Looking for What the Locals Know

      I am addicted to Tripadvisor. When we travel, even if it is only an hour from home, I check out the reviews of restaurants and if it is an overnight, the hotels and the listed "things to do". We love to find restaurants that feature local foods or something unique and if we can avoid the chain restaurants you find in every city in the country, we do so.  We took our time on the way home from my daughter's wedding. We wanted a little post wedding down time, so after staying a couple more days in Florida on the beach, we headed north. Our first stop was in Prattville, Alabama. We stay here often on our way to and from Florida, but we always grab dinner someplace very close to the hotel. We had read on Tripadvisor that the number one restaurant was Uncle Mick's Cajun Café, so we decided to give it a try. It was located in historic downtown Prattville, just a short drive from the area with all the hotels. We knew it wasn't going to be fancy, but everyone claimed the food was fabulous and it was!

 

     The Cajun food is authentic and served cafeteria style, on Styrofoam plates. "Uncle Mick" greets you and asks if you have been there before...if you say "no", you are suddenly given sample bites of everything and anything you want to try. I walked in thinking I was going to have one thing, but after my sample bites...my mind was completely changed. The plate above is mine. The Shrimp a'La Crème was the best thing I ever tasted (and I usually hate fish in a cream sauce). What you see is a half order of the shrimp and a half order of Crab Meat au Gratin, which was also delicious. My meal came with 2 sides and you can see I selected the deviled eggs and tomatoes with feta. 

 

     My husband had the Shrimp Piquant over rice with the Tomato and Feta and Corn Maque Choux and he loved every bite. Our dinners were both about $9.00 each. We took their Bread Pudding back to our hotel for later and it too was delicious. It was just like eating in New Orleans only we were in a small restaurant in Alabama!

 

     Our second night on the way home we spent in the Franklin/Nashville area. We have always loved Nashville, there is so much to see and do there. We met for dinner with a dear friend we hadn't seen in almost 30 years, it was wonderful. If you get the chance to reconnect with someone, take it!

 

     We stopped by The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville and we were greeted with the World of Wicked museum display. Wicked the musical was in town and this display was so much fun. We saw Wicked several years ago in St. Louis and it is one of my favorite shows. It was a small exhibit but there were original costumes and the soundtrack was playing, so fun!

 

  

 

     Our last night was in Paducah, KY. It isn't a long drive to our home from there, but we just had to make the short drive from there to Metropolis, IL to blow $20 at the Casino (we love Casinos, but only play the penny slots and only spend $20, doubt we will ever get rich). We did not love this Casino, it felt dirty to me. We won't go back. We also stopped to see the famous Superman statue.

 

 

     Once again I turned to Tripadvisor to find an interesting place to have dinner in Paducah. We would never have found this place without reading about it, it is in town, but down a road that appears to lead to nothing and there isn't a sign. Flamingo Row is a Caribbean restaurant and as we were driving to it, I wondered what we were getting into.

 

 

The outside was very colorful and the inside...was just fun!

 

     My husband had the Baja Bash, grilled chicken breast topped with Caribbean Mango Vinaigrette on a bed of coconut lime rice, with black bean salsa, avocados, salsa and topped with  toasted pumpkin seeds.  It was $10.89 and much prettier than my phone picture shows.  

 

     I had the Coconut Grove, fried coconut chicken tenders, bananas, pineapple, spring mix, toasted coconut, almonds, and Pina Colada yogurt dressing for $11.99. I  couldn't eat it all, it was so big. Our food was interesting and great. We would definitely go back.  

 

     I think it is much more fun to find those hidden spots, not the tourist spots. The food is usually delicious and the prices are often much less. The next time you have a road trip, check out Tripadvisor, Yelp or just ask the locals in your hotel or a store where they eat...you may find a new favorite place!

 

     I wasn't compensated by any of the above websites/locations, just sharing my opinions.

Food, Glorious Food

     It just wouldn't be my blog if I didn't post a few foodie pictures from our trip. As I go back through some of my pictures, I remember every bite. Like most people, I have been trying to eat a little healthier (and get off the pounds from the trip) so my pictures even make me hungry! Enjoy...without the calories!

     We always celebrate Christmas with my dad before we put him on a plane and send him home to my sister's house for Christmas. This was our second year having our celebration meal at Maggiano's Little Italy. This is a chain restaurant and if there is one near you...go there! They serve a family style meal that is such a great value and the food is excellent. There is so much food that the girls take home enough to have at least two more meals. This year we had everything from Chicken Marsala, Salmon and a Bowtie Pasta to Tomato Caprese, Spinach Salad and Creme Brulee...plus another appetizer, entree and dessert. It isn't a meal...it is an event. You can also order off the menu.

One of our favorite places to eat is Tommy Bahama's. 

The food is always interesting and just pretty! 

     My daughter and I shared a couple of appetizers. 

Coconut Crusted Crab Cakes with a slaw and

 Macadamia Nut Encrusted Goat Cheese with Flatbread. Yum. 

My dad had the Blackberry Brandy BBQ Pork Sandwich

My husband had the Blackened Fish Tacos

We all shared the Cinnamon and Sugar Plantains with Salsa

     This year we were able to head to Siesta Key, FL for a night the weekend before Christmas. We actually put my dad on a plane early Saturday morning and then we went to his home (without him) for the night. It is about 2 hours from Orlando. We had a few things we needed to take care of  and I also just wanted to spend a little time "at home" because I hadn't been there in quite a while. It is hard to explain how it felt to walk into my parent's home after over a year. The only way I can describe it is like a warm hug. I'm lucky to have a place to go that still feels like my mom. I slept in her bed, I knew where everything was located and as I walked around, I remembered so much about where she bought each item or who gave her something as a gift. Dad has made a few changes, but it is still home to my sister and me. The one thing I learned as our family moved around is that home is really where your parents live...it doesn't have to be the house you grew up in. I feel blessed that I had a chance to enjoy such a peaceful 24 hours. 

     One of our favorite places to go on Siesta Key, is the Broken Egg for breakfast. So, after having lunch and dinner at ocean front restaurants on Saturday, we headed out for brunch Sunday morning to the Broken Egg. 

This was my breakfast...perfection!

The basics-boring, but good I guess!

Gingerbread pancakes...have you ever seen anything so huge?

Bacon Benedict Florentine...yummy!

     We also had to make one trip to the little sushi place near my daughter's home. My dad wasn't convinced that he wanted sushi, but after eating here he loved it. I've tried it several places since my first experience here on our last visit and this is the best I've found. It is in a strip mall with no atmosphere...but, the sushi chef certainly knows what he is doing!

     The next few pictures aren't very good. It was too dark to see much and even harder with a camera. I wanted to share a few pictures of the new Fantasyland at The Magic Kingdom. It had just opened when we were there and it was so crowded. The drink below is from Gaston's Tavern and is called LeFou's Brew, named after Gaston's sidekick in "Beauty and the Beast". It is apple juice with toasted marshmallow and passion fruit-mango foam. I didn't think it sounded all that good, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

     Walt Disney World's newest castle is located in The New Fantasyland. It is the Beast's Castle and houses the Be Our Guest restaurant. I understand that the interior is amazing, but because it was new and it was Christmas, they would only let people with reservations for dinner inside. 

     Fantasyland is also home to the new Under The Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid attraction. My dad and my husband did this and said it was very cute. My daughter loves it. We could barely see to walk around the area. It was a dark night and it was very crowded. I can't wait to go back in the daylight during an off season. That ends our culinary tour with a few highlights of some of the foods we enjoyed. I guess you can see why I really need to be on a diet when I'm not in Orlando! 

I am joining Michael @ Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday.

Please visit her for some of the best recipes in the Land of Blog!

  

Roastfish & Cornbread...Zoe Update

     Well, Zoe the pup has taken over our entire lives. She was 8 weeks old yesterday and she is sweet, lovable and exhausting. We don't seem to remember it quite this way from when our old Nike was this age, over 15 years ago. She goes out every 2 hours, which means I have been out in the rain more in the past week than I have been in the past 5 years. She is too little to "hold it" at night, so around 2:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., my husband is cleaning out the crate/kennel and walking around outside in his bathrobe. He is very much a person who requires/expects/demands his sleep, so he is looking at me like "why did I let you do this"! She chews on everything, so I'm picking up shoes, power cords and everything else that isn't glued down-all day long. She wants so badly for our old dog to play, that she chases her through the house, nipping at her ankles until she gets a warning snarl and then she does it all over again. If Nike could talk, she would be asking when this d*** puppy was going home.

     However, she snuggles up and sleeps in your lap for long periods of time. She looks at you with big, brown eyes that seem to say that she loves you more than anything in the world. She plays with her toys, rolling and jumping like a frog. She chases sunbeams (when we have them) on the carpet and she has certainly taken a home with 2 middle-aged boring people with a boring dog and turned us upside-down. We love her. We have no regrets at all, but we will certainly be glad when the accidents stop and she can sleep through the night!

     Now, on to other things...food! While vacationing on Hilton Head Island in October, we had wonderful southern food in a few very interesting places. Our first night, we went to a restaurant called Roastfish & Cornbread. It was the only restaurant that I had circled in the guidebook before leaving home and it was recommended to us by 2 different staff people at the hotel. 

      

     The restaurant isn't large, so I highly recommend going early. The mood was casual, funky and fun. Chef David Vincent Young has created a menu with so many wonderful choices, we didn't know what to do. He also has a delicious selection of vegetarian dishes which sounded wonderful. You can watch him stroll through the restaurant, keeping an eye on things. The staff was superb, the food was perfect.

     It was difficult to get interior pictures. You can see the artwork on the walls. You are looking at the back of a large church pew, which is the seating for a semi-private dining table.

We didn't have to wait for a table because we went early,

but when we left...people were waiting for tables.

     We started our meal with a delicious house salad. That is a yellow tomato, not an egg yolk on the plate. The house dressing was wonderful.

     I selected one of the evening's specials, Fried Softshell Crab (one of my favorites) with hushpuppies and a side of their special Sweet Potato Cornbread. The crab was cooked perfectly. The cornbread was interesting. It had the crumbly texture of cornbread, but tasted more like carrot cake.

     My husband loves Conch Fritters. He often orders them as an appetizer when we are in a southern state. This was the first time we have ever seen them served as a main dish. He said they were perfect, along with hushpuppies and fries. This was not a lowfat meal for us!

     I forgot to take a picture of our dessert. We shared a mini-tart. It was a Blueberry Key Lime Pie. I thought that it would be a tiny pie with blueberries on top, but actually they placed blueberries on the crust before pouring in the filling. So, each bite had blueberry in it as well as a few fresh berries on top with the whipped cream.

     This was a really interesting and fun place to visit and the food could not have been better. It would certainly be on my list to visit again when I'm back on Hilton Head.

Do Try This At Home!

     Cooking seems to be a thing of the past around my house. We have been doing the "healthy eating" things around here for the past several weeks and grilled chicken, salad and veggies really aren't blog worthy. I did however have some great food while in Michigan last week. I thought I would share a couple of our favorite meals with you today for Foodie Friday.

     One of the most well known restaurants in downtown Traverse City is Amical. It has a bistro atmosphere and the food has a French/European theme using only the freshest of ingredients.  We have wanted to try Amical on our many visits to Traverse City and we finally took the time to do so. It will now be on our "must do" list. The restaurant isn't large, but the feeling is cozy not crowded. The service was wonderful and we truly felt as if we were having an "experience" as well as a meal. We were there for a late lunch and everything we had was delicious. I had a cup of tomato basil bisque, which I forgot to take a picture of. It was followed by their Farmer's Market Salad, which changes daily based on what is available fresh locally. The Farmer's Market happened to be going on only 2 blocks from the restaurant while we had lunch, so I saw all the fresh goodies before dining.

     My salad was baby spinach, fresh arugula, goat cheese, fresh strawberries (so much better than the Illinois berries this year) and toasted pecans. The dressing was a strawberry-balsamic reduction. This would be easy to duplicate at home and it was delicious.

     My husband had their famous Chicken Pot Pie, oh my! The pastry crust was amazing and the combination of herbs, chicken and cream...yummy!

     Amical's signature dessert is a fabulous  Raspberry Creme Brulee. The custard is actually poured over the fresh raspberries before it is baked. It comes to the table with the sugar topping still warm. Oh yes, it was good.  

     I loved the black and white checked tablecloths. I really wanted to bring one home with me, but they weren't on the menu. Amical is truly not to be missed if you are in Traverse City.

     We also tried a new restaurant in Traverse City. As you can see, it was raining the night we went and the outdoor seating had been closed for the evening. We love southern cooking and the Soul Hole specializes in southern comfort foods. I've seen mixed reviews on this restaurant, but we enjoyed our visit. The place is very small. Seating is for 49 people inside. The night we were there, it wasn't busy which isn't always a good sign for a new restaurant. We would go back however, we were very happy with our food.

     My husband ordered an appetizer of hush puppies because he wanted to try the crawfish tarter sauce that came with them. They arrived looking a bit "toasty" but they really weren't over-cooked. I'm not a fan of them, but these were good and the sauce was good enough to eat with a spoon.

     My dinner was something I will try at home. I had a Fried Green Tomato BLT. It was huge and so good. I actually removed 2 of the slices of bread (there were 3) and ate it with a knife and fork. There was no way that I could pick this up and eat it. The sandwich had fried green tomatoes, bacon, lettuce, red tomatoes and a seasoned mayo on grilled bread. My side was a small order of cheese grits topped with shredded cheese. No calories in this meal!

     My husband had a Shrimp Poorboy and ate every bite. It was huge and came with homemade chips. He loved it. There were actually several things on the menu that sounded very southern and very good. Traverse City has been recognized in the past few years as a wonderful place for "Foodies" to visit. I think you can see why!

Downtown Traverse City

I am joining Michael @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.

Please take some time to stop in and say hello.