We've been in the Burlington area for about a month and our friend, Diana, suggested we grab an early dinner at Honey Road, a favorite restaurant of hers, this Saturday past.

The chef, Cara Tobin, has received multiple James Beard nominations and deservedly so.  She's nominated again this year.

The diverse eastern Mediterranean-focused small plates menu is wonderful. We ordered a number of offerings and shared them with each other.

Great location on Church Street, great ambiance and service. Highly recommended.

Traveling into Saint Louis to have work done on our van, Melanie found lunch. Located in the Grove section of townm, Grace + Three is not your typical meat and three, it's a step above what one might expect from these types of restaurants.

Rick Lewis, chef at Grace, was nominated for James Beard Rising Chef of the Year. 

From an interview:

What was the driving force behind Grace Meat + Three? The meat-and-three [side dishes] concept really hasn’t been done here on a big scale, and The Grove was the perfect place for it. There’s a strong, growing business district nearby; a vibrant neighborhood; and a ton of churches around. The concept also pays homage to Sweetie Pie’s, which had done well on the same corner for 10 years.
Talk about the churches. There’s a religious component to this as well. There are five churches really close and 20 nearby. At Southern, we donated a lot and to many different causes. Here, there are plenty of worthy causes right in the neighborhood. Our goal at Grace is to focus on the community and our employees.
The name Grace has a religious connotation. The original concept was a smaller fast-casual place called Freedom Chicken and Fish, which is part of our LLC—the freedom for my wife and I to do whatever kinds of restaurants we want, our creative freedom, our personal freedom…  And the meat and three idea was part of that. Most meat-and-threes are named after somebody, and Grace is my sister-in-law’s middle name. What’s the prayer you say before you eat, if you pray? Grace. We’re in the middle of 20 churches. Grace. Courteous goodwill, spiritual virtue, acts of kindness…all good connotations. It’s a substantial but gentle word. It feels timeless. So Grace it was. If we can invite anybody and everybody in to share a table—if it’s with a stranger, all the better—and feed them good food, that’s the sense of fellowship we want to create.

We stopped for lunch in Paducah, Kentucky on our way to a state park campsite just across the river in Illinois. Neither of us had ever been to Paducah and didn't know what to expect.  Melanie found Stella's in downtown and we enjoyed a nicely prepared lunch.

Afterwards we walked down to the flood wall along the Ohio River and took in the great murals painted on the wall.  Paducah is where the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers come together.

Should you find yourself in the panhandle near Port Saint Joe, Florida.  And, If you have a hankering for oysters. Indian Pass Raw Bar

The last time we were through Savannah, I tried to get a reservation at The Grey.  It was a hot ticket then and remains so.

We recently spent a few days on Skidaway Island near Savannah, Georgia where, among other things, Melanie found someone to cut her hair and we enjoyed walking around downtown Savannah checking out the historic parks too.

After her hair cut later in the day, I mentioned to Melanie I couldn't get us a reservation at The Grey, but if we arrived shortly after they opened at 5:00 p,m., we might be able to walk in since they had a limited number of spots in their bar available for walk-ins.

Arriving at around 5:15 we indeed were able to get a table in the great bar area in the front of the restaurant. They serve a limited menu in the bar, but we came away quite satisfied with what we ordered. Note, the bar menu portions are more like tapas or small plates.

Next time pass we pass through Savannah I'll try to anticipate our arrival and make a reservation for the dining room. 

Chef Mashama Bailey is a James Beard, Best Chef, winner.

What do your intrepid travelers do when the skies are grey and wind blustery (Gale Warning) while camped along the coast of South Carolina? We take Miranda into town, in this case Beaufort, South Carolina, for a bit of grocery shopping, sightseeing and lunch finding. 

Our corresponding secretary, Melanie, generally ducks into a few shops to check out postcards and/or occasion cards for future use. We found delicious chocolate truffles too.

I was tasked with finding lunch whilst the grocery shopping was happening. 

​I found Lost Local. Along with an extensive beer list and decent wine list, they serve some really great..., uh, bar food. Yeah, we'll call it bar food.  Soup, salads and some of the best and unusual tacos you'll find.

Try the Deep South Gullah taco, braised BBQ port, black bean Pico de Gallo, slow simmered Collard Greens, smoked bacon jam, and house-made Mac and Cheese. Oh, yes.

Our friend, Beth, sent us a guide to Charleston sent to her by a resident. We used it to find lunch at Gaulart & Maliclet. 

Fast & French $ (Broad Street) – also known as Gaulart et Maliclet Café.  This is a GEM of a spot; tiny. The name says it all.  Great spot and so very European. Probably the most inexpensive option downtown with true flair. Located in the heart of the historic and art district.

Busy at lunch, but we lucked out and got a seat almost immediately upon walking in. They do a great take-out business and like Beth's friend says, it's tiny, so expect to wait.

​Recommended.

I just had to have a fish sandwich, and I could see what I wanted in my mind’s eye.  We were driving to Pensacola, Florida, fleeing the bitter cold, in January, 2024.  A quick google search for “best fish sandwich Pensacola” had The Fishing Hole as the first listing.


When we finally saw the restaurant, I was really close to asking Steven to just keep driving.  It’s in a strip mall and it has the words “fish sandwich” (among others) painted on the front window.  It is nowhere near the usual tourist haunts and I could not image who would be eating in such a place.  But, I’m used to disappointing Steven with my food choices, so I just stayed quiet and in we went.


Inside, it was cozy and well appointed, with nice, soft lighting even though outside there was blazing Florida sun.  It was fairly busy, with most tables occupied with, surprisingly, folks who looked like they were having business lunches. Busy as it was, the staff seemed genuinely glad to see us – we had two waitresses who were very attentive.   We both got Arnold Palmers, and I barely had to look at the menu before telling Mia that I wanted a grilled Mahi Mahi sandwich, hold the cheese, with a side of butter beans (I call them limas) and an extra side of hush puppies.   Steven had the same (with cheese) and a side of coleslaw.   We really could have gone for any sort of seafood , as the lunch menu was quite full (but, I was on a mission) and it all looked great.


The sandwich was divine.  The fish was cooked perfectly, the tartar sauce was tangy and delicious, and it was served with sliced red onion (hooray!), tomato and lettuce.  The fish fit the bun and I ate it with my hands, the way God intended.   I made Steven taste my limas to confirm that they were seasoned just right (he did) and the hush puppies were large and not too dense and in every aspect exactly as they should be. They never let us run out of Arnold Palmer.


I can’t wait to come back to Pensacola when it gets cold again to try whatever seafood I am craving that day at The Fishing Hole.
​

We'd not traveled to or through Oxford, Mississippi before we met friends near there (Water Valley) for what was to be a camping trip turned Airbnb weekend.

Snackbar, part of the City Kitchen Restaurant Group which includes City Grocery and Big Bad Breakfast, was recommended to us by our friend, Tim Hontzas, of Johnny's who had worked for Chef John Currence while he was living in Oxford.

After running a few errands in Oxford, we drove to Snackbar a bit early to have a drink at their bar.  The restaurant is located in a strip shopping center near downtown and is nondescript.

The bar was warm on a chilly evening and the staff preparing for the evening shift were all cordial and helpful. Drinks were nicely crafted and we enjoyed each other's company before being seated in a booth in the same general area for an early dinner.

There were few people in the restaurant when we we began our meal, but the place was packed as we left. The atmosphere festive.

Don't come expecting James Beard quality nomination-worthy eats, something Mr. Currence apparently wouldn't give two damns about anyway since he recently very publicly trashed his Beard award over the foundation's treatment of Tim Hontzas. Rebels.  They live among us. 😎

The food and service are solid and recommended.

We found ourselves in Oxford, Mississippi meeting friends from Florence, Alabama who originally planned to meet us for a camping excursion at a nearby Corp of Engineers campground.

Winter weather, and some unusual associated conditions, factor large in our recent travels with two powerful fronts complete with thunderstorm and tornado warnings with large hail predictions. In a day or two we'll be faced with plunging temperatures that will force us south to the coast again.

Full time travel has it's challenges.

We left the gulf coast a day early a few days back to escape the first to these strong winter storms, the one that left parts of Panama City in ruin.

Our friends opted out of camping due to the weather and rented an Airbnb nearby. We cancelled our campground reservation to join them in Water Valley, Mississippi

When we agreed to meet our friends in Oxford, I texted Tim Hontzas, owner of Johnny's in Birmingham, Alabama knowing he worked in Oxford for, among others, John Currence owner of City Kitchen and Big Bad Breakfast. I asked for dining recommendations in Oxford. Ajax Diner was one of his picks. Like Johnny's in Birmingham, Ajax should be one of your essential meat and threes when in Oxford.

Since 1997 Ajax Diner has been serving Oxford’s finest Mississippi cuisine. Southern comfort food is our specialty. Chicken and dumplings, fried catfish, Mississippi pot roast, meatloaf, country fried steaks, along with an array of burgers and poboys are just a few of the standards.

Named after owner Randy Yates’ grandfather, A.J. Ajax was his nickname when he was his fraternity’s kitchen steward. A.J bragged that people came from all over campus to eat his food. A.J was also well known for his hospitality at the Neshoba County Fair. The late night sing he directed is named after him to this day. Ajax’ awnings and Christmas trees lights are fashioned after the family’s fair cabin. It’s that Mississippi hospitality that Ajax brings to the Oxford Square.
 
Ajax has been voted Oxford’s best plate lunch every year since opening. It has also been voted best restaurant several times, and twice has won Oxford’s Best of the Best. Mississippi Magazine readers have three times now voted Ajax as the best plate lunch in the state. From their website