What was that again?

 Well, here’s the final post for this trip, one and all, and it’s a bit of a doozy (young uns can look that up on rural dictionary.com). 

Having escaped from the room, we “cleaned up “ and returned to town for EH’s birthday dinner. She always picks someplace different. 

This place, Kojo, was no different. Supposedly Asian fusion. Not sure with what, but the logo was two Asians (men?) in traditional dress with man buns reaching out to touch hands. Ok. 

We were told by the server it was the kind place where people get a bunch of plates and share. 

Ah oh. 

It was 40 minutes before we actually ordered food. ☹️ and we ordered drinks (the reviews said their cocktails were good) but they didn’t come! And didn’t come…

We vacillated on how to proceed. Did we want a hunk of wagyu beef? Yes. But no. 

The server brought us complimentary glasses of champagne (bc our drink order was lost in translation? To keep us from melting down over choices?) and we finally settled in. The manager also came over and said we were getting complimentary desserts due to the wait. 

Boo-ya. 

Then they brought a wasabi Caesar salad. Got no picture.

Then this:

Crispy tuna on rice. We decided it wasn’t as good as later plates. 

Shrimp pork won ton

Wagyu beef and noodles.

I’d never had Wagyu beef before and it lives up to its rep. This was skirt steak and it melted in your mouth. Made you wonder what the sirloin might do. 

Then the sushi plates. 

Spicy tuna roll on the left and shrimp tempura on the right. 

More of the won tons, which were my favorites. 

Then bacon shrimp kimchi rice. With an egg on top for good measure. 

If you can imagine, we were pretty full. But then there was dessert. EH had the shaved ice, which came with coconut and strawberry sauce in bottles. And a candle for her birthday. 🙂

RR and I had this - a chocolate bar with praline ginger line ice cream. 

If you can’t tell, frothing was delicious. They even brought us a complimentary donut dessert (we weren’t fans of what Koreans think of as donuts) to “keep the dessert vibe going”. Yes, that’s what the server who brought it said. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Stuffed, we returned to the house where the ‘Rents tried to give the kids a euchre lesson. EH’s present was she got Mr Undefeated for a partner. He remained undefeated. 😥

Brunch was at First Watch, a very good breakfast chain. The photos aren’t losing. I had the lemon ricotta pancakes, that have lemon curd on top, and the Kid had the steak and bacon burrito. The women both had a bavacado— an omelette with bacon, avocado (duh) and monster jack cheese. 

It was rainy, rainy today, so we were ok with leaving, having eaten our way thru west central Florida. 

It was fun and we look forward to next year’s “Christmas trip” — wherever it may be to. 

But the next travel blog will be from NYC with Bing and Dorothy. Until then, happy holidays. 

Hooray, We Escaped (& other birthday stories)

Avid Reader,

Today is EH's birthday.  Nobody wants to admit to how many.  This OC led to reminisces about that day -- too often heard, it seems.  Don't believe the one about me leaving my wife in labor to go pick up final exams.  Lie!  Damned lie!

Anyway, before we get to today, we have to discuss last night's dinner adventure.  We ate at SKOB (Siesta Key Oyster Bar), which was objectively the "worst" place we've eaten so far.  Though it was good.  They had a live band (a three-piece group that started with Buck Owens) and they were right next to us.  The one ate some of my shrimp cocktail.  :). So, it was atmospheric, if the food was only okay.  The best two pictures I got (epic fail on me getting quality photos) are of The Kid's mahi mahi tacos and RR's shrimp and grits (which might not be recognizable). 

To be clear, the food was good.  I wouldn't mind going back there.  It was also the least costly so far for dinner, even with drinks, an appetizer, and dessert.  But it was no match to the high quality of Tuesday and Wednesday night. 

We played cards again.  In a story that will go down in lore, I had a bad night (not the lore).  At one point EH made it (I was her partner) and we got set (euchre players will understand).  She lamented  "I counted on my partner for a trick."  Her mother, my life partner, responds, "sometimes you can't count on them.  Look at him!"  What the F?!!?!?  Thanks.  ): 😢

We then played Clue and EH won both games.  We let her win for her birthday. 😀

This morning we went back to Another Broken Egg for breakfast.  RR went for the bourbon pancakes -- here. 

My joke about the host being "Mrs. Egg" went derided.  🙄

Our first activity of the day was to visit the botanical gardens. I guess you know what kind of place it is when you have multiple botanical gardens to choose from.  We went to Marie Selby's version, which is south of town on Sarasota Bay.  The above pic (I've learned the first pic is your thumbnail shot for the post) is of one of the many butterflies they had in the butterfly house.  One thing you get reminded of when you do historical stuff here is how newly settled Florida is.  The one house, dating to 1901, is the oldest (it said) in Sarasota County.  It's also interesting they had an orange growing business there, but it was unusual for this part of Florida back then -- they were bigger in the Jacksonville area (which is really Georgia) until the middle of the 20th century. 

FYI the wind was 20+ again today and it was cloudy, though in the low 70s.  Not beach weather, again.  

So the day's second activity!!!  An escape room.  EH found this one, halfway to Tampa (LoL), and settled on it above others because it had a a North Pole themed puzzle.  If you've never done this (I know one avid reader or two who have done one with us), it is fun, if a bit taxing on the old noggin.  I don't know how many padlocks had to be unlocked and Nicole (another avid reader) will be bemused to learn that a major player in solving the puzzle were elves on the shelf -- there were three of them of different colors.  Lots of clues and lots of chatter among us about what this meant and "oh, yeah, that must go with this"...we got out with 8 minutes to spare!  Our genius children. :).  At least no one said "Look at him!"  this time. :)

Tonight is our last night here with EH picking the place for her birthday dinner.  It is "Asian fusion."  I doubt it can match last year's adventure to Fort Worth (with someone riding in 'the boot', me driving on the wrong side of the road for a few moments, and the great food -- high high end Mexican), but we'll see.  Maybe the waggy beef will sing to us. 

Till tomorrow...

Foster an Otter or eat French double

 The joke of the title might take awhile...I might still be workshopping it :)

Today was not a nice weather day, for beach going, here.  It was in the low 70s (I hear it was like mid 30s back home, which I told someone that was why you come to Florida this time of year 😂) and cloudy with high winds -- 🌬...

So, we went to the local aquarium.  But that's after the food porn.

We started last evening with some "pregaming" -- we went to a place called the Daiquiri Deck, which had a second floor looking west at the water.  Here's the money shot.

Then we decided on a local French restaurant, Miguel's, which was a few steps away. 

Background: Miguel's is old and has a great rep.  Especially (be ready for this) as the best place in Siesta Key for Early Bird special dinners. 😂. As EH pointed out, not everyplace even has that category. 😂🤣 And the clientele after 6 PM looked like it.  :) 

We had a great dinner.  We had apps, and the meals came with salads (I tried to get a Caesar instead of the house, but they do a lot of at the table stuff at Miguel's, including Caesars, so no go...)...and the Kid and RR got the mixed grille --

Yes, if you are looking closely, there are TWO filet mignons there, with two different sauces (bearnaise and burgundy), along with two lamb chops and a veal cutlet (in the middle).  There were nummy sounds as it was eating.  EH had the steak and frites and I had the Boeuf Diane.  

But the highlight was dessert.  They did all kinds of cook at the table desserts -- this video will give you a feel for it...Barbie, the server, was a sketch.  At one point she (look at her) called me "Pops."  I don't get it. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hp76YpMewq9KLob78

Bananas foster.  See title.  It was the best bananas foster EH had ever had.  Getting it made that way, which really makes the dish (we were told it's all about the carmel plus the crisp on the bananas :)) so...

We came back, unbuckled our belts, and played euchre.  Despite some tight games (the last was again 9-9 before the W),  the Kid is still undefeated.  And has mentioned it a time or two. 😡. The line of the play was EH saying "we smoked you like my smoked salmon at breakfast..."  it might have gotten used a couple times later (whether appropriate or not :))

This morning we had French for breakfast (the rest of the title)...a place on main street called Bonjour.  I am always weary of a place that calls itself a Frenchcafe (yes, all one word)...but it was okay.  I had a crepe but RR had the classic Benedict, which was applauded for its heavy dose of Hollandaise.  It is agreed in the fam that Bennies are merely a Hollandaise delivery system -- which makes Wednesday's smoked salmon thing a travesty. 

After some putzing around, we were all dressed and went to the Aquarium.  They have been doing marine life work here at the Mote since the 60s, and started at Siesta Key and now have this facility like 15 miles north on another key.  It's a good facility and we all love zoos and animal life.  I'm going with a couple video highlights, one scripted, one not. 

First, of course, the sea otters.  These two playing are the females, who have funny names, but I didn't write them down ):  That is OC the Kid trying to talk the one into coming through the glass 😂

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hp76YpMewq9KLob78

Then, on the walk back to the car, the Kid noticed this and EH got this great video 😂

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hp76YpMewq9KLob78

Funny story: on the way back we ordered Starbucks, in a circle a mile away.  I found a parking spot halfway around the circle (we were in St. Armand, if you care) and as I parallel parked one of the women said "there's a macaron place."  I got out to get the Starbucks and the Kid said "hey! a Ben & Jerry's" and he went that way, halfway around the circle between the car, the macaron place, and the Starbucks.  I got back to the car before he did and asked if they wanted macarons.  I got the classic Midwestern "If you don't mind going..." 🙄 and went and bought six.  Well, right after I got back, and he wasn't there, and I said "did they have to milk the cow for him," he comes back with a box of six macarons!!! 😂🤣. we only got 2 duplicates.  And there were, amazingly, no complaints about having too many macarons.  

Then we stopped in Siesta Key main street for "gelato," which turned out to be Yoder's ice cream and we partook -- this being only the first time on this vacation!!!!  Travesty. 

And now we wait till dinner...blogging, napping, putzing...you can hear the wind whipping in the one video.  

Tomorrow...I don't know.  But maybe no brunch food.  

But it's EH's birthday, so there'll be stuff. 

Manana

Christmas in Florida

 We are in Florida for "Christmas."  

Here's the requisite beach photo as proof. 

No.  It was not sunny much of the day.  And I wish I could find the wind icon from the Weather Channel app to indicate to you how windy it was.  It was WINDY!  Like 20-30 mph gusts.  Not a great beach day.

To back track, and to get to what you are all wanting, food porn! we all arrived at Tampa airport yesterday afternoon around 4.  The Kid was last in, but by the time we had the rental car and a Starbucks (plug in hopes of $$$) he didn't even have to wait.

By the time we got to Siesta Key, it was dinner time.  ON the way places were discussed and we ended up at the Siesta Key Summer Something...which got either 4.7 or 7.5 stars, depending upon the moment's reading. :). It was identified as "steak and seafood." 

The funny thing is they had valet parking; they had spaces out front cordoned off with cones; so we pulled up behind the car in line to the valet station; the guy in front of us had a chat with the guy working the station and he took his car...about 100 feet, parked it, and brought him back the keys!!!  The worker (a young man of say 25) told me that the restaurant was closing at 8 (it was before 7) and just wanted to let us know.  He wanted $5 and the Kid gave it to him and he drove around the circle in the parking lot and passed us and parked across the street and brought me back the keys. !!!  It seemed like a scam to give the guy a Lincoln, but whatever. 

Dinner was excellent.  I go with the pictures of the more exotic of the dishes -- Ian had the scallops, which were on both risotto and fettucine with crystallized prosciutto and candied caviar. 

EH had the blackened grouper.  

We passed on dessert, as they seemed to be closing, everyone was full, and other considerations. :)

[you, dear faithful reader, are spared here the lengthy discussion of the charcuterie board and its one ingredient -- what the server called "fig cake" 🤮 and which I labelled fruit cake and rifted on that, to no one's amusement, all through dinner (they didn't take it away)...leading to getting the Kid to make the joke for me at some point, which had everyone cracking up]

Home to the airbnb, which the Kid said was "two minutes" from the restaurant.  He timed it to one minute, forty seconds.  It has 3 "bedrooms" (one is a glorified porch) and two bathrooms (the newer, smaller one, off the kitchen was described as "smaller than the closet Harry Potter had to live in at the Wursleys")...and, in another funny part -- it has a motion sensitive light.  Which turns out too quickly.  Insert bowels moving joke here. 

We played euchre till bedtime, with the Kid maintaining supremacy from the last trip, though the last game went to 9-9.  😢

We got around and went to eat.  Breakfast is less than two minutes away, at Another Broken Egg, which might or might not be a chain.  RR and I had eaten there several times when we were here two years ago and it didn't disappoint.  The Kid went for the Lobster Hash Brown Benedict...

Again, the other child, EH, had something exotic (we all kind of did), which was the smoked salmon bennie, which came, to her surprise, without Hollandaise sauce.  Who knew?

Went to the beach and now are getting ready for dinner.  

Heard from the pool area (yes, the house has a pool) that the Kid and I are in charge of picking dinner the next two nights as RR and EH picked last night and Friday night (I think you'd say the place is Asian...sushi...bao?).  It was said "that means either pasta or Mexican"!  What?!!?!?  Like either of those would be a bad thing?!?!?!

Till tomorrow.  There will be more food porn.