Enough Already

Sorry about the rant’s lately. I’m tired of it as well and had a long talk with myself and I think I got through to myself. “Self ” I said, “shut-up and write something the people can enjoy”. So from now on expect more positive and less bitching.

The Saturday dinner was not really bad, just way over priced. That’s what gets me so mad, I blame myself. “Self ” I said ” You know better then that”. There are not a lot of restaurants in hotels that are worth dining at. Like I said the food was ok and the service was ok, but $115.00 for two people was to much for this level of food. Don’t get me wrong, we often spend $100-$125 for a meal and have no problem because it was worth it. But it’s been happening way to much lately and again, I blame myself. “Self ” I said ”I blame you”.

But like I said I am gonna be more positive and like my Mom always said, If you have got nothing nice to say shut the hell up.

Thanks Mom I will.

Sport Eating

Stacey and I are good at eating at restaurants. We consider it a sport and put lots of thought into where we want to eat. Stacey is very serious about this and even has a special sweat suit she wears when she is researching and making dinner plans. She spends hours at the computer reading reviews and menus. Searching for the right restaurant is tough work and it’s important for us to get it right.

There is a lot to consider when looking for that “right” restaurant. You have to think about who you will be dining with and their likes and dislikes. We can get just about any style food in Atlanta and sometimes this just makes it a tougher decision. You have also got to consider budget, as well as variety in foods there is also a very wide variety in what you can spend. Also the wine list is something to think about, I need old world and some places don’t offer very much.

So this past weekend we needed a place to go with friends both Friday and Saturday nights. After much research, sometimes this is referring to notes on restaurant we have been to, we chose a couple. One we had been to before and another we had heard good things about for years.

The first was a french bistro in downtown Atlanta, we had been before and really enjoyed. Well there is not a lot of positive to say about dinner that night. Lets start with wine. They did not have any. THAT’S RIGHT THEY WERE OUT OF RED WINE! How in the hell does a restaurant run out of wine. I know how, it’s a cash flow problem, but it should not be my problem. The bad part is that Stacey spoke with restaurant twice the night we went, the last time being 7:45 and I bet the guy could have let us know then. We were lucky enough to have carried a bottle with us, but it took an act of congress to get the waitron to open it for us. Oh, he did have one bottle of wine available, it was $90 and he started to drop the price as the night went on, that was one of the strangest things I have experienced at a restaurant.

The food was o.k. The meat a couple of us ordered was not cook to order. One ask for medium, the other med-rare. Well they both came out as steak tartar, already sliced which made me think the chef seared one steak and split it between us. Then the waitron offered us desert and gave us five to choose from, one vanilla and four chocolate, we ordered two different chocolates only to be told by waitron after his return from the kitchen that only the vanilla was available. What the fuck? If I ran my business like this guy did I would be out of business, which I bet this guy is real soon.

Look I would like to tell you about the second, Saturday night disappointment, but I have gotten so mad writing about Friday night my head is about to explode. I will continue tomorrow.

So So Tired

I’m so tired of all the bullshit. The war, the price of gas, the damn 2008 elections, it’s more then a year away, what the hell are we doing. Gas is at $80 a barrel and it’s gonna go over $85 soon. It’s as if those running this idiot circus are out to get us. Nobody has a straight answer for ya. Nobody can get along with each other. I see it in my neighborhood and I see it on the news every day. If you are someone or some entity that’s trying to be proactive instead of reactive, your labeled a trouble maker.

I am glad I don’t have kids I am gonna leave this world to. It’s a sin against the earth what we have done. It ain’t getting any better, I think we are all just getting better at ignoring the situation. I think it starts small and by the time your an adult you have learned to view things through rose tinted glasses or otherwise you go crazy trying to deal.

Sometimes I think things are o.k. Sometimes I just pay attention to my small part of this so called life and kid my self into contentment. And that’s all it is, being content, which is a cop out. I am as guilty as anyone, just doing enough to keep things right in my world.

I know I got it good and should not complain. But that’s just the problem! We should all complain. I mean really raise hell about the conditions around the world. Boarders are nothing but lines drawn in the sand and just because your skin is a different color then mine does not mean you ain’t my brother.

Man, I got to stop watching CNN first thing in the morning.

That was stupid!

So I heard on the news yesterday a lady died from eating a bad raw oyster. Yes, that’s right, not only did she eat the oyster in August, but she had it in Atlanta. Come on people I need ya to think first and then eat it. Everyone knows you don’t eat raw oysters if the month does not have an “R” in it. And you should be smart enough to know you have to have them fresh and I have yet to find a oyster bed in Atlanta.

You have got to be careful when and where you eat your raw seafood. I love sushi, but I don’t eat at $1 sushi joints. There is a reason it’s only a dollar a piece and the reason is not good. I must have eaten 30-40 raw oysters last week at the beach, but I bought them basically “off the boat”, and kept them ice cold at all times. I bet that lady that died will think twice about that next time.

I am amazed at the price of seafood when I go to the beach. If your not a local and don’t know where to go, then it’s not cheap. Shrimp were about $3 a pound more in Port St. Joe than in Atlanta. I guess if I knew where the locals go I could do better, but who’s got time for that when your on vacation. Grouper was $13 a pound, I haven’t bought Grouper here in Atlanta lately, but $13 seems high.

But man it was all good. We had shrimp and grits a couple of times and oysters diablo once. We boiled some shrimp and made a shrimp salad and ate on that all week long. So don’t get me wrong, a few extra dollars ain’t gonna stop me from having good, fresh seafood. One night Stacey took a couple fillets of that high priced Grouper along with tomato’s, garlic, black olives, artichoke hearts, capers, lemons and olive oil, wrapped it in tin foil and baked it. It did not suck!

OYSTERS

Oysters are good! Raw is best. I like mine with a horseradish heavy cocktail sauce on a saltine. Fried is good and we often do them on the front porch. Talk about white trash, but yea we cook a lot on the front porch.

We got up Tuesday morning and it was about the time I was mixing the second Bloody Mary, about 10:30 a.m, that I was thinking about oysters. Seeing as we were in one of the top producing oyster areas in America. We had been told to eat at the Raw Bar, the funky local oyster bar and seafood joint.

So after sitting on the beach for a few hours, reading, swimming, drinking beers, making out and stuff like that, we thought some oysters would be good. We were pretty excited about having oysters, knowing how fresh they would be. I like gulf coast oysters best. They are salty and usually the perfect size, not to big not to small. The cold water oysters I have had are to small and don’t have that briney flavor.

Wouldn’t ya know it, the Raw Bar is closed for a week after the Labor Day Holiday. Damn.

So I ask the some guy cutting the grass where to get oysters? He sends us to Boss Oysters in Apalachicola. We have been to Apalach a few times before and had no problem finding it. So we had beers and tequila and raw oysters.

Stacey ordered fancy raw oysters with a salsa like mixture on them, called “oysters ceviche”. They were good.


So we blew that joint and stop at the hardware store and got some copper wire and red spray paint, it’s not what you think. Then we stopped at a retail seafood place. The boats were right out back, it was late in the afternoon and they were cleaning them. We got two pints of oysters, shucked and headed to Cloud Nine for sunset on the beach.

And that’s just what we did. Sat and watched the sun go down for hours. Again we hardly saw a soul. Later we had both raw and fried oysters for dinner. We laid in the hammock on the front porch and watched a movie. Stacey went to bed but I spent about half the night on the screened in porch, in the hammock. Woke up about 3am and climbed into the real bed. Thinking about how to have my oysters for breakfast…

How to get to Cloud Nine

Well what we did was, caught a plane to Panama City, rented a car and drove to the beach. It was really easy and the plane was close to being on time, and I think that’s all you can ask for these days.

Cloud Nine is our friends beach house at Indian Pass in Gulf County Fla. It sits right across the street from the beach. It was built in 1926 and used to be a hunting and fishing camp for men. There were no bathrooms when our friend bought the house about 5 years ago. The floors, the walls and the ceilings are all made from the same material. 1″ x 3.5″ pine slats. It is really cool and so different than any beach house I’ve ever been to.

The Beach is a 1 minute walk across the street and it is a very deep beach. Lots of it, in both directions. There are some large ugly houses here and there but no large condo units. Because of zoning there never will be. Not many people around as the holiday just past and there just aren’t as many houses as you see at most beaches.

So, of course I love this place and want to move here, just like most neat places I visit. But 4 nights will do for now. Stacey and I drive through Eglin Air Force Base coming out of Panama City. Then we go through Mexico Beach, it looked like a cool town. Small,very small. We don’t stop, we are ready to get to Indian Pass.

We then come to Port St. Joe. I guess it’s the largest city near Cloud Nine. We stop at the Piggly Wiggly and get food and a few other items. The Pig dosen’t sell beer, so we have to go to another store for that. Food total $63.00.

We drive towards Indian Pass keeping an eye out for some where to get beer and spirits. There it is, Triple Tails. They advertise beer, bait, liquor and beach stuff. Perfect. We pull in and they have everything we’re gonna need. Grab a little Patron, a little Absolut, a couple six packs and a bottle of wine. We were only here for four nights so we don’t need much. Beverge total $110.00.

We get to the house and check things out. Really like what we see. The place reminds me of the houses we used to rent on Mobile Bay. Not a slick beach house, but a old warm, wooden bay house. We unpack the car, grab a few drinks, two beach chairs and head straight to the beach. Not a soul in sight. When we head back to the house a few hours later as it was getting dark, we had still not seen anyone.

Oh joy!!

No plans at all

So, Stacey and I were gonna make our second attempt to go to Belize. Hurricane Dean stopped us the first time and today another one has stopped us again. Damn, what to do? Don’t panic, aren’t you the one who said something like, the best plans are no plans at all? Well, no, I have never said that, but I gotta admit it’s a good one.

So I cut the grass and I trim the hedges. I edge the sidewalk and I blow it all into my neighbors yard and still I haven’t come up with a plan B. Damn, what to do? Think Tracy, think man. Wait it’s coming, hang on it’s coming to me. Wait for it. Wait for it. That’s it. Remember the lady you traded a painting for a stay at her beach house. Find her card man, find it now. Now call her, call her now man. Yes, yes says it so, yes man it is so, you can go. Now I hope the flights are open!

The flights look good and we are off. Port St. Joe here we come. I think we are in for a treat. The nice lady who owns this house has been a client for a while and has a table I made, at this house. It’s a old house and she has been anxious for me to see it. She knows I like old stuff and is happy to share.

So we will be there for about 4 or 5 days, I ‘ll let ya know what we do and all about the place. There are all kind if good places to eat and I have a list, with a few names, so we will be eating good.