In Memoriam – A Class Act and Good Friend!

Dave Gorman was a class act, a gentleman, he was honest as the day is long, he was dedicated to being the best…and he has left us all too soon…  Dave was only 65 years old.  As a member of the Marine Corps, Dave had served his country during the Vietnam War. (1966 – 1969) He was wounded in action. 

After the war, Dave met his bride to be during the Christmas Season while working at Sears between college semesters.  Patty and he were married on May 25^th, 1974.   Their daughter Kelly was born in 1979.  Cancer took Dave’s life on May 15, 2012…. 

Dave joined Venture Stores as an Internal Auditor in 1973.  Don’t you just love that classy corduroy suit!  He loved this suit…

It wasn’t long before I had the good fortune of Dave joining my team… He had my back on many occasions and, believe me, I needed the support!  While at Venture, he grew fast into a management role and then he proved his leadership skills by ensuring the integrity of his operation, by selling management on our capabilities and then delivering the results.  Much of this success was the result of the fact that he assembled a terrific, hard working and loyal group of associates. 

This photo of Dave and his ‘twin’, Bruce Kozozenski, was taken at a party at our home in Bridgeton Missouri… Dave and Bruce were very close, both Vietnam Veterans, and they remained friends over the years.  Dave handled the shortage control audit and inventory functions at Venture Stores and Bruce assisted with the administration of the security/loss prevention function and he was responsible for associate and customer safety.  Bruce was with Dave near the end…

One day while at work in his office at Venture in St. Louis Missouri, Dave received a phone call from another start-up retailer.  This individual was trying to recruit him for his new and growing company.  Showing better than average smarts, Dave flew down and met with the caller.  Sam Walton liked Dave a lot…hiring him as Wal-Mart’s Director of Internal Audit…and the rest is history.

Here is Dave with his wife Patty and their daughter Kelly.  This was taken not too long after their big move from Alton Illinois to Bentonville Arkansas…and near the beginning of Dave’s outstanding career with Wal-Mart.

I recall a phone call from Dave.  At the time I was living in Chicago working for Household Merchandising.  Dave was a little nervous… He’d been offered a new opportunity at Wal-Mart.  They wanted him to become their new Vice President of Loss Prevention! 

Since Loss Prevention/Retail Security wasn’t something he’d been directly involved in, he was a little hesitant to make the move.  I knew that loss prevention mostly involved the willingness to make a quick decision and to use common sense…and Dave was loaded with those abilities.  He moved on to become one of the prime movers/key players in retail loss prevention…now frequently called asset protection.

This photo of Dave and Patty’s daughter Kelly is the one that I carried in my wallet from the day it was given to me until she got married… I felt that it brought me good luck!  I do know that she was Daddy’s little girl…

Dave is the gentleman of leisure who is ensconced in that nice chair… I’m the older fellow standing beside him at a trade conference.  I believe that this was taken at a Retail Industry Leaders Association Loss Prevention conference.  Note Dave’s cowboy boots!  He really got into that country feeling down in Arkansas…

This photo of Dave and I was taken last summer at Bald River Falls, near Tellico Plains Tennessee in the Cherokee National Forest.  We had a great time just reminiscing about the early days, both professional and personal.  Dave’s dry wit was as sharp as ever… This was about 7 months before he learned that he had pancreatic cancer.

We were really happy that Dave and Patty came to stay with us for a few days last year.  It had been quite a while since we’d both seen them.  We broke bread together, told tall stories about the past, talked about the future and partied with some of our friends.

It’s hard to accept the fact that Dave is no longer with us… Our sympathy and prayers go out to Patty, Kelly and Kelly's husband Josh in this time of sorrow.  We will see them soon...and together we’ll be able to celebrate Dave’s life…

To view the professional and personal respect, as well as the love that so many felt for Dave, (13 pages and counting), just click on the following link:  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davegorman/guestbook.

Thanks for stopping by and paying your respects…

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie

A Memorial Day Tribute...

This is in commemoration of my relatives from the the various branches of my family, (Myers, Weed and Thomson), who’ve served in the Armed Forces of the United States over the past 67 years…

This is a photo of Ronald Allen Myers…my father.  He was a Staff Sergeant in the 18^th Infantry Regiment of the 1^st Infantry Division…the “Big Red One”.  He was killed in action in Europe on May 6, 1945.  His death came only 2 days before victory in Europe, (VE Day), when the Germans surrendered to the Allied Forces in Berlin.  I had yet to reach my 3^rd birthday…

Ronald Myers is buried in the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial near the town of Avold France. http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=registry.asp&subpage=search&drawtable=YES.

This is Nathan Weed, my mother’s oldest brother. (He was named after his father) As you can see by the uniform, he also served in the United States Army.  Uncle Nathan is survived by two daughters, Susan and Wendy, as well as a son, also named Nathan.

Nathan’s son (Nathan) also served in the United States Army. (I was unable to locate a photo of Nate while he was in the army) One big bonus that he gained from his service to his country was his wife Janice, a bonnie Scot who has been his soul mate for many years now.  They have 3 children…Elizabeth, Nadine…and you guessed it…the 4^th Nathan in the ongoing series!

John Weed was my mother’s youngest brother.  He served with the US Navy, spending much of his time shipboard in the Mediterranean Sea. (In the first photo, he's wearing his military ID around his neck) This photo appears to have been taken while he was on shore leave in France. 

The second picture of Uncle John shows him on leave once again...but this time he's with a buddy and they're both in their 'whites'.  Uncle John is survived by two daughters, Judy and Maggie, as well as two sons, John and Michael.

This is my brother, Robert J. Thomson.  Bob served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War.  He now lives in Kansas City Kansas…and despite some very serious health issues, he has survived thanks to the care provided to him by the Veterans Administration.

Thanks to all of our family members who have served in defense of their country…and to the millions of service men and women who have given their life, their health and a portion of their lives to protect the United States of America!

We appreciate you taking time to share this family memorial with us…

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

A Law Degree in the Family!

Well, it's happened!  Our son, David II, has now added a law degree, (J.D. Cum Laude), to his M.B.A., C.P.A., C.M.A., (Certified Managerial Accountant), plus his P.M.P. (Project Management Professional) So, to honor this major accomplishment, Laurie and I headed off to the Cleveland Ohio suburbs for the graduation ceremony and related celebrations!

Here’s a family portrait in front of David and Amy’s home… Amy, in blue, took this photo using the timer on her camera and she had to dash to get into the photo... hence, her tilted stance.  The photo includes both Amy and David’s immediate families.  As for the graduate himself, he sort of stands out from the crowd!

When he decided to go for his law degree, David II applied to a number of schools in Ohio…and even in Pennsylvania.  Case Western Reserve University’s Law School was his number one choice.  Only about 38% of applicants are accepted…but he was one of them!

Case Western traces it’s origins back to the founding of Western Reserve College in Hudson Ohio back in 1826.  The University is the only independent, research orientated university in a region bounded by Pittsburgh and Rochester on the east, Nashville on the south and Chicago on the west.  The School of Law was established in 1892.  The University’s faculty and former students include 15 Nobel laureates.

The ceremony began with the faculty and student processions from the Law School, Gund Hall, to Severance Hall where the diplomas were actually awarded.  Family and guests lined the sidewalks along the way.  Amy caught this photo of David as he walked on over to the hall.  She was lucky to catch him by himself in this photo…

This photo shows the graduates on the main floor of Severance Hall.  Amy led the way and we were able to grab a great set of balcony seats for our entire group that looked right down on David II as well as the stage.

Severance Hall was completed in 1931.  It is regarded by many as one of the most beautiful concert halls in the country and its home to the Cleveland Orchestra.  The building underwent a $35,000,000 renovation in 2000.  It was given an Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. (I personally loved the original over sized all brass elevators…complete with a bench on one wall and an elevator operator!)

The photo is very dark…but the bearded one waving at the camera is indeed David II.  He looks pretty happy, that’s for sure!

The Keynote Speaker for the Law School graduates was Brenda J. Hollis, JD – Doctor of Laws.  After graduating from college, she joined the Peace Corps, serving in Senegal and Niger.  She joined the USAF and later the Air Force Reserves, retiring as a full Colonel in 1998.  Since ‘retiring’, she’s been working as an advisor and special prosecutor…most recently having been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as the Special Prosecutor designated to prosecute the former President of Liberia.  He was convicted of War Crimes and crimes against humanity.  Dr. Hollis has won too many awards to be listed here…and she was just awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree by Case Western Reserve University.

Here’s our ‘little boy’ receiving his diploma!  He graduated as an Honors Fellow Cum Laude in the upper 20% of his class.  Awards included 2 Anderson Publishing Company Book Awards…which are presented to the top graduating students in selected courses.  In David’s case, those courses were “Federal Income Tax” and “Community Development Clinic”.  David also served as the Executive Notes Editor for the Journal of Law, Technology and the Internet…fitting as much of his career to date has focused on computer technology and it's application. 

This nice photo followed the graduation ceremony… David II with his primary support system, his wife and best friend, Amy.  They both look happy…perhaps a little relieved as well…

Since my career was focused on security, loss prevention and asset protection, I found it appropriate that one of David’s publications in the Case Western University’s Journal of Law, Technology and the Internet was entitled “The Warrantless Use of GPS Tracking Devices: Fourth Amendment Protection Restored Through Application of an Analytical Framework”.  This is just the technology my staff would be using to solve theft cases…if I wasn’t retired.  Of course, lawsuites 'might' have followed our investigations...

Laurie couldn’t resist this photo...hopefully the first of the next generation of Myers university graduates!  David III sure looks confident…quite dapper too!  His parents have Stanford in mind...breaking the 3 generation tradition of Michigan State graduates.  Time will tell!

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by and sharing this family celebration with us!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Railway Depots and History Too!

This time I’ve cobbled together a mix of sites, sights and localities from our back roads adventures.  Sometimes I was able to learn quite a bit about the subject of the photo and sometimes, the available references were more general or vague…

This is the former Louisville and Nashville Railroad’s passenger depot in Chatsworth Georgia.  The depot was actually built before the town was…just to serve the interests of the nearby Georgia Talc Company.  The depot was in business in 1905 and the town was incorporated in 1906.  By the 1970’s it was the last depot in operation in Murray County.  It’s now the property of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society.  They operate a small museum that houses railroad memorabilia and which traces the history of the talc industry.

The origins of the town of Chatsworth’s name are lost in time and memory.  Some sources say that the town was named after a fortified castle in Great Britain.  Others say that it was named for a former Louisville and Nashville Railroad executive…  Still others claim that a sign with the name “Chatsworth” on it fell off a passing freight car back in 1905, someone liked it and nailed it up…and so the town was named.  I like this last story best!

This Seaboard Coast Line/Louisville and Nashville Cupola Caboose sits next to the Chatsworth Depot.  An historical hotel is on the same property.  For more information, go to http://www.whitfield-murrayhistoricalsociety.org/home.html.

Incidentally, the term caboose probably stemmed from the French sailor’s term “camboose”, which referred to the food prep cabin on a ships main deck as well as the stove itself.  The stove on the USS Constitution is officially referred to as a “camboose”.

This is the former Lake Shore and Michigan Southern/New York Central Railroad Passenger Depot in Ashtabula Ohio.  It looks like its slowly falling apart…but there is a sign warning against trespassing and parking…company vehicles only!  The place looks deserted… This attractive structure was built in 1901.  You sure don’t see too many brick pavers any more.

This is another view of the Ashtabula Depot.  This surely isn’t the original depot as rail service to this part of the country started up well before the Civil War. 

Ashtabula was the scene of the worst U.S. railroad disaster in the 19^th century…actually the worst before 1918.  On 12/29/1876, the bridge over the Ashtabula River, which was only about 100 yards from the then current railroad depot, collapsed as a passenger train rolled over it in a snow storm.  At least 92 people died in the accident.  For more on this major headline of its day, go to http://www.legendsofamerica.com/rr-ashtabula.html.

We were driving along the backroads in southeastern Tennessee and we came across this old building and this beautiful scene on the banks of the Hiwassee River.  Laurie photographed the plaque shown in front of the structure…but there was too much glare on the sign and I can’t read it.  We do know that this was the Hiwassee Union Baptist Church from ca. 1899.  I also know that the sign indicates that the church is on the trail for the Religious Heritage Sites of Southeast Tennessee.  This and other trails are listed for tourists by the Southeast Tennessee Tourist Association.   If you’d like more information , just go to http://www.southeasttennessee.com/www/docs/23/religion_trail.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a trip along the back roads!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

A Pre-Safari Repast…

Laurie, Dawn Marie and I were on our way to visit Lion Country Safari in the far Western reaches of West Palm Beach Florida. (To view my blog about Lion Country Safari, go to http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/04/whats-next-more-animals-of-course.html. 

In any case, the question was…would we get lucky and find a decent place for a late breakfast…or not!

We’d stopped at a drug store in Palm Beach County on the way to Lion Country and we noticed a nearby breakfast dining possibility...  The name on this building seemed to say it all…

The interior of The Diner was just basic... It was clean and orderly with zero fancy decor in evidence!  Thankfully for we former Chicagoans, the menu had a bit of a Greek touch to it.  Sooo many choices...sooo little time! 

They didn’t have a menu that I could take with me…so the details of our meal and the true scope of the menu will be will be sparse.  But what the heck, it’s all about the food and service …right?

Dawn ordered this hunk of Apple Strudel…kind of as a breakfast appetizer!  We all tried it and it was very nice.  All of our taste buds were now awake for the main course…

Dawn Marie’s breakfast entrée was the Feta Cheese and Tomato Omelet with hash browns and toast.  There was a lot of cheese and plenty of flavor! 

As usual, I went for something on the ‘lighter side’!  Well…the chunk of chicken fried steak wasn’t too very large!  Smother it with sausage gravy, throw on a couple of easy-over eggs, a side of hash brown potatoes and, for health’s sake, a couple of slices of rye toast…and you’ve got a real breakfast!  Note: It was all very good!

Laurie is the queen of bacon and she was quite pleased when the waitress delivered her breakfast…with 5 slices of bacon, along with her easy over eggs and crispy hash browns.  The bacon was good and the hash browns were crispy and browned just the way she, (and I), really like them.

Our waitress was OK…although she and her friends were more interested in the local constabulary sitting near us.  We got enough attention…got our bill in a timely fashion, etc.  Breakfast was very good… Once again, we got lucky!  For our favorite meal too!  Given the breakfast options of Cracker Barrel, IHop, Denny’s, Waffle House, Shoney’s or Bob Evan’s, The Diner would easily come out  on top!

The Diner is located at 12401 Southern Boulevard, Suite 3, in Royal Palm Beach Florida.  This restaurant is open 7 days a week.  Phone: 561-795-6695.  I couln’t find a website or a Facebook page on the Internet and consequently I wasn’t able to provide more detail regarding the menu or pricing.  I’ll do better the next time!

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by for a quick breakfast!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Our Anniversary Dinner!

Laurie and I recently celebrated our 33^rd wedding anniversary…exactly 34 years from the day we first met on a blind date! (Our many thanks to Debbie Alex/Fiddleman, wherever she is!)

We don’t usually do too much on our anniversary… We exchange cards and then we go out for a nice dinner somewhere.

We had a ‘Buy One – Get One’ dining certificate for Sequoyah Grille in our Lifestyle Coupon book.  Combining that with the fact that this restaurant is quite well thought of in the Knoxville market, it was an easy decision. 

This restaurant is owned by Chef Deron Little, who also co-founded the well regarded Seasons Restaurant in the Renaissance Center in Farragut Tennessee.  To view my feedback on a lunch that Laurie and I had at Seasons, just go to http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/04/seasons-cafe-casual-but-upscale.html.

We usually go for an early dinner, and this was no exception.  The interior of the Sequoyah Grille is warm and a bit upscale without putting on any ‘airs’. 

The menu isn’t huge but it offers a decent variety of items to choose from.  There are 8 “Starters” ranging from $6.50 to $10.50.  In additon, you can order the Yucatan Tortilla Soup or the Soup of the Day. ($5.50 bowl)

Before you order, the wait staff delivers a plate with leaf lettuce, cream cheese with …and a few pieces of thin pita bread.  It was a tasty little surprise that was  just right...starting us off in the right frame of mind.

For an appetizer, Laurie and I shared the Ahi Tuna Tower. ($9.50) This consisted of Ahi tuna, mango and pear habanera salsa plus crisp wontons and pineapple-mustard glaze.  This was excellent indeed!  The next time I’m not sharing and I’ll order my own Tuna Tower…

We both ordered a Side Salad to accompany our entrees. ($3.00) The ingredients were fresh and the salad dressing was very nice.

There are 6 Dinner Salads listed on the menu.  They range in price from $9.50 to $13.50.  One unusual salad entrée is the Blue Gecko Chicken Salad.  This is described as honey scented chicken salad with mixed baby greens, vine ripened tomato, cucumbers and toasted almonds served with Benton’s bacon ranch dressing. ($9.50)

I ordered the Cholula Fried Chicken for my entrée. ($16.00) This Cholula marinated chicken breast came with mashed potatoes and a bit of asparagus.  The cholula marinaide gave the chicken a nice pop of flavor without adding very much heat.  It was cooked just right…still moist as fried chicken should be.  The potatoes were OK…but the corn pudding was very nice indeed! 

I will say that this was very good fried chicken…as a matter of fact it was the second best fried chicken I’ve had in the last few years!  Sequoyah Grille’s fried chicken is second only to that from the Cotillion Southern Café in Wildwood Florida.  To check out that version of fried chicken, just go to http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/03/great-southern-dining-wildwood-florida.html.

Guests at Sequoyah Grille don’t have to order a salad or a big dinner.  If they would prefer something on the lighter side, there are 9 items listed as Lighter Fare on the menu.  These dishes vary from a Fire Grilled Chicken Quesadilla, ($9.50) to a Gecko Burger…with provolone cheese, guacamole, roasted yellow pepper, carmelized onion and tomato on a ciabatta roll. ($10.50)

Laurie’s entrée was the Pan Seared Salmon. ($18.50) It was prepared with a honey and red chili glaze in a black bean sauce and it came with yellow corn pancakes and a bit of corn pudding and some asparagus.  Laurie was extremely happy with her dinner!!  I tried a bite of the pancake as well, really just another form of corn bread…but very nice!

There were 10 items, plus the nightly special to select from ‘the after 5 PM Heartier Entrees’ as listed on the menu.  Prices ranged from $14.00 for the Smoked Chicken Enchilada on up to $21.50 for the Grilled Black Angus Ribeye.  Among the items listed, there was a Portabello Meatloaf, (ground beef and garlic portabella mushrooms), at $14.50, and Grilled Mahi with pineapple mustard glaze, a cilantro-mint chimichurri sauce and cheddar cheese grits. ($19.00)

We decided to split an order of the Bread Pudding topped Ice Cream and a bit of whipped cream. (I didn’t note the price and desserts aren’t listed on the menu) In any case, it was the perfect ending to a very nice anniversary dinner!

We were very pleased with our anniversary dinner and we will return to Sequoyah Grille.  The waitress was attentive and helpful but she seemed a bit new or perhaps she just needed a little more training as regards interfacing with customers.  One thing that always bugs me…but in this case, not an experience killer…is when the entrée is delivered while we’re still eating our salads.  Another 5 to 7 minutes delay would have been perfect…

Sequoyah Grille is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and for brunch on Sunday from 10 AM to 3 PM.  The restaurant is located at 4429 Kingston Pike in Knoxville Tennessee.  Phone: 865-766-5331.  The Website is at http://www.sequoyahgrille.com/Home.aspx.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…especially the entrees! 

Thanks for stopping by and sharing our dinner with us…

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave (and Laurie)

Headed Home – Railroad Depots Plus!

I’d decided to stretch out our return drive from Florida back up to East Tennessee, staying overnight in Valdosta.  The next day, with a relatively short drive remaining, I decided to get off of I-75 and head north through the countryside and some small towns on local highways.  For our first stretch of off-highway driving, we got off the superhighway at Ashburn Georgia and then we got back on I-75 at Perry Georgia. 

In Arabi Georgia, we encountered this railway depot and caboose.  The depot was built by the Georgia Southern & Florida Railroad in 1888.  The local historical society moved the depot to its current location just south of town where it’s part of an outdoor museum and flea market. 

Arabi is bucking the trend among small rural towns.  It’s having a growth spurt!  The population has grown by over 32% since 2000! (From a total of 456 residents to the current count of 597)

There is a story that claims that Arabi was named after the town’s founding father…R.A. Bedgood.  He had such a large farm that when the train stopped on its regular stop nearby, they’d ask if they had any “R-A-B’s”, i.e., packages for R.A. Bedgood.  The slang “R-A-B’s”, got turned into Arrowbye…and then into Arabi. (Just say “R-A-B” fast to understand how this could happen!)

Laurie took this photo of CSX Diesel Locomotive #6350 rolling south pulling a train of coal cars.  This GP40-2 Remote Road Switcher Locomotive is one of 861 that were built by GM’s Electromotive Division between 1972 and 1981. 

CSX is the largest rail system in the Eastern USA with over 22,000 miles of track in 23 states and 2 Canadian provinces.  The line also has 3,700 locomotives and 100,000 freight cars.  CSX annually moves about 5,200,000 carloads of freight.  

We spotted this beautiful old plantation home with these great arching trees as we drove north from Arabi along US Highway 41.  I thought that the photo was worth sharing… 

To view some historic, interesting and beautiful photos of what’s left of ‘old time’ southern Georgia, just go to http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com. 

We both loved the ‘look’ of this 1910 Planter’s Warehouse.  Again I should have noted the name of the small town where it was located…but hey, I’m lucky if I know what day of the week it is!

I did some research to see if I could identify this building and the town… No luck!  However, I did learn about the U.S. Warehouse Act (USWA) that was passed in August of 1916.  It authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to license public warehouse operators in the business of storing agricultural products.  This is a “permissive regulatory act” in that it applies only to warehouse operators who voluntarily apply… I suspect that this was a cotton warehouse.  Currently, there are 190 cotton warehouses licensed under or through the USWA.

This is the old Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot in Ellijay Georgia.  This north Georgia depot was built in 1912.  As you can see, it’s now been ‘repurposed’ by a local business..

To close the circle of railroad life…the Louisville and Nashville Railroad operated from 1850 until 1982 when it was absorbed by the Seaboard System.  The Seaboard System was in turn swallowed up when, in 1986, it was merged with the Chessie System to create CSX Transportation.

As it turns out, we should have gone to the other end of the Ellijay Depot to take our photo!  This is the photogenic view of the same depot as ‘borrowed’ from a very interesting and informative website, http://railga.com/.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Tony’s Seafood Restaurant – Cedar Key Florida

It was lunch time when we arrived in Cedar Key Florida on one of our back road adventures… We really, really liked Cedar Key!  It’s like one would imagine that ‘old’ Florida was like.  Check out my Blog on Cedar Key at http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/04/hidden-florida-other-florida-keys.html. 

But…where to eat?  There were several restaurants to choose from, with many of them rated rather well on Trip Advisor.  We love good clam chowder and I noted that one place touted the quality of its award winning chowder!

Cedar Key really is an isolated remnant of old Florida.  The town itself is located 3 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico.  This was our goal for lunch…Tony’s Seafood Restaurant.  It’s in the old historic downtown section of Cedar Key.  The restaurant is housed in a building that dates back to the 1880’s.  Tony has only been in operation here since 2005, but he has built quite a reputation…

The interior of Tony’s Seafood Restaurant is very basic…simple to the point of lacking any décor.  The dining area will only seat 54 patrons at a time…

While we were at Tony’s at lunch time, the restaurant also serves dinner beginning at 5 PM.  That menu includes all of the sandwiches, the chowder and the basic appetizers…but it also has “The Tony’s Platter” with fresh fish, sea scallops, Cedar Key farm-raised clams, fried and steamed shrimp and Gulf blue crabs.  Other dinner items include the Sonora Seafood Fiesta; Fried, Blackened or Steamed Seafood Dinners; Chicken or Shrimp Alfredo; a Newport Dinner Salad, and; Tony’s Cajun Seafood Medley.

So this is what Tony’s Seafood Restaurant, (as well as Tony himself), is famous for... Clam Chowder!!  Tony won the title of World Champion in the Great Chowder Cook-Off, not just once, not twice, but rather three (3) times!  With his 3^rd consecutive win in June of 2011, Tony and his secret recipe were retired to the Great Chowder Cook-Off Hall of Fame.

Laurie and I each had a bowl of Tony’s chowder… ($7.99) It was a bit pricy but it was the best bowl of clam chowder that either of us have ever had!  Superlatives such as excellent, luscious and terrific come to mind.  This chowder is packed full of flavor, lots of clam as well…complex and still ‘just’ pure comfort food!

Laurie knew she wouldn’t be very hungry after a bowl of chowder, so she’d ordered the combo…chowder and a basic grilled cheese sandwich. ($10.99) The sandwich was OK but it was a bit anti-climatic in comparison to the chowder!  

Other luncheon items include a Fried Oyster Sandwich, Hamburgers, a Fried Fish Sandwich, Fried Seafood Combo and a Garden Salad with Shrimp Skewer.   

On the other hand, I can’t say that my sandwich was anti-climatic or just ‘OK’.  My Fried Shrimp Sandwich easily ranked #1 out of all the non-burger sandwiches I ate on this trip…and I must say that it ranked in the top 5 non-burger sandwiches that I’ve ever had. ($8.49) Fresh shrimp with the right breading…fried perfectly on a toasted bun…it would be hard to beat! (Laurie tasted the sandwich and confirmed my judgment…and she wanted to trade sandwiches with me) The cole slaw was just a little bland for my taste, but it was creamy and it complemented the fried shrimp.

Well…so far, so good!  What the heck...let’s try a bit of dessert!  We shared this piece of Key Lime Pie.  It was very good indeed, with toasted coconut baked into the top crust!  Yummy!

This restaurant is a winner in our book!  What Tony’s lacked in dining ambience, it made up for in the quality of the food.  It will require a return visit…and ordering from the dinner menu to fully evaluate or appreciate the complete restaurant.  But, one thing for sure…the clam chowder alone will draw us back to Cedar Key!   

Tony’s Seafood Restaurant is located at the corner of Florida Rte. 24 and 2^nd Street in Cedar Key.  The address is 597 2^nd Street.  Phone: 352-543-0022.  Tony’s website is www.tonyschowder.com.  Note: Tony will ship his world championship clam chowder anywhere in the continental USA.  A gallon of chowder costs $49.99 plus shipping.

To check out a variety of reviews about Tony’s Seafood Restaurant, (and the chowder), just go to http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34126-d624407-Reviews-Tony_s_Seafood_Restaurant-Cedar_Key_Florida.html.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by and sharing lunch with us!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave