USA Travel

Happenings around the US

Key West Dining: Roostica, Sloppy Joe’s, Santiago’s Bodega, Blue Heaven, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, Latitudes and La Chapina

Thanks to all the Facebook friends who responded when I requested restaurant recommendations in Key West. What follows is a sampling of the places where we did eat and dishes that I'd recommend. Across from where we stayed on Stock Island is Roostica, a friendly place filled with a crowd and a great vibe at 4 pm when we went for Happy Hour. Don't miss the hearty meatball sliders, 2 for $8. We would have returned if we had had enough time. Drinks good, too. Roostica 5620 McDonald Avenue Stock Island 305.296.4999   Walking on Duval Street, Key West's main drag, we stopped at Sloppy Joe’s Bar — Ernest Hemingway's watering [...]

Heritage BBQ, San Juan Capistrano, CA

Who knew that California BBQ could be so good? After my grandson's performance as King Triton in The Little Mermaid, we headed south to San Jan Capistrano to meet some friends for a BBQ at Heritage. (He, by the way, killed it!) The line to order reminded me of the line in Austin outside Franklin BBQ, although not nearly as long. People do wait for good BBQ. Heritage opened in Orange County in the summer of 2020, the first BBQ place to get approval to use the 1,000-gallon Texas-style offset barrel smokers, where food smokes in a long horizontal chamber while charcoal and smoke wood burn in a firebox attached to [...]

Nashville: Fenwick’s 300, Noshville, Snooze, Nash Family Creamery and Arrington Vineyards

When served a Bloody Mary ($7) garnished with pickled okra, I knew I was in the South; that, the plate of biscuits ($5) for the table and the price. Our first breakfast at our Nashville celebration was at Fenwick's 300, a modern diner in the Melrose section. The birthday boy ordered corned beef sauerkraut hash ($13) with a poached egg topped with Hollandaise; I indulged in the Ian 3-egg omelet ($14) with turkey chorizo, jalapeño, onions and cheddar cheese, plus home fries with sides of salsa; those crispy chunks of fried potatoes made that dish. At Noshville, a diner that describes itself as a New York Deli, the griddle cake [...]

Audrey, Nashville, NYC

Some friends and I were in Nashville to help mutual friends celebrate a 65th birthday and a 10th anniversary. We decided to sample some of the city's fare before the celebration commenced. Audrey in Nashville is Shaun Brock's new flagship restaurant inspired by his Appalachian roots, rural South and his maternal grandmother, the restaurant's namesake. He also stirred into the mix his love of Japanese culture. Not familiar with Appalachian cooking, we opted for the $99 per person "feast" to sample lots. Our waiter asked if there were any allergies or food restrictions they should be aware of. One friend said no red meat, the other no pork or shellfish. [...]

Eddie V’s, Nashville, TN + Trisha Yearwood with the Nashville Symphony

  We were running late for our reservation at Sixty Vines before heading to the Trisha Yearwood concert with the Nashville Symphony and kept trying to call. Their phone wasn't working. That didn't matter to the hostess. "Sorry, we gave your table for eight away. We could seat you in an hour." She didn't care that we could not reach them to say we were running late. That timing wouldn't work, as we wouldn't make our concert on time. Lucky for us, we could all be seated at Eddie V's around their bar. I started with a "cocktail with attitude." Blair, our friendly bartender, made my Smoked Old Fashioned ($20), [...]

Central Park Boathouse Dockside Pop Up, Central Park , NYC

For an iconic afternoon in Central Park, I suggest sitting dockside at the Boathouse alongside The Lake that officially opened in 1858. With views of the Manhattan skyline, row boats on the water, the trees changing color in front of you and others taking in the idyllic scenery, it’s pure bliss. Boat rentals are available — weather permitting — from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 until November 26. They offer a limited menu with all food served on disposables. The food is tasty, and the servers friendly. Lucky me, I was invited to sample their fare and tried several of their offerings. Our servers couldn’t have been friendlier, including Clay, who [...]

Caló Kitchen + Tequila, Laguna Niguel, CA

We stopped to have lunch at Caló Kitchen + Tequila restaurant before heading to Barnes & Noble for a book for my granddaughter. My daughter-in-law, granddaughter and I nibbled on their shrimp ceviche ($17) and their warm, wonderful beans and salsa with chips while the adults sipped margies. I tried their Cadillac one made with milagro blanco and Grand Marnier, asking for their spicy twist ($15), while my d-i-l had the grilled pineapple chile one ($16). Both delicious. When ordering from our well-trained waiter, Alex, I realized he knew his Mexican sauces. As a New Yorker, I was fascinated by the enchilada discussion. My d-i-l was hoping for Enchiladas Suizas, [...]

Lunch at Ruby & Bella’s, Greenwich, CT

I hadn't seen my Nashville friends since I visited them pre-pandemic. They met Bryan and me at the train station so that we could start our visit on the walk to Ruby & Bella's on Greenwich's main drag. We stopped yakking only long enough to give our orders at this comfy Greenwich Avenue lunch spot. My son at the juicy Black Label Burger ($24) made from Pat la Frieda house blend, topped with cheddar and bacon on a smoked onion aioli spread brioche. I ordered the unusual buns filled with crispy cod topped with napa cabbage slaw and scallions in a soft pancake reminiscent of the Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches. [...]

Heavenly Visit to Lodge at Woodloch, Hawley, PA

It was the trip that almost didn't happen. Three times. First, I was injured; second, one of us had COVID. I can't recall the third. I do, though, recall arriving at Woodloch when a staff swarm greeted us, took our luggage to storage until our rooms were ready and immediately escorted us in to register. We then were seated for lunch in the dining room, where we'd consume all our meals. Friendly, welcoming and attentive service is what we found in the dining room. Guests wore casual, active workout clothes or terry robes for breakfast yet dressed for dinner. We only needed reservations for dinner. We squeezed a four-night trip [...]

Mediterraneo Restaurant, Greenwich, CT

While visiting my friends' new Greenwich home, we went to dinner on Greenwich Avenue one evening at Mediterraneo. This friendly, warm restaurant combined the tastes of the sea and Italy. Their breads and fresh hummus satiated us as we discussed what we'd have. We started by sharing their tasty appetizers that included steamed P.E.I. mussels in a rich red curry cream ($17), grilled squid with shaved fennel, radishes and cherry tomatoes ($17), crispy crab stuffed artichoke bottoms with tarragon-lemon aioli ($19) and grilled Spanish octopus with smoked chorizo sofrito and diced potatoes ($21). Next, we shared the black squid ink linguine with shrimp and roasted tomatoes topped with lemon breadcrumbs [...]

Wine Bar George, Disney Springs, Florida

I was dining with Pam Parks, my Disney publicist from the past, who still works for them as a writer of their cookbooks. Her latest Delicious Disney: Walt Disney World: Recipes & Stories from The Most Magical Place on Earth recently published. George Miliotes, Master Sommelier, happened to be at his namesake Wine Bar George when we lunched there recently.  The wine bar offers more than 140 wines by the glass, bottle and — for the pricey ones — by the ounce! The bar has received many accolades, being awarded the Best Micro Wine List in the World 2019, Best By-the-Glass Wine List With Coravin® in North America and Honored by [...]

Morimoto Asia + Frontera Cocina, Disney Springs, Orlando, Florida

We headed over to Disney Springs to dine a few times while I was in Orlando, as there were more than 60 options to eat, including 25 table-service restaurants. I must be getting old, as I found the noise level at dinner at these restaurants deafening. Not surprisingly, Morimoto's drinks lean toward Asian, with two of our cocktails made with Japanese whisky and sake. I sampled their Old Fashioned ($18) made with Suntory Toki whisky ($18), while another tried the sake sangria topped with fresh Asian pears and apples. Their Mai Tai is more traditional ($18), made with Cruzan coconut rum and a floater of Appleton estate rum. Don't miss [...]

By |2023-03-24T08:09:10-04:00March 26th, 2023|Bites from the Road, USA Travel|0 Comments

Dame Bonnie Tandy Leblang Collection at The Boyd Hospitality & Culinary Library

(With excerpts from the speech given at the library's opening.) My interest in everything culinary started as soon as I could hold a wooden spoon.   I began collecting food-related stuff early and continued most of my life. That extensive collection included cookbooks, menus, pamphlets, booklets, other food/nutrition-related books – and memorabilia, like the My*T*Fine pudding package sporting an image of Howdy Doody!   I even went the food route with my education, studying and getting degrees in food science and nutrition and becoming a Registered Dietitian. When I was getting ready to sell my cookbook-lined Connecticut home and move to Manhattan, I tried to find a home for my extensive library. Most [...]

Building Hope, Changing Lives: Cafè Reconcile, New Orleans, LA

The best food on this New Orleans trip? Cafè Reconcile. It's a lunch-only service restaurant with Southern foods cooked and served by at-risk youth in job training. Cafè Reconcile builds hope while changing lives. Everything we ate was delicious. We ended up there because of its proximity — across the street — to the SoFAB Museum, where we had headed after the opening of the John & Bonnie Boyd Hospitality & Culinary Library, where my book collection is now housed. Portions are enormous; the prices the opposite with delicious food. The chicken and andouille gumbo ($4) danced in my mouth! That cup s0 satisfied, so I couldn't finish the hearty [...]

Dinner at Novo on the Creek in San Luis Obispo, California

It was my last meal in California in late summer before waking at dawn to head back east from San Luis Obispo. We opted for creekside dining in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo at Novo, serving locally sourced, wholesome, and globally inspired food. We started with a bottle of their Zuccardi Malbec (reasonably priced at $38). We had decided to mainly have sharing plates as that's what's most interesting at Novo. Friends told us not to miss their salmon bisque ($10) with the recipe from Robin's, their sister restaurant in Cambria, CA. We ordered one small "poco" bowl and three spoons to share the rich broth with huge chunks of salmon. [...]

Not to be Missed: Old West Cinnamon Rolls, Pismo Beach, CA

"Do not miss the warm cinnamon rolls at Old West," we were told. Our family, who live in San Luis Obispo, came to visit us at the home I rented on Pismo Beach for what I termed Camp Grammie (Also referred to as Camp Grimby, Camp Pismo Beach and Camp Everyone!) It was the first time I had vacationed with all three grandkids. Like camp, I had activities planned to keep them busy. Our visitors raved about the cinnamon rolls at Old West, suggesting going early, as some flavors sell out. I listened. Soon after it opened at 6:30 am the next day, I headed to Old West Cinnamon Rolls [...]

Bistro Basque, Milford, CT

Could it have been a decade (gulp!) since I dined at Bistro Basque in Milford? At that time, I had described it as "a hidden gem in the center of Milford." The menu, of course, changed; the space had too. We sat outside on a terrace and sipped the Pazos de Lusco Albariño ($52), enjoying the food and company.  Two of us ordered only small plates, including their cauliflower gratin ($15), codfish croquetas ($11), piquillo peppers stuffed with short ribs ($15) and foie gras poêlé ($15.50). Loved the flavor of the seared foie gras, only wished there was more of that and fewer sautéed apples.   One friend had their traditional paella Estilo [...]

Eating at the Shore, Long Branch, NJ

Long Branch has been our summer go-to place when heading to the shore for a day or longer stay.  It's about an hour and a half drive on weekdays to the white sand beach. Since we like eating outside in Pier Village, we frequent the same places along the boardwalk. We are there more for the view of the Atlantic than the food.  That said, Avenue makes a decent bloody Mary, garnished with pickled green beans. Try their Croque Madame ($23). It's a hearty ham and cheese sandwich topped with a fried egg. If you're a fry lover like me, order their crispy shoestring fries ($10). The honey ginger glazed [...]

Nina Compton’s Compare Lapin, New Orleans

First stop on my New Orleans eating adventure was Compare Lapin, the sophisticated eatery serving Caribbean- and European-accented New Orleans flavors located in Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery. Chef Nina Compton, who hails from St. Lucia, was unable to join us. She sent us bubbly before she had to depart ($18 each). Don't miss her flaky buttermilk biscuits with both honey and bacon butter ($6/2). We used them to sop up the sauce from both the tuna ceviche ($17) in tiger's milk (Leche de Tigre) topped with crisp yucca strips and the Calabrian butter in the five large broiled shrimp ($17). I'd recommend the tender curried goat with delicate [...]

Jaleo by José Andrés, Disney Springs, Orlando

As with José Andrés other Jaleo, this one highlights the spirit and flavors of Spain, showcasing the rich regional diversity of Spanish cuisine. I had been lucky enough to have been at Jaleo for its opening in Washington, DC many years ago so I was looking forward to experiencing his food and service again. It didn't disappoint. We started with perfect cocktails. I ordered their Jerez Old Fashion with Contradiction Bourbon, Spanish Solera brandy, a touch of cinnamon and fernet bitters ($15), one of the best Old Fashions I've experienced. My friends enjoyed their Agua de Sevilla with Bourbon, cava and pineapple flavored with sage and orange bitters ($15). Our [...]

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