Preacher's Kitchen and The Hub

Two Short Reviews From My Family Vacation to Seaside, Florida.

While on a jog one morning, I ran (and I use this term loosely) past a new restaurant called Preacher's Kitchen that served burgers.   Later on that morning, my wife and daughters decided to have a girls day, which left me to my on devices for lunch.  Since I was flying solo, I decided to ride one of our rented bicycles to the restaurant and try out their burgers.

Cheeseburger with Applewood Smoked Bacon and Fried Egg

I ordered a burger with cheese, applewood smoked bacon, and a fried egg.  The burger was very good and I particularly liked the thick slices of applewood smoked bacon and the sweet bun.  The burger was juicy enough, but was only about 3/4 the size of the bun.  The fries were golden brown and seasoned lightly with seasoned salt.  Overall, the burger and fries combination was the best I have tried in the Seaside, Florida area.

Preacher's Kitchen
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

On yet another morning jog along 30A, I happened upon a new place called The Hub.  Jogging doesn't do me much good if I keep finding new places to eat, but I thought it might be a fun place to hang out and take the family.  That night, my family rode our tandem bikes to The Hub and decided to eat dinner and listen to some live music.  

The Hub has three different restaurants.  Mile Marker 15 serves tacos and also has a full bar, Red's Chicken Shack serves fried chicken, and Crave Burgers serves, you guessed it, burgers.  They also have an ice cream stand and a cart that serves cotton candy and shaved ice.

Outdoor Patio/Concert Area

My family sampled the burgers from Crave and the chicken strips from Red's Chicken House.  The burger was okay, but nothing to write home about.  The chicken strips were good, but weren't served with gravy or any dipping sauce.  The wedge fries served with them were not good at all.  The kids enjoyed ice cream and they shaved ice.  Although I was not impressed with the food, it was still a fun place for us to go hang out with the kids and enjoy some outdoor entertainment.

The Hub
http://www.hub30a.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=2

Rainforest Cafe

My brother and I were supposed to go camping with my oldest daughter on a recent weekend, but we were notified by Ray Roberts State Park that the camping area was forced to temporarily shut down due to flooding from the recent rains.  Since our camping trip was a no-go, we decided to take my daughter on a Saturday adventure instead.  Although she was disappointed that we wouldn't be camping, she was excited that plan B included a trip to the Rainforest Cafe and the Sea Life Aquarium in Grapevine Mills Mall.

Somebody was happy to be at the Rainforest Cafe.

We had never been to the Rainforest Cafe, but my daughter was enamored with the place from the moment we stepped into the restaurant.  The jungle theme with gorillas, elephants, tigers, and leopards was something she couldn't stop talking about all day.  After she was able to curtail her excitement for a few moments, we ordered the cheese sticks for an appetizer.  The cheese sticks were very basic, but I really liked the flavor of the marinara sauce.

Cheese Sticks

The restaurant had a larger menu than most restaurants and had plenty of options, but I was in the mood for seafood.  I ordered the Congo Fish Plate, which included two large fried whitefish fillets, fries, and cole slaw.  The fish was not as crispy as I would have preferred and it was much more "fishy" tasting than what I have come to expect from whitefish.  As for the sides, they were also disappointing.

Congo Fish Plate-Fried Whitefish, fries, and slaw

My brother ordered the Beastly Burger, which had two patties.  The burger was very large, but neither of us were impressed with it's taste.  My daughter ordered the two cheeseburger sliders with applesauce.  She seemed to enjoy her meal much more than the adults did.

Beastly Burger-Double Meat Cheeseburger

The cheese sticks ended up being the highlight of the meal.  Everything else we tried was below average in the taste department.    I will say that the service was very good and they go above and beyond to make it a fun experience for the kids.  Even though the food was a disappointment, I would go back again with my kids just to see the sparkle in my daughter's eyes while we dined.

Fun at the Sea Life Aquarium after out lunch at Rainforest Cafe

Rainforest Cafe
http://www.rainforestcafe.com
Livin the Good Life=2

Family Field Trip to Klyde Warren Park and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science

My wife and I were both lucky to have a four day weekend last week, so we decided we would spend Friday taking the kids on a field trip.  We had originally planned to go to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science at 10 a.m.  I also thought I would be smart and buy my tickets online so we didn't have to wait in line.  What I didn't plan on and what I didn't notice until we got to the museum, was that the tickets had times on them and we were two hours early.  Luckily, we were just a few blocks from Klyde Warren Park, so we headed that way.  My oldest daughter had a blast, but I would have been miserable if I was there without kids.  It was probably the warmest day of 2013 so far and the humidity was in excess of 90%.  Thankfully, they had food trucks to feed me and ease my stress as we waited the two hours for our museum time.  I chose to get a sandwich from Ruthie's Rolling Cafe.  This blog post will be primarily a photo edition and I will let the photos tell the story.

Viewing deck

My oldest daughter enjoying the view.

Enjoying a spin

Outdoor Library

Hitching a ride with her little sister

Great view

An abundance of food trucks

I love food trucks, but I will pass on sushi from a food truck

Ruthie's Rolling Cafe

The Turkey Trot (Sourdough, Sharp Cheddar, Turkey, and Bacon) from Ruthie's Rolling Cafe

Noon finally arrived and I was much happier when we finally got to step foot inside the Perot.  Air conditioning was much appreciated after a hot day at the park.  I must say that I was very impressed with the Perot.  It is a far cry from the American Museum of Natural History or the National Museum of National History, but it had a lot more kid friendly activities.  I highly recommend this place to parents looking for a place to take their kids.

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science

View going up the escalator

Shopping in the 5 and under play area

Camping scene

First thing you see as you enter the museum

Big turtle

"Mommy, take our picture in front of the T-rex!"

Footprint

My oldest picked this as her souvenir

And a treat for dad!

Grimaldi's, Fun, and Family at Watters Creek

Grimaldi's patio viewed from the "duck park".

Watters Creek, in Allen, Texas, is one of our favorite weekend hangouts.  There are several good places to eat in the shopping center and my wife enjoys spending money at several of the stores here.  If there is anything she likes more than spending her money, it is spending my money.  She usually doesn’t like shopping with me, because she compares shopping with me to be like hunting with the game warden.  So if she goes shopping, I will walk around, find a park bench and read on my Kindle iPhone Ap, or watch my oldest daughter play in the park area.

My mom and daughter enjoying time together at Grimaldi's

My 8 month old declined the pizza in favor of a cracker.

We dine in this area more frequently than any other, due largely to the close proximity to our humble abode.  Of all the restaurants at Watters Creek, our absolute favorite is Grimaldi’s.  It is unquestionably the best pizza I have had in the Texas.  The only pizza place that I like better than Grimaldi's is a place called Lombardi’s in New York.  At Grimaldi’s, their pizzas are cooked in a coal-fired brick oven.  The extra carcinogens really add to the flavor of the pizza.  The salads are fantastic as well.  The Caesar salad here is one of the best in the Metroplex.  My mother was in town this past weekend and we thought it would be a perfect day to introduce her to our favorite pizza place.  There was not a piece of salad or a crumb of pizza left when we finished.  

Great Caesar Salad with Extra Parmesan

1/2 Pepperoni with fresh basil and 1/2 ham

My oldest daughter also enjoys playing in the park area, riding the duck statues, and feeding the real ducks.  She is not a big fan of pizza, but she will always sit quietly if we promise her she can go see the ducks when we are finished.  I am not above bribery to keep a kid quiet at the restaurant.  When we arrived at the park area, we were pleasantly surprised to see that there were about 15 baby ducks swimming in the creek with their moms.  It was hard to pry my daughter away from the ducks on this particular visit.

"Duck Creek"

My oldest daughter watching the ducks.

Lots of baby duck on this visit

Our favorite way to end a family trip to Watters Creek, is by going to get gelato at Paciugo.  I don’t usually eat ice cream or gelato, but when I do, this place is numero uno on my list.  My wife loves the wedding cake flavored gelato, my daughter likes vanilla, and I love the dark chocolate and the tiramisu flavored gelato.  If you visit Watters Creek, I highly recommend a visit to both Grimaldi’s and Paciugo.

The best gelato place 

Too many choices!

A special treat for a well-behaved young lady

Grimaldi’s

http://www.grimaldispizzeria.com/

Livin the Good Life Rating=5

Nick and Sam's Grill

Recently my wife’s entire family met on a Saturday morning for a group session with a photographer.  The photographer was evidently an artist inspired by rust and decay, because she had us meet her in a very sketchy area of South Dallas.  It turned out that my fear of this photo session was legitimate, but misplaced.  My fears were realized when I heard my wife utter the phrase "time for an outfit change."  We all survived the session with four young children who don’t follow directions very well and canines on chains that were serenading us. 

Bar area with daily specials written on chalk board

Large mural next to entrance

Following this photo session, we decided to do brunch with the entire family.  After discussing a few places, my in-laws chose Nick and Sam’s Grill in Uptown.  I was relieved that we were going to get to leave the hood and go to the land of yuppies.  We arrived at the restaurant right when the opened and they quickly sat our party of eleven.

Both my daughter and her cousin could not be bothered to get off their devices.

I have been to Nick and Sam’s steakhouse, but this was my first time to dine at Nick and Sam’s Grill.  I started off ordering coffee, while other members of the party ordered anything from chocolate milk to mimosas.  We also got a couple of orders of the Guacamole Blocks, served with tortilla chips.  The wait staff also brought out complimentary blueberry bread.  I was very impressed with the chips and guacamole.  The blueberry bread was also very good and had a hint of cinnamon to it.

Guacamole block and chips

For my brunch entrée, I ordered the biscuits and gravy with a side of bacon.  My wife ordered the Breakfast BELT (Bacon, Egg, Lettuce, & Tomato), which was served with guacamole on an English muffin.  Several other members of the party ordered BELTs, while other ordered pancakes or short ribs served on a bed of eggs and potatoes.

Blueberry Bread

My biscuits and gravy were fantastic.  The biscuits on this day were made with Gruyere cheese and smothered with sausage gravy.  I honestly cannot remember when I have had better biscuits and gravy.  The scrambled eggs and potatoes weren’t bad either.  Although I know I didn’t need the extra calories, I am glad I ordered the side of bacon.  It was very flavorful and had distinct maple taste to it. 

Jalapeno cheddar biscuits and gravy, scramble eggs, bacon, and potatoes

BELT and fries

The majority of our party seemed very pleased with our brunch.  There was even some discussion of meeting back at Nick and Sam’s Grill after church the following day.  Even though it is about a thirty-minute drive from my home, I would definitely go back here for brunch if I were in the area.  This was a great place for brunch and I give it an 3 on my 5-point scale.  We apparently were very lucky that we arrived as early as we did, because every table was full and there was a crowd of about thirty people waiting outside when we left about 11:30.

Nick and Sam’s Grill

2816 Fairmount St.,

Dallas, TX 75201

http://www.nick-samsgrill.com/home.htm

Livin The Good Life Rating=8

Patrons waiting outside as we were leaving