St Augustine Vacation: The Food, Foodie Friday

When Jason and I started planning our vacation, he wanted somewhat of a plan and asked me to look online for a few things, I would personally like to do, and he'd do the same. Do you know what I ended up doing? Perusing on Yelp, and Urbanspoon for a few hours adding restaurants to my list. I am pretty sure Jason meant tourist spots when he suggested I find a few spots, but clearly I had other ideas.

Fortunately we never had to worry about breakfast, since the B&B we stayed at, Casa de Solana, offered that daily.

The first night in town, Jason and I went a bit off the beaten path and discovered The Floridan, on Cordova Street. It seemed to be a spot with more locals, than tourists, and while I am sure I stuck out as a tourist with my annoying tennis shoes {I hate sneakers with a passion. But we were walking a lot, and I knew Jason would kill me, otherwise}, I didn't feel out of place, by any means. The Floridian is a spot I could easily see here in Tampa, most likely in the Seminole Heights area.

{Cornmeal-dusted green tomatoes, greens, chili-cumin aioli, basil and goat’s feta cheese on artisan bread}

To start, we ordered the fried green tomato bruschetta. I love me some fried green tomatoes, and I love bruschetta, so how could we not order it?! It did not disappoint, ya'll. I don't know necessarily that these two needed to go together, as they were each filling on their own, but the flavors were tasty, and I found myself eating the tomatoes, on their own and eating the bread with the chili-cumin aioli. Delish!

{Shredded chicken, grilled and served  in a whole-wheat tortilla with quinoa, greens,  salsa and datil-chipotle mayo}

For dinner, I ordered Pescado Fresco Burrito, which came with a side salad. The chicken was very flavorful, and a tad spicy.

{ CartWheel Ranch Beef with all the fixings, housemade pickles and chipotle mayo on a ciabatta bun }

I thought it was yummy, until I ate Jason's Dixie Burger. That was phenomenal in flavor! If I could go back, I'd have ordered the same thing.




Day two brought a ton of cold, and a lot of walking. So after my glorious massage, we decided to dine at Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille. We didn't know at first it was a chain, but after eating there it didn't make a difference to either of us.

{ blackened shrimp, chipotle aioli, lettuce, pico, blended cheeses and fresh lime}

For lunch, I ordered the Shrimp Tacos, with a side of red beans and rice. Oh my gosh; they were so good! The portion and filling was very generous. I think my favorite part was that Harry's grilled the soft corn tortilla, which allowed for a sturdy taco {who says that? I digress.}, and I had never seen that before. I am totally doing that next time we have tacos at Casa de Crews.

{ lightly blackened over a crispy grit cake with tasso ham cream sauce }

Jason ordered the Shrimp & Scallop Orleans. He said it was spicy, and tasty. We both found the service to be stellar for lunchtime.



Even though we walked a lot, and it had been several hours since lunchtime, Jason and I weren't starved for dinner. But after Lane had recommended MOJO Old City BBQ, we knew we had to check em' out. As BBQ lovers, I am not always sure what to expect as I find myself more disappointed than not {we had BBQ catered at our wedding. yee haw}, but I had nothing to worry about at MOJO's!

The two meat combo, split. This was just MY  half.

Since we weren't overly hungry, we decided to sit at the bar, since the restaurant was packed, and order drinks and split a meal.

 { getting 'sauced }

For $15.50, we shared the {small} two meat combo. We ordered the pulled pork, and spare ribs. For sides, the mac and cheese, and hand cut fries were a must. $15.50, and it was beyond generous! This was the small, folks. My only disappointment was that we didn't have a chance to go one more time before heading home. The atmosphere was great, as well.

After MOJO's, I was stuffed! But Jason wanted to go for an impromptu pub crawl, and after he called me old, I was in.



We had a drink at the following places {no photos, sadly}

• Scarlett O'Haras, awesome atmosphere for a drink on the porch {makes for good people watching}
• Sangrias Wine & Tapas Bar, we had a drink outside on the couch, great chill spot, but weird server
• The Backyard at Meehan's, my fave spot of the "crawl"! People of all ages, full bar
• Ann O' Malley's, cool little spot, filled with mostly locals
• White Lion, I think after a certain time, it turns into "Club White Lion, which was a bit too much for this former twenty-nine year old
• A1A Aleworks, seemed a little older crowd, but was open the latest, and closest to our B&B. Not a bad spot

{ Fried Grouper Platter }

Saturday, we were off to meet the in-laws for wine, and fort touring. After a long day without lunch, we were starved! At the suggestion of our in-laws, we ate dinner at Scarlett O'Haras. Since we had been the night before for a drink, I was game. Sadly, it was your typical bar grub; all fried. Look, I like fried ish just as much as the next person {hence why I am currently on the Whole 30, duh}, but it just wasn't anything special. It was only maybe 5pm, so Jason and I shared the fried catfish. I'd go back for beers, but not eats.

{ blackened chicken, aged cheddar, roasted corn, red onion, cilantro-dijon dipping sauce }

Our last day in St. Augustine, we packed in two more tourist destinations before driving home. In between the Old Jail, and The Fountain of Youth, we actually split an order of Spanish Chicken Eggrolls at the Five Flags Cafe which is at The Fountain of Youth. You'd think this sounds awful, but not only did the eggrolls hit the spot, but after checking out their website they support the farm to table concept and source only local.. I love that! Plus, the sweet lady behind the counter was the nicest, ever.

Before leaving for Tampa, we stopped at Carmelo's Pizzeria. We had spotted them the day before while touring San Sebastian Winery. They have a marketplace with pizza by the slice attached to a gas station, which sounds uber classy, I know, but then attached to that, is a full restaurant. 

We ordered the fried ravioli to start. It wasn't bad at all. It was decent for what it was.

For lunch, I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan sammich {no picture}. The flavor was good, but the portion for $9 wasn't worth it.

Jason ordered the Chef Salad. Now that was the right price for the size!

On our way out, we ordered a small pizza to go, since we had a 3, turned 4 hour due to traffic, drive home. Now the pizza...THAT was what we should have ordered to begin with! That is where they do it right, folks.

Cheers!
Nichole