Dining
Kool Beanz Cafe: (921 Thomasville Road): You've got to checkout this eclectic little diner! The menu might be classified as worldly southern, and the menu varies from day to day with a few staples available every day. Prices are a little high by traditional lunch standards, but you won't be disappointed. Don't be afraid to mix and match pairings on the menu. If you'd rather have the creamy grits, they'll be glad to swap them out with the wasabi mashed potatoes.
Samrat Indian Restaurant: Indian food isn't the first thing I think of when I'm looking for a place to dine. That's my way of saying I'm not an expert on what is good and what isn't, but Matt Chatterley and I ate at this little restaurant at 2529 Apalachee Parkway, and we both thought it was pretty good. The decor is nothing to jump up and down about, but the food made it a good experience.
Carlos Cuban Café: Located a few blocks from the newspaper at 402 E. Tennessee, Carlos Cuban Café is a family-owned restaurant with a sparse decor, but the smells that greet you at the door are enticing. Unfortunately, I ordered badly, deciding on a marinated shrimp salad. It was basically iceberg lettuce with some shrimp thrown on top and few peppers and onions scattered around the plate. I should have opted for more traditional Cuban fare. Matt Chatterley liked his sandwich, but I'd have to try it again and order something different to recommend it.
Barnacle Bill's Seafood Restaurant: I'm not sure Barnacle Bill's could pass an honest-to-goodness health inspection, but the food was pretty darn good. The restaurant is at 1830 N. Monroe, within a couple of miles of the old capitol building. One Internet review of the placed raved about the "Little Hotties" that grace the establishment. Far be it from me to mention something so crass in my review, but I will say that the Parmesean Oysters were pretty tasty — Matt even liked them. We both had different variations of the skillet dinner. Mine had shrimp and scallops mixed with sausage, onions and peppers on a bed of rice. Very good.
Crisper's: This is one of those fancy fast-food salad/salad places. It's located a couple of blocks from the paper at 1241 Apalachee Parkway. The salads are creative and good, and if you want to counteract the salad, they have a pretty good bakery with good cookies and other desserts.
Morelia's Mexican Dining: It's not Austin, but Morelia's is a pretty good Mexican food restaurant. It's located at 1400 Village Square Blvd. in a shopping center. I had the Morelia's nachos, and they were fairly standard piled high with guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes and jalapeños. It was way more than one person could eat. Margaritas were pretty decent too. They come in four sizes: Small, Medium, Large and Super. I got the medium, and it was pretty big. I can't imagine how big the super size was. I may have to do more research so I can report back accurately on the blog (only because I want to keep you informed, of course).
Miller's Ale House: (722 Apalachee Parkway) Miller's has a varied menu ranging from salads to baby-back ribs to seafood, including a raw bar. Jeff Robertson said the ribs were pretty good, and Carol-Lyn Jardine gave the hushpuppies a thumbs up. I can vouch for the raw oysters. The restaurant is loud, and it has a large outdoor (but covered) dining area with bar, which offers a decent selection of beer on tap.
Cabo's Grill and Bar: (1221 Apalachee Parkway) If you're a surfing fan, and who isn't, you'll want to check out Cabo's collection of classic longboards. The food is not bad either. The menu is varied, featuring Mexican food, hamburgers and seafood, and the atmosphere is beach-bummy and loud, but it's local and worth checking out for lunch or dinner.
Cypress Restaurant: (320 E. Tennessee) Cypress is an upscale restaurant located a couple of miles from the Residence Inn. The food is excellent and well-presented, but expensive. If you have a significant other in town and want to win a few brownie points, make a reservation. I had the beef tenderloin (rare, of course), which was served on some Yukon gold mashed potatoes and a homemade steak sauce. For dessert, my wife tried the flourless chocolate cake, served with homemade Madagascar vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.
Other things to do
Wakulla Springs: This natural spring located about 15-20 miles from Tallahassee is the largest (by volume) natural spring in the world and sits on a national park. It's close to 200 feet deep, and there are underwater caves that stretch for miles (so I'm told). There's a protected area for swimming, and it is reminiscent of the olden days with diving platforms and a small beach area. A historic lodge overlooks the spring, which stays a constant 70 degrees year-round. The water flowing out of the spring forms a river and a protected environment. For $6 per person, you can take a boat ride on the river and get up close and personal with alligators, manatees, turtles and many species of birds. Entrance to the park is $4, and there are a lot of nice picnic spots.
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge: This large wildlife refuge is only about 10 minutes from Wakulla Springs. Entrance costs $6. We spotted a young black bear just after we entered the park, but other than that and some kind of catlike creature that skittered across the road in front of us, we didn't see much except for a lot of birds. The park borders on the Gulf of Mexico, so you can get down to the ocean, but there's no beach to enjoy. There is an old lighthouse, but you can't go in and it's not that impressive. If you enjoy hiking, this might be a fun place to go; otherwise, try the beach somewhere else.
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Also not bad is Bahn Thai Restaurant, at 1319 S. Monroe St. Watch some Thai television as you enjoy your fresh spring rolls filled with shrimp or tofu. Matt ordered the pad thai, which he said was pretty good. I got chicken with asparagus, which has a red chili sauce. Yum! The menu has more than 100 items on it. Our waitress recommended the basil chicken/pork/beef, the asparagus dishes, the pad thai and some house specialty that incorporated multiple types of shellfish.
Get out of town ...
If you're staying in the Tallahassee area -- and it's a home football weekend -- why not head south to the Gulf coast?
I took Highway 319, which runs south through Aplachicola National Forest. I detoured a bit through Sopchoppy and then hit Highway 98, which runs along the coast.
The highway literally runs along the coast ... there are some places just the next lane and a small beach/rocks separates you from the ocean. That is, if you can see the ocean through all the waterfront properties.
My first stop was a rest stop/public beach access at Carrabell Beach. It attracted my attention because 1) it was the first place I found I could access a beach and 2) the shelters over the picnic tables had kind of a 1950s look to them and were painted turquoise. I was a bit surprised to find a historical marker saying this beach had been used by soldiers at Camp Gordon Johnston for practice for the D-Day landings. Having been to the beaches at Normandy, I was intrigued.
After a bit of wading in the Gulf, I started talking to two gentlemen who were cast net fishing. They told me the whole area had been an Army base during WWII and said there was a museum in town. (Side note: The guy fishing caught a little stingray, which is the first time I've seen one outside of an aquarium.)
The museum is on a side street, and it's not much. But it has a good collection of donated WWII items, some of it original to the camp. And the curator who gave me a tour was incredibly knowledgeable about the camp and WWII.
From Carrabelle, I went to Aplachicola to eat at a restaurant recommended by the somewhat-cranky gift shop lady at Two Gulls in Carrabelle (if you can't find a tacky gift there, you can't find it anywhere!).
Boss Oysters is a riverfront cafe tucked between buildings for the Applachicola Inn. If it's a nice day, ask for a table on the deck, which overlooks the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway -- and the boats the restaurant uses to catch its seafood. I had the Gulf shrimp platter: about 10 shrimp (fried, grilled or blackened), curly fries (just OK) and four of the best little corn fritters I've ever had. For dessert I had key lime pie ... which had a touch of coconut in the crust. YUM!
Directions to Boss Oysters: After you cross the bridge into town, turn right after the courthouse, go until the street ends, turn left. It's just a hundred yards or so down the street.
Once you're done eating, drive around town a bit to see the historic houses or park the car and check out the kitschy shops downtown. There are several art galleries, cafes, etc. Don't miss the Aplachicola Chocolate Factory. It's just a door in the side of a building (sorry, don't remember what street I was on), so it's easy to miss. But don't miss it! I had an Italian almond and orange chocolate ... oh, my gosh! If I'd had a cooler, I would have bought a pound ... or two.
Then head to St. George Island. In and of itself, the island is not that impressive. Just a bunch of beach houses (most of which are bigger and nicer than any home I've ever lived in). But you can access the beach at a county park. Just take a towel and a book, and you can pass a few peaceful hours soaking up the sun and listening to the ocean.
That's all the farther west I got. My cousin recommends going to Seaside and Watercolor, both of which are past Panama City. He says the waters here are that turquoise blue found in the Caribbean.
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