Someone recommended the Anchor Bar as a place to try while near Buffalo, as it is the home of the original chicken wings.
After riding Maid of the Mist and walking to see Horseshoe Falls, we were hungry and there just happened to be an Anchor Bar nearby. Of course we needed to go, as Will loves chicken wings!
We got a few different items to share: wings, burger and fries, and a salad.
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The food was really good and Will loved the wings.
We did have to wait quite awhile for a hostess to come to the stand and for our food to arrive. It wasn’t that busy and they seem adequately staffed. It could have been because this location was located at a local hotel.
We stopped at Junior’s for a late lunch. They had several locations around the city, but we ate at the 45th St. location near Times Square.
We had a nice seat on the outdoor patio and an amazing waiter. We ordered the Something Else, a Ruben sandwich, and the Brownie and Strawberry Cake Shakes.
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We ate dessert first. The Cake Shakes were huge and we all shared them. Our waiter brought out plates, so we took the cheesecake off of the shake glass to eat. Everything was so good. The other cheesecakes on the menu looked amazing as well. Our sandwiches were also good. The Ruben was a big surprise because we are not normally Ruben lovers. However, our waiter recommended it so we gave it a try. It was the best sandwich we had eaten in a while! Their dressing on the side was delicious and really brightened up the sandwich.
If you have a chance to stop at Junior’s, try their cheesecake and a Ruben!
After exploring Assateague for a few hours, we decided to head back home. We kept seeing signs for The Island House restaurant, so we decided to stop for linner (lunch/dinner).
We asked to eat outside and sat on the back deck on the Bay. It was a great view and kind of peaceful with the water and birds. We saw a couple of fishing boats coming in and out.
The boys shared a Seafood Platter, so they got to try some new foods (flounder, crab cake, scallops). We started the meal with a garlic clams appetizer. They also brought out sweet potato biscuits. The clams were local and the boys seemed to enjoy them. Ben had a soft-shelled crab sandwich. He’s been wanting to try soft shell crab for a while, but we haven’t been in the right season at any of our stops so far, so he was excited to see it on the menu. I got a BBQ pork plate and a side salad. I am not a big fish/seafood fan, although I did try a clam.
The food was pretty good, although maybe a bit more on the expensive side. The boys got to try new things, which is always good. Will liked the flounder, Nick did not. Nick liked the crab cake, Will did not. They both seemed to like the scallops and the clams, which was a little surprising. They tried a bite of the crab sandwich too, which was a hit with all three of my guys.
It was a nice meal and had a nice location. There were lots of little gnats unfortunately, so we didn’t stay for dessert.
We love Papa John’s Double Hamburger Pizza; even Ben likes it and he does not normally like pickles! Unfortunately, it’s a regional/seasonal thing because we haven’t had any luck finding it since California. We tried in Williamsburg, but they did not have any pickles.
We decided to try to make our own version! We managed to find all of the ingredients. However, we had to get creative with fitting the pizza crust in our tiny oven, as the store did not have a lot of crust size options.
We grabbed ground beef, 2 Roma tomatoes, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, Thousand Island dressing, and pickles (hamburger dill chips).
I browned the ground beef, diced the tomatoes, and had Will shred the cheeses. Once the ground beef was cooked, I drained it. I also blotted the pickle slices with a paper towel so that there wouldn’t be too much moisture on the pizza and then cut each slice in half. After placing the crust on the baking sheet, I used a pastry brush to add a thin layer of the Thousand Island dressing to the pizza crust. Next came a layer of the mixed cheeses, the ground beef, diced tomatoes and pickle pieces. I added a little bit more cheese to the top and baked according to the crust’s directions.
It turned out pretty well and was gone quickly! I can’t wait to make it again!.
For our adventure at Kiptopeke State Park, we stopped at Sting-Ray’s Restaurant to pick up some food for a picnic lunch. The restaurant is attached to an Exxon gas station and other than some taxidermy fish and shark on the walls, isn’t too much to look at. However, we had read several good reviews and wanted to give it a try.
We ordered a few different things to share: a BBQ pork sandwich with fries, an order of hush puppies, a rockfish sandwich, a salad with grilled chicken, a side of coleslaw, and a 3 piece fried chicken with green beans, mashed potatoes, and cornbread. I also got a sweet tea. It wasn’t a super cheap meal at $51.02, but we enjoyed all of it!
The salad was surprisingly good with grape tomatoes, croutons, a mix of lettuces, carrot and onion slices. There were a few radish slices as well, which Nick gobbled up.
The fried chicken was delicious. They had a really nicely flavored breading.
All in all, it was a good meal and just goes to show that you can find good food in surprising places! If you are in the area, I would check it out.
If our campground has a fire pit or a grill, one of the easiest dinners to make are foil packet dinners. As a bonus, it doesn’t heat up the RV!
You can throw almost anything in aluminum foil and cook it over a fire, a grill, or in the oven. (Just make sure to double wrap in foil to help protect from burning over any flames.) We’ve done sweet potatoes (off to the side in the warm ashes), meatballs and vegetables, chicken/potatoes/vegetables.
The dinners are pretty easy to put together. On a large sheet of aluminum foil, towards the middle, place a few small pats of butter, or spray with a non-stick spray. Add a layer of sliced onions and a few vegetables. Add your meat, Place a few slivers of onions on top. Sprinkle with the seasoning of your choice (we like Cajun seasoning). Wrap up tightly. If the flames are still pretty hot, I will add another layer of foil to help keep things from burning.
Will claims the mask helps with the onion smell. 🤷🏻♀️
Robert Is Here is a roadside store with a mini zoo in Miami. We drove by it on the way to the National Park, and decided to stop on our way back. It was certainly busy, with a full parking lot and people parking on the side of the road.
The front of the store sold a variety of goods and produce. The big draw seemed to be their drinks and smoothies. It cost us $16.01 for two drinks. We got the coffee milkshake, which was delicious. It had just a faint taste of coffee, nothing too strong or overwhelming. I could have had more of those! The kids got a cherry key lime smoothie, with a sugar adder per the cashier’s recommendation. It was not good, very tart, and the flavors didn’t meld well.
Behind the store was the zoo area. There were birds, emu, goats, and so many turtles.
We saw some amazing breakfast images online of the food at Willa Jean and wanted to give this restaurant a try. We went early in the morning on a Sunday. It seemed like all available parking nearby were paid spots. We found a pay lot just a block down.
The inside was really cute and had a great atmosphere. My favorite decorations were the lights that looked like egg whisks. However, while the indoor seating was spaced out more than what they probably usually are, it was not quite 6 feet apart. We were seated inside, but a nearby table had someone coughing several times. There weren’t any seats open further away from him, so even though I got an eye roll, I asked to be seated outside. The restaurant had part of the street outside blocked off for some outdoor patio seating. The outdoor tables did not have table service. You ordered at the inside counter and they would call your name at the front door when your order was ready.
The chicken sandwich was by far the best. It was delicious and had a little bit of a kick to it. The sausage egg and cheese sandwich was good, but very messy with a runny sunny side up egg. The hangover bowl was ok, the grits were a little bit…chunkier…more textured…than what we were used to. The key lime pop tart was also a winner. I normally don’t like key lime, but this was subtle, more of a tart citrus taste. The pop tart shell had a flaky texture that reminded me of a puff pastry.
I am glad we tried the restaurant. However, I would not order the coffee again (expensive for the size) and would stick to the pastries and the amazing chicken sandwich.
If you haven’t tried these delicious treats then I highly recommend it. You can buy them if you live in New Orleans in a lot of different places, but you can also get them in other places too! If you can’t find a place that makes them close by here are some recipes:
When my family and I stayed in New Orleans we were close to the French Quarter. My Mom loves beignets. So we obviously went to where all of the people who think of beignets go…Café Du Monde. The first time we were just driving carefully through the French Quarter at night trying to glimpse the crowds you usually see around here. Since we were close by, we decided to go to Café Du Monde and get some of their famous beignets! They are handling COVID pretty well and have opened outdoor pickup and have up to three different pickup stations. Since it was late there were only a few people in line so we got our food and went!
Beignets are delicious. I love them. They are a little chewy on the outside with a nice soft inside. For all of you people who have a sweet tooth, they are covered from head to toe in puffy, white, powdered sugar. The sugar tastes amazing and when it fades you get the delicious doughy texture and taste of the beignet itself. We have currently visited the Café Du Monde two times.
If you are worried about COVID the Café itself handles it pretty well. The city also handles it better than a lot of places I have gone before. Almost everyone wears masks and that makes it nice. The Cafés’ workers are all wearing masks and the line goes by a lot quicker than it used to, with three separate places to order. I heard a kid, who probably was visiting for his first time, whine about how long the line was. But we got through it in less than 5 minutes. That is a huge difference than before when we had to wait for at least 20 minutes, to just get SEATED! All-in-all I think that Café Du Monde is doing well in the face of the pandemic, as is the whole city of New Orleans.
Thank you for reading and this is Will signing off from the wonderful world of beignets.
The first time we came to New Orleans in 2017, the boys were exhausted by the time we stopped to eat at the Acme Oyster House. They were much smaller then. They fell asleep before we even placed our orders, woke up enough to eat a few bites, and then fell back asleep on the table.
Luckily, with age (well, I guess to a certain point), comes the ability to stay awake longer. This visit, we got four different dishes to share. We just recently started doing this, and it seems to be working well for us. We pick 4 meals and then ask for an extra plate (or two) so we can share the meal. That way everyone gets to try a little of everything. The side benefit is that it forces us to try something new a lot of the times, something that individually we may not have ordered. (Normally I wouldn’t order anything with fish, Will wouldn’t order anything with cheese, etc.)
This time we ordered the Acme Special Po-Boy, Fried Fish Po-Boy, New Orleans Medley (samplings of jambalaya, seafood gumbo, red beans & rice, and a grilled sausage), a side order of hush puppies and onion rings. Their specialty is chargrilled oysters, which we did not order this visit (but we did the last time we were there).
The restaurant has a lot of red tinted lights, which makes pictures difficult. Although it may not look pretty, everything tasted great.
Everything was delicious. The Acme Special Po-Boy was made with roast beef and was very moist! It was a little messy to eat. Nick and Ben loved the fish po-boy, and Will hasn’t met a rice and beans that he hasn’t liked yet.
The tables were much more spread out this visit due to Covid restrictions. (Last time it was wall to wall people and tables.) They also had a contract tracing list to sign when you entered. We haven’t really seen too much of that down here.
