During the course of my travels this summer I have found more than a few kernels of wheat amongst the chaff when it comes to restaurants...
There was quite a bit of chaff in the form of MickeyD's, Krystals, Chili's and other corporate fast food...
And there was quite a bit of good (or at least interesting) stuff in the form of places like Thom Pham's Wondrous Azian Kitchen and some other stuff in Minneapolis, Cossettis in St.Paul, several trips to The Keg with JR, a NSFW menu in St. Louis, Hooters in Ft.Lauderdale, some churrascaria like Brazaviva, Texas de Brazil & Fogo de Chao, a morning nosh in Jacksonville, good folks and good food in Dallas, a culinary debacle in Chicago, The Original Pantry in LA, some random Canadian observations, and a great restaurant pairing found in Calgary.
I've saved a bulk of really good places in my doorknob file, but I really haven't had the time or inclination to write them up, but I really need to get back on a regular blogging schedule, so here we go with notes from a couple places that serve big flavors on tiny plates....
First - a new tapas place here in Jax Beach (actually Atlantic Beach, but who's holding the GPS?) called Royal Palm Village Wine and Tapas...
Yours Truly, The Woman Who Knows Most Things and Bill & Betsy- long-time family friends from here at the Beach, decided to try this new place out- just to see what's what.
They are located in the old post office building on Royal Palm Drive in Atlantic Beach...
(I must observe that it takes a good bit of confidence in your marketing skills to open a fine wine store directly across the street from an ABC Liquors...but I digress.)
They have a huge wine selection- over 1200 bottles, and a large number of draughts & bottled beers.
There are several options on wine-by-the-glass and a nice 4-glass beer sampler...
I had a nice cider, TWWKMT and Bill had a flight of local draughts each, and Betsy had a red Zin that she liked... We sat outside, next to their herb garden, and enjoyed the evening... The temps were in the mid 70's and it was very enjoyable.
On the nibbles - I'm a sucker for olives, so it was mandatory to get a dish of their assorted Oleaceae. A very tasty mix... Bill also had a plate of the little green nuggets of joy as an appetizer.
We also ordered their wild mushroom bruschetta, and the chicken satay and a selection of cheeses and chorizo...
Bill and Betsy also had seasoned popcorn, the lemongrass ahi tuna, and pork tacos. I got a taste of the ahi...it was nicely done- perfect sear and a very nice dipping sauce. The chicken satay was spicy and quite flavorful and the wild mushroom bruschetta was really tasty too.
We were also treated to a sample of their beef empanadas- made with a beef filling that just melted in your mouth.
(Egregious error corrected in the interest of accuracy. H/T to Constant Reader Tracy)
The empanadas were a lagniappe from the Executive Chef- seems that her daughter goes to the school where The Woman & Betsy teach... a pleasant and tasty surprise.
Our server was quite friendly, knowledgeable about the menu and the beverage selections, and very attentive to our needs and orders.
Overall- a very nice place... awesome beverage selection, friendly people, small plates, big flavors.
Royal Palm Village Wine & Tapas
296 Royal Palm Dr.
Atlantic Beach
904.372.0052
Go. Imbibe. Enjoy.
Next up- More small plates from Denver.
TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
There was quite a bit of chaff in the form of MickeyD's, Krystals, Chili's and other corporate fast food...
And there was quite a bit of good (or at least interesting) stuff in the form of places like Thom Pham's Wondrous Azian Kitchen and some other stuff in Minneapolis, Cossettis in St.Paul, several trips to The Keg with JR, a NSFW menu in St. Louis, Hooters in Ft.Lauderdale, some churrascaria like Brazaviva, Texas de Brazil & Fogo de Chao, a morning nosh in Jacksonville, good folks and good food in Dallas, a culinary debacle in Chicago, The Original Pantry in LA, some random Canadian observations, and a great restaurant pairing found in Calgary.
I've saved a bulk of really good places in my doorknob file, but I really haven't had the time or inclination to write them up, but I really need to get back on a regular blogging schedule, so here we go with notes from a couple places that serve big flavors on tiny plates....
First - a new tapas place here in Jax Beach (actually Atlantic Beach, but who's holding the GPS?) called Royal Palm Village Wine and Tapas...
Yours Truly, The Woman Who Knows Most Things and Bill & Betsy- long-time family friends from here at the Beach, decided to try this new place out- just to see what's what.
They are located in the old post office building on Royal Palm Drive in Atlantic Beach...
(I must observe that it takes a good bit of confidence in your marketing skills to open a fine wine store directly across the street from an ABC Liquors...but I digress.)
They have a huge wine selection- over 1200 bottles, and a large number of draughts & bottled beers.
There are several options on wine-by-the-glass and a nice 4-glass beer sampler...
I had a nice cider, TWWKMT and Bill had a flight of local draughts each, and Betsy had a red Zin that she liked... We sat outside, next to their herb garden, and enjoyed the evening... The temps were in the mid 70's and it was very enjoyable.
On the nibbles - I'm a sucker for olives, so it was mandatory to get a dish of their assorted Oleaceae. A very tasty mix... Bill also had a plate of the little green nuggets of joy as an appetizer.
We also ordered their wild mushroom bruschetta, and the chicken satay and a selection of cheeses and chorizo...
Bill and Betsy also had seasoned popcorn, the lemongrass ahi tuna, and pork tacos. I got a taste of the ahi...it was nicely done- perfect sear and a very nice dipping sauce. The chicken satay was spicy and quite flavorful and the wild mushroom bruschetta was really tasty too.
We were also treated to a sample of their beef empanadas- made with a beef filling that just melted in your mouth.
(Egregious error corrected in the interest of accuracy. H/T to Constant Reader Tracy)
The empanadas were a lagniappe from the Executive Chef- seems that her daughter goes to the school where The Woman & Betsy teach... a pleasant and tasty surprise.
Our server was quite friendly, knowledgeable about the menu and the beverage selections, and very attentive to our needs and orders.
Overall- a very nice place... awesome beverage selection, friendly people, small plates, big flavors.
Royal Palm Village Wine & Tapas
296 Royal Palm Dr.
Atlantic Beach
904.372.0052
Go. Imbibe. Enjoy.
Next up- More small plates from Denver.
TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
Sounds great, but how do you rectify "beef empanada" and "stuffed with pulled pork"...
ReplyDeleteOops, my bad.
ReplyDeleteThey were 'Beef Empanadas'... and really savory and tasty too!
The pulled pork that they were raving about was the pork tacos...
That was from a pork shoulder that was smoked and pulled that day.
While I was writing, I was looking back at the on-line menu to jog my memory- that cider did a partial memory-erase... My fingers got a little ahead of my thought process... (SOP for me.)
TBG
Both sound extremely yummy, and I expect a personal tour if I'm ever in Jax.
ReplyDeleteAnd the next time you're in Houston, let me know...Goodson's is one of my favorite eateries, and less than 30 minutes from my palatial estate...