Crystal River Seafood

Crystal River Seafood.    When I think of a traditional North Florida Seafood House, this is one of the places I think of. Good fried shrimp, cheese grits and french fries.  Eaten in booths with great conversation and great company.  It is located on North Monroe Street just south of I-10.

For this meal we started out with the Seafood Spread and the Red Rock Seafood Bisque.  The seafood spread was good.  Served with individually wrapped crackers it was a little light on the seafood but good never the less.   In the old days you would get this as a standard part of the meal, but now it is a appetizer and I recommend it.  The standout was the Red Rock Seafood Bisque.  It was perfection in a cup, with lumps of seafood it had a wonderful flavor with only a hint of spice.  Had I known it was going to be so good I would have ordered a bowl and begged for a loaf of french bread and been happy, happy, happy.  Nothing else needed.

For the entrees.  They have a full selection for everyone. We ordered the Bite Sized Shrimp, the Fried Shrimp, the Grilled Shrimp and the Scampi Fiesta.  Everything was good.  The portions were large and everyone was happy.  The menu is on their web page at: Crystal River Seafood.

Scampi Fiesta

The Scampi Fiesta was good. Shrimp and Scollops with onions and garlic in olive oil cooked great.   Served over rice with cheese grits, fries and hush puppies. All very good.  

Grilled Shrimp

Grilled shrimp served on rice with green beans, apple sauce and hush puppies. Perfectly grilled with some spice on a kabob with pineapple.

Bite Sized Shrimp

Bite Sized Shrimp with Back Potato, apple sauce and hush puppies. This is always the staple of what we get when we go. Very good and always done right. This is the least expensive entry we had and probably the best value.

Mate Fried Shrimp

Fried Shrimp (mate size portion) with fried okra, hush puppies and cole slaw. A full plate of shrimp done just right.

It is hard to review the food since it was all very good. The sides were done well, cheese grits just cheesy enough.  The okra done perfectly.  The fries done just to crispy, not under done, not over done.    Everyone loved the hush puppies.


So the ratings:

Web Page: http://www.lovethatseafood.com/

Price:  $11.95-14.95 per entree.  

Atmosphere:  7  

Taste:  8.5 -  Good North Florida Seafood

Service:  8 -  Fast Service and kept my glass full

Value: 8 -  Good amount of food for the money

Will I go back:  On the favorite list

Lindy's Chicken

Lyndy's Chicken is a Tallahassee original. One of those places from your childhood you remember and if you get something that tastes even close you think of home. Old timers in Tallahassee come here for their chicken.

There are several locations in town.  The two that immediately come into mind since they have been there forever is the one on North Monroe Street and the one on Layaffette Street. I ate this time at the one on Layaffette, but the food is the same at both. There is at least one other location on U.S. 90 on Tennessee Street between capital Circle and I-10 most of the way to the Midway exit but I have not eaten there, so I can't comment.

So the first question: is this the best fried chicken I have ever eaten?  I would have to be honest and say no, there used to be a chicken place near FAMU that had that honor, but alas it is nothing but a memory.But Lindy's is good honest fried chicken and is very good.  Consistent and done the way fried chicken should be. Better than Popeyes and KFC.  Not spicy, not bland, just about right.

Two piece dark, mash potatoes and gravy and a biscuit. Not fancy but good and honest. The chicken is good, the potatoes and gravy is good, the biscuit is good.  I have never gotten it any way but good.

The best part of of Lindy's is not the chicken, but they have Gizzards.  Don't say yuck yet, because Livers and Gizzards when done right are a delicacy and Lindy's does them right.  You had better call ahead if you want Gizzards because they sell out fast.  They are ready when they are ready and gone when they are gone. If you have never had them before, you have to try them done right and you will be hooked.

So the ratings:
Web Page:  http://www.lindys-chicken.com

Price: $4.54 for a 1/4 dark  

Atmosphere:  4  -  Come here to eat, not to enjoy the view.  Enjoy the food.

Taste:  8  

Service:  5 -  You order it and then pick it up at the counter.  Takes a couple of minutes every time.

Value: 9

Will I go back:  Whenever I want Gizzards.

Ham Soup aka:Pantry Stew

A ham for new years is a Southern tradition.  But what do you do with the left overs and in particular the yummy ham bone?   My mind goes straight to stew.

What kind of stew.  Well in the spirit of the day,  lets clean out the pantry. My wife calls this pantry stew.

This year it came out super duper.  Seconds and thirds were demanded all around at lunch so I figured I would share how I did it.

ham bone not picked over
extra ham
1 box Chicken stock
2 tbsp. Dried Onion flakes
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. Chicken soup base (bouillon)
Medium can of white kidney beans (cannelloni) - drained
can of whole corn - drained
can of diced tomatoes
can of diced new potatoes - drained
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup farro (grain)
1/2 box of spaghetti noodles.
catchup


First a little bit of prep work.   Clean the fat off of the ham bone and any rind that may be on it.  Leave the meat, it will fall off in the soup.  Do the same thing with the extra ham. We are looking for the ham flavor and not the seasoning from the curing process.   We also don't want the fat in the stew. We want stew not gelatin.  Cube the extra ham and put it aside.

Next rinse the extra fat off of the ham bone.  How, put it in the stock pot and rinse with warm water a couple of times.  Pour off the water.  Do this a couple of times until the water does not have sheen.  It does not have to be perfect.  This will get rid of the extra fat we don't want and get rid of some of the strong flavor from the salting and smoking process when the ham was cured.

Now we start.   So in a large (and I mean large) stock pot put the ham bone and the Chicken stock.  Add water to cover the ham bone.   To this add some soup base, a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce, the dried onion and some black pepper.  Use your best judgement and don't over do it.  The measurements are approximate.

Bring this to a boil.    Once at a boil add the beans, corn, tomato, garlic and potatoes.  Lower the heat to a slow boil.  Add the cubed ham.   Let this cook for 1-2 hours or so or until the meat starts to fall off the ham bone.   You can't really overcook it.  Watch this stirring every so often.  Add water as necessary to keep the ham bone submerged.

This is where you can taste the broth.  Add 2 or so tablespoons of catchup (to taste).  The vinegar in the catchup brightens the flavor and gets transforms the saltiness of the broth.  Add other spices and more pepper if desired.

At this point we add the farro and rice.  Break the spaghetti noodles in 1/4s and add them as well.  Cook for another 30 min or until all of the starches are done.    You can keep cooking at a slow boil or serve.  Add water to make this a soup or a stew.

Now in saying all of this substitute all the ingredients you like.   The ham, the ham bone and the catchup is the foundation.  Beans of whatever type and quantity you've got can be used.  Want it spicier, add some peppers.    If I did not have farro, I would have used more rice or some other grain.   If you have it, add some okra or carrots or anything else.  It basically takes 30 min after breakfast to get everything started and then you let it cook for a couple of hours and it is ready for Lunch.

Serve with some good rolls or crackers from the bottom shelf of the pantry.  

Pantry stew,   yummm.

Club Pub Chinese

Club Pub.  The Publix grocery store between the FSU and TCC campus on Ocala street.   The kids in town go there to find a date.  Me, I go there for the food.

Believe it or not  some of the best take out Chinese food in Tallahassee is at this store.  Not as good as some of the sit down restaurants but better than most takeout.  This Publix has a Chinese to-go buffet.   For $6.49 you get a to-go plate with your choice of one meat, one starch and an egg roll.

Bourbon Chicken, Fried Rice & Egg Roll

The best part is it is good and more than you can eat at lunch.   It is probably the best to-go Chinese in Tallahassee.  The better part is that for $7.49 you can get 2 meats, a starch and and egg roll.

The meats are Bourbon Chicken, Teriyaki Chicken, General Tso's Chicken and several others
The starches are Fried Rice and Lo Main noodles
And then there is the choice of pork or vegetable egg roll.

OK  the down side is there is no atmosphere.  There are a few tables at the door to eat at with no windows.  I normally grab it and eat it in the car.

Menu

So the ratings:

Price: $6.49 or $7.49 to double the meat.   

Atmosphere:  1  -  There is none

Taste:  6  -  Not bad

Service:  8 -  In and out in 5 min.

Value: 9

Will I go back:  Often

Introduction to Tallahassee Eats

A TLH food blog.

I live in Tallahassee and am fond of eating.  Probably too fond of eating.   I was looking for a good blog about the food scene in Tallahassee and there are several good ones but after reading them, I wanted to add my take.

 

I really don't have an educated pale or am a food critic.  To be real honest, I like food that id rather plain.  I am not a fan of fancy sauces but love fancy presentations.   Don't really like to spend huge sums eating out, but eat out often.    I sort of follow the philosophy of the old standard "frugal gourmet" Jeff Smith.  Expensive food is ok so long as you are getting value.  It is really about the value.

You won't see many reviews about vegetables since I am mostly a meat and potatoes type of guy.  Love protein, don't like green stuff.  You may, but you should at least know where my tastes are.   I don't drink much so wine reviews and bar notes will probably be few and far between.

On the other hand, I love good southern cooking.  Black eye peas, rice, pork, sweet tea, BBQ.  You will find a lot of that in these pages.   Since I like to cook as well, I will include what I am cooking at home as well.  Recipes and how I cook things are fair game for the blog.  I never guarantee that what I provide will be great but it is normally edible.

Keep a watch here.  My plan is to post at least once a week.