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

The Donut Hole

Having read good things about The Donut Hole, we thought we should try this place out.  They not only serve donuts, but they also serve breakfast and lunch.  After a morning at the beach, I loaded up the family with promises of both lunch and donuts for dessert.

When we arrived, the place was really busy with the late breakfast and early lunch crowd.  A busy restaurant is usually a sign of good food, but our table was passed by several times before a waitress finally took our orders after we had been seated for about fifteen minutes.  I ordered the Chicken Fried Steak and Fries, which I now regret.  The chicken fried steak was comparable to the quality that one would find in a high school cafeteria and the fries were equally bad.  Neither tasted homemade and I strongly suspect they were purchased frozen from a supplier.  

Chicken Fried Steak and Fries

My wife ordered the BLT, which was better than my meal and had bacon that was thick and flavorful.  While not the best BLT I have ever had, it was certainly a step up from my meal.  She ordered the potato salad as her side and it left a lot to be desired.  Neither of us cared for the taste of this item.  

BLT and Potato Salad

The donuts ended up being the highlight of the meal, but I feel they were highly overrated as well.  I sampled the Cookies and Cream, Chocolate, and Chocolate Angel.  I usually don't order cream filled donuts, but the two I ordered looked too good to pass up.  The Chocolate Angel was filled with chocolate, covered in powdered sugar, and was my favorite of the three I tried.  The chocolate donut was average compared to other donut places and I did not care much for the Cookies and Cream variety.  Even the crumbled Oreos on top didn't do it for me.

Cookies and Cream, Chocolate, and Chocolate Angel

 Maybe I built this place up too much in my head due to the reviews I had read, but I was upset that I had wasted my family's time dining here.  The service was extremely slow and the food was disappointing.   If I ever go here again, I will only go for donuts for the kids and skip the other options.

The Donut Hole

Livin the Good Life Rating=1