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Norton’s Riverside Sports Bar & Grill

February 17, 2016 by KTgreen

There’s a new sports bar in Crystal River. Well, not really new. It’s been open for several months, just took us awhile to check it out.

So I thought I’d let you know what I thought about the place.

It’s part of a small restaurant chain.

There’s no River. So if you are expecting a waterside brew. Not happening. The “river” is a short walk from the bar. But I do not consider that “riverside”.

If you are looking for a sports bar with lots of TVs and a large selection of beer plus decent food, this is your place.

We went really early. About 11:30 on a Friday. Empty. We were the only customers. Eventually other diners started filtering in and by the time we left, several tables were occupied.

Terry wanted to check out the wings, of course. He ordered Cajun.

Note, no carrots or celery and Terry said that the wings were a bit overdone.

I ordered the Grouper Reuben. I LOVE Reubens. And I love Grouper. Win-Win!

But…. not quite. They didn’t have rye bread. Had to use Wheat.

And they used coleslaw instead of sauerkraut. Whaaaaaaat???!!!!

I don’t know if this is how this sandwich is always served or perhaps they were out of saurkraut, I don’t care what Mr. or Ms. Norton call this sandwich, it was not a reuben. This was a grilled grouper sandwich on wheat bread with coleslaw on top and thousand island dressing served on the side.

Good. But not what I ordered.

So will we go back? Probably. Given the right circumstances.

Like someone asked us and said they’d drive and buy dinner and all of the beer. Yes, we’ll be there.

Seriously, if this place was in Homosassa and we could just drive 5 minutes to go there, we’d go back. The food was decent, the place was clean, our server was pleasant and fast, there were a lot of TVs which would be fun to take our out-of-town friends to watch a game, and the music that they had piped in was a good variety of classic rock. Not the boring elevator kind.

But this place is in Crystal River. Jeeze, a whole ‘nother 25 minutes away. And not on the water. I hope it’s a hit with the local CR people and the tourists.

Next week, a restaurant critique from Homosassa!

Dining Local — Coyote Cafe

December 4, 2015December 3, 2015 by KTgreen

Last month when Terry was working me to death on the Seafood Festival…….

Just kidding, Terry was the worker, along with a lot of other friends and neighbors.

I did the website. The FB posts. Some whining.

That’s my job!

But there was a morning that I went down to help him get things organized at the Civic Club office. I was probably gathering raffle tickets to distribute. And about noon I was starving and I said that he had to take me someplace to eat and it had to be close. Cause I was hungry and next step was hangry. Don’t want to go there.

So we went to the very closest place, one we had never been to before, Coyote Café.

Wow! Such a great lunch. Still can’t figure out why we hadn’t stopped in before that. I had the special and Terry had a ham and cheese sandwich. (That’s the typical Terry lunch)

And we’ve been back two more times, together. Terry did sneak out while he was doing manual labor during the festival setup and have lunch there with a friend.

We stopped by yesterday so I could get pics and feature the café.

I ordered the special, which is what I usually do.

Terry and I shared the soup. He took the last bit of bacon and said that he was saving me from eating it. (cause I’m on a perpetual diet)

It was so good. Looking at that photo makes me want to go back and get more.

Here’s the Lobster Roll with potato salad.

and Terry’s Ham and Cheese with potato salad.

The portions are very generous. I should have taken a snap of how much ham is on that sandwich. Terry was very happy.

The décor is a Southwestern motif. Little unusual for Old Homosassa but nice.

Chef Robert Anderson, Proprietor

I’ve said many times in past posts, I’m not a reporter, just an observer. If I was a reporter, I would have asked for everyone’s names. First and Last. But, I think this is Stephanie and Dana. Ladies, if I’m wrong, comment or email me and I will fix it! One or the other always serves us and they are very pleasant and efficient. Soup and drinks are served as soon as we ask for them. Can’t get quicker than that!

Stephanie, Robert Anderson, Dana

I would highly recommend you stop by Coyote Café. Have lunch and sit awhile and chat. That’s the kind of place that Coyote Café is!

Open on Wednesday through Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm. No credit cards but there is an ATM machine right by the register. The café is in the back of River Safari’s on Yulee Drive. Can’t miss their sign in the front. There’s parking in the back of the building.

Yum!

An Afternoon in Inverness

October 20, 2015October 20, 2015 by KTgreen

We were back in Inverness–“small town down right”– last week. Seems we’ve been there a lot recently. This time we had a special mission and thought we’d also use the trip for an excuse to try a new lunch place. We intended to eat at the pub right next to the Valerie Theatre but it didn’t open until 3 and we couldn’t wait that long!

Nope, we were really hungry.

So we went to Deco Cafe. We’ve been there one other time and enjoyed the experience. My only complaint was the disposable tableware and that’s what they are still using! (Guess they didn’t read my review!) The last visit was on a Saturday and there were only a few other patrons. This was Friday. At noon. Big mistake. The outdoor patio was full and there were only a few open tables on the inside and we grabbed one. We both ordered paninis which seemed a pretty easy order–Terry’s was even the daily special. From our table we could see people scurrying about preparing the lunches but it looked like there was only one panini maker. Like I said, the place was packed and everybody must have ordered paninis. It took close to an hour for our lunch. Our server asked if we would like our side dish before the meal and since we were really hungry, we agreed. Which made our plates look really empty when our paninis finally did arrive.

The pesto salad is very good and includes edamame.

Terry had the ham and cheese panini

Mine was the Tuscan Panini

We had plenty of time to look around at the decor and it very cool. The blown-in insulation between the exposed beams has been painted brown–very clever. The floors are painted concrete, We hadn’t noticed this cool chair rail on our last visit.

Now I need a wine room to put this chair rail in!

Our lunch was really good. I liked that there was a wide selection of breads and different cheeses to choose from for the panini. I also liked the flavored ice tea.

It just took way too long. We’ll probably go back but not during lunch hour!

Deco Cafe is right across from the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum and right around the corner from the Valerie Theatre with the lovely park with the fountain.

The weather was beautiful and it was a lovely afternoon in Inverness.