We did a little sight seeing while in ND. I think people that live in the frozen tundra appreciate the sun much more than us in Florida that just take it for granted. Here’s a few places we visited.
The Missouri River
Everyone seems to have a boat and/or a camper and use them every chance they get.
Fort Abraham Lincoln
Took a trolley that ran along the original train tracks. Got off one stop short of the fort to see the Slant Indian Village.
Then we walked to the fort. Custer was the commander at this fort and marched off from here to meet his fate.
Craft Fair and Car Show in Bismarck
I have never seen a Ford Hardtop Convertible and there were three on display!
Along with the typical craft show vendors, artists were creating chalk art on the sidewalks.
The weather was wonderful and we had a great time, but I was missing home and home we went! We’ll be back next summer.
I’ve been remiss in my restaurant reviews. Have no excuses. While we’ve been hitting the local dining scene and I’ve been taking notes and snaps, I never took the time to write about them.
Just in case you forgot that I’ve been writing about restaurants (since it’s been SO long) let me remind you. Terry and I are hitting dining spots in the area. Most of them will be in Citrus County but also Marion, Hernando, and Sumter Counties. Maybe further out. Just depends on where we go!
And what I feel like talking about.
And now I’m catching up.
Just hoping all of these places are still open. Places open and close so quickly. Particularly when our northern visitors go away for the summer. Can be the death toll for our little local spots.
Speaking of closing, Yanni’s in Homosassa Springs closed. They were open a long time in another location. Closed. Opened up in another place. And now that spot is the Biscuit Barn. Anyone know why? We quite liked Yannis.
Back to reviews…..
We went to Angelina’s in Brooksville for lunch many many weeks ago. The address is 13103 Cortez Boulevard. It’s tucked away in one of those numerous plazas on 50. (You know what I’m talking about.)
We got there about 11:30. Isn’t that lunch time? There was only one other table occupied. A few other couples came in while we were there.
And I gotta say the food, quantity, prices and service were all good. So I’m guessing there is just a lot of competition with other small restaurants and all the big chains that are in Brooksville and Spring HIll now.
My eggplant parmesanTerry’s spaghetti
So if they are still open, we recommend!
River Ranch Bar and Grill at the Heritage Village in Crystal River was our next stop. Formerly the Mullet Hole and before that Cafe on the Avenue. Opened very recently.
We ate in the bar because there were a few special large parties going on in the dining room.
And we liked it!
(But we also liked the Mullet Hole and Cafe on the Avenue! And they both closed.So much for our opinions!)
I think this is a very nice location. Right in the middle of Heritage Village. I’ve mentioned in a few other posts that Crystal River and Citrus County needs to advertise this little shopping area. Crystal River is BOOMING with tourists because of the manatees in the winter. And now it’s scalloping season. Those visitors need someplace to go after they visit our unique water attractions. Being in the middle of everything, Heritage Village should be crazy busy.
But it’s not.
Marketing, Marketing, Marketing.
Turkey Caprese. It comes with an avocado cilantro sauce for the sandwich but I asked to omit that. Should have ordered it on the side just to try it. Probably was really good. Next time.Terry’s fried chicken sandwich. Lightly coated. Very Large. Good.
Anyhow,
Our lunch was good. Our server was good. We will be back.
Assuming that it’s still open!
I have one last place to write about but I think I’ll wait until next week since this is already waaaaay tooooo looooooong!
If you have a suggestion for a dining spot that I should write about–let me know!
Either in the comments section or the “contact page”.
Or if you disagree with my opinion–I definitely want to know!
Twenty big-screen TVs in the main area plus another ten in the covered patio. What? And they had Fat Tire Beer on draft. Plus it was happy hour when we got there so my ONE Fat Tire turned into TWO!
It’s in the plaza that also houses Jo-anne’s Fabrics which I have to visit at least monthly to pick up sewing supplies. Plus there’s a Target right there. How did we not know about this place?
The menu wasn’t the typical wings and burgers at most sports bars. Yeah, they have that stuff but I ordered an Ahi Tuna sandwich with seasoned fries. Terry had a mahi blackened sandwich. Both very good. And service was good.
Ahi Tuna Sandwich with Seasoned FriesBlackened Mahi Sandwich with homemade chips
The place opened in February and I asked the server how it came to be named Gators Dockside because we were nowhere near any water. Well, it’s a chain. And I’m trying to not write about chain restaurants. But they’re only in Florida so I’m overlooking that whole chain thing in this instance.
The place was bright and shiny and clean. I’d like to go back there and try it again.
Our next dining experience was at the Shamrock Inn in Floral City.
The opposite of bright and shiny and clean. But I LOVE this place. It’s dark and packed with people in biking clothes–both the motorized kind and the ones you pedal.
According to our friend Tim who joined us along with his wife Connie, best burger place around!
And then I was gone for a couple of weeks and the first place we stopped at when I got back was the Deco Cafe in Inverness.
We’ve never been here before but we were driving through Inverness and thought we’d check it out.
Now, I want to say that I really WANTED to like this place. And I did. I liked the decor. I liked the server. I liked the people coming in and out getting drinks and desserts. I liked the food. It was very yummy.
I didn’t like the plastic plates and plastic serveware.
Sorry.
Don’t like it.
We both ordered the excellent bisque, I had the South Beach Panini–turkey with cranberries and avocado–and pesto pasta salad. Terry had the Deco Cristo with Potato Salad. All VERY Good.
The place is small so perhaps they don’t have room for a dishwasher. Although the bisque came with a real soup spoon. And the pasta was in a glass bowl. Hmmmmmmm. How is that washed?
We were there for lunch. They close and open back up for dinner. I want to go back and try dinner sometime.
And the final place….
Last Thursday we went to the newly remodeled or newly renovated or newly something Neon Leons before we went to the Homosassa River Alliance meeting. We’ve been there a few times over the past few years. Had good experiences and bad. The restaurant was recently closed for about a week while they were changing things up. We couldn’t figure out what was different other than the woman that was managing the place.
Terry had the dry-rubbed wings. Said they were good but a bit too spicy. When we were on our great Chicken Wing Quest last year, Terry had ranked these right up there with the winner, Crackers.
I ordered the seafood bisque along with a shrimp appetizer that came with a delicious loaf of bread. I quite enjoyed my food. Our server was very good and answered all of our questions (like who was the new manager) but the kitchen was VERY slow.
We’ll probably go back just because it’s convenient. It is a very popular spot and you might need a reservation if you go at a busy time. I’m guessing because there is almost always entertainment.
Okay. That’s it for this edition of our restaurant reviews. Still need to figure out how I’m going to rank all these places since they are all very different!
If you have any places that you want us to check out, let me know!
