spent lounging in beach chairs nestled the sand, but I'm willing to bet a few hours for me will be spent lounging on a raft in this pool!

Did I say this already...

I. Can. Not. Wait.

Kauai Honeymoon...

Hello dear blog readers! I am very excited to share with you that we have booked our 2nd stop on our honeymoon to Hawaii. We'll be staying at the Islander on the Beach in Kapaa, Kauai. I'm totally jazzed about the condo I found and think it will be a great fit for our 3 day stay in Kauai. The photo below is a picture from the balcony of our room.
It looks to die for, right!!! We booked it through a website called HomeAway, where individual owners of condos/vacation homes rent out their properties. The website is a great way to price compare places and helpful at finding vacation spots that are not part of a huge hotel chain. I recommend checking it out if you're looking for your next vacation get-a-way. (They have rentals all over the world.)

I'm looking forward to checking out the island of Kauai. I know several friends who've traveled to the wettest spot in the world (Mount Waialeale) and have rave reviews of the island with the beautiful coastline. A few things I'd like to do while on Kauai are take a catamaran boat out to see the Na Pali Coast, take a hike at Waimea Canyon, maybe splurge and take a helicopter tour of this heavenly place (I hear it's the best way to see the island!). Let me know you're thoughts if you've been to Kauai, I'd love to get some recommendations of restaurants, things to do and the names of any tours/activities you enjoyed while on Kauai.

We are still working out some detail for our stay in Maui. We'll be there for about 7 days, so any tips or recommendations you have on this beautiful vacation spot are welcomed too!

Will it ever get here...

I'm not sure if I've ever wanted a vacation to happen sooner than I want our trip to the beach to get here this summer.

In 29 days, we'll be arriving in Holden Beach, North Carolina - it's a quaint little beach town at the most southern part of NC. The type of place that doesn't have high rise hotels and a McDonald's on every corner. There's one grocery store to buy all your food for the week and a cute family owned coffee shop to pick up your morning latte if you choose.

I'm relaxed just thinking about the beach...a great way to wrap up the week.

So much to look forward to ... in less then 30 days!