Travel
Lunch at Rocco’s Pizza just off the Broadwalk
Breaded eggplant layered with tomatoes and mozzarella at
Taco Spot on the Broadwalk
Little Havana – Calle Ocho
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Ebenezer’s Tavern – great bartenders and a good selection of beer on tap.
The Bake Shoppe – everything from complimentary pecan rolls, muffins and cornbread for breakfast to elaborate wedding cakes.
The Tap Room – where a full breakfast is served.
Our room – cozy!
At the bar in Ebenezer’s Tavern – Lobster Pie and Yankee Pot Roast
A perfectly roasted New England duck
For lunch – a simple BLT done just right
Sunday Papers
The Publick House on Sturbridge Common – Menus
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The Inn of Cape May
Cape May, New Jersey is a great place to visit any time of year. We especially like it in early autumn. The ocean is still warm so we can swim but it isn’t as crowded as in the summer months. We usually stay at the Inn of Cape May. It an 1892 Victorian-era luxury hotel built in the days long before air-conditioning, people went to the shore back then for the ocean breezes. The rooms are nice. They’ve been modernized to some extent (bathrooms and electricity have been installed) but the old wooden floors still creak – a nice touch. There are balconies and verandas lined with rocking chairs throughout.
Cape May is known for having lots of excellent restaurants and one of the best is right in our hotel. Aleathea’s -great food, convenient and the bar serves drinks on the pet friendly veranda.
Despite its cutsie name, That’s Amore is a very good Italian restaurant. Their wine list is a bit limited but they encourage bringing your own.
What they call “Sunday Gravy” at That’s Amore.
Another excellent dining spot in the Merion Inn. Not far from where we stay, we eat there at least once every trip. It’s the oldest and the most beautiful bar on the cape – 1885, and they serve classic & modern seafood dishes.
Some fried oysters and that’s Cody the bartender at the Merion Inn.
Aside from the white table cloth restaurants that I mentioned, there are lots of pubs, cafes and family restaurants.
From the raw bar at Delaney’s Irish Pub and a basket of shrimp at Zoe’s.
Near the Inn of Cape May is another historic hotel – Congress Hall. Here’s one of their original menus. Imagine kidneys and clam fritters for breakfast.
Seafood is a specialty throughout Cape May. It’s on the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay and home to a large commercial fishing fleet.
Cape May is known for its Victorian houses or Painted Ladies. They’re well-kept and painted in every color you can think of.
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Transportation to Dinner
Alice – my ride
We’ve ridden at Bennett’s Riding Stable before. Usually a slow-paced ride through scenic woods and mountains. This time was different. On friendly, well-behaved horses, ten of us were led up an hour-long, narrow winding mountain trail. When we arrived at the top, the Chef had grilled shrimp and bacon-wrapped scallops waiting for us as an appetizer. All food and cooking equipment was brought up by horse and ATV. The dinner tables overlooked Adirondack valleys and lakes. When we made our dinner reservations we also made our orders – chicken, salmon or steak. Everything was done perfectly. After dessert we rode back down through the twilight lit woods. It was an experience that we won’t forget.
The Kitchen
The Dinning Room
Dinner
Dessert
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We just spent a lazy week and a half at the Marriot on Hollywood Beach. The hotel is on the beach, only separated by the Broadwalk, a 2.5 mile long, 30 foot wide pavement open only to pedestrians and bikes. I say lazy because except for a lunch in Little Havana and a dinner in South Beach we never left Hollywood. We spent most of our time on the beach and were able to walk to plenty of very good restaurants, either right on the Broadwalk or the Intercoastal.
Capones Flicker Lite – Chicago-style deep dish pizza – MENU
Ocean Alley – seafood on the Broadwalk – MENU
GG’s Waterfront Bar & Grill – MENU
Taverna Opa – on the Intercoastal – MENU 
Rocco’s – MENU
The Taco Spot – MENU
El Pub Restaurant, 1548 SW 8th Street (Calle Ocho) MENU
La Tradicion Cubana – Calle Ocho & 13th Avenue
The Delano – Rose Bar
Dolci – MENU
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We recently spent a long weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It’s been a resort for a long time thanks to the mineral water spring and spas. Until about the time Las Vegas came of age in the 1950s, Hot Springs was also a gambling mecca attracting Hollywood celebrities and gangsters. They even have a gangster museum.
I’ve always appreciated Southern cuisine and Hot Springs has some great restaurants. We started every morning with grits and eggs (and donuts) at our hotel restaurant (The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa). Grits aren’t too common in NYC so I look forward to them whenever I’m in the South.
We had a great dinner at KJs Grill – chicken fried steak, French fries and local draft beer surrounded by paintings and photos of Marilyn.
It wasn’t all Southern American food, there was some Southern Italian too. We had a terrific meal at Luna Bella that included arancini as good as any that I’ve ever had in New York. The same owners as KJ’s and more pictures of Marilyn.
