Crabby Joe's Deck and Grill Review

Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Website: http://www.sunglowpier.com/index.htm

A long time ago, back in 2005, Tyler and I went to Ponce Inlet, just south of Daytona Beach, for the first time. We stayed for a week and during the week we stumbled upon a place to eat on a pier. Sounded good enough. We went the one time and ended up back about 3 more times in that week. Crabby Joe's became our happy place in a way quite like no other. Their crab sandwich is fantastic along with the cuban sandwich, shrimp po-boy and so much more. Now every time we go to FL, we have to go to Crabby Joe's at least twice, if not 3-4 times :) It is an extremely casual atmosphere with beer pitchers chilled with bags of ice and open windows complete with sea air going right on through. Last year, I tried the Crabby Joe sampler and was delighted with crab legs, steamed shrimp and muscles. I had never had muscles before, but I am a big fan now. 

This place does it right with good staff, fast food service and low prices. You never leave hungry and your wallet is only slightly smaller. If you ever get a chance to go to Crabby Joe's, I highly recommend it!

Overall Grade: A+

South Beach Grill Review

 Location: Crescent Beach, FL
Website: http://www.southbeachgrill.net/index.html

After staying in Jacksonville, FL overnight, we decided to drive down A1A to get to Ponce Inlet and our condo. We hit St. Augustine and started to get hungry. Moe's seemed to be a good destination, but on our way, I saw a sign for a beachside place and we pulled in. South Beach Grill seemed to be a good spot. The view was great, but the service seemed to lack. We were seated promptly, but it took awhile for someone to come for our drinks. We ordered and I had the Tuna Wrap and Tyler had the Blacked Fish Wrap. Both were pretty good with nice portion sizes. Not too little but not too big. We sat outside, which meant that we seemed to be forgotten a bit and we also didn't get a refill during the service until the check came. Go figure :) All in all, the food was good, but the service could be better. Not a bad spot for lunch on the beach.

Overall Grade: B

Taking the Work out of Pasta Sauce

One of Tyler's favorite places on the Intertubes is a site called Smile Politely. Today he sent me a link to homemade pasta sauce done easy. I haven't tried it yet, but it will be done this Fall. From what I can tell, this would be very close to a Bertoli Marinara, which we love to use in our savory dishes. Here is the link:

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Been Gone

I want to apologize for the lack of posting. It has been a bit hectic lately as we have been out of town quite a bit. We are also gearing up to head to the East Coast for the next couple of weeks. I will try to post on the road of the different places we like to eat. Thanks for Reading!

Tortilla Crusted Tilapia with Chipotle-Lime

I am a fan of my local Grocer's Deli/Meat Case. There you can find all kinds of "prepared" dishes that can be quite tasty when done right at home. A while ago, I picked up a couple of tilapia fillets and threw them in the freezer. Last night I did them up in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes on a lightly oiled cooking sheet. After that was done, the fillets were looking good, but needed to get crispy, so I put the broiler on while I made up a fettuccine alfredo side and seasoned peas for some added color. All-n-all, it made for a good meal.

Spicy Italian Pork Cutlets

Last weekend, I went through the freezer and jotted down all of the food I had stored in anticipation of having a mass freezer clean-out. So far... so good....at least when we are home. We have been out and about quite a bit with different out of town needs, but we do cook when we are home for the most part. Today's recipe is taken from AllRecipes.com. I basically looked up pork cutlets and looked for the highest rated recipe in order to use our cutlet supply. Here it is:

Spicy Italian Pork Cutlets - 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 boneless pork chops, pounded to 1/4 inch thick
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, and quickly sear on both sides. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2. Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, and saute the garlic about 30 seconds. Mix in the tomato, chicken broth, wine, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes.
3. Return the pork chops to the skillet, and continue cooking 5 to 10 minutes, to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Serve pork with the tomato and broth mixture from the skillet.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 261 | Total Fat: 18.9g | Cholesterol: 38mg

Cheesecake Factory Review

We have a tradition that when we have to go to Indianapolis for different events, we have to eat at the Cheescake Factory. Many people tend to think that this wonderful eatery is only for dessert, but they are sooooo terribly wrong. The menu is gigantic. There is everything from Asian-Fusion to Salisbury Steak. The portions are beyond big, and the taste is ridiculous. We absolutely love it! This time we had the: 

Classic French Bread and Pumpernickel Bread
*This bread is to die for. It is so yummy. I have always been a white bread kind of girl until the pumpernickel really changed me. The subtle sweetness totally makes the bread!

Spicy Ahi Tempura Roll 

Fresh Raw Ahi Tuna with Green Onion, Spicy Soy Sauce, Ginger and Garlic.
Wrapped in Nori and Flash Fried Tempura Style.  
*I had to have a sushi fix and this did just the right thing.
The sauce was amazing and even the garnish was devoured. :)

Shrimp Scampi and Chicken Madeira
Shrimp is sautéed with garlic, white wine, fresh basil & tomato. Served with mashed potatoes; sautéed chicken breast topped with fresh asparagus & melted mozzarella cheese - covered with fresh mushroom Madeira Sauce.
*Fantastic combo deal with 2 wonderful dishes!

 Buffalo Blasts®

Chicken Breast, Cheese and Our Spicy Buffalo Sauce all Stuffed in a Spiced Wrapper and Fried until Crisp. Served with Celery Sticks and Blue Cheese Dressing.

 *Huge servings...big on taste!

Overall Grade: A

Make it at home (click the link): 
Shrimp Scampi
Chicken Madeira
Buffalo Fingers

Raspberry Chipotle Chicken

I am a big fan of marinades. We love to grill and marinades are a great way of switching things up. Last night we did up about 7 chicken breasts marinaded in Allegro Raspberry Chipotle sauce. This stuff has a great smell and has a great kick from the chipotle peppers. The flavor is excellent and you can't beat it on grilled chicken. Add some grilled asparagus, zucchini, sweet pepper and eggplant and it makes for a great meal.

Kamakura Dining Review

Saturday night with my sister and brother-in-law in town from Virginia, and my sister-in-law from southern Illinois, we found ourselves around the table of the teppan grill at Kamakura Japanese Restaurant. We were first put into the "waiting room" for almost 25 minutes past our reservation. That was a bit unnerving, as we had a newborn with us. After we were seated, things went well for the most part. Holly and I spilled some soup on us trying to cut mushrooms, but it was all good.

The grilling started and things were heating up. A grilled volcano was the show stopper. Our chef was pretty funny. I had the sirloin with fried rice. It was so good. Carrots, zucchini, onions, soy sauce = yum! I had never been to Kamakura before this, even though we have lived in town for more than 7 years :) I think we will definitely go back!


Overall Grade: B