Cayman Islands Eats

I've been home from my girl's trip for a little over a week and I wanted to share a bit about the food we ate, and some additional information about the Cayman Islands. For me food is an important part of vacation, and being in a new country means trying new foods.

The Cayman Islands are a British territory, encompassing three islands in the western Caribbean Sea (next to Cuba). Grand Cayman, where we stayed, is the largest island and is known for its beach resorts and varied scuba diving and snorkeling sites. 

In the Caymans, you drive on the left side of the road and road signs say things like "Reduce Speed Now" and "Give Way" instead of yield. These islands are a fairly expensive place to visit and the US dollar is not strong: $1 CI is equal to $1.20 USD. So when the menu says an item costs $10, it really costs $12. And drinks (which we partook in, because we were in the islands!) were expensive.

While breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out when traveling, we only managed to eat one breakfast out on this particular trip. Even so, we still managed to have some really excellent meals. Due to the cost of everything, we chose to only eat out for two meals each day to offset some of our costs. Following is a look at where we dined on this trip...

TORTUGA BEACH GRILL & BAR

When we arrived at our resort on Friday, we ate lunch al fresco at the Tortuga Beach Grill & Bar (#85 on TripAdvisor). The weather was amazing and I couldn't get over how blue-green the water was. The Tortuga had amazing wraps with fries and we both had a Pina Colada for dessert. While we dined, I noticed a fairly large iguana propped on a tree next to our table. I also noticed that the birds in this country were different from home – no seagulls on the beach here.

SUNSHINE GRILL

For dinner, we walked across the street to the Sunshine Grill (#8 on TripAdvisor). I tried the Tres Tacos which included Cuban, Shrimp and Fish tacos. All three were excellent but I had to get used to the spiciness of the Cuban taco. Spicy foods normally give me heartburn and I was worried about this spicy taco. Surprisingly it didn't bother me at all. Unfortunately, though the food was excellent, our glasses of ice water tasted dirty. The water in the Caymans is safe to drink so we were surprised at the water here. Thankfully it didn't make us sick. We paired our tacos with the featured Rum Punch (when in Rome the Caymans...) and finished the evening with a small Pina Colada ice cream cone on the house. It was all delicious and our bar tender was super friendly.

BEACH HOUSE

Our only sit-down breakfast on the island was Saturday morning. We had been told about the great breakfast buffet at the Beach House (#26 on TripAdvisor) – one of the two onsite restaurants at our resort. Unfortunately for us, their really good buffet must have been on Sunday, not Saturday. We both thought it was ok, but not fantastic. My favorite thing were the coconut pancakes and the made-to-order omelettes.

We skipped lunch and got massages instead, but did grab drinks to take down to the beach from Tortuga Bar & Grill – a Pina Colada for K and a Mud Slide for me.

EATS CAFE

We were on a time crunch to make our bioluminescence excursion so we had dinner across the street at a small dive called Eats Cafe (#34 on TripAdvisor). I had a truly amazing burger – the only thing that would have made it better would have been to have a fried egg on top, and K had the fish ad chips. This ended up being our cheapest meal by far (no alcohol!). 

On Sunday I grabbed a latte and croissant from the small cafe inside our resort before heading to the beach for our Snorkel Safari.

THAI ORCHID

For lunch we took a cab to the Thai Orchid (#22 on TripAdvisor) which had been recommend by our spa concierge, Sarah (she must love Thai places!). Both the massage and lunch were great. At Thai Orchid we had a buffet that included fresh sushi and Thai food.  I had been hoping to grab breakfast for lunch, but the Thai food was worth the visit.

CATCH

For dinner we followed another recommendation by Sarah and hopped in a cab to Catch in West Bay (#37 on TripAdvisor). Kristalynne had originally booked Wharf but we changed our reservation based on Sarah's suggestion since she had yet to fail us. We enjoyed our meal at Catch. 

We were on a northern tip of the island, so we didn't see the sunset, but it was lovely to sit overlooking the water. We started our meal with Cracked Conch – which was amazing. The Caymans are known for their conch, and it was so good! I tried the Snapper and Shrimp plate while K had the Crusted Mahi Mahi. We finished our meal with a Molten Chocolate Cake. It was an excellent meal to end our lovely weekend in the Caymans.

AIRPORT FOOD

As honorable mentions, while traveling home on Monday, we stopped at Einstein Bagel in the Miami airport where I grabbed a cinnamon sugar bagel and a latte. 

I ended up spending most of my day in the Miami airport (with flight delays, it ended up taking me 20 hours to get home!) so I went to the Islander Bar & Grill for lunch and tried the Fried Shrimp and Mahi Mahi with a Mojito. 

For dinner I was in the Charlotte airport, so I savored an amazing barbecue plate from Carolina Pit BBQ. It was all excellent food, even if I was stuck in an airport!

Girl's Getaway Recap

Taking a Break from Motherhood ⎮ What We Did ⎮ The Food We Ate ⎮Waverunner Snorkel Safari

Breakfast Joints in Saint Augustine Beach, Florida

One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to find the best breakfast joints in a particular local. Thankfully Daniel doesn't mind this tradition, and our boys are always down with more pancakes or scrambled eggs!

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We typically manage the breakfast thing by having breakfast at our condo so the little ones (and Daniel) are not hangry, and then we grab breakfast for lunch. On our recent visit to Saint Augustine we didn't have enough time to make a grocery run so we actually went to breakfast for breakfast. Visiting the beach during the off season meant that we didn't have to worry about long waits, so it worked for us this time.

Our first full day at the beach, we found ourselves at Redfrog & McToad's, which is located in Saint Augustine Beach and rated as #11 for breakfast joints on Trip Advisor. We were surrounded by snowbirds and a couple at the booth next to us asked our boys if they were visiting grandparents. I guess that is the only reason to visit the beach in February!

Redfrog & McToad's had quick service and decent food that was reasonably priced. They were a little touristy with a huge wall-sized sign pointing to their location, and it was technically a bar that happened to serve breakfast, so the beer signs in the windows felt weird at 9am, but overall it was a good experience! The boys split a plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage. Daniel had his go-to chocolate chip pancakes and I had my typical fried egg with country ham and a pancake.

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On Sunday, we had plans to visit the Castillo de San Marcos fort with Daniel's dad and his wife. So they met us at our condo and then rode with us to the World Famous Oasis Restaurant as it was on the way to see the fort. This dive is also located in Saint Augustine Beach and rated as #9 for breakfast joints on Trip Advisor.

We joked with Daniel's dad that we were surrounded by q-tips, but the food and atmosphere were great. Again, a little touristy with the name and signs, but good food. We had to sit upstairs since the downstairs dining room was full. The only complaint about this for us was that upstairs only had counter height tables and stools. This was a little challenging with Isaac, but he handled it quite well.

The kids had a eggs, sausage, fruit and toast. I had eggs, fruit, a biscuit with a side of gravy, and sausage. It was good but not what I expected. The side of gravy wasn't super fresh and I was expecting sausage patties and received something more like kielbasa. I think Daniel stuck with his usual chocolate chip pancakes.

By far, my most favorite breakfast place for this particular trip came in at #5 for breakfast (#8 overall) in Saint Augustine Beach. Cafe Eleven is located in an old Seven-Eleven store that has been converted into a coffee shop/diner. The breakfast was amazing AND we had the luxury of sitting outside.

Daniel tried the biscuits and gravy, while I had the Cafe 11 Eggs Benedict (awesome!) and the boys split a breakfast plate. All of it was delicious and this place is certainly worth a visit.

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As honorable mentions, we had lunch on Saturday at Gas Full Service Restaurant (ranked #9 for all restaurants in the area). The name almost turned us off, but it was worth a visit. They had fresh, farm-to-table food that was quite delicious. Both Daniel and I had a fish sandwich (catch of the day) with homemade chips. Jack and Isaac split a cheeseburger.

They had the most amazing-sounding desserts, but we were too full to try them. Daniel and I were tempted to go back later but we ran out of time and they are closed on Sunday and Monday. I loved the atmosphere of this little restaurant.

Daniel and I had a great date night on Saturday but unfortunately a mediocre dinner. Sunday for lunch we were able to go to Columbia Restaurant (#34 for the area and one of the restaurants with a long wait on Saturday night). Daniel and I split tapas, his dad and his wife had amazing sandwiches and the kids split mac-n-cheese. The best part was the chunk of bread loaf each person received.

After Columbia, Jack and I popped into Tedi's Olde Tyme Ice Cream for a cone. Of course he picked blue!

Overall we had a really good dining experiences during this quick trip to Florida.

The Feed Co.

Lately Daniel and I have been sticking close to home for our eat out nights. Let's be honest, with two little ones, sometimes it's just easier to run to the handful of restaurants on our mountain. But there are only so many times you can do Mexican or pizza before you crave something different.

Several months ago I ate with a friend at Clyde's on Main and noticed The Feed co. Table & Tavern across the street. My interest was piqued but an opportunity to go had not presented itself.

Last night Daniel and I were both in the mood to try something new so we agreed to meet at the bottom of the mountain when he got home from work and drive downtown. I checked Trip Advisor for some new options and was reminded of The Feed co.

Chattanooga has so many good restaurants (many are fairly new) and The Feed co. doesn't actually appear until #44. Since many of our favorites eateries are in the top 50, I figured it was still worth a visit (to be fair it is #2 on the bars/pubs list).

On a Thursday night, the patio of The Feed co. was packed, but inside (at 6pm) was almost empty. I was surprised at how huge the place was. The interior is beautiful – very industrial rustic, with many original features (thick lead windows, metal ceiling tiles, etc.).

We were bummed to be inside on such a beautiful day, but having the place mostly to ourselves (with little ones) had its perks.

Jack is great at eating out. We have done it enough that he knows the drill. He even placed his own order, immediately telling our waiter that he wanted spaghetti. When our food came out, his plate was actually penne with red sauce and I thought he might have a preschooler meltdown (he rarely has fits, but you never know). Thankfully he was cool about it. I just told him it was pasta and that spaghetti was also pasta. He liked that he could blow through the penne (he is a little boy after all!). I don't know if they were out of spaghetti or what, but I think their menu should match what comes to the table (especially when it comes to kids). Jack thought the pasta was great and he finished his plate.

Daniel ordered the Grilled Salmon. It came with creamed corn, green beans and crab salad. It was excellent. Meanwhile I ordered the Smoked Chicken Penne and man, it was delicious. That first bite of roasted chicken with the creamy penne was a fantastic combination. Isaac enjoyed sampling all of our food.

We liked that The Feed co. didn't feel uppity or pretentious. While there weren't a ton of kids there, we didn't feel out of place with kids in tow. They are a little more expensive than we would spend on a regular eat out night, but the food was excellent. They have recently started serving a Sunday brunch and I would definitely be up for going back to give it a try (you know I love breakfast!). If you are looking for a new place to try, I would definitely consider The Feed co.!

Breakfast in Gatlinburg...

If you know me, you know I love to cook. But more than cooking, I really enjoy eating out. Especially on vacation. And especially for breakfast. It has become a bit of a tradition that we try as many local breakfast places as we can when we are traveling, and we stuck to this tradition on our recent trip to the mountains.

Log Cabin Pancake House
Daniel's family has been visiting Gatlinburg and going to the Log Cabin Pancake House since before Daniel was born which means for our family, no trip to this area is complete without a stop for pancakes and waffes. I say "this area" because we have driven out of our way to get breakfast here when hiking in the general vicinity.

 

Log Cabin was our very first food stop on this trip and it was exactly how we remembered. This was our boy's first visit to this long-standing Gatlinburg establishment and Isaac had a biscuit (on the house) and Jack tried Blueberry Kids Pancakes while Daniel got his usual Chocolate Chip Belgian Waffles and I had my usual Caribbean Pancakes with a coffee. Thumbs up from everyone.

We have officially passed on a long-standing tradition of eating at the Log Cabin Pancake House to a new generation.

Currently Log Cabin is ranked #6 on Trip Advisor's Best Places to Eat in Gatlinburg and has a rating of 4.0 on Zomato (formally Urbanspoon).
 

Crockett's Breakfast Camp

Our second day in the mountains included a stop at Crockett's Breakfast Camp. oh.my.word. This may be the best (and biggest) breakfast I have ever had. We lucked out with our timing, because we only had to wait for 30 minutes on a Saturday the week before Christmas. Off season is the best time to visit popular eateries like this.

 

Daniel tried the Jake's Creek Skillet while I had the Black Bear Camp Skillet, and Jack got the kid's waffles. Technically this was our lunch with plans to hike afterward and we actually managed to eat almost everything on our plates (we did take the 1-inch pancakes home for later and they were amazing! 

Honestly, for a typical breakfast, I think we could have split a skillet between the four of us. Isaac enjoyed eating bits and pieces from our plates.

If you want an amazing breakfast with great atmosphere, you really need to try Crockett's Breakfast Camp. As a side note, the pancakes are Aretha Frankenstein's from here in Chattanooga! 

 

Crockett's Breakfast Camp is currently ranked #1 on Trip Advisor for this area and has rating of 3.4 on Zomato (seems too low!).

 

Mountain Lodge Restaurant
On our final morning in the mountains, we decided to try the mom-and-pop Mountain Lodge Restaurant. It was located off of the strip and we noticed several local emergency responders parked there. We thought that was a good litmus test for a good local place.

When we arrived, the place was packed, but we snagged one of the last available tables. They get coffee and food to your table at record speeds. For a home-cooked, southern style meal, this place is worth a visit. Trip Advisor ranks this spot as #5 for the area and it scores a 4.2 on Zomato.


Since we couldn't live only on breakfast, I wanted to include the restaurants we tried for dinner as honorable mentions.

Uncle Buck's Grill
Friday night we saw Santa at the Bass Pro Shop in Kodak (just outside of Sevierville), and we decided to eat on site at Uncle Buck's Grill (we didn't think the boys would stay awake long enough to make it to another restaurant). 

This restaurant has a low ranking on Zomato, but we thought it was surprisingly good. Daniel tried the fish and chips, Jack had mini burgers and I had the wild boar burger with fresh chips. Daniel and I shared our dishes and both were excellent (Isaac thought so too, 8 months old and he has already tried wild boar!).
 

Big Daddy's Pizzeria
Saturday night, after an afternoon of hiking, we grabbed a pizza from Big Daddy's Pizzeria in Gatlinburg. We called ahead and they had it ready in about 15 minutes. The pizza is wood fired and had great flavor, though after a strenuous day, I could have used something a little heartier, especially since we were splitting between three of us (thank goodness for my huge lunch from Crockett's that morning!). We actually ate at Big Daddy's in Pidgeon Forge several years ago and really liked it (but then there were only two of us sharing a pizza!).


That wraps up our recent dining experience in Gatlinburg. When looking for new restaurants to try, we have found that Trip Advisor's Top 10 lists come in handy. Typically, if a restaurant makes the Top 10, we will generally have a really good experience. Until next time!