Road Tips

Boulder Tap House - St. Cloud, MN

In St. Cloud on a recent visit, I did some training for one of my dealers in the area and I offered to take them out for some food and beer.  The owner suggested we go to a place in which they put in the sound and video system - Boulder Tap House.  I'd gone past Boulder Tap House a few times on my previous visits to St. Cloud and always wondered about the place.  I was more than happy to take them there to try the place out.  

The Boulder Tap House is under the corporate umbrella of the Letnes Restaurant Group located in St. Cloud.  Brothers Steve and Curt Letnes opened the first Grizzly's restaurant in St. Cloud in 1995 and expanded their restaurants to a total of 14 locations in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.  The Letnes Brothers, along with Rich Proctor, also own Poncho and Lefty's Tex-Mex Grill in Baxter, MN.  In 2007, Kent Letnes - a son of Curt Letnes - opened his own restaurant venture under the Letnex Restaurant Group banner, Milwaukee Burger Company.  They now operate three locations of that restaurant in Wisconsin.  

Most of the Grizzly's locations were in strip malls around the upper Midwest, but the group decided to abandon those locations for free standing buildings.  The Grizzly's at Crossroads Center shopping mall in St. Cloud was shut down and the liquor license was transferred to their new venture, the Boulder Tap House that had taken over a what was the old Timber Lodge Steakhouse location on the south side of St. Cloud.  (see map)  The Boulder Tap House opened in 2011 and a second location opened in Mankato later that year.  A third Boulder Tap House opened in the Brainerd/Baxter area in 2012 and I was told by my dealer that they were working on a fourth Boulder Tap House location in Superior, WI that is scheduled to open sometime later this year.   

Managing partner Ray Herrington had a table ready for us when we walked into the Boulder Tap House around 7:30 p.m.  The place was sort of packed because they were debuting a new beer from a local Twin Cities brewery that I wasn't familiar with, Fulton.  It's a small brewery that was started five years ago by four college buddies in a one-car garage.  I had their IPA and it was pretty good.

 
The Boulder Tap House is primarily a sports bar.  A number of flat screen televisions as well as large projection television were throughout the place.  My dealer was telling me that they did the audio and video switching system, taking me into a back area by the kitchen to show me the myriad of satellite receivers, switching devices and video boxes that controlled the video at Boulder Tap House.  It was a pretty impressive system, I have to say.  

The Boulder Tap House concept closely follows the Milwaukee Burger House concept - over 40 beers on tap (including Kona Longboard Lager and Capital Supper Club, two of my favorite beers), over-the-top burgers, and a number of higher end appetizers.  Looking through the menu, I saw that they had 15 specialty burgers including the aptly named Defibrillator - it was a double cheeseburger topped with cheese curds and smokehouse bacon, then topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, relish, jalapeño peppers, banana peppers, sautéed mushrooms, fried onions, and something they call Burger Co. sauce, which I think is sort of a spicy ranch-style dressing.  You could also make your own Tap House burgers that consisted of a choice nine different cheeses (including house-made cheese curds), four different types of bacon (including a pepper bacon and jalapeño bacon), eight toppings as diverse as Pabst Blue Ribbon-sautéed onions, fried egg, onion straws, banana peppers and fresh avocado, and a half-dozen different sauces.    

My dealer decided to start out with a number of appetizers which included spicy chicken quesadillas, spicy chicken lettuce wraps and two different types of wings - one batch with a habanero and mango sauce, and the other that were blackened.  He really likes the lettuce wraps and I tried one and it was good.  It had enough of a zippy spice on the chicken to get your attention.  I did try a couple of the habanero and mango chicken wings, as well as a couple of the blackened chicken wings.  I thought the sweet and spicy taste of the habanero/mango wings was a nice combination.  While the habanero sauce didn't burn your face off, the fruity mango taste on the backside made sure of that.  Actually, I thought the blackened chicken wings were more hot in terms of spiciness than the habanero/mango wings. 

The guys decided that they wanted to get some burgers after the appetizers were finished.  I had no problem with that.  I went with one of the specialty burgers - a muenster cheese, bacon and mushroom burger.  One of the guys went with a stuffed jalapeno burger with jalapeno fries.  My dealer went with the Swiss/mushroom burger with Burger Co. sauce.  And one of the guys - a hulking kid by the name of Mike - went with something he called the "Big Assed Burger".  It was basically two different specialty burgers put together - the Defibrillator (which I described earlier) and a stuffed jalapeno and peanut butter burger.  This one I had to see to believe. 

Our food came out and here is what the Big Assed Burger looked like.  It was three burger patties - half pound each topped with melted cheese and peanut butter.  Warm peanut butter is pretty disgusting to me, but this was an interesting burger.  I was more intrigued if he could eat the whole thing.  "Don't worry," my dealer told me.  "He'll kill it."  

 
Here's the stuffed jalapeno burger one of the guys had.  It came with onion straws on top of the burger patty and a mess of sliced jalapenos with the burger.  I like a good jalapeno burger from time to time, but that may have been a little too much for me to handle.  

One of the guys got a burger with both Swiss and cheddar cheese on top of it.  I asked him how if one cheese overpowered the other.  "Beats me," he said.  "I just like the taste of the combination on these burgers."

 
And my burger was topped with sliced sauteed mushrooms, then topped with a thick slab of muenster cheese, then topped with pepper bacon.  The burger was very good.  Cooked to the way I like it - medium with a hint of pink in the middle.  The bun was good, too.  It held together well as I got through the burger.  It was a very good burger.

I couldn't decide on getting fries or onion rings on the side, but I ended up getting the onion rings on the advice of my dealer.  And they were just all right.  I don't think they were made in house, but I wish I would have seen that I could have gotten onion straws instead.  

Let's check back with Mike on the Big-Assed Burger.  Here he is making a significant dent in the burger.  He is a big kid, but not fat in any way.  

 
And he ate the whole thing - along with the sweet potato fries he had AND some of the extra onion rings that we had ordered for the table.  Oh my GOD!!!  I was impressed.  The kid could definitely eat.  I asked him why he didn't use any of the Burger Co. sauce and he said, "It just gets in the way of the taste of the peanut butter and jalapenos."  I had to laugh at that.  

After dinner, one of the guys wanted to get one of the milkshakes they feature at the Boulder Tap House.  They use premium ice cream and feature vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, caramel and banana shakes or malts.  And you can have any combination of those flavors in one.  They also have other shakes that feature additives such as Oreo cookies, Butterfinger, caramel mocha and peanut butter.  They also feature adult milkshakes with choices of Kahlua, creme de cacao, creme de menthe and vanilla vodka as part of the shakes.  He just got the basic vanilla shake with a large cherry on top.  And they brought out the remaining shake in the metal mixing can.  He finished the shake in the tall malt glass and then finished what was left in the mixing can - which was about a third full.  There was some impressive eating going on that evening.  

I have to say that my first visit to the Boulder Tap House was enjoyable enough that I'd have no problem going back if my dealer's guys wanted to go back there at some time in the future.  My burger was very good, the beer selection was top notch, if there was a sporting event on at the time they had it on one of their televisions.  And the service was very good, as well.  I was very impressed with the Boulder Tap House.  And very impressed with the eating display that went on there, as well.

Old Florida Fish House - Santa Rosa Beach, FL

We spent our wedding anniversary in Florida while we were on vacation.  My cousin, John, and his wife, Bonnie, wanted to take us out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary.  Bonnie suggested an upscale restaurant in Santa Rosa Beach by the name of the Old Florida Fish House.  We really didn't want anything fancy, but Bonnie insisted. "This is our anniversary treat for you guys," she said after we mildly protested.  We hopped in the car and made our way to the Old Florida Fish House.  

The Old Florida Fish House was opened in 2005 by partners Charles Morgan and Cary Shahid.  Shahid had another popular restaurant in Destin - the Ocean Club.  But Morgan was sort of an restaurant icon along the Emerald Coast as the founder/owner of Harbor Docks.  

Charles Morgan had moved to Destin in the mid-70's to become a commercial fisherman, but he found that there was really no place for he and his co-workers to go and get a beer and some fresh seafood after work.  He opened Harbor Docks in a small shack in 1979 and the restaurant eventually grew from a one room, six-picnic table restaurant to a large restaurant on Destin's harbor.  Morgan also runs five other restaurants as well as a commercial fishing business that supplies fresh fish to over 40 restaurants along the Emerald Coast.  

Morgan sold his stake in Old Florida Fish House to Shahid a few years ago and we were told on our visit that earlier this year Shahid had sold Old Florida Fish House.  The person we talked to didn't tell us who the new owner was.  

The Old Florida Fish House is located on the east side of East Lake, a small freshwater lake that drains into the Gulf of Mexico.  (see map)  It is located in a small shopping complex just off Highway 30A, the main drag along the Emerald Coast in South Walton County.  

Coming into the place we were greeted by a hostess standing behind a half-circle marble-topped counter.  A curio cabinet was directly behind her with a large fish sculpture hanging above it.  It was a pretty elegant welcome to the restaurant.  

 
The bar area was off to the right of the hostess area.  The bar top was a thick fitted wood slab with multiple coats of clear lacquer.  It was actually one of the nicest looking bars that I'd ever seen.  The small bar area also had a small stage and I understand that they'll have bands and musicians play in there primarily on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  

As the hostess was taking us to our table, we passed a 3-sided sushi bar that looked kind of interesting.  I thought about possibly getting some sushi for an appetizer until I saw the prices.  They were pretty proud of their sushi at Old Florida Fish House. 

 
We were seated at a table along the window that looked out on to East Lake and given menus.  The dining room was rather nice with white table cloths topped with a fabric top.  Pictures of boats and fishing companies from over 50 years ago were on the walls of the dining room.  

Our server, Damien, came over to great us and tell us of a couple off the menu specials they had that evening.  The items on the menu were pretty sparse, but we were told that had a little bit to do with the recent change of ownership and the dynamics of bringing a new kitchen staff up to speed.  In addition to the seafood dishes they had on the menu, Old Florida Fish House also had steaks and chicken dishes.  I was definitely there for the seafood.  

My meal consisted of the catch of the day special that was a blackened red snapper served on a bed of new potatoes and cheese grits along with wilted spinach on the side with three grilled shrimp.  There was something on the top of it, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.  It was some sort of a formed vegetable medley.  I had been getting a lot of Cajun style food when we were on vacation as I figured that we were pretty close to Louisiana.  And it didn't disappoint - the Cajun spices were zippy in taste and went very well with the tender and flaky red snapper.  

Cindy got basically the same thing as I did - the red snapper fresh catch special - only she had hers sauteed in butter.  We were talking about news reports from last year about how an amazingly high number of fish that were labeled as red snapper weren't really red snapper but some other fish.  My cousin said that the restaurants and fisheries around here don't do that.  "If it says red snapper on the menu at any of the good places around here, you can pretty much guarantee its red snapper," he told us.  

My cousin's wife got the seafood pot pie - a flaky shell filled with seafood in a cream sauce.  She said it was very good.  They must have had a lot of spinach and new potatoes in the kitchen because her dinner came with those, too.  

 
My cousin decided that he wanted to get the chicken breasts that were infused with tasso and tomato sauce.  Both breasts were good sized and he knew he wouldn't be able to eat both of them.  He was able to box one up and take it home with him.  He, too, got new potatoes and wilted spinach with his chicken breasts.

I thought my meal was fine enough.  It wasn't outstanding, but it was far from bad.  And the service Damien provided was fine, as well.  I think we went to a restaurant under new ownership that was still trying to find its way.  But as far as a nice and elegant music on our anniversary, we were pleased with what we had at Old Florida Fish House.  I'm sure they'll get their sea legs soon enough and find their way.   

Wise Acre Eatery - Minneapolis

On a trip to the Twin Cities a few weeks ago, I had breakfast with Ken, the G.M. for the Needle Doctor.  He knows my penchant for interesting restaurants and has turned me on to a number of them over the past few years.  This time he suggested a farm-to-fork restaurant that has become one of his favorite places - Wise Acre Eatery.  I met him there when they opened at 9 a.m. one morning.

Dean Englemann had worked in the greenhouse nursery industry for a number of years before he forged a partnership with good friend Scott Endres to open Tangletown Gardens, a popular garden center in the south central Minneapolis neighborhood of Tangletown.  Englemann had property southwest of Minneapolis where he would grow annual, perennials and other home-grown plants that allowed he and Endres to control the quality of the plants they sold.  Because of this, many upscale landscape companies around the Twin Cities use Tangletown Gardens on an exclusive basis.

Englemann's 100 acre farm also allowed the partners to grow sustainable foods that could be sold not only at the nursery, but at farmer's markets and a handful of restaurants.   They began to grow free-range livestock at the farm, as well.  Eventually, they began supplying sustainable foods to a 300-member CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group. In the back of their minds, Englemann and Endres wanted to open a farm-to-fork restaurant using all the sustainable food that they grew on the farm.

In the winter of 2010, the Liberty Custard stand directly across the street from Tangletown Gardens closed up.  The two opened Wise Acre Eatery in the late spring of 2011 using many types of food grown from their farm.  Produce that is picked at 10 a.m. on any given day is usually consumed in the restaurant that evening.  

Nicollet Avenue is known to many locals as Eat Street.  But Wise Acre Eatery sits on Nicollet well south of the bulk of the restaurants in the Eat Street Area.  It's located in between Diamond Lake Road and Minnehaha Parkway on Nicollet Ave. (see map)  I pulled into the parking lot in the front just as they were opening their doors for the day.  Ken met me soon thereafter.  

The internal space of Wise Acre Eatery is open and has sort of a contemporary industrial look to the place.  Large windows allow for a lot of natural light to enter the space, even on a cloudy and rainy day such as that particular day.  

 
The open kitchen is just as you come in the door.   Chef Beth Fisher is in charge of the kitchen at Wise Acre Eatery and works with Englemann and Endres to devise a way to use the produce and meat grown on their farm, delivered in the afternoon and to be served in the restaurant that evening.  On any given day up to 95% of the food on the menu comes from the Tangletown Gardens farm in Plato, MN.

We were seated and given menus for the weekday brunch that is served from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  (There is also a weekend brunch menu and a nightly "rural supper/urban dinner" menu which plays on the juxtaposition of the Midwest terms that farm people have used to distinguish between dinner - which is lunch on many farms - and supper - which is dinner to many in the city.)  

There is also a special board on the wall in the dining area that highlights other items not on the regular menu.  Specials change daily depending upon what is delivered fresh to the restaurant.  

 
One of the interesting touches on the table top was this metal milk carton for coffee or, possibly, cereal.  Even though it had an urban feel to the place, there was also some rustic qualities to Wise Acre Eatery.

The breakfast part of the menu for brunch is pretty sparse - they had some muffins and pastries along with a yogurt/fruit/granola selection.  There were only three things on the menu that were geared toward breakfast - not including the omelette special they had that day - the CSA Hash which featured fresh farm grown vegetables, an egg and herb scramble with smoked ham, aioli and toast; a French toast item that featured granola, yogurt and a maple/berry syrup; and the egg and herb scramble with a choice of ham, sausage or bacon.  Both Ken and I went with the CSA Hash.  And we both got a glass of Wise Acre Eatery's fresh squeezed orange juice.

The one thing that we didn't have to worry about was service at Wise Acre Eatery.  Although the dining area was filling up fast, we had multiple people filling water, coffee mugs, checking on us and finally bringing us our food.  The service at Wise Acre Eatery was very good and almost TOO attentive.  

The CSA Hash was - well - interesting.  I really didn't know what to expect.  There was the egg scramble - more of a flat omelette - with fresh herbs mixed in sitting on top of a bowl full of veggies.  A couple small slabs of rather crispy ham were on the side along with a half slice of a thick homemade bread.  Potatoes, beans, carrots and other veggies swarmed in the bowl.  They were all very fresh to the taste, but it would have been something that I would have liked more as a side with dinner.  After the small egg and herb scramble and the ham were gone, there was still a ton of veggies to eat.  And there was no way I was going to be eating all that were served to me.  

Wise Acre Eatery is one of those places that even if you're not into the farm fresh craze, you should visit at least one time.  I would have to say the breakfast was very "earthy".  The dinner menu looked like it would be more appealing and I may go back at some point to try one of their burgers along with one of the eclectic beers from regional microbreweries that they serve.  But the service was over the top, the decor and setting was comfortable, and the food was - well, it couldn't be any fresher unless they moved the restaurant to the farm.  While it may not be what I'm looking for in a restaurant, Wise Acre Eatery was truly an interesting experience. 

Broadway Brewery - Columbia, MO

In Columbia, MO recently, I had a chance to try a place that has been open for about five years, but it was new to me.  Broadway Brewery features a number of in-house beers and a menu that highlights farm-to-fork foods that are grown locally around the greater Columbia area.  It was actually two small farmers/shopkeepers along with a brother who was retired and a homebrewer who started Broadway Brewery about five years ago.

Walker Claridge got his start in sustainable farming while working for an Oregon bed and breakfast that specialized in growing their own food.  Moving to rural Central Missouri to work as an organic farm inspector, he decided that the traveling around to farms didn't suit his bones.  He started his own little seven acre sustainable farm outside of Columbia.  He began to sell some of his produce at local farmers markets, but he found that he wasn't making enough money to sustain a living.  Other sustainable farmers in the area were having the same problem.  Working with another part-time sustainable farmer Kenny Duzon, the two opened The Root Cellar, a produce store committed to the local farming base.  At the height of The Root Cellar's popularity, they were selling produce, eggs, dairy and meat products from over 140 Missouri farmers.  

Kenny Duzon worked full-time as a biologist for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in addition to being a part-time sustainable farmer and a partner in The Root Cellar.  At the Department of Natural Resources, he worked with a guy by the name of Paul Dickerson who was a home-brewer of beer and who also knew Walker Claridge.  Dickerson had caught the home-brewing bug when he was going to Quincy University in the mid-90's.  Dickerson had been harboring thoughts of opening a brew pub at some point, even talking to Claridge about his dreams.  Meanwhile, Duzon and Claridge had been throwing around the idea of opening a restaurant that featured Missouri-grown produce and meats.  The ball started to roll in 2007 when Dickerson, Claridge and Duzon - along with Duzon's brother Jim, a retired school teacher - began to make plans for a small brew pub that sold locally grown foods in downtown Columbia.

They found a spot on Broadway - basically the Main Street through downtown Columbia - a the subterranean-level of a building which housed a bakery that had moved to a new location. (see map)  The group opened Broadway Brewery in the Spring of 2009.  Soon after, Claridge and Kenny Duzon moved The Root Cellar next door.  In 2011, they sold The Root Cellar and Broadway Brewery expanded into that space.  Broadway Brewery serves dinner seven days a week, with lunch Tuesday thru Saturday and a Sunday brunch.  

I got into Broadway Brewery around 8 p.m.  The main dining part of the restaurant is to the left.  A three-sided bar was toward the back of the dining area.  To the right as you come in is the newer space that Broadway Brewery took over after Claridge and Kenny Duzon sold The Root Cellar.  A small stage is off to the side, a shuffleboard court was in the middle of the room with tables off to each side.  Small groups of people were interspersed throughout the brewpub.  

 
The brewing tanks are in the back of the space behind the bar area.  The large glass-encased room features about a half dozen brewing vessel.  It was a pretty clean operation.  

The hostess who greeted me wanted to take me to a table along the east wall where there were banquette seats.  I thoroughly detest banquette seating and I asked if I could get a small table just around the corner from the front door.  She obliged me and dropped off a menu for me to look through.    

The menu isn't all that extensive at Broadway Brewery, but they did have appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizza and main entrees that included pork, beef, chicken and farm-raised shrimp that were featured in the Creole dish that included andouille sausage.  That evening they had a morel mushroom appetizer on the menu.  I love morels and there seemed to be a lot of them out this year due to the cool and wet Spring weather.  They were also featuring a 6 ounce Wagyu beef filet with morel mushrooms.  I was getting closer to figuring out what I was going to get.  

The beer selection at Broadway Brewery is wide and varied.  They had five different India Pale Ale's on the menu that included a single hop IPA, a double rye IPA, and a Black IPA that was heavy in malt with a hint of chocolate and coffee in the taste.  They also featured a porter, a brown and an organic honey-wheat beer.  I wasn't certain what kind of beer to get. 

And I certainly had a long time to make up my mind for both what I was going to have for dinner and the type of beer that I was going to drink.  No one even came close to approaching me as I sat at my table.  I don't want to say this always happens to me when I eat alone because it doesn't.  But when it does, I just have an uncomfortable feeling about how the rest of the meal is going to go.  

I was seriously thinking of just getting up and walking out when a young guy by the name of Marc saw me sitting there, patiently (well, not too patiently by that time) waiting.  He came back and greeted me and asked me if I wanted anything to drink.  I told him that I wanted the kolsch beer that they had and that I was ready to order some food.  He sort of snapped to attention and said, "Oh!  OK!"  

As I said, I was thinking of getting the 6 ounce Wagyu filet with the morel mushrooms.  But I decided that I was going to do the morel mushroom appetizer instead.  And that was mainly because I saw something on the menu that really jumped out at me - a bison Salisbury steak topped with porter-glazed morels, arugula salad and onion straws.  That's what I ended up getting.  

The morel appetizer featured pea pods, sliced cherry tomatoes and fresh basil all on a bed of housemade white bread and topped with a creamy biere blanc (white wine and butter) sauce.  The morels were chopped and lightly breaded and they were just out of this world, tastewise.  With the fresh basil, pea pods, cherry tomatoes and the rich biere blanc sauce it was an amazing appetizer.  I sopped much of the sauce up with some of the bread that I had.  

 
Not long after I finished what I could of the appetizer, Marc brought out the bison Salisbury steak.  It was in a small serving dish and was piled high with onion straws and a smattering of the green arugula.  The bison Salisbury steak was swimming in the a brown porter sauce with bits of mushrooms mixed in.

The ground bison steak was very good.  The sauce helped with the moisture, but the porter-glazed morels were just outstanding in taste.  Sometimes bison meat can be a little bland because of how lean it is.  But the sauce and mushrooms helped liven up the overall taste.  The onion straws were also very good - lightly breaded and crispy to the taste.  To me, this was an excellent meal.

Marc's service was a little less than desirable.  He was a talker and I noticed that he was chatting up people - including me - when he should have been taking care of tables.  After he brought out the bison Salisbury steak, I asked him if I could get another kolsch to go along with the dinner.  The kolsch turned out to be pretty good and I like the lighter taste of it, especially in warmer weather.  He said he'd be right on it, but then I noticed that he stopped off at a table to pick up a check and credit card and proceeded to chat up the people at the table for about three or four minutes.  I didn't want to be eating and not having anything to drink along with it, so I waited.  He finally went to the bar, I'm guessing he put my beer order in while he was processing the credit card.  But he walked out from the bar with the people's credit card and receipt, chatted them up for a few more moments, then went over to check on another table, chatting THOSE people up for a moment.  Then he disappeared.  I finally had to get the attention of the hostess to ask if she could go find him to get my beer.  Moments later, he brought out the beer with nary a word of apology, only asking how my dinner was.  

Actually, other than that, my dinner at Broadway Brewery was very good.  The food was excellent, the beer was fine, the service, well...  Having to sit there for a long time before anyone came over was bad enough, but forgetting to bring back my beer is another.  I mean, Marc was a nice guy when we were talking after the meal was finished, but his service was a little lax.  But it didn't fully tarnish my experience at Broadway Brewery.  The food was just too good to do that.   (Photo courtesy Sweet Leisure.com)

Pompano Joe's - Destin, FL

Striking out on our own during our vacation along the Emerald Coast of Florida, we found a place in Destin that we decided to try for lunch - Pompano Joe's.  Even though it looked a little "touristy", it still looked promising.  So, we gave it a shot. 

Pompano Joe's is part of the group of restaurants that are part of the Southern Restaurant Group.  CEO John Comer is the grandson of Henry Cobb, Jr., one of the founders of the Destin Development Company that began in 1979 when Cobb and his business partner Robert Bonezzi bought a nightclub/restaurant in the area.  They soon bought a restaurant called The Back Porch and later opened more restaurants including Pompano Joe's which opened their doors in 1995.  Cobb and Bonezzi parted ways soon thereafter and Cobb started the Cobb Investment Company which became the Southern Restaurant Group in 1998.  In addition to The Back Porch and Pompano Joe's, the restaurant group also oversees Louisiana Lagniappe (click here to see the entry on Lousiana Lagniappe), Fisherman's Wharf (both in Destin), and Cafe Grazie in Orange Beach, AL.  A couple three years ago, the group opened a second Pompano Joe's over in Panama City.

It was around 2 p.m. when we got into Pompano Joe's.  The bar area was the first place that we entered.  It was a standing bar only, from what I could tell.  The bar area emptied out onto a deck area with the broad white sandy beaches down a few steps.  

 
The main dining area of Pompano Joe's had a very Caribbean feeling to the place.  Brightly colored chairs, sea art and a broad view of the ocean through windows with pastel colored panes were the highlight of the dining room. 

We had a chance to sit on the deck outside the dining room - a narrow deck that featured a number of four-seat tables covered by brightly colored umbrellas that appeared to be even more dazzling under the hot Florida sun.  We were given menus and not long afterward our server Emilie showed up to greet us.  Cindy ordered a mai tai and I ordered a Grayton Beer Company Pale Ale.  

Most of the menu at Pompano Joe's is, of course, seafood oriented.  Executive chef Roberto Hernandez, a 17 year veteran of the restaurant, also features a number of seafood dishes and appetizers with a Caribbean flair. But we were there for peel and eat shrimp and oysters on the half shell.  We ordered up a dozen oysters on the half shell to start out.   

The view from the deck was absolutely fabulous.  We could have very easily just sat there gazing out across the white sand beach onto the emerald colored water with the azur blue water of the Gulf of Mexico on the horizon.  A nice breeze was coming in off the ocean and the large umbrella shaded us nicely from the son.  I really love the ocean.  

The oysters came out and they were big, meaty bivalves from the Louisiana coast.  The weren't gritty nor fishy in taste at all.  I mixed up some fresh ground horseradish with some Tabasco sauce and the taste was just outstanding.  I could have eaten many more, but I wanted to get some peel and eat shrimp.  When Emilie came back to check on us, I ordered up a dozen of the peel and eat shrimp along with a lemonade and vodka.  The Grayton Beach Pale Ale was just all right - like the other beers from the small brewery that I had when we were there.

 
The shrimp were served in glass bowl on top of chopped ice.  They, too, were large crustaceans from the Louisiana coast.  I told Cindy that maybe we needed to go to Louisiana the next time we come south for a vacation given that most of the shrimp and oysters we had while we were in Florida were from there.  The shrimp were as equally excellent in taste as the oysters on the half shell.  

We considered getting another dozen of the peel and eat shrimp, but decided to have drinks instead and just gaze out at the ocean in front of us.  Cindy got another mai tai and I got another lemonade and vodka.  It was a great afternoon along the Emerald Coast.  

For the seafood we had, Pompano Joe's hit the spot.  We didn't try anything else on the menu, but I could tell from the descriptions on the menu that the food had to be pretty good.  Well, you're not in business for nearly 20 years in a place like Destin if your food sucks.  Our experience at Pompano Joe's was very pleasant, relaxing and they had excellent oysters and shrimp.  It was a wonderful afternoon to be on vacation.  

Steakerie Sainte-Marie - Terrebonne, QC

On a recent trip to my company's home office in Montreal, we stayed once again out in the northern suburb of Terrebonne.  In the old downtown area of Terrebonne there are a small number of quaint little restaurants.  On this trip, my boss took the sales staff out to dinner and he picked out a little French-style steak house by the name of Steakerie Sainte-Marie.  We piled into a couple vehicles and found the restaurant in the old section of Terrebonne.  (see map)

Steakerie Sainte-Marie is one of those little French-style places that features an "auberge" style of food - sort of a French "farm-to-fork" restaurant.  Many of the food items they serve at Steakerie Sainte-Marie are locally sourced and fresh.  Using culinary creativity with these locally source foods, the fresh meat and seafood leaves a highly favorable gastronomic impression on the diner.    

The building that houses Steakerie Sainte-Marie is an old house that dates back to the early 1800's. The inside of the restaurant is cozy and features a colonial French design style.  There is a second floor dining area with an attached outdoor dining patio that is opened in the summer.

It was a slow Monday evening with only a couple other tables occupied when we arrived around 7 p.m.  We were seated in sort of a back room area on the first floor around a large rectangular table.  My boss immediately picked out an Oosyoos Larose wine from British Columbia.  It was a full-bodied red with a meaty taste and a nice finish.  The wine was surprisingly good for a west coast Canadian wine.  Other than ice wine that I had a number of years ago, I don't think I'd ever had a Canadian wine since.

The menu was a variety of steaks and seafood.  They featured five different sizes of tenderloin filets from 6 ounces to a whopping 14 ounce filet.  There were also five different sizes of their New York strip steak - 12 ounces to 20 ounces.  Steakerie Sainte-Marie also featured their house specialty, a prime rib in four different sizes from 12 to 18 ounces served with au jus.  

For seafood, Steakerie Sainte-Marie had salmon, sole filet, and a chef's daily catch.  You could also get a "surf-and-turf" with a filet tenderloin and a lobster tail.  Steakerie Sainte-Marie featured a number of interesting appetizers including cheese plates, smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail, artichoke hearts, a seafood gratin dish, and their variation of a French onion soup.     

I was kind of leaning toward getting a filet that evening.  I was hungry, but didn't want the big 14 ouncer.  So I cut back slightly and went with the 10 ounce filet, rare.  For starters, I got the Escargot au Gratin - basically snails cooked in a butter garlic sauce and served in a bowl with cheese on top.  A salad came with my meal and I got an order steak frites (French fries) on the side.  Most of the guys at the table went for the steak entrees.  In fact, someone ordered the peppercorn sauce on the side and I immediately told our waiter that I needed some of that, too.  

My colleagues Ian and Francois both got the duet soup for a starter.  It was a combination of a tomato based soup and a pea soup.  Although it didn't sound good to me, it certainly looked interesting when it was served.  

 
My boss got the French onion soup that featured a healthy cover of cheese and croutons.  It looked like it was one of the heartiest French onion soups I'd ever seen.  My boss declared it to be "wonderful".  

My escargot au gratin was everything I hoped it would be.  A thick layer of cheese covered the snails still simmering in the butter garlic sauce.  The snails were cooked perfectly and had little of the earthy taste that you can get from the little slugs.  In combination with the cheese, garlic and butter, the snails were just outstanding.

 
The salad came next.  It was a mixture of greens and veggies with an oil and vinegar dressing on top.  Compared to the excellent gratin au escargot, the salad was very anticlimactic.  But it was still fresh and good.  

Since we were literally the only group of people in the restaurant by that time, our steaks came out to the table not long after we finished our salads.  My colleague Francois had ordered the special that evening - the "trio" consisting of a 12 ounce New York strip, grilled shrimp and grilled scallops.  Steak frites also came with the entree and he got the peppercorn sauce, as well.  

 
My filet appeared to be larger than the 10 ounces that I ordered.  It was a good 2 1/2 inches thick and the grill marks on the outside made it appear that the steak was over-cooked.  However when I first cut into it, it showed that the steak was a deep red rare, exactly as I ordered.  The steak was tender, juicy, flavorful and it was almost a shame to dip cut pieces into the very rich and somewhat spicy peppercorn sauce.  In fact, I used the peppercorn sauce more for the steak frites than for the steak.  Couple with the sliced sauteed mushrooms, my steak was just superb.  

I was overly stuffed by the end of my meal, but a couple guys were thinking about getting dessert.  I groaned when I saw that they had creme brulee on the dessert menu, but more because I knew I'd had enough and I'd hate myself afterward if I ordered it up.  One of my co-workers suggested getting some creme brulee, a caramel creme dessert, a chocolate caramel cake and a dessert with strawberries and chocolate on a graham cracker crust topped with whipped cream.  Enough forks and spoons were distributed for those to share in the desserts who wanted them.  

I had a couple bites of both the creme brulee and the creme caramel and both were very good.  In fact, the desserts that were shared were destroyed by the time I remembered to take a picture of them.  The desserts were a nice end to an excellent meal.  

Once again, my boss came up with an excellent choice of restaurants in the greater Montreal area.  I don't think I've ever had a bad meal in all my travels to Montreal and Steakerie Sainte-Marie was no exception.  The atmosphere and service were top notch, the food was prepared perfectly and it was delicious.  If you find yourself in the Montreal area and would like to take in the old downtown Terrebonne experience, you really have to stop into Steakerie Sainte-Marie for a very good meal. 

Five Brothers Cafe - Salem, IL

 

We were traveling to Nashville and my wife's alarm clock in her stomach went off somewhere near Effingham, IL and I knew that we needed to stop sooner than later or it wouldn't be good for me.  I clicked on the GPS to look for restaurants in the area and it showed that we were about four miles from a place called Five Brothers Cafe.  We came to the exit for Salem, IL, got off there and I took a right going away from town.  About a mile or so down the road, we came across Five Brothers Cafe on the left.  (see map)  It looked rather new and somewhat clean, so we gave it a shot. 

There's not much information on Five Brothers Cafe on the Internet.  There doesn't seem to be five brothers that own the place - Agim Mehmedi is the only guy that was listed as an owner.  They don't have a web site, but they do have a Facebook page.  But it appears that it hasn't been updated in well over a year.  It's just one of those places to eat in a sleepy Midwestern town.  

We took a seat along the wall in one of the many booths they have throughout the restaurant.  Tables and chairs dot the floor in the middle of the building.  The booths were comfortable and the place was well-lit.  Five Brothers Cafe serves breakfast, lunch and dinner opening at 6 a.m. and closing at 10 p.m.

Our server, Kelly, came over with some menus.  Most of the food at Five Brothers Cafe is the typical comfort food variety.  But they also had Mediterranean offerings including gyros on the menu.

I didn't have any breakfast so I was sort of hungry.  The first thing that caught my eye on the menu was the hot beef sandwich.  I didn't even look at anything else. I figured that it would be tough to screw up a hot beef sandwich.  I closed the menu and waited for Kelly to come back.  

Cindy was a little more judicious with her choice.  She didn't know whether to get a salad or sandwich or a burger.  When Kelly came back to take our order, Cindy finally decided on the spinach salad with a housemade poppyseed dressing.  With my hot beef sandwich, Kelly said that I also got a salad and a side of green beans.  I got French dressing on my salad.  (The French dressing was actually more of a Russian/Catalina sweet tasting dressing - the kind I really like.)

After I went through my salad pretty quickly, Kelly brought our food out to us.  The hot beef sandwich featured two half slices of bread with an ample amount of sliced roast beef covered with a thick brown gravy.  The mashed potatoes were off to the side - some places will incorporate the potatoes with the roast beef.  The green beans were chopped and there was plenty of them. 

 
Cindy's spinach salad featured a number of chopped onions, sliced mushrooms and cucumbers, and tomato wedges.  The poppyseed dressing was in a small serving boat.  Cindy was dipping her greens into the dressing and she said, "This dressing is really good!"  We had a small basket of dinner rolls on the table and I took one and dipped it into the dressing.  She was right - it had a sort of sweet/vinegary taste to the dressing and was very good.

My hot beef sandwich was good.  Not outstanding, but certainly not bad at all.  The beef was tender and there was a lot of it.  I couldn't tell if the potatoes were real or potato flakes - Cindy took a bite of them and declared they were "out of a box".  I thought they were all right, though.  The gravy was thick and flavorful.  And I was sort of surprised that the chopped green beans were also fresh tasting.  They weren't over-cooked and still had a little snap when you would bite into them.  

Sometimes you get lucky in trying to find places to eat while you're traveling.  I kind of think that way with Five Brothers Cafe.  The place had a good atmosphere, it was clean, Kelly's service was very good, and the food was above average.  It was one of those places that pleasantly surprised us.  If I were going to give Five Brothers a grade, I'd give them a B+.   

The Marigny - Santa Rosa Beach, FL

Being close to Louisiana on our trip to the Emerald Coast of Northwest Florida, I made it a point to search out Creole/Cajun-style seafood places.  One place that I read about while we were there is a restaurant named after the famed Faubourg Marigny neighborhood in New Orleans - The Marigny.  For lunch one day, we found The Marigny in Santa Rosa Beach.

The Faubourg Marigny neighborhood in New Orleans - simply called The Marigny (mari-in-knee) by locals - is one of the more historical sections of New Orleans.  Brightly colored homes and businesses feature architectural influences from 18th century French and Spanish colonists, as well as elements of Caribbean architecture. The neighborhood is named for an eccentric Creole by the name of Bernard De Marigny, a 19th century renaissance man who was a land developer, a politician and also well-known as a ladies man in early New Orleans.  De Marigny was also a degenerate gambler - actually bringing to New Orleans the forerunner of the dice game Craps (from the local New Orleans dialect crapaud) from his travels to England as a young man.  Due to gambling debts, De Marigny was forced to parcel out the family's plantation and he developed Faubourg Marigny.   The man and the neighborhood named after him influenced owners Chef Chris Mongogna and managing partner Jason Jaume with the Marigny name when they opened their restaurant in 2013.   

Mongogna and Jaume are both natives of New Orleans.  Mongogna began to cook with the help of his mother when he was 13 making the Creole staple of red beans and rice.  With the influences of his mother and two grandmothers, Mongogna began to dabble in Italian, classic New Orleans and Southern-country styles of food.  

Mongogna and Jaume became best friends in high school and both began careers in the restaurant industry after graduation.  Mongogna - who was never formally trained as a chef - began to work in the kitchen of restaurants around New Orleans, while Jaume gained experience as a manager in restaurants, bars and the hospitality industry.  In 2005, Mongogna ended up working in the kitchen at Fire in New Orleans, a restaurant located in an old firehouse.  Of course, the devastating Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans head on later that year.  Fire was not as crippled as other businesses, but owner Brenda Farr found the going very slow for a couple years after.  

In 2007, Farr - along with Mongogna, executive chef Carl Schaubhut and a handful of other employees - made the move to South Walton County in Florida's panhandle to open a new Fire in Grayton.  Four years later, Schaubhut had an opportunity to go back to New Orleans to be the sous-chef at the famed Commander's Palace.  (Schaubhut is currently executive chef at Cafe Adelaide, a sister restaurant to the Commander's Palace.)   Mongogna, who had been the restaurant's pastry chef, was named executive chef of Fire upon Schaubhut's departure.

Fire eventually moved to the Gulf Place condo/entertainment/restaurant complex in Santa Rosa Beach in 2011.  Farr - wishing to be closer to family in Atlanta - made a decision to close Fire a couple years later.  (Fire was eventually bought by New Orleans native Drew Messina and is now Messina's on 30A.)   It was then that Mongogna began to look for an available restaurant space in the area to showcase authentic Creole food.  And to help him out on his venture, he brought in his old high school buddy from New Orleans, Jason Jaume.  

They were thinking at first of just having a small shop that served authentic Po-Boy sandwiches since none existed in the area.  But a larger restaurant near Mongogna's house in Santa Rosa Beach was available.  They soon moved into what was the old Love Shack Oyster House in 2013 and opened The Marigny.  (I was told by a friend of mine in Santa Rosa Beach that the Love Shack was a real dive.)  

It certainly didn't look like a dive when we made it inside The Marigny, located down Hewitt Road near the Hogtown Bayou in Choctawhatchee Boy.  (see map)  Elegant woodwork, tables with linen table cloths and subdued lighting gave the room a nice comfortable feeling.  The only problem is that the place looked like it was close, save for a couple televisions on behind the bar.  Cindy finally wandered over to some doors that led to an outdoor seating area.  "Ah ha," Cindy exclaimed.  "There's life out here."  

We went out to the outside patio area and we were met by our server, Micki.  She told us to sit wherever we wanted and brought us over a couple menus when we found a seat.  She told us right off the bat, "We're out of oysters today, just to let you know up front."  That wasn't going to be a problem for us.  

Micki asked what we wanted to drink and Cindy asked if they had mai-tai's.  Micki said, "No, we don't have them."  Cindy ordered something else instead - probably a pina colada.  I saw that they had a number of beers on tap including the Grayton Beer Company 30A Blonde beer.  I hadn't tried one yet, so I ordered one of those.  (I didn't care for it - I ended up getting an Abita Amber for my second beer with lunch.)  

While we were waiting for our drinks we took a quick look around The Marigny's outdoor patio area.  It's part of a condo complex that includes a pool.  The bar area is covered and features a number of flat screen televisions, banners for Louisiana sports teams, and an intricate wood beamed ceiling.  

 
The bar area opens out into the pool area.  We were told by Micki that swimming is free to customers of The Marigny.  But no one was in the pool and there were only a couple other people in the patio bar having lunch.  I could see myself lounging in the bar area at The Marigny eating Cajun food, drinking hurricanes and taking a dip every once in a while.  

When Micki brought out our drinks, she had a mai-tai for Cindy.  "I had the stuff to make a mai-tai.  I just went ahead and made one for you," she said.  Cindy was more than appreciative.  

Authentic Creole/Cajun rules the menu at The Marigny.  Po'Boy sandwiches, a muffaletta sandwich, jambalaya, grillades and grits, crawfish etoufee and crab-stuffed catfish were all on the menu.  They had a number of appetizers including poutine (potatoes with beef debris gravy and covered in cheese), beef or crawfish meat pies, shrimp remoulade and gumbo.  The Marigny had a number of salads both as an opener and as a main entree including the crabmeat ravigote and the blackened chicken Caesar salad.  

Years ago - over 15 years ago - I ate at the famous Mother's Restaurant in New Orleans.  Actually, it was right next to our hotel and I ate there three or four times, mainly because I fell in love with their roast beef Po'Boy sandwich.  I've never found one yet that has come close - mainly because not a lot of Creole/Cajun places I've been to since have roast beef Po'Boys on the menu.  But they did at The Marigny.  Heck, they had ten different Po'Boy sandwiches on the menu including a meatball Po'Boy that came from a recipe from Chris Mongogna's grandmother, a traditional fried shrimp Po'boy, a pulled pork Po'Boy called Cochon de Lait, a poutine Po'Boy with potatoes, beef debris gravy and cheese, and even a hamburger Po'Boy!  Their Po'Boys came in three different sizes - small, medium and large.  The large, we were told, was big enough for sharing between two or three people.  

But they also had a muffaletta sandwich.  I had the one at the Central Grocery in New Orleans, the original maker of the muffaletta sandwich.  Although it is more of an Italian sandwich than a Creole/Cajun sandwich, finding a good muffaletta outside of New Orleans is hard to do.  Just a quick look at the number of Po'Boys they had on the menu at The Marigny, I figured the muffaletta they had was close to the original.  

When it came down to ordering, I was still up in the air.  Cindy ordered the crabmeat ravigote salad - a wedge salad topped with lump crabmeat, fried capers and a ravigote dressing that is more of a French/Creole citrus vinaigrette.  It came down to the muffaletta or roast beef Po'Boy.  Since I've had a muffaletta sandwich many times since I've had a good roast beef Po'Boy, I went with the Po'Boy.  Fries came with the sandwich.  

I thought about getting a cup of gumbo just to give it a shot, but when I ordered it Micki said, "We have a crawfish bisque that's not on the menu.  Our gumbo is great, but I like the crawfish bisque better."  I couldn't say no to her after that.

The crawfish bisque was as good - if not better - than Micki described.  The slightly spicy, creamy and buttery bisque had chopped chunks of crawfish throughout.  It was a generous sized cup - more of a bowl, if you like.  The crawfish bisque was simply outstanding.

 
The lunches came out and Cindy's crabmeat ravigote salad featured a nice sized lettuce wedge with ample amounts of crabmeat and fried capers drizzled with a liberal amount of the ravigote dressing.  Sliced tomatoes - very fresh sliced tomatoes - came on the side.  I took one of Cindy's tomato slices since she doesn't like tomatoes all that much on their own and I have to say that they were the closest in taste to the tomatoes that I had in Hawaii - ones that I still feel are the best tomatoes I've ever eaten.  She offered me a bite of her salad and the ravigote dressing had a slightly citric taste with a slight spicy bite.  I liked it and so did my wife.  

But my roast beef Po'Boy was the highlight of the meal.  I got the medium size Po'Boy (I would have hated to see how big the large would hae been.)  The bread was soft and fresh, but had a slight crunchiness to the outside layer.  The thin sliced roast beef was swimming in its own debris (au jus) and was topped with shredded provolone cheese, chopped lettuce and mayo dressing.  Now, I don't remember much about the roast beef Po'Boys at Mother's, but I've got to bet that the one I had at The Marigny was damn close.  It was so tasty that I'm sure that if I would have gotten a large I would have made a straight forward attempt to try to eat the whole thing in one sitting.  

But the medium was enough.  I had a basket of fries that was about the same size as the basket in which the roast beef Po'Boy was served.  I may have had a couple fries, Cindy too.  But that was it.  I was concentrating on the sandwich.  I was in heaven eating the sandwich.  I was really sad to see it gone from my basket when I had the last bite.  

A couple three nights later, we were going to go back to The Marigny for dinner with my cousin and his wife, our friends Bob and Lisa Steeno, and a friend of theirs who we met that night.  However, we had a dead battery in our car and no one had jumper cables in the immediate area.  The Sandestin Hilton offered to take Cindy and I to The Marigny in their courtesy van, but as I jumped up into the van I popped a calf muscle.  It was so severe that it immediately began to swell up and I couldn't put any weight on it.  The night was then spent in our room with an ice bag on my leg and room service from the hotel.  It was a shame because I was looking forward to going back to The Marigny and trying their jambalaya or some other Creole/Cajun dish.  (My cousin told me the next morning that their food was - also - very good.)  For lunch - especially Po'Boy sandwiches - I can't help but wholeheartedly recommend The Marigny.  If we ever make it back to the Emerald Coast, it will be one of our first two or three places we go for food.  

(Update - Unfortunately, if we do make it back to the Emerald Coast we won't be able to try The Marigny.  As of September of 2015, they've closed the place.  I understand that Chris and Jason are doing some catering work, but the Marigny is no more.)

 

 

Plaza Tavern - Madison, WI

Earlier this year, I was up in Minneapolis and had lunch at the Convention Grill.  (Click here to see my entry on the Convention Grill.)  On their menu, the Convention Grill had a burger called the Plazaburger that pays homage to the original Plazaburger at the Plaza Tavern in Madison, WI.  After a morning meeting with a dealer in Madison, I ventured to the downtown area near the University of Wisconsin campus to hit the Plaza Tavern for the original Plazaburger.

What makes a Plazaburger unique is the housemade sauce that they put on the burger.  It's something that the wife of former owner Harold Huss came up after they bought the Plaza Tavern in the early 60's.  Actually, the Plaza Tavern dates back to the days of Prohibition when it was a speakeasy run by a former University of Wisconsin football player by the name of "Moon" Molinaro.  In the late 20's, Al Grebe bought the place and put in a bowling alley.  It was at the Plaza bowling alley that a lady by the name of Jennie Hoverson Kelleher bowled the first ever 300 game by a woman in a sanctioned tournament on Feb. 12, 1930.     

Harold Huss came to work for Al Grebe in 1945 and worked there for 18 years before he eventually bought the business in 1963.  Huss' wife, Mary, came up with the sour cream and mayonnaise-based sauce that is a deep secret recipe (and one that has been dissected for years by patrons) for the Plazaburger.  It's said that there have been over 2 million Plazaburgers sold over the past 50 years.  

Harold Huss passed away in 1983 and Mary a year later.  Their children took over ownership the Plaza Tavern and installed bar employee Dean Hetue as the manager.  In 2003, Hetue ended up buying the Plaza Tavern and the secret sauce recipe from the Huss family.  

The Plaza Tavern is on N. Henry Street, off of State Street and between Johnson and Gorham streets, west of the Wisconsin State Capitol.  (see map)  Henry is a one way street and I was able to find a parking spot just down the street.  

It was early, before noon, when I walked into the place.  I suddenly remembered that I had been in the place before.  We had gone up for an Iowa/Wisconsin football game a number of years ago and bar-hopped after the game.  With all the arcade-style video games in the place, I remembered that we'd had a couple beers there, but no burgers.  

I took a seat at the bar and a lady came over to greet me.  She asked me if I wanted anything to drink and I asked if she had an Capital Brewery products.  She named four different varieties including the Wisconsin Amber.  I took one of those.  "They're in bottles," she said.  "Is that all right?"  Sure!

She asked if I needed a menu and I took one from her.  I pretty much knew that I was going to get a Plazaburger, but I wondered what else they had to offer at the Plaza Tavern.  And there's not much - it's a pretty short menu with burgers, grilled ham, tuna or turkey and cheese sandwiches, fried or grilled chicken sandwiches and a reuben.  When she brought me my beer, I ordered the Plazaburger.  I asked her if I should get it with cheese.  "If you want cheese on your Plazaburger, you should get cheese," she said playfully.  All right - cheese on the Plazaburger, then!  She asked if I wanted a side - fries, onion rings, cole slaw, potato salad, etc. - and I said that the Plazaburger should be enough for me.  

The Plazaburger was cooked on a flat grill that undoubtedly has years of seasoning burned into it.  It was served to me on a small plate with a side of pickles.  It came on a whole wheat bun - something I can't say that I've ever had with a burger.  And they cut the burger in half before serving it.   I had pretty much finished my first bottle of Capital Wisconsin Amber and she asked if I wanted another one.  Sure! 

 
The Plazaburger patty wasn't very thick.  They say they're 1/4 pound burger patties, but it didn't look much larger than a basic McDonald's burger.  The sauce was slathered - Wait! I'm starting to hate that term - the sauce was thickly smeared (better?) on the bottom of the bun with the cheese-topped burger resting on the sauce.  I wasn't certain what to do with the pickles, so I just kept them on the side.  

Now, I'm a condiment kind of guy with my burgers.  Ketchup and mustard is usually what I put on a burger along with sliced onions and dill pickles.  I'm not much of sauce guy on my burgers.  But with the Plazaburger, I thought I'd give it a legitimate shot.  I did squirt some ketchup on the plate just in case.

From the first bite of the Plazaburger, well, I couldn't really tell you much about the burger because the sauce was about all I could taste.  But the sauce was well, good.  Actually, pretty damn good.  I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of the sauce on the Plazaburger.  I could get hints of dill, possibly some chives, as well.  I dipped a bit of the burger in the ketchup, but decided that it didn't go well with the sauce.  The Plazaburger was excellent with the sauce.  Without the sauce, I'm not certain it would be all that great.  The bun was a bit dried out, but you're gonna get that with a whole wheat bun.  

When I was presented with the bill, I got a bad taste in my mouth.  The Plazaburger with cheese was $5.25 - not a bad price.  But the price of one bottle of the Capital Wisconsin Amber was $5.00.  And I got TWO!  A six-pack of Wisconsin Amber in any liquor store in Madison isn't much more than $6 or $7 bucks.  It was $10 bucks for two beers - I wanted two beers, not a 12-pack!  The bill came to $15.25 - no tax included.  I just couldn't believe that they'd charge that much for a beer that was brewed less than 10 miles away.  I figured they must deliver the Capital beers to the Plaza Tavern in a stretch limousine. 

And, guess what?  They don't take credit cards at the Plaza Tavern.  I laid down a $20, got change, and left a two buck tip.  Ouch.  

So, other than the high price of the bottled Capital beer, the Plazaburger was worth the stop.  For not being big on burgers with sauces on them, I'll have to give my wholehearted approval for the Plazaburger.  I was a little disappointed in the overall cost of the meal, but I worked through it.  For 50 years, people have been enjoying the Plazaburger at The Plaza Tavern.  They have another convert.  Just don't do it with ketchup.

It's (on the River) - Port Byron, IL

It was a beautiful Friday night recently and Cindy wanted to go somewhere for dinner where we could sit outside and enjoy the evening.  She suggested a place that we hadn't been to over on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River called It's on the River, or simply known as "It's" for the locals.  We had met some friends over there about six years ago and we thought the food and the views were good, so we decided to head back over that particular evening to give it another try.

It's on the River is owned by a group that calls themselves Quatro Banditos, LLC.  The managing partner is Cindy Bawden, a member of a somewhat famous family in the Quad Cities.  Her family owned Bawden Printing for a number of years located in Eldridge, a small town north of the Quad Cities, before merging with Von Hoffman Press in St. Louis back in 1999.  (Von Hoffman sold the business to RR Donnelley, the huge Chicago-based printing company, in 2007.  RR Donnelley subsequently shut down the Bawden Printing facility in 2009.)  Bawden and her then-husband, Pat Delashmutt, opened It's on the River in 2007.  But after the couple divorced in 2011, Cindy took over as the Managing Partner.  

It's on the River is one of those places where boaters, motorcyclists, or bikers converge in the summer months.  A bike path goes right by the place, and there's a dock with picnic tables for boaters to pull up to.  The Great River Road on the Illinois side of the river is well traveled by motorcyclists and people just out for day rides up and down the river.  It's on the River is less than 50 yards from the Mississippi River offering some stunning views from their deck patio.

  We got into the place around 7 p.m. that particular evening.  It was sort of windy and we thought about sitting inside the restaurant because, well, even if it's 75 degrees (like it was that day), my wife gets cold.  The patio runs the length of the restaurant and features an overhead heating system that will take the chill out of the air for people seated outside.  

The inside area is nice, as well.  While it's not large, it features large windows that look out onto the river.  High tables with high chairs are featured in the dining room.  A small bar area is off to the side.  It's on the River is the kind of place where it would be nice to go to even on a cold winter's day.  

 
We decided to sit outside after Cindy went back out to the car to get a light coat she had brought with her.  We were given a couple of menus by one girl who said the other lady working the deck with her would be our server.  But she did take our drink order while we took a look through the menu.  

The menu was, well, it was very different from what we remembered from our initial visit about six years before.  I remembered a pretty full menu that featured sandwiches and a handful of entrees.  But this menu was, well, pretty lean.  First of all, they only feature four appetizers on the menu at It's on the River - and they're not cheap.  6 boneless chicken wings and dipping sauce for $7.00 is a little steep to me.  And fried green beans don't appeal to me all that much.

I remember getting a pretty good reuben the first time we had dinner there, but they had no sandwiches on the menu.  They had burgers, chicken sandwiches and wraps along with fish and chips, pizza and salads on the menu.  And that was it.  Quite actually, nothing looked too appealing to either Cindy or me.  We contemplated just having a drink and heading to some other place.  

Our server for the evening came over to greet us.  She was a blonde woman who looked slightly familiar to us.  We later found out that she was the server who waited on us previously at the Black Ram Restaurant in Rock Island with the unique name - Donai.   We asked her if she was still at the Black Ram (we haven't been back since the infamous pizza episode I wrote about in this entry) and she said, "Oh, gosh, no.  I just live up the hill here and the commute is much better!"  

We continued to hem and haw about getting food there before Cindy said that she could get the fish and chips - deep fried cod with fries.  I wasn't certain I wanted a burger, but there wasn't anything else that was jumping out at me.  I almost went with the "Henhouse Salad" where they add your choice of a grilled or breaded chicken breast to a salad.  But I ended up getting the basic burger, but added Swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms and bacon.  I got my choice of a side and since Cindy was getting fries, I thought I'd get cottage cheese to go with my burger.  

The food came out about 15 minutes or so after we ordered.  The fish and chips were, well...  We sort of laughed that they had the audacity to charge $8.00 bucks for basically two small deep-fried filets and a basket of fries.  Cindy said, "You've GOT to be kidding me..."  A small tub of tartar sauce came with the fish.  She said the fish was just "all right".  She called it more of an appetizer than a meal.  

  My burger looked promising with a square ciabatta bun. The only initial problem appeared to be that they gave me fries instead of cottage cheese.  Aw, that was all right with me.  I was going to concentrate on the burger.  

But after taking the bun top off the burger to add some pickles, onions and condiments, I was somewhat horrified to find a thin, processed grilled beef patty that appeared to be overcooked.  There were only a few sauteed mushroom slices on the burger, and a couple small strips of bacon.  This was an $11.00 burger from It's on the River.

 
The first bite of the burger confirmed my fears - the burger WAS overcooked.   The ciabatta bun was a nice touch, but the burger patty was hard and most of the life was cooked out of it.  Even the bacon, Swiss cheese and the small amount of mushrooms - along with the good ciabatta bun - couldn't help the overall taste of the burger.  It was highly disappointing.  

Our total bill came to $30.75 with a couple beers and a drink for Cindy.  (Taxes are included in the menu prices.)  We decided that was way too expensive for what is nothing but boring bar food.  But It's on the River has that dazzling view of the Mississippi, so we figured that has to be included in the menu prices.  We decided that if we did come back to visit It's on the River at some point, we'd come out for drinks and the view and get food somewhere else.

(Update - Almost as soon as this entry was posted, I was informed by a buddy that It's on the River will close on August 17 and the fixtures will be sold at auction.) 

Louisiana Lagniappe - Destin, FL

During our travels looking around the Destin area, I kept seeing a sign for a restaurant called Louisiana Lagniappe with a crawfish on the logo.  My cousin had always been intrigued by the restaurant and he told me, "You guys should go so you can let us know if it's good or not."  Always up for some fresh seafood with a Cajun twist, my wife and I did just that one night.

Louisiana Lagniappe (pronounced LAN-yap - a Cajun term for a little something extra) first opened its doors in June of 1984 in what was, at the time, part of the Sandpiper Cove Yacht Club.  Kevin Ortega run the restaurant for 14 years before he sold the restaurant and moved to Baton Rouge, LA to open a Louisiana Lagniappe there.  

The Destin Louisiana Lagniappe was purchased by the Southern Restaurant Group - an entertainment and restaurant corporation that got its start in night clubs before acquiring The Back Porch Restaurant soon after it was formed in the late 70's when the company was named the Destin Development Corporation.  The company acquired four more restaurants and renamed themselves the Cobb Investment Company.  A year later after opening four restaurants in Orange Beach, AL, the company became the Southern Restaurant Group.  In addition to owning Louisiana Lagniappe and The Back Porch restaurants, they also own Pompano Joe's in Destin and Panama City, Fisherman's Wharf in the Harbor entertainment complex in Destin, and Cafe Grazie in Orange Beach, AL.  

Louisiana Lagniappe is part of the Sandpiper Cove condominium community on the east end of Destin Harbor.  (see map)  We had seen the sign for the restaurant while driving by the north side of the walled condo complex along U.S. Highway 98.  I set the GPS for the place and it took me to a guard shack at the entrance of Sandpiper Cove on Gulf Shore Drive.  Pulling up to the guard shack, I asked the guy inside if I was in the right place for Louisiana Lagniappe.  He gave me a sheet of paper to put on my dash and said, "You see where that car is coming out of up on the left?  Turn there and go straight ahead into the restaurant's parking lot."  

The parking lot wasn't all that large, but we were able to find a spot.  Walking in with no reservation, we had no idea how long of a wait it would be.  The hostess asked if we wanted to eat indoors or out on the deck.  We decided upon the deck and she said that we'd have about a 15 minute wait.  It was no problem to us.  

The bar area was well lit and featured comfortable cloth upholstered high chairs around the three-sided bar.  I was going to order a couple drinks while we waited.  Cindy excused herself to go to the restroom.  However, before the bartender could come over and before Cindy got back from the restroom, the buzzer had gone off and lit up on the bar in front of me.  It was a lot quicker than a 15 minute wait. 

 
We were excorted through the main dining room, an elegant setting with linen table cloths and smart looking waiters. The dining room was about half full with diners and it was quiet and classy.  

The outside deck looks out over the bay.  But that was about the only redeeming factor it had going for it.  We were seated at a table that was in the midst of three other tables - each with boisterous people trying to outshout the other table.  The wood ceilinged deck kept all the noise close by.  The din of conversation was only trumped by the unbelievable number of green tree frogs croaking just outside the deck area.  Green tree frogs - when in abundant numbers - can get very loud.

Our server for the evening, a young guy by the name of Alex, came over to greet us after we were given menus by the hostess who seated us.  He brought out hush puppies and placed them on the table.  They were sort of sweet for hush puppies, but a nice little touch to start the meal.  But we both wanted a drink and he hustled away before we could get an order in.  

The menu at Louisiana Lagniappe is mostly seafood and fresh fish with a Cajun flair, but they do have steaks, some pasta dishes and a number of delectable appetizers that included blackened scallops with a pineapple-rum butter sauce, smoked tuna dip with crackers, and lobster rangoon with wontons filled with lobster meat and cream cheese, deep fried and served with a sweet chili sauce.  

Alex finally did come back and he asked us if we'd like to hear the specials for the evening.  I told him that we'd really like to get a couple drinks before we did anything.  He seemed to be scattered - he was waiting on the other tables in our area - and also seemed to be void of any personality at all.  He went off to get a glass of pinot grigio for Cindy and a Sweetwater 420 pale ale for me.  

I was looking at a couple seafood entrees - the blackened redfish entree was topped with lumped crabmeat and medallions of lobster then drizzled with both a hollandaise and a garlic beurre blanc sauce.  That sounded great, but they were also pretty proud of the price.  $37.50 for that made me stop and ponder that decision.  The blackened bay scallops that looked so good as an appetizer were also available as an entree.  And the Grouper Kevin - probably named after Louisiana Lagniappe founder Kevin Ortega - featured a grouper filet topped with grilled shrimp with a beurre blanc and mushroom sauce on a bed of rice.  I almost pulled the trigger on that.

But I was sort of interested in their jambalaya - chunks of chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp all together in a tomato based sauce with rice.  I was also going to get a cup of the gumbo which was an upcharge of $2.50 over the dinner salad that is served with the meal.  

Cindy settled on the Crescent City fettuccine - pasta tossed with a tasso ham cream sauce with spices, topped with grilled shrimp and finished with some parmesan cheese.  It was getting late, we were ready to order, our waiter was nowhere in sight.  

Now, I realize that he had other tables.  The table of four next to us was finishing up their meal and contemplating dessert.  The table of three boisterous and somewhat drunk ladies had ordered their food and were getting their salads.  The other table consisted of five younger adults who were obviously friends getting together for the first time in the summer and they had just ordered their food.  When Alex finally came to take our order I was seriously considering getting up and leaving.  It was that bad.  

Alex had the personality of a limp rag and with a paucity of words he took our order.  I told him that I was going to get the cup of gumbo instead of the salad with my meal.  He didn't acknowledge what I said, but he was writing it down.  

My gumbo came out and it was a nice sized cup topped with parsley and rice.  The gumbo was a little fishy in taste - it was not the best gumbo I've ever had.  Still, I was able to finish it by mixing in copious amounts of Tabasco.   

 
After finishing the gumbo, Alex brought out salads for both of us.  I sort of looked at the salad and then up at him.  He wordlessly walked away and I was sort of dumbfounded that he brought me a salad after I told him I'd substitute my salad for the gumbo at an upcharge.  Cindy also pointed out that he didn't offer fresh cracked pepper for either of us.  The salad was fine - it was pretty basic with fresh lettuce greens, some crumbled cheese and an oil and vinegar dressing.  

We were ready to eat when Alex brought the entrees to the table.  My jambalaya was thick and covered with shrimp, chicken and bits of andouille sausage.  Somewhat bland to my spicy-craving taste buds at first, it had a sneaky spicy kick on the back side.  I zipped it up considerably with some Tabasco and made it much more to my liking.  The jambalaya was thick and filling.  It was good jambalaya - not great, in my book.  But I was happy enough with it.  

 
As it always seems to happen, Cindy's Crescent City fettuccine was the best of the two entrees.  Large grilled shrimp were mixed with the fettuccine pasta and the somewhat spicy tasso ham cream sauce.  She offered me a couple bites and I thought it was outstanding.  It wasn't overly spicy - just enough to get your attention.  And it was very rich.  Cindy was having trouble finishing the dinner.

We finished our meals and Alex came over to entice us with some dessert, but we were full enough from the dinner.  He left off the check and disappeared.  And he never came back. 

I had my credit card out with the dinner check.  We waited 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and finally 20 minutes passed before I said, "Well, this is ridiculous..."  We both got up and walked toward the hostess stand with the bill.  The hostess was nowhere in sight, either.  But it was technically past the closing time of the restaurant so they weren't seating anyone any longer.

We walked to the bar and I asked the bartender if he could take care of us.  "Our waiter disappeared on us," I explained.  He told me that only the waiter could cash us out.  I said, "We've been waiting over 20 minutes on the guy to come back to our table.  This is completely unacceptable for a place like this!"  Actually, it was unacceptable for ANY restaurant.    

With the help of the hostess who appeared from a room near the stand, the bartender was able to track down the waiter to give him our bill and my credit card.  We waited patiently at the bar and he finally brought it back to us and said, "Here you go, folks.  Have a good night."  He was completely oblivious to his horrible short comings on the service end of things that evening.  And he got a pretty small tip in return.  

The food at Louisiana Lagniappe was good to very good.  The outdoor seating area was too loud - thanks to the acoustics compounded by Mother Nature.  The service was absolutely horrible - some of the worst service I've EVER encountered at any restaurant I've ever dined at.  I don't like to call anyone out, but Alex's service was completely horrid that particular evening.   The next day when my cousin asked how our experience at Louisiana Lagniappe was, I said, "Good food, horrible service."

Joe Rouer's Bar - Luxemburg, WI

A shout out today to Carol Peterson who e-mailed me ([email protected]) last year telling me that I needed to try a little burger joint outside of Green Bay - Joe Rouer's Bar.  "It's the best burger I've ever had.  It's tough to find, but it's worth it once you get there."  On a recent trip to the Green Bay area, I drove the 20 miles (or so) out of town to have a burger at Joe Rouer's Bar.

Former dairy farmer Joe Rouer bought what was a combination bar and feed mill back in the early 1950's, taking possession and opening the doors on December 5, 1952.  Legend has it that a teacher was visiting a nearby school and asked the school's principal where to get something to eat for lunch.  The school principal suggested the bar down the road that Joe Rouer had just bought.  The teacher walked in and asked about getting some food.  Rouer's wife, Helen, was out running errands and Rouer, himself, had never cooked before.  He turned on the electric flat top grill and cooked the teacher a burger.  It would be the first of thousands and thousands of burgers Joe would grill up.

That electric flat top grill even survived a devastating fire in 1990.  The 86-year-old building received extensive damage from an electrical fire and Rouer - who was just three years younger than the building - considered retiring.  However, he ended up building a newer and bigger place back from the corner lot where the original Joe Rouer's stood.  Joe Rouer died in 2003 at the age of 95, a year after he celebrated 50 years of being in business.  

Long-time locals say that the person that kept the place going all those years before the fire was Helen Rouer.  Helen was quite the character, a rambunctious lady who had a great personality and who loved her shots of Kessler whiskey.  Helen died in 1985 and their grandson, Michael Bultman, stepped in to help run the day-to-day operation when Joe's health began to fail in the years after that.

I programmed my GPS for the address of Joe Rouer's Bar and it showed a Luxemburg, WI address.  But as I drove toward Joe Rouer's a couple miles off of Wisconsin State Highway 57, I came up to a small unincorporated village of Duvall.  At the northeast corner of the intersection was Joe Rouer's Bar.  (see map)  

Joe Rouer's Bar is a clean establishment, with a lot of natural light coming in from the many windows.  A number of tables and chairs are placed throughout the dining room on top of a brick floor.  The oblong bar is the centerpiece of the dining area.  A game room with more tables is located off to the side.  

I took a seat at the bar and the guy behind the bar came over to greet me.  He placed a table top menu in front of me and asked me what I wanted to drink.  I saw that they had Point Amber Classic on tap.  It had been a while since I had a Point Amber Classic and I ordered one of those.  The first sip told me why I hadn't had one in a long time - it was bitter.  But subsequent gulps began to taste better.  

There's not much on the menu at Joe Rouer's Bar - burgers, fish or grilled chicken sandwiches, chicken wings, fries, onion petals, soups and a handful of other appetizers.  I asked the guy behind the bar how big the burgers were and he said, "Well, they're thin and flat, but big.  Bigger than the bun that we put 'em on."  I asked him if I should get a single or a double and he said, "Most guys get the double.  It's about a half-pound."  Against my better judgement, I got a double cheese burger.  He asked me if I wanted fried onions or raw onions on it.  I like the taste of fried onions, but my stomach doesn't like them.   

The burger was presented to me on a small plate with a small bowl of dill pickles.  The cheddar cheese was oozing on the top of the top patty.  Mike Bultman gets his ground beef fresh each day from Marchant's in nearby Brussels, WI and hand-patties each burger before cooking.

 
This was a serious burger.  The juice coming off the burger as it was sitting there was just amazing.  A thin slice of onion stuck to the underside of the top bun.  Putting some pickles, ketchup and mustard on the burger, I took my first bite of a Joe Rouer burger.

And it was...  AWESOME!!!  Oh, my GOD!!!  It was a KILLER burger!  The zest from the old flat top grill just added to the great taste of the burger.  It was juicy with such a great flavor.  It was one of those burgers where I was sincerely unhappy when I took the last bite.    

The bill came to about $14 bucks before tip for the double cheeseburger and two beers.  And they do take credit cards at Joe Rouer's.  It was simply an outstanding burger at a great price.  

I'm not going to do a Top Ten list of my all-time favorite burgers any longer.  I'm starting to find lists on blogs are tedious, subjective and somewhat boring.  But if I were to do a Top Ten list, Joe Rouer's would be firmly in the top three of burgers I've ever had.  Heck, it could even be the best burger I've ever had.  It was just exceptional.  I will definitely be back to Joe Rouer's.  Like Carol told me, it's tough to find, but worth the trip.

 (Note - The address for Joe Rouer's Bar is 1098 County Road X, not County Road A as listed on Urbanspoon.)

 

Duck Creek Pancake House - Bettendorf, IA

We'd noticed a new-ish place in Bettendorf with a name that definitely piqued our interest - Duck Creek Pancake House.  Well, any place with "pancake" in its name gets our attention.  We decided to head down to the Duck Creek Pancake House on a recent Sunday morning for breakfast.

The restaurant is in the spot that used to house Mickey's Country Cafe for over 18 years until Mickey's moved down the road to their new location in the summer of 2011.  (Click here to see the entry on Mickey's Country Cafe.)  Arben Mustafa took over the location, did some renovations and opened the doors in late 2011.  Duck Creek Pancake House is open until 3 p.m. seven days a week.  (see map)

On Sunday's we always try to get into a restaurant before the church crowd gets out and it was after 10 a.m. when we pulled into the restaurant.  There is a large parking lot on the south side of the rather non-descript looking building.  

Going inside, we came across a sign asking us to wait to be seated.  The dining room was large, roomy and well-lit.  A young lady came over and shepherded us to a table along the wall.  Cindy could see into the kitchen that was behind me.  A small bar with swivel seats sat in front of the kitchen. It wasn't fancy, but it was clean and comfortable.

The menu has a bit of a Mediterranean flair with dishes that featured gyro meat.  The gyro omelet sounded good to me.  But I was thinking of something along the lines of pancakes.  

Cindy was thinking of getting something simple like an egg sandwich, but there didn't appear to be one on the menu.  She asked the waitress who came by with coffee if they could make her an egg sandwich. "Oh sure," she said. "We can do that.  We just charge the same for two pieces of toast and an egg.  Cheese is extra."  

Cindy finally decided on the gyro scramble platter.  It came with eggs any way you like with gyro meat, hash brown potatoes and cheese.  I decided upon the big breakfast - three pancakes, two eggs (over easy) and corned beef hash.  I knew I wouldn't be eating all of the breakfast, but Cindy was wanting to try their pancakes.  There'd be enough for both of us to try.  

Our breakfasts came out less than 15 minutes after we ordered.  Cindy's gyro scramble covered her plate.  Bits of gyro meat was interspersed with her eggs, potatoes and cheese.  

 
I certainly had a lot of food to try.   The pancakes were about 8" in diameter, big and fluffy.  I normally don't care for big pancakes like that, but I was willing to give them a shot.  The only problem was that she didn't bring out any maple syrup or butter.    

And we had to wait a bit.  There were three waitresses and the early church crowd had begun to filter in.  The place began to fill up fast and they were running their tails off.   I was fine just eating my eggs and much of my corned beef hash while we waited.  Cindy finally got the attention of one of the young ladies who got the attention of our waitress.  When our server realized that she didn't give us butter and syrup, she gushed, "Oh my gosh!  I'm so sorry, you guys!"  Seconds later, we were able to dig into the pancakes.  Honestly, that was the only service hiccup we had during our visit.  

Cindy thought her gyro scramble plate was fine, but sort of greasy.  My corned beef hash was fine, too, but a little more salty than I like.  The pancakes were, well, they were all right.  Not the best I've had, but serviceable for what they were.  I'm spoiled by my wife's pancakes - thin, well done and full of vanilla.  These were OK for a restaurant, but I also felt they were a little greasy in taste.  And they were very filling.  

All in all, our breakfast at Duck Creek Pancake House was all right.  It wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't bad, either.  The small service hiccup in forgetting the syrup and butter was minor.  The place was clean, portions were big, and it was a pretty good value.  Oh - and they also had free Wi-Fi at Duck Creek Pancake House.  It's one of those family-run breakfast/lunch joints that seems to cater to the needs of their customers - even if it isn't on the menu.