Cotillion Café – A Confirmation!

It’s always nice when friends, followers or readers of my blog follow-up on one of my reviews of an area, an attraction or especially…a dining opportunity.

Back in March, I’d posted a blog about the Cotillion Southern Café.  To be frank, Laurie and I loved this place and I raved about it in my blog.  To access our feedback from our visit, go to http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/03/great-southern-dining-wildwood-florida.html.

Well, we now have first hand confirmation…feedback verifying and supporting our very positive impression of this casual but fine dining establishment…

Our friends, Holly and Joel stopped for dinner at the Cotillion Southern Cafe on their way to the Orlando area.  This is a photo they took showing part of the Cotillion’s dining room.  It’s warm and comfortable…reminding one of times from the distant past.

This is Liz, the waitress that served Holly and Joel.  Her service was warm, attentive and friendly, matching the food and the décor!

Holly and Joel split this Seafood Platter…Fresh fried fish, a crab cake, shrimp, a fried green tomato, cole slaw and Georgia ‘ice cream’…all beautifully plated! (For the uninitiated, Georgia ‘ice cream’ consists of slow cooked grits with sugar, salt and butter) …We got hungry just looking at this photo!

How about this for a dessert selection?!  The Cotillion offers a terrific selection of cakes as well as some pies.  The challenge for the diner is to have enough room left to be able to order and enjoy a slab of one of these beauties!

OK… Joel and Holly called us from the road right after they left the Cotillion Southern Café.  They were happy, stunned, gobsmacked, satisfied and raving about this great little restaurant… Their confirmation sure made our day and our original recommendation stands…

If you are anywhere near Wildwood Florida, (located at the intersection of the Florida Turnpike and I-75), stop at the Cotillion Southern Cafe for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner!  Address: 101 Main Street, Wildwood, FL. (Note: The restaurant is located in an old bank building on the left side of the street) Phone: 353-748-1223.  Website: www.cafecotillion.com.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Hooters for Lunch…

OK…sometimes one just has to take a step back in time and re-visit an old standby…  In this case, it was a restaurant chain that we hadn’t eaten in for at least 5 years. 

Yup…It’s Hooters.  This particular restaurant is located in Beckley West Virginia, just off of I-77.  It was lunch time during one of our treks north to visit the family in the Cleveland Ohio area.  I go back a long way with Hooters…having eaten in the original Clearwater location shortly after the chain was founded.  Laurie grew to like the wings and, from time to time, we ate at one or another of the restaurants for several years.

The first thing that we noticed when we sat down was the greatly expanded menu!  Hooter’s, as we knew it several years ago, had a very simple and relatively small menu.  Wings were then pushed as the primary item…followed closely by beer!

There were no less than 9 appetizers listed, (per the menu, these items were called “Hooterstizers”), as well as chili, 2 soups and 3 dinner salads.  As you can see, we decided to go for the fried pickles.  They were quite good…plenty of them with a nice dipping sauce.

What seemed weird to me was the fact that the “wings”, once the primary menu item, are now just one of eight sections on the menu!  You can order 10, 20 or 50 wings…now with 8 different sauces, (versus 4 sauces in the olden days), plus there are ‘naked’, (not breaded), wings as well as ‘boneless’ wings.  What is the world coming to!

We ordered a combination plate consisting of 10 of the standard breaded and fried wings plus 10 Buffalo Shrimp…all tossed with the Hooter’s Hot Wing Sauce. (By the way, the Hooter’s Hot Wing Sauce, purchased from the grocery store, is our favorite wing sauce)

So…Laurie doesn’t like the breaded wings anymore.  The shrimp were OK but she felt that they were overpowered by the Hot Wing Sauce.  She also didn’t like the wings and shrimp stacked on top of the carrots and celery.  I personally thought that everything was as I expected… I enjoyed the hot wings as well as the shrimp…although I must admit that the breaded wings were a bit heavy in comparison to what we’ve become used to.

The menu lists 3 salads, 3 soups/chili, the ‘Hooterstizers’, wings, seafood, burgers, sandwiches and desserts.  Change has also brought some ‘healthy dining’ and gluten free items to the menu… A number of Hooters locations now even have a full bar!

This is an interior photo of the Beckley West Virginia Hooter’s restaurant.  The young lady on the right, her name was Desiree, was our very cheerful, friendly and efficient waitress.  Our lunch, with the fried pickles, buffalo shrimp and wings, plus tax and tip came to $25.71.   

For further information on Hooter’s Restaurants, just go to www.hooters.com.  Note: Hooter’s on-line/website menus do not list prices.  Even with a disclaimer that prices may change without notice, I much prefer to see the prices on-line just so I can get an idea re: my expected costs.

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Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Cruising the Back Roads of Florida

As I’ve mentioned several times previously, we just love cruising the back roads.  In addition to the USA, we’ve spent a lot of time in Canada and we’ve gotten off the beaten track in Scotland, Australia and New Zealand.  The good news is that the USA is so large that we will never run out of byways that we haven’t seen before! 

In this instance, we were slowly working our way north from Tampa/Clearwater toward the Georgia border…

Talk about ‘old’ Florida…  This may not look like a town…but it is!  Welcome to Yankeetown Florida.  Narrow streets, big old trees and Spanish moss, with homes sprinkled along the ‘main’ thoroughfare.  Yankeetown was founded in 1923 by a prominent politician and attorney from Indiana.   He bought 2,000 acres and began developing the area.  As of the 2010 census, there were 589 citizens in town.

Yankeetown is just upriver from the Gulf of Mexico.  Take US 19 to Inglis Florida, then turn west on Levy Country Road 40.

Yankeetown is situated on the banks of the Withlacoochee River.  In 1924, the town’s founder also built the Izaak Walton Lodge…an operation that is still in business.  It comes complete with a restaurant named Ike’s Old Florida Kitchen.  There must be some money in the area because the menu is a bit upscale…with items like Buffalo Ribeye Steaks, Quail and Ostrich Filet.  For more on the Lodge and Restaurant, go to www.izaakwaltonlodge.com. 

Yankeetown is located just north of the infamous and discontinued Cross Florida Barge Canal.   The 600’ lock built nearby as a part of that project is now derelict.  If you were wondering how the town got its name, locals had derisively called it Yankeetown for many years.  In the 1920’s, the Florida Legislature described the place as a “Northern beachhead on the sacred shores of the south”…and they made the name permanent with an official charter.

 As we moved north along US 19, we came across this roadside railroad display.  This is old “Three-Spot”, a ca. 1915 2-8-0 locomotive used by the Patterson-McInnis Sawmill until around WWII.  It used to haul 30 – 40 car loads of logs to the mill on a regular basis.  In 1969, Patterson-McInnis donated this relic of days gone by to Levy County Florida.

Moving north from Cedar Key Florida, first up US 19 and then along US 129, we came to Trenton Florida and this nice looking old railroad depot.  The depot was built by the Atlantic Coast Railroad in 1906.  The track was abandoned by the Florida West Coast Railroad in 2004.  The Trenton Depot now serves as a trailhead for the 30+ mile Nature Coast Biking and Hiking Trail.  The Trenton Community Farmers Market also sets up shop here on a regular basis during the growing season. (Note: the train mural on the building wall behind the depot)

Between Cedar Key, (my next blog posting), and Yankeetown Florida, I'm convinced that this area of Florida deserves further exploration on our part.  Also, from what I have been able to learn, fishing is really excellent along the Gulf in this area of the state.  We’ll be back!

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Thanks for stopping by and sharing our back roads adventures with us!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

More Pizza in Florida!

After a ‘hard and stressful’ day of sightseeing in southeast Florida, Laurie, Dawn Marie and I agreed that a very casual dinner was in order and that pizza would fill our needs nicely.  I had Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza on my list but Dawn had another local place in mind, a place where she knew that the pizza was good!

So it was off to Steve’s Pizza in North Miami.  This place is about as casual as it could be!  

Steve’s Pizza has been in business here since 1974.  They serve a New York style pizza with a ‘sweeter’ tasting tomato sauce and some customers from New York claim that this is the best pizza they’ve had since moving to south Florida.

The interior of Steve’s has kind of a retro-grunge appearance, with cards and graffiti on the walls and just graffiti everywhere else.  There was a constant line of people picking up or ordering their pizzas while we were there.  The counter service can be described as New York casual… It was that typical ‘I’m busy’…’Wat da ya want?’ indifference that marks many New York and New Jersey establishments.  It was perfect for a NY pizza joint!

You can buy pizza by the slice…big slices indeed!  Alternatively, you can order a whole pizza, (Large 16” - $11.75 plus $1.75 per topping), or one of Steve’s 6 Specialty Pizzas. (Large - $13.75 to $18.75)

Apparently, we were a bit hungry!  Once again, we started eating before Laurie was able to take a photo… (Note: Although I'd turned this photo so it could be viewed vertically instead of horizontally, it wouldn't transfer to the blog in the format I wanted)

This was a very good pizza topped with quality pepperoni and Italian sausage.  The crust was thin and fairly crispy…just as we like it!  It was a winner that we wish we could duplicate in east Tennessee…

There are many other offerings on the Menu at Steve’s Pizza.  There are Calzones, Stromboli, Pizza Hoagies, Spaghetti entrees, Ziti dishes, other Pasta offerings, Salads and Soups, Cold Subs and Italian Dinners.  But, judging from the traffic and the orders we saw leaving the building and being enjoyed at the tables, pizza is no doubt #1 at Steve’s!

Steve’s Pizza is located at 12101 Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami Florida.  Phone: 305-891-0202.  To see Steve’s menu go to http://southflorida.menupages.com/restaurants/steves-pizza-3/menu. For additional feedback on Steve’s Pizza, just go to Trip Advisor at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34485-d466788-Reviews-Steve_s_Pizza-North_Miami_Florida.html.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by and sharing a slice of pizza with us!

Question: Although I haven't changed what I'm doing, my last couple of posts have not posted automatically as per my setting in Blogspot.  I've had to go back in on the planned date and manually publish the blogs... Help!

Thanks and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Hidden Florida – The ‘Other’ Florida Keys

OK…I admit it!  I’m a little old fashioned and I’m not into today’s technology rage, especially when it comes to travel.  I will use our Magellan to find addresses in cities and in especially populated and confusing areas.  But in general…give me a good road map and I’m off on the back roads…exploring…looking for that next nifty place or out of the way attraction!

Before we headed out on our Florida trip, I checked out our possible return routes.  We’d decided to just drive part way from Clearwater and then stop for the night on our return to our home in East Tennessee… We wanted to do a little sightseeing along the way.  Looking on my map north from Clearwater, I decided that I would take US 19 north until I came to a road that would let me angle back to the northeast and I-75.  Then I saw a place on the map that I’d always wondered about…an isolated cluster of keys, (islands)…on a parallel with Ocala, just offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is the old downtown area of Cedar Key Florida.   Cedar Key is a small town, population 707, located on 3 keys/islands named the Cedar Keys, just off the coast of Florida in Levy Country. (County’s population is less than 42,000) The whole town occupies only about 9/10 of a square mile and it sits 10 feet above sea level.  Way Key is the largest of these island… Probably because of its isolated location, the town’s population has dropped by about 83 residents since the 2000 census.

In driving times, Cedar Key is 1 hour and 18 minutes (57 miles) southwest from Gainesville; 1 hour and 25 minutes (70 miles) west of Ocala, and; 2 hours and 48 minutes (128 miles) north of Clearwater. 

This is the more crowded street along the waterfront… There are a number of restaurants, bars and shops along this thoroughfare.  However, there is no way you could say that the town was packed with tourists.  There were just enough visitors to drive some business and keep these establishments in business.

The Cedar Keys were first noted on a map by a Spanish cartographer back in 1542.  In addition to the Spanish, several notable pirates, such as Jean Lafitte and Captain Kidd used the islands as a watering and rest stop.  The islands were named for the Eastern Red Cedars which were once abundant in the area.  Permanent occupation of the islands began in 1839 when General Zachary Taylor and US Army established a supply depot and hospital on Depot Key.

This is the Island Hotel & Restaurant.  It was built in 1859 from seashell tabby with oak supports.  The tabby walls are 10” thick and they’re supported by 12” beams.  The building has survived hurricanes, flood and fire.  For those who are interested in these things, the building is also reputed to be haunted…

The Island Hotel’s history is very interesting…and quirky too!  For more detail about this establishment and its history, just go to http://islandhotel-cedarkey.com/history.html.  This building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

This is a view across the harbor of Cedar Key towards the only sizeable condo complex that we saw during our visit. 

This harbor became an important port in the mid-1800’s.  The primary cargo was lumber and naval stores harvested from the mainland.  By 1860, 2 mills on Atsena Otie Key were producing cedar slats for shipment to northern pencil factories.  By 1860, Cedar Key became the western terminus for the Florida Railroad, connecting it to Fernandia Beach on the east coast. 

This is a view back toward Way Key from one of the other keys that comprise the town.  The town offers a laid back atmosphere, a number of good but very casual restaurants, lots of fishing opportunities and plenty of sunshine.

The Confederate Army occupied the islands until early 1864 and it was an important source of salt for their forces.  The town of Cedar Key was incorporated in 1869 with a population of 400 residents.  When Tampa received rail service in 1886, the shipping business and the economy in Cedar Key began a long decline. 

There are plenty of opportunities to rent homes or cottages in Cedar Key.  Laurie and I will be looking into that possibility over the next several months.  The views of the keys and the Gulf of Mexico are very relaxing…

Another historical note... Naturalist John Muir walked 1,000 miles from Louisville Kentucky to Cedar Key in just 2 months in 1867.  He contracted malaria while working in a saw mill in the Keys and was nursed back to health in the house of the mill’s superintendent. He sailed from Cedar Key to Cuba in 1868.

This is the George T. Lewis Airport on one of the other populated keys.  It has a 2,355 foot runway…no facilities…sea gulls on the runway, (also used as a public road)…and it handles an average of 77 private planes per week.

Here’s a photo of the airport that was taken by a private pilot… This is not exactly like O’Hare in Chicago!

One more view of the keys… Cedar Key has been beaten up repeatedly by Hurricanes over the years.   In 1896, a 10 foot storm surge killed 100 residents and, between the surge and the 125 mile an hour winds, the remaining juniper trees  and the mills were destroyed.  In 1950, another hurricane destroyed 2/3 of the homes in the keys. 

Cedar Key was like a breath of fresh air to us… Our visit was brief but we liked what we saw!  In the near future, I’ll be publishing a blog about our dining experience in Cedar Key…and it was a good experience…

For more information on Cedar Key, you can go to http://visitcedarkey.com or www.cedarkey.org.  For a map of Cedar Key, just go to  http://www.cedarkey.org/docs/CK_Street_Map.pdf.  

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by and sharing this hidden corner of America with us!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Lunch on Key Biscayne

When Laurie, Dawn Marie and I went over to the Miami Seaquarium, see (http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/04/visit-to-miami-seaquarium.html), we decided that we should first stop for lunch.  So, to check out our options, we drove past the Seaquarium and continued on over the Rickenbacker causeway to nearby Key Biscayne. 

We found this little place in an upscale 2-level strip center.  La Boulangerie is a bakery and sandwich shop and my subsequent research revealed that it rates 4 ‘stars’ out of 5 on Trip Advisor. 

It is very casual inside…with a couple of bakery counters and a few tables.  There were tables in use outside as well.  Orders are placed at the counter and when your food is ready, they deliver it to your table.

I ordered the Roast Beef, (Corazon De Alcachofa Y Queso Parmesano), described as prime roast beef, marinated artichoke hearts and parmesan cheese. ($11.95) The bread was very fresh and had a nice crunch to it.  The ingredients worked well together and I did enjoy this sandwich…

Dawn ordered the Quiche of the Day which came with a little salad.  I didn’t note the price… As you might notice, Dawn took a couple of bites before Laurie took the photo.  Rating = Good!

Laurie’s sandwich choice was the Estilo New Orleans Con Mayonesa Creole.  It’s described as thin slices of black forest ham, fresh tomatoes, a layer of sliced imported Genoa salami, red onions, lean roast beef, lettuce and Creole mayonnaise. ($11.45) She really liked the nice bread…hard to find great bread in eastern Tennessee…and she gave the sandwich two thumbs up.

Dawn decided to order these 3 cupcakes for dessert… I’m not a cupcake (or cake) person and I wasn’t impressed.  However, Laurie and Dawn enjoyed these treats.

La Boulangerie actually has quite an expansive menu…surprising for this type of eatery.  In addition to the sandwiches, (14 choices, $10.45 - $11.95), there is the Soup of the Day ($5.45); 10 ‘dinner’ salads ($10.95 - $12.45); 13 Homemade Pasta dishes ($10.99 - $14.99) and; 7 Hot Platters and Sandwiches ($10.95 - $12.45).

This isn’t an inexpensive bakery and sandwich shop…but the fresh bread and quality ingredients add value to the meals.  Also, we’re talking Key Biscayne here with its expensive real estate and high end residents!  La Boulangerie is located at 328 Crandon Boulevard.  Phone: 305-365-5260.  To check out a variety of opinions provided by La Boulangerie’s customers, go to Trip Advisor at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34342-d1007931-Reviews-La_Boulangerie-Key_Biscayne_Florida.html.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Mexican Cuisine – Lenoir City Tennessee

Once a month for the past 3 months, a group from our neighborhood has descended on a local restaurant…and I’ve published reviews based on everyone’s feedback.  The 1^st restaurant we visited was Classico Italian Pizza & Pasta, (Loudon TN), which scored 4.9 out of 10 points.  The 2^nd restaurant was American House of Pancakes, (Loudon TN), which scored 5.2 points.  Eight of us participated in these first 2 visits…

In this most recent visit, there were only six of us.  We decided to try a local Mexican Restaurant.

This is Ayala’s Mexican Restaurant in Lenoir City Tennessee. They bill themselves as “The Place for Authentic Mexican Food!”  Laurie and I, as well as one of the other couples, had eaten here before.

Ayala’s Restaurant is quite large.  This is only one side of the dining area. 

Of course, as in most Mexican Restaurants, chips and salsa preceded the meal.  The chips were OK but the Salsa was different than most.  It was blended…and everyone thought that it was very good…if a little spicy for some. (Dennis and I liked it so well that we used it with our entrees!) You might be able to detect the fact that we were well into both baskets of chips and salsa before we got around to taking a photo…

OK…Now I may have mixed up the photos of the food as they were taken when the entrees were served…and the order of service jumped around the table.  Also, Laurie thinks that she might have missed the photo of her entrée…

Laurie ordered the Enchiladas Supremas. ($7.50) This entrée included one chicken, one bean, one cheese and one beef enchilada.  She really liked her dinner, rating it a 9.0 out of 10 possible points.   

This is part of the 'other' Dave’s dinner…Laurie’s looked a lot like this but this plate is missing two additional Enchiladas which were part of her dinner.

I ordered the Chori Pollo. ($10.45) This consists of grilled pieces of chicken breast topped with chorizo and cheese.  It came with rice, beans and a chicken enchilada.  The grilled chicken with chorizo and cheese worked really well together!  I gave my dinner a 9.0 out of 10 possible points...and I'm not normally into Mexican food.

Barb ordered the Arroz con Mariscos. ($10.95) This dish consisted of grilled shrimp and scallops on a bed of rice, topped with nacho cheese and special ranchero sauce.  She reported that the shrimp and scallops were very good indeed and, despite the food being a little spicier than she is used to, she rated her dinner a 10 out of 10!

This is part of the meal ordered by Edera.  Here we have the rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo.

Edera’s main plate contained her Vegetarian Fajitas. ($8.50) Corn tortillas were also served on the side.  She was very happy with her entrée, giving it a rating of 9.0.

Dennis ordered a Combination/Create Your Own Dinner. ($7.99) It consisted of a beef enchilada, a beef taco and a beef filled chili relleno, served with rice and beans.  He described his meal as good…and he gave it 7.0 out of 10 possible points.

The ‘other’ Dave in our group ordered the Rodeo’s Special.  ($8.75) As described, it included ‘a little of everything’.  There was a chalupa, a chile relleno, a beef taco, an enchilada and a burrito…accompanied by rice and beans!  It is quite a deal for the price…and he ended up with a take home box…

This was part of Dave’s 'Rodeo' dinner as well…

Our waiter Ryan, was very attentive, ensuring that we had lots of water, bringing us extra corn chips and salsa, etc.  He was a pleasant young man…

OK… Compared to our previous group dining adventures, our visit to Ayala’s Mexican Restaurant was a home run!  Our rating, based on our usual 10.0 scale, averaged out to 8.9!!  Better yet, each couple was able to use our local ‘Lifestyle’ card, deducting one entrée from everyones dinner bill…nice!  We will return…repeatedly!

Ayala’s Mexican Restaurant is located just off of and is visible from US 321 in Lenoir City Tennessee.  The actual address is 131 Kelsey Lane, Suite 106.  Phone: 865-988-0069.  Ayala’s apparently doesn’t have a website, but for those who are interested, they are on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AyalasLenoirCity.

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Thanks for stopping by and sharing another dining experience with us!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

From Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives…

So, after Laurie, Dawn and I had spent the day driving from Miami down to the Everglades for a little bit of exploring, we headed back north looking for a place for a casual dinner.  In my outline of possible attractions and restaurants for this trip, Dawn remembered I’d listed a place in South Miami that had been featured on Guy Fieri’s TV show, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives.

This is the place… Scully’s Tavern!  The story goes that 20+ years ago, a carpenter and a flight attendant teamed up to open this establishment, although neither one had any restaurant experience at the time.  They're still going strong!

This is a neighborhood bar…of that there is no doubt.  The place has that warm neighborly feel that you would expect and it is in reality, a big bar that serves food…

Scully’s got quite busy while we were waiting for our food.  Everyone…except us…seemed to be regular patrons.  After a day traipsing around the Everglades, the casual feel of the place was just right.

We ordered a couple of appetizers… Our first choice was the Fried Calamari with melted garlic butter and parmesan cheese ($7.95). The melted garlic butter was a nice change from the usual marinara sauce.  The calamari was very nice…tender and not at all chewy.

Other appetizers stray quite a distance from ‘typical’ bar fare… How about ‘A Wheel of Brie’ covered with Toasted Almonds and served with French Bread and Fresh Fruit. ($9.95 for 2) Or one could order Oysters Florentine, oysters topped with cream of spinach and gratinee with Parmesan Cheese. (6 for $9.50) another option is the Escargot served in Mushroom Caps with garlic, butter and topped with Provolone Cheese, accompanied with Garlic Bread. ($8.95)

Our second appetizer was another old standard…Jalapeno Poppers ($9.00) They were better than average…with a little ‘bite’ left in the peppers, a good thing for those of us who like a little heat.

Scully’s also does wings.  They were featured in Guy’s take on this restaurant but we weren’t in the mood for wings.  Still, the way that they’re prepared is interesting and sounds worthy of a try the next time.  The wings are flash fried until crispy, then coated in the sauce, then grilled, then recoated in the sauce and finished off on the grill. (10 = $8.50/16 = $12.50)

Laurie ordered one of her favorite sandwiches…a Hot Italian Sub ($8.95). It was loaded with fresh ingredients, including a crazy amount of meat!  Laure really liked her sandwich as well as her slaw. 

Dawn ordered a Greek Burger…but she modified it to fit her taste and it didn’t turn out well.  I didn't include a photo since it was ‘off the menu’.  The burgers on the menu ranged in price from $6.95 to $8.95.

My sandwich was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives.  It’s the Incrusted Pan Fried  Dolphin (Mahi Mahi) Sandwich served on a fresh baked Kaiser roll. ($11.95) The best part about this sandwich was the crispy potato chip coating on the fish.  There wasn’t a lot of flavor… The sandwich was OK but it missed the mark for me.

There are daily lunch and dinner specials such as strip steak and prime rib.  There were a couple of interesting Caesar Salads on the menu…a Smoked Fish Caesar, ($9.95), and a Fried Clam Strip Caesar ($9.50)

We decided to try dessert and we split a couple of them between the 3 of us.  This is Scully’s famous Bread Pudding ($4.95). It was OK…but not what any of us expected when we ordered Bread Pudding.

The Carrot Cake was much more traditional and it was quite good. ($4.25)

Service was OK and the waitress was friendly enough.  If we lived close to Scully’s, we’d probably patronize the place on a regular basis.  Still, we weren’t blown away by this Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives pick.  There was more variety on the menu than in most bar settings but other than Laurie’s Italian Sub, nothing seemed that special.

Scully’s Tavern is located at 9809 Sunset Drive/SW 72^nd Street, in South Miami Florida.  They are open Monday through Saturday starting at 11 AM.  Phone: 305-271-7404.  Scully’s website is under construction but you can view their menu at http://southflorida.menupages.com/restaurants/scullys-tavern/menu.  To check out Guy Fieri’s visit to Scully’s Tavern, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB6L6Nsi-dA.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave