French Broad Chocolate Lounge - Asheville, NC

The word chocolate is in the name, need I say more? If you live in Asheville, or are visiting Asheville, this is a must place to stop. Located around the corner from a bunch of other restaurants, French Broad Chocolate is easy to miss, unless you are looking for it. Inside, the scent of chocolate is a feast for the senses, along with the chocolate, chocolate desserts, and other sweet concoctions that fill the the display cases. There is constantly a line, but it thankfully moves quickly. Place your order and they will give you a card to take to your table so they know where to bring your order. While the place is small and intimate, there are plenty of comfy spots to sit.

They serve wine and beer, along with coffee drinks and others, but a glass of wine was in order. We had to try the liquid truffles, which is a ganache-based, hot sipping chocolate. There are several flavors of this and we decided to try the pure dark. This is very rich and decadent and a little goes along way. Along with this we tried the lavender creme brulee and a blackberry trifle. They used a torch on the spot to make the crunchy top for the creme brulee and it was everything a creme brulee should be. The blackberry trifle was heaven with a hint of lemon in the mascarpone cream and I did not leave a bite behind, as it was so good. This is a must stop spot for a sweet fix.

French Broad Chocolate Lounge

10 South Lexington

Asheville, NC 28801

828-252-4181

Early Girl Eatery - Asheville, NC

Another recommendation for us from friends, a stop at the Early Girl Eatery was a must. The restaurant is homey and rustic with windows all along one wall to brighten things up. Even the tables felt like something you would have in your country kitchen at home. This is an obviously popular breakfast spot by the number of patrons inside. We were lucky enough to get there in time to get a table in a nice spot in the middle of the room. We were served a cup of coffee and apple juice and took a look at the menu.

I started off with the pumpkin ginger quickbread, served warm with butter, as a delicious appetizer, while waiting for the rest of our breakfast. For breakfast, Southern breakfast with eggs your way, which meant scrambled eggs, along with toast and grits. The southern breakfast was good, but even better was the cheddar cheese omelette we ordered along with toast and some real good home fries. Finally, this was a completed with one multigrain pancake, served with real maple syrup. The pancake was very yummy and I really appreciated the fact that they served real maple syrup with their pancakes, which seemed to be the thing wherever we ordered pancakes in Asheville. Along with a good breakfast, the service here was excellent.

Early Girl Eatery

8 Wall Street

Asheville, NC 28801

828-259-9292

Harvey's 4th Street Grill - St Petersburg, FL

Harvey's 4th Street grill is one of your more traditional feeling bar and grill joints with the warm wood tones of the walls, bar, and furniture. It was so cozy inside, that I almost expected to look outside and see huge snowflakes falling outside the window. We were seated at a nice table in the corner where we could see out across the whole bar. There were a few patrons catching the game on tv the night we were there.

Harvey's has a surprisingly large menu selection of your usual bar fare, along with some nice entrees that include fresh grouper and pasta selections. We chose the chicken marsala served with garlic buttered fettuccine, vegetables, and garlic toast and my son ordered a cheeseburger with fries. I thought the chicken marsala was excellent, and my husband and son especially liked the burger at Harvey's. Overall, we had an enjoyable evening and can't wait to come back and try the Sunday brunch. Also, we thought the service friendly and conscientious.

Harvey's 4th Street Grill

3121 4th Street

St Petersburg, FL 33704

727-821-6516

Salt Rock Grill-Indian Shores, FL

After seeing many users reviews using the Salt Rock Grill as a reference point to compare the seafood they had tried at other restaurants, I decided I had to see what all the fuss was about. A long drive over Gulf Drive, and we arrived at our destination. There is more than ample parking to self-park, or you can use the complimentary valet parking. When walking up to the front door, the restaurant appears big, but when you step inside, one gets more of an idea how huge the place is and it was very packed the Wednesday evening that we were there. In addition, they have a huge outdoor patio overlooking the water, which is where we decided to dine. Our server was quick to bring us our menus and take our drink orders. Looking over the regular menu and the menu for the night, I quickly noticed a couple of mahi mahi entrees, one in particular, that sounded by description to be interesting, so I was ready with my order.

Alas, the mahi mahi was not to be. Although it was only 6:30 pm, our server informed us they were out of the mahi mahi. Oh well, disappointing, but I went ahead and chose the grilled salmon. I love salmon, but it sounded rather boring, after I had my mind set on the other dish. For our other dishes, we ordered the roasted seabass, and the cedar planked salmon with french fries. For an appetizer we had the calamari with a very yummy Thai chile citrus sauce for dipping. The evening weather was gorgeous and it was lovely to enjoy our drinks, appetizers, and salad, while overlooking the water.

Now, on to the entrees, or about 10 minutes before we received our entrees. We had been there almost an hour enjoying drinks, appetizers, and such, when a party of eight was seated next to us. They had a different server than us, who gave them a menu and told them that the mahi mahi was getting low. What, surely this must be some mistake! Well, they ordered the mahi mahi when she came back for their order and I was sure she was going to come back and tell them that she is sorry, but she made a mistake and they were out of mahi mahi. So, on to our entrees. All of the fish dishes were done excellently, but the favorite was definitely the the roasted sea bass topped with crab. They definitely know how to do fish and do it well. Now, cut back to the table next to us. Their mahi mahi did arrive, much to my surprise. When, we asked our server about this he just said I am sorry. He said he asked his manager and the manager told him the mahi mahi was out. I thought this was very strange to say the least. I am not sure where the mistake lay, the manager or the server? I did feel that our server was rather lackluster compared to some of the servers working around us at other tables, so I don't know.

Anyway, despite the mahi mahi fiasco, I would definitely go back because the seafood was really good there. The only thing I would mention is that this is a huge place, so if you are looking for a cozy and intimate place, you won't find that here, but you will find good food, so keep those things in mind.

Salt Rock Grill

19325 Gulf Boulevard

Indian Shores, FL 33785

727-593-7625

Nina's Cafe - St Pete Beach, FL

Nina's Cafe is a cozy little cafe located on Blind Pass Road in St Pete Beach. The inside is small and quaint and their are a limited number of tables inside. If you like, grab a seat at one of the patio tables located on the side of the cafe or in the back of the cafe, overlooking the water. They have the usual yummy breakfast fare. On the day we were there, we ordered a little bit of lunch and a little bit of breakfast, with coffee to drink. For the breakfast eaters, the build your own omelette is always perfect with a choice of meats, shrimp, veggies, and cheeses. The omelette is served with fried potatoes and your choice of bread. For the sweet tooth, the pancakes were a delicious must. And finally, the cheeseburger was very good, with the only thing detracting from it the oversized bun, but this is a one of those personal preference sort of things for me. The fries served along with it were very good. Altogether, we were pleased with our meal and thought it a very cute spot.

Nina's Cafe

9524 Blind Pass Road

St Pete Beach, FL 33706

727-367-1397

Old Salty Dog - Siesta Key, FL

After a trip to one of our favorite Tampa Bay museums, the Ringling Museum, we were ready for a pick me up before heading back home. So we decided to wander over to Siesta Key and see what would strike our fancy. After driving along Ocean Boulevard on Siesta Key to see what restaurants were there, we decided to stop in at the Old Salty Dog and give them a try. We chose to grab seats at the picnic tables, rather than inside the restaurant.

After ordering drinks, we decided to try the coconut shrimp appetizer and a cheeseburger. The coconut shrimp was good, and even better was the sweet dipping sauce that came along with it. The burger was especially good, also. What a pleasant way to end the day!

The Old Salty Dog

5023 Ocean Boulevard

Sarasota, FL 34242

941-349-0158

Caddy's On The Beach - Sunset Beach, FL

With the long Memorial Weekend ahead of us, my family and I were in a mood for some food with a view. With that in mind, we headed over to Caddy's on the waterfront. The first thing we learned upon arrival is that Caddy's charges $5 to park for two hours in their restaurant parking lot on the weekends (this price is subject to change). Caddy's itself is a very casual restaurant and I think more geared towards tourists, at least that is what it seemed like while we were there. The view of course was beautiful and you are there right on the white sand with the beautiful turquoise waters right in front of you. We chose to dine on the picnic tables that are right on the sand, with plenty of umbrellas to keep the sun off.

Unfortunately for us, we missed the cutoff time for breakfast, so we had to order from the lunch menu. We ordered a burger with fries, a 'tater fried icelandic fish sandwich, and pineapple upside down cake for dessert. The burger was a burger and that is all I have to say about that, but the 'tater fried icelandic fish sandwich was excellent. Also, I really enjoyed the pineapple upside down cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. One final thing I want to mention is that all the food is served on styrofoam plates and your drinks in plastic glasses. If this affects your dining experience, this might not be the place for you. However, the view maybe more than makes up for all that.

We had a nice time and if I were a tourist, it is definitely a nice spot to enjoy some drinks on the beach and spend the day. This is a private beach and you can also rent cabanas there and spend your day in comfort.

Caddy's On The Beach

9000 West Gulf Boulevard

Sunset Beach, FL 33706

727-369-4993