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U-Turn For Breakfast! Last January, Don and I left our hotel in St. Pete Beach and headed north. We were planning to grab coffee and eat granola bars in the car, but the sight of this diner made me giddy. I grinned as we drove by, then told Don to turn around. He did... happily. The Sign The pink pig certainly lured me, but the yellow sign below, made us both curious. Any place that serves $3.99 breakfast specials from 5 to 8am, must be full of character! The upper part of the sign, was what truly delighted me. I didn't know who Jack was, but I was eager to find out what the connection was with that special bridge! I have fond memories of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, from when I was a kid. We crossed the original 2-lane bridge for the first time in 1968, when a hurricane was brewing in the gulf. It was creepy and thrilling, even without knowing the bridge would collapse about 10 years later. Goofy Things The crowded parking lot was a good sign. Would it be filled with children? What kid wouldn't beg Mommy or Daddy to pull over to the restaurant, with Humpty Dumpty and a piggy bench. The motorcycle on the pole might have excited some older kids. Painted Windows There were cartoon images, too. I wasn't quite sure what to think about the ethnically diverse pig officers... eating bacon. Yikes. Since 1976 I posed next to the chicken and painted windows. Since 1976? Really? It seemed a whole lot older than that. Crowded at the Counter The place was hopping on a drizzly morning. Almost every stool was taken at the counter. Window Seats The tables near the windows didn't open up, till a little later. The corner looked pretty darn cozy, below the sheer curtains and shelves of piggy knickknacks. I forced myself not to laugh. Table With a View Actually our table had a fine view. We could keep an eye on all the men, dining at the counter and the servers, rushing about. It felt like we'd stepped back in time, when I noticed a few men reading newspapers. I didn't see a single person staring at a cell phone. Menu Time Our server Amy, let us know how the restaurant got its name. Jack, the original owner, opened the diner at a location near the Sunshine Skyway. He had been a Navy cook and knew how to cook for hungry crowds. Fishermen from the nearby marinas were a big part of his business. But the Skyway was destroyed in 1980, when a freighter collided with a support column, killing 35. Business changed and Jack moved his restaurant north, to 34th street. Evidently, a lot of business still comes from the fishermen at the marina. Coffee and Christmas Amy brought us our coffee in Christmas mugs. We studied our menus and peeked around at some of the decor. So Many Pigs When Amy came back for our order, I just had to ask. "Has anyone ever counted, to know how many pigs are in this place?" She shook her head and laughed. "A lot!" She said there used to be a lot more pigs than now. "The new owner took over 4 years ago. He's been gradually taking some of the stuff down." Then she added, "He's from New York." As if that explained it. Our Orders Don ordered the Ham Hash, which was a blend of grilled potatoes & onions, topped with 2 poached eggs and served with a biscuit and Hollandaise. Amy said she would be happy to put the "Holly sauce" on the side. That gave me a little chuckle. My big order was two slices of raisin toast, which came with homemade, green tomato jelly! I figured I could save the "Real He-Mans" order for next time. That would be, two 8-ounce steaks, 4 eggs, potatoes, sausage, gravy, baked apples and 2 biscuits! Wash Up Time It's always nice to wash up before you hit the road. Some of our most iconic diners have had the most memorable restrooms. I headed for the sows and Don headed for the boars. Off We Go We headed off down the road feeling pretty pleased with our stop. I couldn't help sharing the experience with a quick Instagram post. It wasn't long, before I got 2 comments. Who would have guessed that I would know 2 people who have been to Skyway Jack's. Yay, for the friendly staff and crazy pigs and chickens at breakfast!
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Nola Stop in January Don and I finished up our January road trip with stop at my brother and sister-in-law's, in New Orleans. They already had Mardi Gras decor on the porch. We celebrated our reunion on Friday night, with Sazeracs! Off to Middendorf's On Saturday, we were up for a little Louisiana food adventure. We steered away from the French Quarter and drove about 40 miles northwest to Manchac, for a catfish feast. We pulled off of old US-51 and spotted a mighty worn restaurant, with "80+ Years" written on the roof. A New Look Luckily, just next door was a fresh looking building, with bright red doors and windows. Decorations and a View We were welcomed right away and led towards a cute upstairs space. On our way, I peeked in the larger dining room and noticed some fun things... a large tree growing up to the ceiling... gators? I love that Louisiana stuff. We passed a door, covered with green, purple and gold masks and feathers. Mardi Gras wasn't until March this year, but it's never too early to decorate! Since 1934 I have no photos of our cute room and table, but here is one of our window view. We could see the bridge we had just crossed, over Pass Manchac. We read a little history in our menu about the hurricanes that have flooded the iconic restaurant, that Josie and Louis Middendorf opened in 1934. The Middendorf family still owned the restaurant until a year after Hurricane Katrina. Luckily they passed along Josie's recipes for Original Thin Fried Catfish, to the new owners! Catfish! I am not a big fan of catfish, but I'm a huge fan of trying regional specialties! I actually really enjoyed the catfish, but have little to compare it to. The fried shrimp was yummy and the soupy, pickle-topped slaw was too! Our table also enjoyed some turtle soup and broiled shrimp. We were all pretty amused by the big, 20-cent price jump, for ordering broiled over fried! Exploring A trip to the restroom added a little entertainment. The gator door handle was mighty fine! Then I spent some time looking at old photos in the hallway. Issac Middendorf's survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, but took in 4 feet of water, with Ike in 2008. These photos from 2012, show the old Middendorf's building and the newer one, where we ate. Issac was 200 miles away in 2012, but the storm surge caused more flooding and damage. Ponchatoula - Strawberry Capital of the World We were too full for dessert when we finished our platters of catfish. We headed over to Ponchtoula for a little antique shopping. We could have made our feast day complete, if only the Strawberry Capital of the World... had some strawberry desserts for us! We found none. King Cake! Actually we didn't really look for any strawberry desserts. We were saving our appetites for this fabulous King Cake, back at the house. My sister-in-law made sure to pick this up from their fave king cake baker! It was indeed fabulous!
What a wonderful catfish and king cake day! Oldest Bar in Oklahoma Don and I lived in Oklahoma years ago, but experienced Eischen's for the first time this past September! We rolled into Okarche about 1:30 pm and parked in back, near the beer drinkin' cowboy. I was pretty thrilled to finally visit the bar, that Peter Eischen opened in 1896. In Front We walked around to the front entrance. It didn't exactly look like the Oldest Bar in Oklahoma, but it still had a great small town, retro feel. Signs and Announcements I was prepared to see a line out the door on a Saturday, but we were able to head straight inside. There was hardly time to take in all the information on the windows and doors... about supporting our heroes... praying for their safe return... Oldest bar in Oklahoma... No credit or debit cards... No coffee or tea or outside food and drink... And what was up with all those stickers near the door handle? The Bar When we arrived, almost every bar stool was taken and the booths and tables were full. That gave me a little time to study the place, which was mostly filled with locals on that day. Pre-Fire Photo It didn't take long to get filled in on some of Eischen's history. I found a bar photo taken before 1993, when a grease fire in the kitchen destroyed the restaurant/bar. The image is so dark, it's hard to see if the hand-carved 19th century back bar is in the photo. The Back Bar Shrine On the back wall, I found lots of photos and memorabilia. A charred piece of the old backbar helped create a bit of a shrine to the Eischen family business. Before Fire Boog's Chicken A photo of George Eischen was displayed at the top of the bar's arch. I believe George (known as Boog) was the great grandson of the original owner, Peter. He worked as a butcher at the IGA grocery store, next door. In the 1960's, he started offering fried chicken as a prize on Wednesday night shuffleboard tournaments. Boog's chicken caught on and it is his recipe that has been drawing crowds since that time. Round Booth After a short wait, Don and I were offered a table in a different room. We held out a while and got this great round booth, opposite the bar. Our young server seemed sort of excited to know we'd come all the way from Texas. She assured us the chicken was worth waiting for. One whole chicken, cut and fried up in 8 pieces, for $14.00 including tax. Don ordered a beer... since we were at the Oldest Bar in Oklahoma. Cheers Don enjoyed his draft beer in an Eischen's cup. He enjoyed it even more when our server said, "No charge for First Timers!" Cheers to that! Chicken, Pickles and Bread Another woman served our food. I had noticed her earlier, rushing back and forth carrying trays of food. She brought us our piping hot chicken in a paper container. There were about 8 slices of bread and a huge helping of dill & sweet pickles and sliced onions. There were no veggie or French fry options. We could have ordered chili or fried okra, but we had our hands full with the chicken. Kat? The place was too busy for me to ask more than a question or two. I believe Kat was the name of the sweet woman, carrying the trays. She seemed delighted that we were enjoying our first visit to Eischen's. She said she was working the day of the fire in 1993. She suddenly got called away before I got to hear more of that story! That really left me hanging! The Kitchen After eating, my hands needed a good scrubbing. On the way to the restroom I sort of glanced into the kitchen and wondered about that fire, nearly 30 years ago. The fire was many years after the fried chicken days began. Boog first started cooking the chickens in an iron skillet, but by the 1990's there were numerous fryers working at once. Whew! That must have been a scary day! The IGA Room Just past the kitchen window, there was a door to the other dining room. I don't actually know what they call it now, but the space once housed the IGA grocery store, where Boog worked as a butcher. The Eischen-owned grocery store didn't suffer from the fire, so after the bar reopened, they eventually closed the store and offered up more dining space. I was pretty amused, looking at all the grocery store memorabilia. Off We Go We hit the road feeling full and satisfied. A complimentary beer and the best fried chicken I've had in a long time... along with friendly staff and a decorative charred bar! Not bad!
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The Dining Blog
This is a blog about Dining Adventures. Sometimes, I talk about food. Below, you can read how this started. On July 4th 2011, I set a goal to try 50 culturally diverse restaurants in one year! (I knew that was possible, living in the Houston area) I spent the year pulling in friends and family to join me, on some unusual dining adventures. I met some curious people, tried some scary foods and explored places and cultures I never would have otherwise. Even though I met my goal, I learned too much to end my adventures in dining. I have continued blogging about memorable dining adventures of all kinds, near and far... and all the discoveries and funny things I've learned along the way! Locations and types of dining adventures, are listed further down. Archives
November 2023
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