Spicy Boiled Peanuts at the Palace Saloon ~ Fernandina Beach

Centre Street on Fernandina Beach is the very well preserved main corridor of this lovely Victorian seaside Island.
One of our favorite places to visit is the Palace Saloon. The Palace Saloon proudly boasts itself as being Florida's oldest continually operating saloon, serving suds under that name since 1903.
The interior completely fits in with the Victorian exterior feel of Centre Street. The staff and local patrons are very warm and welcoming, making you feel completely at home.
My main goal for the day was to stop and buy some boiled peanuts from a roadside stand on the way home. Jane's trip wasn't going to be complete without trying the Southern staple of boiled peanuts. While I've never been a fan, it had been 20+ years since I had tried them so thought it would be fun to experience them together. On the way up we had passed a few stands, some of which advertised spicy boiled peanuts. As a lover of all foods spicy, I thought this might make a more palatable option. Our wait was over when a man entered the saloon with a basket selling none other than spicy boiled peanuts!

At first bite, Jane wasn't completely convinced. Its mainly getting over the initial sock of the texture, being softer like a bean instead of crunchy like we're used to eating peanuts. After a few bites, we were all hooked. They were amazing*. The heat level was just right: enough to compliment the peanut but not too hot. Between the four of us we happily polished off the bag.
We liked them so much that we flagged the man down that was selling them and bought some more to take home with us. If you are in the Centre Street area of Fernandina Beach, be on the lookout for this man and give his spicy boiled peanuts a try, you'll be glad you did!

* If you like hummus, chances are you will like boiled peanuts. They reminded me a bit of hummus, only in a shell. Saying that, I don't think I would like plain boiled peanuts nearly as much, the flavor of his boiling brine completely made these peanuts a success.

The Happy Tomato Cafe ~ Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island

The first week of November was very exciting for me. My friend Jane (from Cakebook) came over from England to visit us for 10 days. Our friendship formed 10 years ago over our mutual love of food and we've been great friend ever since. While I haven't seen Jane in 4 years, there is rarely a day that passes that I don't speak to her in some way; e-mail, Facebook - it's amazing how you can keep in touch these days. We had been planning what to do for months and seemed to come up with a Southern food theme. We took a trip up to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island (close to the northern boarder of Florida's east coast) and had great expectations of a lovely Southern lunch.

Noon rolled around and we were in search of somewhere to eat. While on the way to a place on 3rd Street I wanted to try, our noses were treated to the most heavenly, smokey BBQ smell. It was a good thing the place I wanted to go to was closed for the day, as it gave us no choice but to follow our noses back to the Happy Tomato Cafe...
The cafe itself is in a small wooden building with an outside deck...

... and courtyard seating...

We had a quick look at the menu and got in line as the place was quickly filling up. This place seemed to be very popular with the locals, which is always a good sign.

My Dad and James were with us and there was one item on the menu that caught all of our attention: THE WORKS. The Works is a pulled pork sandwich with pimento cheese! Yes, pimento cheese!!! This isn't the sort of thing I would eat on a daily basis, but it did sound good and we were on vacation after all. It's not everyday I get to have lunch with Jane! We were all very happy with our choice. The Works is served with a side of BBQ sauce (I highly recommend the Mustard based sauce) and dill pickles. Jane ordered a side of coleslaw, which was also very good.

Enjoy a close up glimpse...

The sandwich was so filling there is no way I could have eaten anything else. Sitting outside on a sunny day with great company was the icing on the cake. I can't wait to go back!

The Happy Tomato Courtyard Cafe & BBQ

7 S. 3rd St, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034

(904) 321-0707

Les Ocres de Roussillon (10/10)

A stone's throw away from our villa was the ochre quarry of Roussillon. We had some time to spare before lunch, so walked over to explore. I am so glad I did. For a week we have been surrounded by the orange, yellow, and red clay - but hadn't seen anything like this...

La Côte Bleue ~ Marseille's Harbor by Boat (10/09)

After lunch, too full to walk around, we decided to cruise around the Côte Bleue aboard the Cézanne Bateau. We had seen much of Marseiile on foot, and it was nice to see it from a different perspective. Our two hour cruise of the harbor was navigated by someone who bore a striking resemblance to Ringo Starr.
More info on the following photos to come...

Lunch at Restaurant Miramar in Marseille (10/09)

The pièce de résistance of our day in Marseille was lunch at the renowned Restaurant Miramar, whom are famous for their most authentic bouillabaisse. Situated overlooking the harbor, it was the ideal place to sit outdoors for lunch while soaking up the atmosphere of Marseille. We were entertained by several street performers, my favorite was very reminiscent of Django Reinhardt. The "main attraction" to le Miramar is most definitely the bouillabaisse which is served in the traditional fashion: fish and shellfish served on a platter with the broth in a separate bowl. This is all served with a rounds of bread spread with rouille (a mayonnaise like sauce with garlic, chili, and saffron). When ordering the bouillabaisse, you are presented with a selection of sea creatures to choose from. This is one occasion that I really wished I could have seafood. The ceremony of having bouillabaisse in the place that is argued to have the most authentic in the world would have been a badge of honor I would have proudly worn. We opted for a few land roaming choices and were treated to this leisurely, very enjoyable meal...

We were first treated to a slice of black truffle on toast. While I've had many things that were "truffle flavored", this was my first experience indulging in an actual, non-dried truffle. It was divine. The first bite was a little strange. It had a musty, pungent flavor, but the more I ate, the more I liked it. The second bite definitely had more of a mushroom/beefy tone. To completely savor the experience, I took little bites to optimize this course.

This was then followed by a small glass of chopped seafood in a soup very similar to gazpacho. I sadly had to pass, but I did enjoy the zucchini/olive bread that was served with it. It was yeast free and had the texture of a "quick bread". It would have also gone nicely with an olive or artichoke spread. Perhaps even a hummus.
We were feeling completely spoilt and relaxed by the time our main course arrived: potato galette - on top of filet de boeuf- on top of polenta with a drizzle of au jus and olive oil.
For dessert I opted for the selection of strawberry treats. There was a strawberry crème brûlée, strawberry milk shake (no ice cream involved, more like whipped strawberry milk), strawberry sorbet with a strawberry wafer (looks a bit like salami now) and in the center a few stewed strawberries, marinated strawberries, and the skewer on top a very interesting, chewy strawberry candy. The presentation was fantastic, and not to be outdone by the other courses, before you are even served your first, the pastry chef comes out with a separate dessert menu to take your order. I was very sad that all of this was coming to an end, and then came our coffee...

Our coffee was served with this delightful platter of sweets. Now this is a place I could get used to!

Le Miramar
12, quai du Port
13002 Marseille
Tél. : 04 91 91 10 40 - 04 91 91 41 09
Fax : 04 91 56 64 31
Email : contact@bouillabaisse.com

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Images of Marseille (10/09)

Images of Marseille's Harbor (10/09)