|
Lunch in Old Florida The Yearling is a good book and a good movie and a good restaurant. The Yearling Restaurant, also had a pretty good sign. Hard to Find! We almost gave up finding this place on East County Road in Cross Creek, Florida. The old restaurant and bar have been serving up "lunch and supper" since 1952, just down the road from the home of author, Marjorie K. Rawlings. The cozy building with its metal awnings and screened porch, fit perfectly in the setting. Monster trees, swaying moss... and stormy skies brewing above! Yearling Decor The inside was even cozier, with plenty of antiques and Yearling-related memorabilia, tucked into numerous rooms. Seeing this picture on the wall brought me back to the first time I watched The Yearling on TV, when I was about 10. I remember scenes of the boy romping in his bare feet with "Flag", through the jungle of palms and oaks and Spanish moss. I remember this sad scene in the movie. Sadder than Bambi. Old Florida Cooking The restaurant is no longer allowed to serve cooter (soft shell turtle) but there were a number of alligator options. However, our server recommended the stuffed grouper. She was kind enough to encourage us to share the meal so we'd have room for dessert! First she brought the salad in 2 bowls, which was a meal in itself with nuts and cheese. The grouper with homemade hushpuppies and creamy tartar sauce, was delicious. The sour orange pie was rich and tangy. Think key lime pie, meets creamsicle! People Encounter Don and I had the restaurant mostly to ourselves, until a man in a white button down shirt, (clutching a book) sat in the booth next to ours. I had noticed him earlier, when we toured the Rawlings house down the road. For that reason, I figured the book was not the bible. I asked him if he was an expert on Rawlings. He was indeed reading Rawlings' Cross Creek and we spoke for while about her books until he and Don got off on a discussion about road trips. I will always remember this soft spoken character. He made me stop to wonder what it would be like to travel alone... reading... chatting, when strangers strike up a conversation. Someone I Wish We'd Met In the clutter of oddball stuff, I noticed a tiny space that could be considered a stage. I spotted an organ, a music stand, a tip jar and 3 old chairs. I had read somewhere, that a man named Willie Green often stops by to perform a little blues guitar. He gets paid in tips. I was sorry we missed him. Next time. One More Person to Remember We met Harold while we finished our lunch. First we heard him chuckling to himself as he cleared a nearby table. He teased our waitress about a lousy tip. Then we heard him holler "Coming through!" in a playful way, as he carried an armful of dirty dishes through a swinging door to the kitchen. He came over to our table a few times to chat. He just shook his head and laughed to hear we'd come all the way from Houston! One time, he apologized for the clicking noise of his dentures. "The glue bothers my stomach." He explained. He offered to give us a tour of the nearby cabins that we could rent. He admitted prices were negotiable. I think business has been slow. Supper! I love a place that calls the evening meal "supper". Good Food. Good Memory. Hope to come back!
0 Comments
Breakfast With Old Carnival Folk The Tamiami Trail, which goes from Tampa to Miami, was once crowded with tourists. This odd spot at the north end in Gibsonton, FL has seen better days. Motels and restaurants that were once jammed with travelers before modern interstates, are closed down or getting by with mostly locals. Open? We parked on the side, near two doors and a peeling mural of a chef. The door marked "bar" was the only one unlocked at 10 am. My husband paused before opening the door. "Are you sure about this?" I told him to trust me, because I'd read about this place. Carnival History The interior was just as eerie. There were a couple men eating breakfast and a couple women wiping tables and mopping. There was a balance between Budweiser neon and carnival artwork like this one titled, "Ringmaster in the Sky." Art Work We were told that a local man nicknamed "Brownie" had created all the murals. I'm guessing Brownie may have had a job painting signs for sideshows at one time. Gibsonton first began attracting wintering carnival workers back in the 1940's and the town is still home to many retired and wintering workers. Too bad we didn't get to ask him ourselves. Lucy our server said he should be on his way over, but he never arrived in the 90 minutes we were there. Restroom Rating? Back in the day, when I was a kid giving restrooms silly detailed reviews, this one would have been off the charts. Cleanliness issues aside, I would have given an extremely high rating for the excitement factor. The Ladies Room, had no sign, so that added an element of risk. And the creepy mural on the wall could freak a man or woman out. The lifted toilet seat added one more confusing element. I'll let you imagine what the men's room looked like. People Encounters Luckily Freddy was in no hurry. He sat at the Showtown table near ours and told us stories about his life as a carnival man. (more details in the Stranger Blog) While we chatted, an older woman came in and sat at the same table without ever interrupting us. After she left, I asked if the Showtown table was for some kind of VIPS. Lucy laughed that it was just the Liar's Table. So I'm not sure I can believe anything Freddy told us. Breakfast Since this is a dining blog, I should mention the food. This meal looks about 10 times creepier than it actually tasted. But I also was pretty distracted by Freddy's stories of Lobster Boy being murdered and the monkey circus Freddy's brother started. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to my plate of chipped beef on toast with fried egg. I'm pretty sure it wasn't as bland tasting as this bland photo! Restaurant History A framed wall photo shows the original owner and his sons. Freddy told me that Joe was a "hardworking Pollack", when he opened the place 40 years ago. But when Joe died his son turned it into a bar and the place has gone downhill ever since. Now the grandson, Chuckie owns it and it's barely surviving. Freddy and Lucy complained about the changes, but clearly did not want to see Showtown disappear. Missing the Party Too bad we had to leave. The 40th anniversary party was the next night. Freddy said it would be "pretty crazy with lots of freaks." I'm not exactly sure what he meant by crazy or freaks!
East vs West I thought it would be fun to compare the 2 seafood joints we visited in October. JB's Fish Camp in Florida and Duarte's Tavern in California. Let's see who wins. JB's Fish Camp in Florida Here's the Rock Shrimp at JB's Fish Camp, near New Smyrna, FL. This spicy stuff was served on a limp paper plate with tiny cups of butter. 3 points for food at JB's Duarte's in California Here are the oysters served on an icy cold plate at Duarte's Tavern in Pescadaro, CA. They were okay, but my avocado stuffed with crab (not pictured) gives Daurate's a total of 5 points for food! JB's Building JB's in Florida, was once an actual bait shop. Over the years the weathered wood and metal structure has expanded, in some odd ways. 3 points for a building that makes you feel like you're at summer camp! Duarte's Exterior Even though the exterior is not the most interesting...Duarte's gets 5 points for being the oldest building I've dined in for the dining blog! It was 117 years ago that Great-Grandfather Frank bought a barrel of whiskey and sold it for 10 cents a shot!
Rating the Tables Our table on the porch at JB's was quiet, with a view of the inter-coastal waterway. Nice and breezy and peaceful. 3 points for having the porch area to ourselves... 2 weeks before BIKETOBERFEST in Daytona. Whew. Glad we missed that crowd. Inside Table at Duarte's Families waited over an hour for tables at Duarte's. What a treat getting our cozy corner with a view of old counter with swivel chairs. Kind of liked the fact our table (on Oct. 30th) had a cute little pumpkin. 3 points for that! (a real pumpkin...as well as my nephew, Silas!) People Encounters I love my people encounters...but it was a little creepy at JB's. The guy with the cut-offs wanted to pose for me. Gotta love his hands on hips and slight lean. Note the guys high-fiving at the bar. 2 points for JB's peeps Costumed People Costumed people always get extra points...even if it's the day before Halloween. I loved this kilted server at Duarte's, who offered to entertain my energetic nephew with some spoons! 5 points for colorful wait staff !
Looks like the West Coast wins! 18 points for California and 11 for Florida. Okay, DJ's Deck is not International... ...but it needs to go into the Dining Blog for quirky regional dining! Top Tuna Most folks, whether they arrive by boat or bike or Dusty Honda Element, will remember this place for the oysters. However, I will always remember it for the curious characters! On a balmy Tuesday evening, we arrived just in time to see the grimy TOP TUNA pull up to the dock with 2 days worth of shark! You can see I am admiring the colorful plastic overalls on my new friends, Dwayne and Tom. 6 Bonus points for this very salty people encounter! Tom and Dwayne Dwayne's son worked with Tom at record speed, unloading about 20 headless sharks, then prepping them for the seafood shop next to DJ's. They went at these slippery fish with big hooks and knives, grumbling and laughing and answering all my stupid questions. I learned about all the government regulations that make fishermen mad...like having to "deal with the shark 2 times!". Only the beheading can be done off shore. Shark Most of the shark went into a big cart which was rolled into the seafood shop. But the shark fins were piled into the basket and sent off to China, for shark fin soup...according to Tom! Dwayne, on left said he won't eat shark anymore. He was hoping "Mom" would cook spaghetti and meatballs that night, before they headed out to sea in the morning. Food at DJ's Since it was October...a month with an "R", Don and I ordered a dozen oysters. I'm no authority on oysters, but I at least enjoy the idea of eating oysters in Florida. 3 points to DJ's for food. Hey, the oysters were a little small. ( as if I really even know what I'm talking about when it comes to oysters) Oyster Memory 40+ years ago when I lived in Florida, I remember my parents devouring oysters at Posie's Pool Hall near St. Marx. The 4 Meyer kids cringed while we sipped our Cokes and whined about the fact there was no food on the menu besides oysters. I remember wanting to climb the big mountain of oyster shells ouside Posie's. I was curious why there was no such mountain outisde DJ's. When I questioned our server about what they did with all the oyster shells, he just shrugged. "We just put 'em in the trash. The trash is really heavy when you carry it out." Negative 1 point for no oyster shell mountain! Sunset 5 big old bonus points for DJ's having one of the nicest viewing spots for the sunset. Since my younger years in Florida and California were closer to the gulf and Pacific, I kind of forgot we would only see the sunrise from Daytona. But the colorful Adirondack chairs at DJ's, provided a perfect spot for viewing the Halifax River with rocking boats and glowing sun!
DJ's gets a TOTAL of 13 POINTS!! |
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
April 2024
Categories
All
|