St. Augustine

We just got back from St. Augustine and we had a great time. St. Augustine has something for everyone but it is heavy on the tourist market, you have to do a little searching to find all the gems hidden in this city - there's a lot of them. Bring money.

We stayed at the Castillo Real Hotel on Anastasia Island. It's one block from the ocean and has a nice pool for the kids. The pool goes from zero to about 5.5 feet, just like at the beach. Our poolside room was very quiet, you cannot hear the noise at the pool. The room was comfortable, has a fridge/microwave, jacuzzi, and large shower. Great internet access, too - wired or wireless. It was a nice area to stay in and was only a short drive to downtown St. Augustine.

The bonus was finding Cafe 11 almost right across the street. This is one of the gems of St. Augustine. Others agree. We would have been happy to eat every meal there and there were a few occasions when we wish we had. The menu is on their website, check it out. The weekend brunch is excellent and very busy, especially on Sunday. Nice jazz plays from one corner, not loud, just right and the weekend buffet is on the stage, among the speakers and amplifiers used for the live gigs. They could use less shaky tables, though. And the bathroom was impressively clean, a big plus for me since I invariably have to take James there and wait for him.

The first night we ate at the A1A Ale Works. I had the Spicy Ahi Sticks appetizer - to die for - and Irma had the Fried Lobster Bites, which she liked. I don't eat lobster. I had the Blackened Salmon and Irma had the Ragtime Shrimp dinner - both were excellent. I tried the stout but was not that impressed, although I am not a big beer drinker, I have had better. It wasn't bad, though, just not as good as I thought it would be. After all, it's called Ale works. The restaurant has great views and you can sit outside on the 2nd floor deck. James loved the saltwater fish tanks they have.

We also ate at the Santa Maria. If you have kids with you, you should eat here. It sits out over the water and there are little trap doors so you can feed the fish or birds. The catfish are so thick in the water trying to get at the food you can almost walk on them. The view is fantastic and we watched in frustration (well, I did, everyone else watched in fascination) as bait fish boiled about 20 yards outside the windows, just wishing I could throw a line in the water. One boat out of the bunch we saw actually did and pulled in a nice fish - I couldn't quite make it out. Don't go here for the food, though. Just go for lunch, get a grilled fish sandwich (not fried) and let the kids enjoy themselves. They will bring old bread to feed the fish and they brought a 2nd basket at James' request. Bring your own bread, too. If they would remodel the place and the menu - put some heart and soul into it - this place would be killer. At least get a new head chef, someone to bring life to the menu. I can easily deal with the out of date decor if the food rocks.

Another night we ate dinner at the Sunset Grill (somewhere on A1A), actually about a mile from the hotel. The restaurant is clean and comfortable with TV's on all the walls with the game on. Irma and I had a completely different food experience at this place. I had the Tuna on a bed of Spinach and Rice Pilaf. It was wonderful. It was a nice size, thick chunk of tuna, cooked rare and absolutely delicious. The spinach and rice were good, too. Irma had a fried seafood platter and she didn't care for it. She had a nice fillet of flounder and I couldn't imagine what could be wrong with it until I tried it. It wasn't seasoned. Obviously they didn't go to the Emeril Lagasse school of cooking. Salt, pepper and spices - how do you forget that? Anyway, James loved his pizza and Joshua liked his hamburger. I'd go back but I'd get the tuna.

We went to another place but I won't even mention it, just don't eat anywhere they say they are world famous. The place is way south of St. Augustine on A1A, near Saltwater Cowboys, which didn't open until 5pm, unfortunately. The catch of the day was Basa and they tried to tell me it is an Asian grouper. Wrong! It's a catfish and I don't want it. Why would a restaurant on the shore in Florida import cheap catfish from Asia and try to pass it off as grouper if not to rip you off? At least they said it was Basa.

There are so many restaurants in and around St. Augustine it would be impossible to try them all. There are also many upscale restaurants. I don't care about fine dining so much, I like to be comfortable, but the food has to be good. One place I missed but wish I hadn't is Osteens. Unfortunately they were closed Sunday when we stopped by. They are closed Sunday and Monday. They have a great reputation, though and I will be sure to eat there next time.

This turned into a restaurant review of sorts, I'll have a few more things to say about St. Augustine in another post.