Tag Archive | Southern Savvy Blog

Dalrock Diner

Mar25

Rowlett, TX

This is a nice little diner located near the intersection of Highway 66 and Dalrock Road in Rowlett, Texas. It feels like you step back in time when you enter through the front door. This old-school diner has the black & white checkered floor and red & white booths that take you back to the 1950’s. Everything is very clean, neat and intimate.

Chef Salad
Border Skillet

I have dined here several times now and have really enjoyed it each time. Dalrock Diner serves American homestyle breakfast, lunch and dinner. The surprise for me was the Greek influences throughout the menu.

The menu is quite varied – with breakfast foods, sandwiches, salads, and “down home” foods. Breakfast choices include Tex Mex migas, omelets, pancakes, fried chicken & waffles, breakfast skillets, and a gyro breakfast. Their burgers and sandwiches are all delicious and come with French fries. (The Yankee Ruben is my favorite!) They also have a few seafood and cajun options, which are very good. The Greek salad (with gyro, grilled chicken or grilled shrimp), the gyro sandwich and chicken souvlaki are especially tasty and a welcome change when in the mood for something different. The meat is very tender and perfectly seasoned. This diner also serves the usual comfort foods – chicken fried steaks, chili, smothered steaks, fried chicken, and a variety of homemade country vegetables and sides. The food is served in a timely manner and is always piping hot. All the meals have nice-sized portions and are very reasonably priced.

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Chicken Souvlaki

Each time we have dined here, the service has been very attentive. The servers are very personable, helpful, and are on hand to refill your drinks and check on you. The owner is present most days and personally greets patrons and visits with regulars. Dalrock Diner is definitely a little neighborhood gem and is perfect for dining solo, couples, or families.

Be sure to check out the glass display up front when you enter or when you pay your check. It is filled with all types of delicious house-made pies and cakes. Have a slice for dessert or buy a whole one to take home. 

Dalrock Diner is simply good food at good prices – nothing fancy – no more, no less. Check it out.

 

Mendenhall Glacier

Mar14

Juneau, Alaska

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Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska

 David and I had the opportunity to go on a small Alaskan cruise (Un-Cruise) two summers ago and this trip remains one of my all-time favorite vacations. We flew into Juneau a couple of days early to do some exploring before setting off on our adventure cruise. One of the excursions we took while staying in Juneau was to the beautiful Mendenhall Glacier. 

On a gorgeous morning at the end of May, we loaded up on a city bus and rode the 12 miles from downtown Juneau to the nearest bus stop for the Mendenhall Glacier. From the bus stop, we walked approximately one mile to the entrance to the park. This was a very easy walk and we enjoyed it. We saw beaver dams, thick alpine forests, mossy boulders, and scenic views all along the way leading up to the glacier. The weather was perfect.

Mendenhall Glacier from the road
a beaver dam

We soon  arrived at the entrance of the U.S. Forest Service’s historic Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. There is an upper entrance with a ramp and lower entrance with elevators. The views from here were stunning! There are many viewpoints on the outside of the center where you can observe the marvelous river of ice, the alpine ridges, Mendenhall Lake and floating icebergs – all in the distance. 

The Visitor Center was very nice and was well worth a visit. There is an educational movie every 20 minutes (very informative), exhibits, rangers, maps, and a bookstore. One of my favorite exhibits contained photos of the glacier and its progression/recession throughout the years. There is also a glacier bear (taxidermy) which was very unique with its pale blue/silver color – most unusual. Mother Nature adapted this color change to camouflage these brown bears who live on the ice. Very interesting.

View from the Visitor Center
Mendenhall Glacier – blue ice cave in front

We looked at the area maps and picked a couple of trails to explore. We chose Trail of Time and Nugget Falls Trail – both of these trails were easy to walk, took us through a segment of the forest and meandered along the lake. We followed the trails through moss & lichens, skunk cabbage, blueberry & salmonberry bushes and beautiful flowering plants. Our goal was to end up at the base of Nugget Falls. 

mossy rock
colorful flowers
glacial rock totem

After walking a half-mile or so, we started hearing the roar of the falls in the distance and were anxiously anticipating seeing it “up close and personal”. We soon did!

The sight of Nugget Falls cascading down the mountainside near the glacier was breathtaking. The sound was immense! We were dwarfed in comparison to the size, scope and power of these falls (see photo below). We approached the falls, got covered in the cool spray and took lots of photos. As we walked along the rocky beach – we had even better views of the glacier, ice caves, and small icebergs floating in the lake all around us. This was one of those special “pinch me” moments!

David and Susan at the base of Nugget Falls

We took our time and explored the beach here for awhile. The weather and the scenery were both perfect and we knew we needed to treasure this moment and imprint these sights & sounds in our memory. We collected some small glacial rocks. We pulled icebergs (“bergies”) out of the water and played with them. We watched a group of canoers paddling out to the glacier. We watched small areas of the huge glacier “calving” and releasing more small broken chunks of ice into the clear blue, icy waters. We spotted turquoise blue ice caves at the glacier’s edge. This was Mother Nature at her best.

David on the beach
crystal clear “bergie”
Horned Frog iceberg to the left

Experts tell us that by the end of the century, the Mendenhall Glacier will no longer be visible from the current Visitor’s Center. This 13 mile long glacier is melting at a rapid rate due to global warming. Decades ago, there was not even a Mendenhall Lake – this lake was formed due to the glacier ice melting and receding. I highly suggest that if this is something you would like to see, go sooner rather than later! You can visit on your own as we did – or book a guided solo trek,  a helitour, a guided walk or a canoe tour. It is truly a fantastic place to experience first hand. Photos and words cannot do it justice. See it for yourself!

On the beach playing with icebergs
Ouch – sunburn!!

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Sassi

Mar8

Scottsdale, AZ

Sassi Restaurant
walkway into the restaurant
sunset view

Sometimes you manage to stumble across perfection without any effort. That is exactly what happened to me on a girls’ trip with my daughter and sister-in-law a couple of weeks ago when we visited Scottsdale. A friend has texted me the name of this restaurant and bragged on the beautiful views. I checked reviews on Trip Advisor – all were fantastic, so I made reservations. Why not?

sunset view
fireplace in every room

Sassi is located in North Scottsdale in the Troon area. It was just a 20 minute drive from our hotel near Old Town. The building is beautiful and you feel like you have arrived in Tuscany when you drive into the parking lot. The sunset was breathtaking and I wish we had arrived a few minutes earlier to see Pinnacle Peak and the beautiful backdrop it provided. Everyone highly suggested having drinks on the patio but it was closed this particular evening due to cool winds and inclement weather. I bet it is a sight to behold. The sunset photos I included in this article were actually taken by me from the parking lot before we went inside the restaurant.

The interior of the building is traditional Italian. We were told by the friendly hostesses that it was modeled after an Italian farmhouse – a very nice one, for sure! We were greeted warmly and seated in a lovely room with a large-topped corner table and a roaring fireplace on one end of the room. The lighting was low and the ambiance was quiet and serene. Our server Maureen was wonderful! She walked us through the specials, drink lists, and menu items. The menu is set up for an authentic Italian meal with several courses. We had eaten a late lunch and were not terribly hungry at this point, so she helped us with items to share to get a true taste of their foods. It was a perfect suggestion.

warm mixed nuts
fantastic cabernet

First of all, the wines were amazing! (see my smile and rosy cheeks?!) We were soon served warm mixed nuts and fresh baked Italian bread. Both were delicious. We shared two appetizers: a caprese salad and a prosciutto plate. The caprese salad consisted of lovely heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, and a ball of Buffalo mozzarella flown in that day from Italy. The prosciutto was thin, lean, flavorful and very close to what you get in Italy. It was served with halved red grapes that were seasoned with orange, olive oil, salt and pepper and were a most delicious accompaniment to the salty meat. Loved it all.

proscuitto and grapes
caprese salad
grilled octopus

My sister-in-law ordered the grilled octopus with microgreens and olives and I must say, it was very tasty. I am not an octopus fan (mind over matter), but this was very tender, smoky and well-seasoned. My daughter and I actually split a pasta dish, Sassi’s Orecchiette. It had small cup-like orecchiette pasta shells, housemade sweet/spicy Italian sausage, broccolini and pecorino. It was FABULOUS!  For dessert, we had the most wonderful cappuccinos, almond biscotti, and a butter pear cake.

family feast
orecchiette
butter pear cake

The company, the views, the ambiance, the excellent service, and the impeccable food was sheer PERFECTION.  We had a truly amazing night.

One of the best parts of the evening was when my daughter stopped stressing over the food to serve at her wedding this summer and decided this was it….Italian it is! Sassi is now her menu blueprint and this proud Momma could not be any happier.

This is a first for me in my blog, but I am including the wonderful recipe for the pasta we enjoyed so much. Try it….you will not be disappointed.

 

recipe

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Sonoran Desert Tour

Mar2

Scottsdale, AZ

Red Mountain
Green Zebra
Saguaro

I just returned from a wonderful four-day weekend to Scottsdale, Arizona and the highlight of my trip was an ATV tour of the desert. After doing a bit of research before I went, I chose a tour close to Scottsdale where the company actually picked us up from our hotel in a very nice Mercedes van.

There were plenty of independent tours to choose from. Some used dune buggies, four-wheelers, three-wheelers, jeeps, hummers, segways and even hot air balloons. This Green Zebra tour I picked was 2.5 hours long, with only  a 30 minute drive from our hotel to the starting point, and provided us with water and a colorful bandana. It sounded like the perfect plan for us. A morning tour of the desert left us with plenty of time for a late lunch and shopping in the afternoon!

on the property
learning the rules
tour starting location

We dressed in closed-toe shoes and grubby clothes, grabbed our sunglasses and hats, and were ready to roll. Our driver/guide Mike picked us up from our hotel and we drove through Scottsdale towards Fort McDowell. Mike explained many of the sights along the way. Our starting point for the tour was actually on tribal land belonging to the Yavapi Indians. We pulled into the main facility (which reminded me a little of the Alamo!) and unloaded. We used the restrooms, donned our bandanas, and listened intently as Mike gave us our instructions for the trail.

thank god for bandanas
behind our guide
Rachel and Linda

The TomCar ATVs were gas powered, military grade and did not have power steering or power brakes. There were two-seaters and four-seaters. We elected my daughter Rachel to drive our four-seater with me in the back and my sister-in-law in the front passenger seat. Luckily, the TomCars did had “over-the-shoulder” harness type seat belts (to keep you from bouncing out) and windshields (to keep a large percentage of red dirt and dust out of your face!). The main rules were to stay on the trail behind the guide and to stay 1-2 car lengths behind the car in front of you. We had this!!

The scenery along the way was gorgeous! The Sonoran Desert has heavy rainfall in the summer and winter and it was more lush than I had imagined. It was rugged but very beautiful. Our TomCars drove through brush, climbed rocky hillsides, and bumped along through dry rocky riverbeds and canyons that showed evidence of flash floods during the rainy season. Our excursion took us from rushes of adrenaline to quiet peacefulness in this remote landscape.

the Verde River gorge
Linda and Rachel

Our first stop was a high overlook at the Verde River. We actually talked to an Arizona Fish & Wildlife employee who had set up cameras at this location to study nesting bald eagles in the large trees down below. The scenery here from this high vista was amazing. We saw Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, and Phoenix in the distance. We could see how the Verde River split the tribal lands down the middle. Mike pointed out the Yavapi’s reservation housing and their expansive acreage. The Native Americans farm citrus groves, pecan groves, alfalfa, and other grains for their vast livestock. When investors wanted to dam the Verde River miles upstream decades ago to create luxury waterfront real estate, the presence of bald eagles here (then on the endangered species list) kept this from happening and the Yavapi kept their lands fertile with this water source. They are presently a very wealthy and prosperous tribe.

our guide Mike
Verde River
Verde River
Verde River
Rachel takes a breather
Ready to go again!

Our next adventure took us through dense mesquite groves, where we saw recent evidence of a herd of wild horses. The trail ended at a low spot by the Verde River, so we stopped and got out for a water break. Mike then explained all about the mesquite trees and how important they were to the Native Americans. The wood was used for firewood and smoking meats. The flowers and pods were edible. The “peas/beans” were a source of protein in lean months and could be dried and ground into flour. The sap was used as a hair product. These mesquite trees are much larger than the scrubby ones we see in Texas.

Me and a saguaro
cactus
the three amigos

Our third and final scheduled stop was to check out the cacti near the trail. This huge saguaro we examined was over 200 years old. Mike also pointed out many other plant and cacti species that thrive in this desert climate. He talked about the geology, history, and wildlife in this area – it was very interesting. He also had a killer John Wayne impression! We then found several kangaroo rat burrows, but unfortunately – no rats. They were wise and stayed hidden from us (as did the rattlesnakes). Mike told us these desert rodents live their entire lives and never drink water (they get moisture from the seeds and vegetation they eat) and instead of urinating liquid, they excrete a small drop of yellow paste. So being the mature adults we are….we then spent the next five minutes looking for mustard colored kangaroo rat droppings, but never found any.

our fearless driver
pretty spring flowers
dry river bed

This was a such a fun and educational experience! My sister-in-law Linda is not the most adventurous type – but even she enjoyed the tour and got out of her comfort zone a little (okay… a LOT!). My daughter was completely in her element with this excursion and loved driving our TomCar. We were covered in dirt from head to toe when we finished and our clothes were a dusty mess. It took a couple of showers and many kleenex and Q-tips to erase all the “evidence” of this adventure – but it was well worth it! We made wonderful memories on this morning and I hope you have the opportunity to do the same one day.

enjoying the back seat
family fun!

If you would like, please leave me comments or additional information relating to this blog. I would love to hear your thoughts on this trip and your own experiences. I highly enjoyed this brief trip to Scottsdale and urge anyone to visit – especially if you enjoy excursions like this. Please subscribe to my blog for more travel and dining updates. Thanks!

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the beautiful Sonoran Desert on a warm, cloudy morning

Ida Claire

Feb7

Addison, Texas

signage
bar area

When I first heard of this restaurant called “Ida Claire,” I knew instantly that this was for me! While growing up in Mississippi, I know I heard my grandmother exclaim, “Well, I declare!” hundreds – if not thousands – of times throughout her life. With this phrase meaning “I am surprised to hear that” or “my goodness!”, those words brought back memories.  This was definitely a restaurant calling me back well south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Airstream
upcycled lighting

Ida Claire is located in Addison off Beltline Road and the Tollway. The building itself is the warehouse style that is quite popular now. The interior is very open and welcoming. The noise level is energetic. The design and upcycled decor can be described as quirky and/or funky. There are beautiful hanging lamps, bird cages, decorative plates, blackboard signs, open books nailed to the wall, an Elvis bust and Buddha statues. Right outside the front door is an Airstream trailer used as a cozy “hippie-esque” dining space. There is also a well-lit outdoor dining area with tables and umbrellas. It is quite eclectic and very appealing.

Oh Beehave & Hurricane Punch
Margarita julep and fried green tomatoes

The two times we dined here the service has been really impressive. We had brunch the first visit and dinner the second time. The cocktails were very enjoyable. The Bloody Mary, Pear-fect Martini, Margarita Julep and Hurricane Punch were all cold, strong, and delicious. For appetizers, we sampled Ida’s Biscuits (with butter & jam and bacon gravy), Fried Green Tomatoes (with lemon herb dipping sauce) and the Low Country Chopped Salad (fresh butter lettuce, okra, pickled peppers, boiled egg, bacon and a honey mustard dressing). All were delicious, but this Southerner will readily return for the fried green tomatoes – perfection!

Low Country Salad
Muffuletta

We enjoyed sharing the Coffee Crumble Pancakes for brunch and did not leave one single bite. These pancakes were light & fluffy with a blueberry & cardamom topping, maple flavored butter, whipped cream and toffee crumbles. Delicious! The Muffuletta with sweet potato chips was very good. The Wild Isles Sea Trout was very similar to salmon and was served with yellow and red roasted beets. The Nashville Hot Fried Chicken was my favorite entree. The chicken was moist and very flavorful (think Buffalo style) and was served with pimento cheese toast, pickled cucumbers and onions. The smaller brunch portion was also served with a crunchy okra salad. The chicken was quite spicy…..thankfully I had plenty of ice cold rum punch to cool my mouth off. 🙂

brunch portion Nashville Hot Chicken
Dinner Nashville Hot Chicken

For dessert we ordered Ida Claire’s special Vice Cake. Wow! It consisted of a huge slice of stout cake, layers of coffee buttercream icing, and chocolate ganache topping. It was decorated with a piece of candied bacon (yep….I ate that too!).

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Vice Cake

If you are looking for a new place to have brunch or dinner, I hope you will try Ida Claire’s. They do have a bit of a limited menu, but what we have tried so far has been delicious. The restaurant also serves burgers, shrimp & grits, sandwiches, turkey & biscuits, crawfish beignets, etc. They have definitely taken Southern food, updated it and added a twist. I think there is more of a Louisiana feel to their dishes – rather than just pure ole “Deep South” cuisine.

Both of our dining experiences here were quite enjoyable. More fried green tomatoes and okra, anyone?

If you have eaten at Ida Claire’s, please share your experiences in the comment section. I would love to hear from you! If you enjoy reading my dining and travel blogs, please subscribe in the upper right hand corner.  Thanks.

 

Amelia Island, Florida

Feb1

 

Elizabeth Pointe Lodge
the beach at sunset

A few years (and several hairstyles ago!) David and I took a great little summer vacation to Amelia Island, Florida. I had not heard much about Amelia Island prior to our trip but wanted to get away from the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys since we had already visited these areas. We wanted something new and different this time. So we flew into Jacksonville, rented a car, and began our adventure.

Amelia Island is an Atlantic coast barrier island on the northeastern corner of Florida, very close to the southeastern Georgia border. It is the perfect place for anyone wanting luxury resorts, golf courses, sandy beaches, shell collecting and small crowds. It is also very rich in history and has been under Spanish, French and British rule at one time or another.

Elizabeth Pointe Lodge
birds on the beach
Happy Hour
beach view of the lodge

We stayed at the wonderful Elizabeth Pointe Lodge located right on the beach. Our room was perfect and we kept the windows open every night and enjoyed the calming sounds of the ocean. The owners David and Susan (coincidence, right?!) had a wonderful staff and we had 24/7 room service available. We enjoyed  fantastic breakfast buffets every morning and a Happy Hour every evening with wines, cheese & fruit trays, and heavy appetizers. Drinks and snacks were always available throughout the day. The owners and manager were always available for a chat, to give suggestions for restaurants or activities, or to book reservations for dining or excursions. One of the best things about Elizabeth Pointe Lodge (besides being adults only) was the gorgeous private beach and the complimentary chairs and umbrellas – all just steps away from our room. You gotta love a hassle-free vacation!

historic downtown church
Amelia Island Light

The drive into town from the lodge only took a few minutes and there were so many things to see on the way. We actually began our first day at the Amelia Island Museum to understand more about this area and the history. We explored Fernandina Beach’s historic district and found neat little artisan shops, boutiques, and bistros. We drove to the Amelia Island Light which is the oldest existing lighthouse in the state of Florida (built in 1838). David and I noticed there were no chain restaurants and we enjoyed trying several of the small local eateries – many that served fresh seafood that came off fishing boats from the harbor that very day. We had some wonderful food!

at David’s Restaurant
crab cake salad
shrimp poboy
oyster poboy

We dined on fresh seafood at Brett’s Waterway Cafe (at the main harbor) where you board the fishing boats or sightseeing cruises. Manatees were spotted here regularly, but we were not lucky enough to see one this day. We had a wonderful lunch at Joe’s 2nd Street Bistro another day after shopping in some of the little downtown shops. One of my favorite meals was a dinner at Espana Restaurant & Tapas where we sat at the bar and drank some fruity sangria and ate some very unusual and wonderful seafood-inspired tapas. We ate fresh crab cakes another night at Lulu’s, a New Orleans inspired restaurant located in a cozy old coach house. On our final night, we dined at David’s Restaurant (yet another David!) and had some of the best cucumber and basil martinis ever. They served a fantastic baked brie with homemade bread (in a little wooden chest) with pesto and oil & vinegar for dipping….Yummy! Every meal we ate was fresh, delicious, reasonably priced and was indicative of the local fare.

at the harbor
on Capt. Dave’s cruise

We booked two excursions while on Amelia Island and they became the highlights of our trip. The first was a boat ride on Amelia Cruises with Captain Pajama Dave. This Capt. Dave was exactly what his name promised! He was a big ole red-bearded guy who wore funny printed pajama bottoms and had an over-the-top personality to match. He told jokes, stories, and was the perfect source of information regarding the history, sights, and wildlife in this area. We sailed from the harbor at Amelia Island up the Cumberland River and off the coast of Georgia to the beautiful Cumberland Island.

shrimp boat
Pippi Longstocking House
snowy egret

We saw the house where Pippi Longstocking was filmed. We sailed past Fort Clinch and had a great view of this well-preserved Civil War fort, complete with a sea wall and cannons. We sailed west of Cumberland Island and saw dolphins, sea birds, and wild horses on shore. We glimpsed the historic Greyfield Inn, mansions, campsites, and the place where John Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette had their secluded wedding next to a pig farm. It was a most interesting and very enjoyable day with smooth sailing the entire way.

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Fort Clinch, the old Civil War fort

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a herd of wild horses on Cumberland Island

The second excursion that we enjoyed was a segway tour. Ecomotion Segway Tours of Jacksonville had a wonderful tour of Ft. George Island and Kingsley Plantation that turned out to be such a fun day and a unique way to explore the island off the beaten path. We joined a couple of other families and had a group segway lesson learning how to operate, steer, and stop our vehicles on a practice field with traffic cones. (I almost flunked out and got placed at the back of the line with someone to watch over me!) Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have issues with balance. Unfortunately for me, riding a segway is all about balance and I am lucky that I did not end up in the ocean, a swamp or a ditch! When all was said and done – I must say that I did quite well. 🙂

David on his segway
our segways

These segways were specialized vehicles with huge all-terrain tires that certainly came in handy later when we traversed the roots, logs, rocks, sandy hills, and “jungle” type trails we explored.  We wore ear pieces under our helmets and our leader was miked to communicate with us. He was most informative and relayed interesting facts about the area and the history of the island as we rode along. He also pointed out local plants and wildlife we came across on the trail. We rode single file through dense forests and dodged Spanish moss hanging from branches. We saw tortoises, butterflies, gorgeous flowers, sea birds and spiders. We came across a baby tortoise crossing our trail. We stopped and watched a gopher tortoise furiously burrowing into the sand. We ventured to Kingsley Plantation where we rode past the slave quarters, each formed by hand and decorated with sea shells. We took a break off the segways to explore the plantation house, the surrounding buildings, barn, gardens, and the waterfront where porpoises were playing close to shore. I highly suggest this tour for anyone, any age. It was a remarkable experience and I am still alive to tell about it! Yay!!

amelia-island-2013-036

Kingsley Plantation house

Nearing the end of our trip, we explored some of the luxury resorts on the island. We had drinks at the Ritz and booked a massage at the Amelia Island Plantation. The resort hotels and golf courses here were gorgeous and covered lots of prime real estate. All the resorts had private beach property, large pools, playgrounds, bars & restaurants, etc. and were more family oriented. The landscaping and lush floral plant life in this resort area was a sight to behold and everything was meticulously cared for. It was all very beautiful and very expensive!

a couple’s massage
golf course
beach at the Ritz

We spent most mornings in the ocean, had a late lunch in town, then spent the afternoons exploring. The sunsets were beautiful and we spent several evening on the beach (photos below). There was so much to do and I am certain we only scratched the surface of all this area had to offer. You could do as little or as much as you want to do here and have a great time.

This was a most enjoyable trip and I highly recommend visiting Amelia Island for anyone who enjoys the beach, ocean views, quaint restaurants & shops, and a bit of history. We could have found much more to do and more places to explore if we had had more time. We just may have to go back one day…..

sea oats on the beach
David
Susan

 Please feel free to leave comments and let me know of your experiences if you have been to Amelia Island or if you would like to visit. Happy travels!

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