Travel Log

First important thing to note about Tallahassee, the really awesome espresso bar, Cool Grindz, has closed. Both locations, as far as we could tell. Very disappointing discovery on a Sunday morning when you really wanted a great Cuban coffee.

Next important thing to know, the Publix at Ocala Corners is fascinating. It’s totally not like any Publix I’ve been too. I’m not sure I can describe what makes it different, trust me – it just is.

Also, the round Holiday Inn is possibly not the best hotel in town. I know, you’re shocked. It certainly wasn’t the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in. I’ve paid more for considerably worse hotels. There were problems with room keys not working, we never did manage to get more than one working key. There were problems with room service not making up rooms, the hotel not having staff to bring up towels that housekeeping never provided and problems with housekeeping knocking on the door before 9am on a Sunday – and then again an hour later. On the other hand, the wifi was good, it’s in a decent location, there’s parking and it’s inexpensive.

One last noteworthy thing about Tallahassee, Canopy Road Cafe is not a half bad place for breakfast on a Sunday morning. It’s a little crowded but the food was good. (I had a California omelet without the bacon – excellent.)

I hadn’t planned on doing restaurant reviews from our trip to Folly Beach right after Christmas but since I wanted to talk about the restaurant we didn’t manage to go to and I have some pretty decent iPhone camera photos from restaurants we did manage to go to… a restaurant review post was born.

First, the restaurant we wanted to go to put couldn’t. The Daily Dose. That’s the one that people search for and always wind up on my blog rather than on The Daily Dose website. I was really really interested in going there and we gave it a try on Saturday morning, shortly before we were supposed to be at a birthday party for my ex sil’s son. Damn it, they are closed on Saturdays. What kind of restaurant is closed on Saturdays in the greater Charleston area? Insane and it made me want to go even more than I had wanted to before. All I could do was take photos from the dirt parking in front and sigh deeply as I turned around in search of another restaurant to feed the starving beasts in the back of the van.

When we couldn’t eat at The Daily Dose (on Highland Ave sort of across from Chick-Fil-A near Camp Rd) we backtracked and stopped at the Sweet Water Cafe (on Folly, though there are locations on Market and in Summerville.) The folks in the parking lot were interesting and that is always a sign that you’re in for an experience. Luckily, it was a good experience. All of the reviews I’m seeing call this a “50’s diner” but the oldies music and black & white photos of old movie stars don’t make that a “50’s diner”. Yes, there was some diner food but there were also some pretty trendy vegetarian dishes on the menu. Between us we ordered everything from an egg & cheese sandwich, to a Reuben, to a mushroom something or other to a burger club. All were excellent. The fried green tomatoes, raspberry mocha and iced mocha were also hits around the table. They weren’t quick, diner style, but the waiter apologized several times for that so maybe they are usually a little quicker? I don’t know, didn’t matter – we had a good time and the food was good. We’ll go back.

On Folly Beach itself, I somehow got wrangled into ordering a “14” Woody” which caused quite a few jokes and laughs over the weekend with the youngest children trying to figure out why that was so funny to the rest of my crazy family. Woody’s made great pizzas, the Greek Salad was also good, their delivery was quick and the delivery driver was cute (according to Michelle). He was also pleasant and friendly.

We stopped into the Dolphin Deli for a late lunch/early dinner and were glad we did. Liz was grouchy and wasn’t interested in eating… until about 5 minutes before our orders were brought to the table. She asked for a bowl of chicken soup and it arrived with the rest of the food; it was good and she was in a good mood again. The hummus sandwich I had was good but there was a LOT of hummus on it and I had to remove some – there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Prince J had a Reuben that he enjoyed and RJ had a cheese steak sandwich that pleased her. I can’t remember what TW ordered but whatever it was, I don’t think she had any complaints. Michelle had a club and she ate pretty much the whole thing, which never happens. The waitress was super friendly in a way that beach restaurant waitstaff often are not. It was nice and completely unexpected.

The Lost Dog Cafe on Folly is hugely popular and was very busy on a Friday morning which is to be expected because the food is good and it’s pretty much the only place to get a sit down breakfast on Folly, especially a couple of days after Christmas. A couple of the kids are in search of the “perfect cinnamon roll” and they didn’t find it at Lost Dog but they all insisted it was in the running. The yogurt fruit granola thing that RJ ordered was gorgeous and apparently very good based on the noises she was making while eating it. The special was a portobello mushroom croissant sandwich and it was awesome, as was Michelle’s breakfast burrito. Those who ordered specialty coffee and tea drinks were pleased, I just had the house coffee and it was good.

So there you go – a few great food experiences in Folly Beach and James Island. Next time, we’ll give Planet Follywood a try along with the Daily Dose!