We
went to Alpine Steakhouse, also seen on the Food Network. They are known for
their turducken, which John Madden probably made famous during the old
Thanksgiving football broadcasts. It’s duck, inside a chicken, inside a turkey.
It also has roasted red peppers, an andouille sausage stuffing, and a cornbread
stuffing. They serve that with mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberries. The
lunch portion was $15.00 and it was really a unique combination of tastes. I
could have used a little dark meat though!
We
headed 10 minutes north to St. Armand’s Circle, a very trendy shopping area
just off the Florida mainland. It may be the busiest rotary I have ever seen.
There are probably five entrances/exits and there are tons of pedestrians and
shops all around it. I drove just south to Lido Beach, where I stayed with my
parents five years earlier. I took of my sneakers and socks, unbuttoned my
shirt, and walked down the white sand taking in the sun and the beach
atmosphere. I do miss having an ocean nearby. Sorry, Lake Michigan just isn’t
the same. We even saw Siesta Key, the hotel we stayed at and walked around it.
I would have even played a game of shuffleboard if the equipment was still
around.
Then
we walked a little farther and stopped at the Ritz just to explore. I let Mom
go and just sat with my legs in the Jacuzzi as the sun beat down on me. Yeah,
that was relaxing. All I needed was a Mai Tai. Anyway, we headed back and
finally found a parking space. The clouds were quickly starting to cover us. I
checked out a couple of stores, like Tommy Bahama. There were a couple of nice
summer shirts that I liked. Of course, they were all $88 or $98. Next. I went
to the Pepper Palace, a shop that specializes in hot sauces, salsas, and
spices. And they had at least 30 out for sampling. I thought about trying a
ghost pepper sauce for about half a second before common sense got the better
of me. The Level 7 tomatillo salsa was plenty spicy for me. We also checked out
a spice shop where I bought a packet of key lime pepper spice, which I will use
on seafood and maybe even chicken. There was a stadium shop that featured
banners of sports teams and unique photographs of stadiums. I saw a few
interesting shots, but nothing worth paying over $100 for.
By
now, it was almost 4 pm and I was feeling pretty tired. I was ready for some
more food. We headed back to the mainland and over to the Old Salty Dog, only a
five minute drive on City Island. This place I saw on Man vs. Food and I was
mesmerized by the laid back atmosphere and that it was right on the bay. It’s
just the perfect place to drink a Corona or two and I did! Even though it’s run
by a British guy, they are known for their deep-fried hot dogs with four
cheeses, bacon, sauerkraut, and sautéed onions and mushrooms. I wasn’t quite
ready to do that, but we did get an appetizer of deep-fried dog bites. They
were really good, especially the light and crispy beer batter. The hot dog is
their own recipe of beef and pork. I also liked that it came with a light
mustard, it was almost like a honey mustard. Really, really good. We ordered
some mahi mahi tacos and peel ‘n eat shrimp to split. The tacos were pretty
good. Very fresh fish, a lime sour cream and some green salsa. The shrimp had a
nice kick with the garlic butter and Old Bay. Messy, but really enjoyable. With
the Corona, it was just a perfect way to spend a late afternoon on the western
Florida coast.
I
decided to treat for dessert. We drove 20 minutes east to Yoder’s, which is an
Amish restaurant in the middle of Sarasota’s Amish community. They are well
known for their fried chicken and pies, they make over 30 types of pies each
day. Driving into the tiny, winding parking lot, I tried to turn right inside
but some jackass was trying to exit in the area that was marked entrance. So I drove passed and entered the lot in the
exit area. And of course, I was driving the wrong way in the packed lot. I got
a spot after about three minutes, but with an SUV and almost no room to
maneuver, I’m just glad nobody got hit!
Anyway,
we checked out the gift shop, which of course, had a ton of Christmas stuff on
sale. Then at the carry out window, we ordered two pie slices, a peanut butter
cream and a southern pecan. The pecan had tons of pecans on it, which is key.
It could have used some whipped cream though. Then again, I could have used a
glass of milk. The peanut butter cream was awesome. It has vanilla custard, tons
of whipped cream and two layers of peanut butter crumbs, which is a mix of
chunky peanut butter and powdered sugar. One of the better pies I’ve had in a
long time.
Then,
we drove towards the highway. Mom wanted to stop at the Dollar Tree to get some
laundry detergent. We did that, but two stores down in this strip mall was an
HSN outlet. I knew HSN recorded their shows in Florida; I thought they might
have some interesting merchandise. We went inside and my heart sank. 90 percent
of this store was women’s clothes and the other 10 percent was bad kitchen
appliances. There were three racks of NFL gear though. One was suede jackets
that former Giants linebacker Carl Banks endorses. I found a Jets one that fit
me, but I already have two jackets made of leather or suede. It was 40 percent
off, I could have had it for $60, but it just didn’t make sense. The only other
Jets gear I found was a rain jacket. Even though I didn’t love the look, it
could have used some kind of Jets logo on the back, I needed something like it.
So I got it for 40 bucks, which was about $25 off the retail price.
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