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Faring Well On The First Coast
There's also a wealth of good eats morning, noon and night. Some of the best is found in the inn called Old City House (115 Cordova Street; 904/826-0781), where for the past six years John and Darcy Compton have been providing premier culinary productions.
Santa Maria (135 Avenida Menendez; 904/829-6578), with its incomparable on-the-water setting and fish-feeding frenzy, is still a fun spot, but the Raintree (102 San Marco Avenue; 904/824-7211) is producing far better food, in a lovely, land-locked locale.
O'Steen's across the Matanzas River (205 Anastasia Boulevard; 904/829-6974) is still serving superlative fried shrimp, hushpuppies and slaw despite the change in ownership; and Barnacle Bill's (14 Castillo Drive; 904/824-3663), across from the well-stocked Welcome Center, remains a very reliable seafood house, great for families and for those seeking special gift packs of Dat'l Do-It datil pepper sauces, Minorcan mustard, gourmet vinegar and other palate-awakening treats.
The simple little Shivers Barbecue (152 San Marco Avenue; 904/808-0692) is still the place in town for BBQ beef, ham, pork and turkey, just as it's been since the l920s; and Ned Pollack's unique Gypsy Cab Co. (828 Anastasia Boulevard; 904/824-8244) continues its cross-cultural culinary cruising with cajunized fillets of fresh fish, pasta with Italian pesto and chicken with Thai peanut sauce. And the dynamic duo at La Parisienne (60 Hypolita Street; 904/829-0055), the sisters Catherine and Marianne Poncet, are still providing French provincial fare - scallops dijonaise is my favorite - in a perfectly compatible setting.
We were also pleased to learn that chef-proprietor Claude Sinatsch is still honoring Swiss traditions at Le Pavillon (45 San Marco Avenue; 904/824-6202) in wife Gisele's charm-loaded dining rooms, serving a cross-continent menu ranging from cr?pes to omelets and fresh trout almondine, bouillabaisse to apricot-cherry glazed duckling, curried chicken, schnitzels and sauerbraten.
There's much more to look forward to in our oldest city as I recently discovered while eating my way through town. Starting with one of the most exciting new restaurants to be found anywhere on the First Coast:
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A1A Ale Works
904/829-2977 1 King Street
St. Augustine
This smashing setting with wrap-around porches positioned for optimum open air viewing of bridge, bay and waterfront, with a gleaming on-site brewery and handsomely carved woods, is the brilliant brainstorm of the Morton clan, Mae and Jack with sons Bill, Scott and Tom. They were responsible for the scintillating success of Atlantic Beach's Ragtime Tavern & Seafood Grill. In the oldest city, they're introducing the newest cuisine - New World, Floribbean - with such starters as Bahamian hummus, yuca fries with datil pepper mayo, conch bollos and mojito-marinated grilled calamari with chipotle salsa. Follow that with snapper or turkey burgers, tuna palomilla, blackened scallops with citrus-honey yogurt and sweet potato cake, or saut?ed mussels in roasted garlic saffron sauce mingled with angel hair pasta. All of it set awash with one of their home brews, King Street Wheat, or one of the ales - Bridge of Lions Brown, Matanzas Bay Berry or A1A Honey. Lunch and dinner, with entrees $6.95 to $19.95, are served daily.
Cafe Cortesse
904/825-6775
172 1/2 San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine
It's a bistro, a breakfast stop and coffee shop, take-out market and caterer gracing, in a kind of casual chic way, a grand old house. For lunch I like the quiche and focaccia of the day, the organically grown salad greens with their own splendid dressing or a jerk chicken sandwich on five grain bread. Dinner favorites include poached salmon crowned with roasted red pepper coulis, shrimp on a bed of linguine with a fine dill-caper-lemon sauce and Nana Cortesse's meat loaf with sauce proven?al. Lunch is served Monday through Saturday, and dinner, with entrees $10.95 to $15.95, Friday and Saturday.
Harborside Cafe
904/826-1667
123 Yacht Club Drive
St. Augustine
Tucked away along Comanche Cove and A1A on the St. Augustine side of the giant new bridge, this marina-fronting find is a happy headquarters for real and wannabe boaters who like to be near the action when working through their Buffalo wings and gator tail, fish and chips, New Orleans-style crab cakes, fresh Florida grouper and what the menu claims to be the World's Best Sandwiches and World's Best Grilled Sirloin Burgers. Breakfast is served Saturday and Sunday, lunch and dinner, with entrees $8.95 to $15.95, daily.
The Manatee Cafe
904/826-0210
179-A San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine
For the best breakfast in town and arguably the best omelets in the state, check into this corner cornucopia of what the menu correctly states is "Delicious, healthful cuisine prepared using filtered water and, when available, certified organically grown fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, herbs, spices and coffees." That translates to whole wheat or spelt pancakes and waffles, veggie omelets and breakfast burritos featuring scrambled eggs, hummus, onions and tomatoes, avocado and salsa. For lunch you can order pita filled with hummus and tabbouleh or a garden of fresh vegetables, cajun chicken breast, Reubens made with tofu and sprouts, beans and rice of the day. Breakfast and lunch, with entrees $3.95 to $4.95, are served from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.
O.C. White's
904/824-0808
118 Avenida Menendez
St. Augustine
A strategically located magnet in the heart of all the action across from the marina and magnificent Bridge of Lions. I like the inside pirate tavern theme, the menu cover with its sunken treasure map of peninsular Florida and the outdoor deck. For lunch, which they serve until 4:00 p.m., I like their mouth-bending sandwiches stacked with chicken, blackened dolphin,or ham and cheese as well as pasta tangled with spicy chicken or garlic shrimp. Later in the day, I start with what the menu promises is the Best Gator Tail in Town or O.C. World Famous Buffalo Wings, and then settle into their crab cakes served with pasta Alfredo, a slab of fresh Sterling salmon, fresh broiled grouper, blackened shrimp-scallop kabob or chicken Parmesan. The wine list is small but select, and draft beers include Fosters, Molson and Killians Red. Lunch and dinner, with entrees $7.95 to $16.95, are served daily.
Schooner's
904/826-0233
3560 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd.
St. Augustine
Off the beaten eatin' path in a converted HoJo, chef-proprietor Charlie Butcher uses his years of experience at Barnacle Bill's to produce a fine array of lightly fried seafood, including shrimp. A dozen will cost you $10.25 on the regular menu, but get there from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the earliest early bird in town and you can get them for a budget-stretching $6.95. The Minorcan clam chowder is marvelous, and so are the fillets of fresh water catfish, crab cakes and broiled catch of the day sprinkled with Parmesan-enhanced seasoned bread crumbs, and the Swamp Platter, a bringing together of catfish, frog legs and gator tail. Lunch and dinner, with entrees $6.75 to $13.95, are served daily.
