Bert Bar and Grill, a great place to eat and chill

First here is some chit chat and tips before the food. If you go,go by boat. It is easier to park a boat than a car.. Plus the view is much better and safer. If you drive go there during the less crowded times . Weekdays and in the morning. In front of Bert's there are only about 8 car spaces.( no handicapped was seen)... Back in if possible. Your car bumper is literally less than 10 inches from the roadway. The speed is 35 MPH..The best way to enter or exit is when a pedestrian is using the crosswalk which is about 25 yards away. (Lights & warning signals come on so you may make your escape.)

Is it worth the struggle...Oh Yeah. The staff are excellent. The view and serenity of the water is great.
I order a sweet ice tea.MMMMMM sweet and cold. They had a good daily menu specials, but I chose fish and chips.
It was more like fish nuggets and fresh potatoes chips.

The nuggets were fried to a golden brown with only a minimum of coating. The flesh was hot steamy and so tasty. The chips were homemade potato  style chips... Sliced oh so thin and cooked to a crispy goodness. ( It was a lower than usual humid day which added to the crunch.)  I ate outside it was so comfortable.  Yet be warned they allow the lower caste of humanity to smoke cancer laden cigarettes in the fresh air on the patio.
Ahh the homemade coleslaw was a delight for my tongue. I only wish I had a larger portion.
Over all great food, great view, and great staff.

Buca de Beppo, average chain eatery

Here is my 2 cents on the food and such... This place is located in a mall next to the food court... Not a good place for great food. I had the chicken parmigiana

and the alfredo as a side dish. Plus some bread.  I must admit the chicken entree was good. It was fried lightly on the outside and still moist and tender on the inside. Pretty good. Now the alfredo is a different story. It was ok but I thought it had a slight chalky taste. Thats the best way to describe it. It needed more garlic and was not as good as mine at all.

 The bread was served with a balsam vinegar and olive oil. Oil was ok I was not thrill about the balsam.
Service and  personnel were outstanding.
Again I had a gift card only usable here.
Will I come . Maybe I prefer mom and pops places they have the best.

Carrabba's Italian Grill, not bad typical chain

Well here is my 2 cents on the food and some chit chat. Chit chat... I came here because I had a gift card that was only usable here. That's fine I have never been here before. I scanned the website and thought that they had a brunch menu... They do but not at this location.  :-(... So onward.... I got my sweet tea it was very sweet I liked it. I was ask and served some warm bread with olive oil... (Bread with butter seems to be out of style.

I think it is cheaper to serve it with oil but that ok for me.) I order a 6 oz. medium rare sirloin, with soup of the day and garlic mash potatoes. The bread and soup arrived at the same time.  The soup smelled and tasted wonderful. Especially with the fresh grated cheese. It tasted homemade. I really loved it. I was surprised. I had to restrain myself from chowing down on the bread and soup. Anyway as a cook and carnivore I know it does not take long for a medium rare steak to be prepared..

. I read 2 magazine articles and tasted some more soup.   MMMMM where is it.??? I appear to be the only client at 1115 AM on a Sunday morn.  It arrives. I looked... it was small. I turned it over. I cut it in half. WOW WELL DONE.  After going to and reviewing more than 200 or so eateries... This is the very first time in my life that I refused a meal and had it returned. ...EVER. My server picked it up said I am sorry..... In about 5-6 minutes a new and properly prepared steak was replaced. This was cooked as requested... The red garlic mashed potato were great.  I found out, I am a purist when it comes to carnivore delights. Just meat, fire ,salt and pepper. ...They had topped my steak per my request with a spicy butter concoction. It tasted fine by itself or on other items...BUT for me on the beef it was just nasty.A mistake I will never do again.
My pleasant server, Haley, B did a outstanding job. I was also given a little 1st time visitor bag of salt & pepper grinders, menu and stuff for use in a future visit.

Over all good but a well done steak,mmmmmm, not sure.

Miceli's, Italian cuisine, Turkey feast

Here is my 2 cents on the food and some chit chat. First some chit chat and why I am giving it 5 stars.
They offered a 25 buck buffet for  turkey day...This is a place that's located on the waterway in which you can pull up and berth your dingy.They had lots of outside umbrella covered tables. There was lots of booths and table inside.
The personnel... WOW.... everyone was very nice with great big smiles..happy like Stepford wives would be.. (maybe it was the added 18% gratuity being  enclosed today..LOL...but worth it)
I was warned to get here early... I did... They open early. 15 minutes before the schedule 11 AM time.
(note by 1130AM it was getting filled up)
So I staked out my table and dug in.

They had a carving table of prime rib cooked to the  perfection of medium rare. It was sliced thin ,but you could ,and I did make 3 return visits.

The au jus was delightful, but unfortunately the horseradish sauce was too watery. Good but watery.
I sampled the dark turkey,white turkey and the ham. Except for the ham which was a touch on the dry ,though in a sweet sauce. Everything was delish. the dressing, sweet potatoes, mash potatoes, cookies, clams ,pumpkin pies.
The management stop by my table and ask for my criticism . Which I gave. I made my customary 3 grazing trips at the buffet. (you need to get your money's worth and belly filled)  It was so worth it.
By the time I left, the place was filling up and the parking was full.
I will definitely be back and try the regular items.
You all need to come on down!!!!

Prime de Leon, a good but pricey steak place

Here is a bit of chit chat and my  2 cents on the food. We went there for my birthday lunch. It was not crowded.  Plus being lunch time there were restrictions on menu items. We were first served up some very delicious bread. It had a side of tasty olive oil.

. I needed to restrain myself.
My wife order a wonderful philly cheese steaks with sweet potatoes fries.

Good choice. I got a medium rare rib eye steaks with house frites.

The steak was cooked to perfection and frites were excellent. Being lunch time it was empty except for another couple. So service was good. The decor and ambiance was very pleasant.
Over all a wonderful relaxing experience.

Salty Papa Shrimp house, MMMM jambalaya

Here is my 2 cents on the food. I was here after a quick stop in costco. It was early 11AM. I was the first customer of the day. I ordered the in house made sweet tea. It was fine just not outstanding. The menu was very long. It took me a while to peruse it. I found my item jambalaya.

Not very many places make  jambalaya. If they do, it is not too good.. This was good. almost as good as mine.
It was full of shrimp, sausage and chicken.  They used a lot of white chicken I prefer dark meat.  It was spicy enough for me so I did not have to add extra hot sauce. It is the way jambalaya is suppose to be made. Most likely too much for floridians taste buds. But that's their loss.
My only concern was the celery. It was a bit too crunchy. But they make it fresh everyday due to it popularity. I arrived when they just open. Oh yes they serve a lightly toasted garlic bread with the jambalaya. So you can slurp up all the juices.

Anyway it was wonderful dish I see why it is the 2nd most popular entree on the menu.
Oh yes a thumbs up to Louis my server he did a great job.

Habaneros Mexican Grill, your typical chain place

Here is my 2 cents on the food and some chit chat. Well about the food. It really is just your typical mexican type chain place

. I had their wannabe ground beef burrito with sauce and a side of chile rellenos.Rellenos was a good stuffed pepper with lots of cheese.

(Note.. the burrito is a american thing created in 1950's in San Francisco, Ca)  It was fine nothing to get excited about.
Do not let the name of habaneros fool you. The sauces and salsa is just mild stuff. NO hot pepper at all. I ask for and got some jalapeno peppers inside my entree...it was still boring. I requested the habaneros salsa. It tasted fine but NO, NONE ... absent of heat at all.  Just fine for boring floridians  taste buds.

The prices were reasonable portions fair. My server Francis, was outstanding. She a great job!! But as far as real mexican stuff NO. There are better real mexican eateries  a mile or so away.