5 replies to this topic

[Rail Paul]

I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Martin and northern Palm Beach counties on some family business and house hunting earlier this week. And, of course, dining out / take out.

The bbq guy on Pettway has changed his "regular" day to Friday, so I didn't have the opportunity to try it out this time. Pettway Avenue in Hobe Sound intersects A1A and the Florida East Coast Railway at a corner with a convenience store. When the bbq guy is open for business in the lot behind the store, a small red on white sign appears at the corner around 4pm. BBQ. A line of people forms at tables in front of several smokers. Cash only, please. Activity by the smokers early on Friday suggests food after 4pm.

CW's on US 1 in Hobe Sound is doing very well. The word is getting around. Expect a wait for one of their few tables, so take out is becoming more prevalent. One deal this year is smoked prime rib plus two sides for $13.99 on Friday and Sunday after 4pm. Big piece of meat, probably 12 oz. I wrote about this place after our trip earlier this year. These guys are the real deal.

I mentioned Gusto in Stuart on another thread. Definitely want to try that again.

Tequesta Brewing Company's brew house in Tequesta is very pleasant, a nice place to spend some time. The front of the establishment has a few tables and high tops, then an enormous mirrored wall unit with carved wood trim. A matching bar hosted about 20 stools, and a comfortable couches and cushioned chairs area was back toward the brewing equipment. Very nice vibe.

The special was a Belgian style Pale Ale, which I enjoyed. Nice nose, relatively low alcohol, cloudy. This would go well with any number of foods although the brew pub doesn't serve food. I also had Kanzler, a Kolsch style lighter beer. Great beer for a warm day. I'm not a big fan of lighter beers, but this was pretty good.

TBC

More to follow on Park Avenue BBQ, Schooner's, Miller's Ale House, and several other places.

[Rail Paul]

Park Avenue BBQ is a mini-chain of locations in the Palm Beach County - Martin County area. Their Monday night special is a full back rack of ribs plus two sides for $11.99. Thick, lacquered slabs of ribs, lots of meat, spicy, a little dry for my taste, but they do a land office business. Their US 1 Tequesta location had a line in front from about 6pm onward. Meat loaf, prime rib, etc are specials on other nights.

Several beers on tap, and pitchers are $9. Friendly people, good service.

PA Grill

Another place in the same general area is Miller's Ale House. Now a multi-state chain, the original restaurant is in a strip mall at 126 Center Street in Jupiter, just west of the FEC railroad tracks.

Extensive menu, steaks, fajitas, quesadillas, burgers, pizza, osso bucco, most price points are in the $12 to $20 range. Exceptional range of drink specials. Pitchers of Miller, MGD, etc are $6, pints are $2.50. A 23 oz Blue Moon is $6, etc. I had an excellent steak sandwich, my brother in law had a wonderful pork osso bucco, served with a heavily reduced marsala wine like sauce, over pasta.

An outpost of this chain will be opening in Paramus NJ soon. I suspect they'll do very well.

Menu and Drinks


I also had lunch at Testa's in Palm Beach. Nice, pleasant place, with dining on the front porch. Steady stream of Aston-Martin cars, larger BMW, Rolls and Bentley, etc passing by. Incredibly sleek looking folks, matching the upscale yachts at the end of the avenue, by the bridge.

Quite reasonable prices, most lunch items were under $14. Excellent seared ahi tuna, dusted with sesame seeds and pepper, served on a ciabatta roll with wasabi mustard. Good sized piece of fish, pleasant place for a meal. Wonderful Parmesan crusted fries, too.

Testa's

[Rail Paul]

Keeping this stuff altogether.

The new Fresh Market at 2300 Ocean Blvd in Stuart is quite nice. Very clearly a knock off on Whole Foods, but with more wood trim, many more serve yourself spices, breads, etc. Okra chips, parmesan lemon crackers, all kinds of pecans, etc. Lots of high end, prime meats ($35 filet mignon, anyone?), but I was surprised with their fish. Only the grouper and mahi mahi were local, the rest was either farmed or from out of state. Considering the dozens of fishing boats that tie up within a mile or two, that was surprising.

Really nice staff, very helpful, friendly, walk you to the item when you ask about something, etc.

Nice store, good produce. I'm sure I'll be back.

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Another interesting little farm stand is Tuschka's on Old Dixie Highway in Stuart. Just south of the airport, and north of Port Salerno. Celery, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, peppers, etc. So far, everything has been very fresh and quite cheap (peppers were $1.49# for red or green, tomatoes were $1.89, etc).

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Sometime in the next few days, I plan to check out Pelican Seafood and Inlet Fish Market in Fort Pierce. There's a small fleet of fishing vessels docking at the pier adjacent to these two retailers / wholesalers, which is quite promising.

[Rail Paul]

I had dinner tonight at Taste in Hobe Sound. This small restaurant is located on A1A just south of the Bridge Road crossing of the Florida East Coast railroad.

I had the fish and chips dinner deal ($11) which was pretty good. Two big pieces of haddock, properly cooked, in a thin shell. A scoop of excellent french fries, lightly dusted with parmesan cheese. Good deal. Yuengling was $3 a pint.

My wife, mother, and dad all had the mahi mahi deal ($11). My wife's was over cooked. My mother's was cold and under cooked. My dad's looked pretty good, and he said it was properly cooked. All in one order placed at the same time.

The service wasn't especially notable. One quoted beer was no longer available, so I ordered the Ying, which our server spilled. "Sorry" and out came the rag to clean it up. No offer to comp or even top off the beer. Friendly enough, though.

The outdoor screened area offers a pleasant dining experience. If any trains come by, you're only a few feet away. Some of us see that as an advantage.

$65 for four deals with four drinks with tax, before tip. I'd probably go back for a beer and fries, maybe not for a full meal. Unlike many places in the area, Taste seemed to have a diverse early bird crowd. Younger people, people of color, a few pleasant small kids, etc.

Taste, Hobe Sound

[Rail Paul]

I had dinner tonight at Taste in Hobe Sound. This small restaurant is located on A1A just south of the Bridge Road crossing of the Florida East Coast railroad.

I had the fish and chips dinner deal ($11) which was pretty good. Two big pieces of haddock, properly cooked, in a thin shell. A scoop of excellent french fries, lightly dusted with parmesan cheese. Good deal. Yuengling was $3 a pint.

My wife, mother, and dad all had the mahi mahi deal ($11). My wife's was over cooked. My mother's was cold and under cooked. My dad's looked pretty good, and he said it was properly cooked. All in one order placed at the same time.

The service wasn't especially notable. One quoted beer was no longer available, so I ordered the Ying, which our server spilled. "Sorry" and out came the rag to clean it up. No offer to comp or even top off the beer. Friendly enough, though.

The outdoor screened area offers a pleasant dining experience. If any trains come by, you're only a few feet away. Some of us see that as an advantage.

$65 for four deals with four drinks with tax, before tip. I'd probably go back for a beer and fries, maybe not for a full meal. Unlike many places in the area, Taste seemed to have a diverse early bird crowd. Younger people, people of color, a few pleasant small kids, etc.

Taste, Hobe Sound

The Scripps reviewer mentions Taste in Hobe Sound in a recent review.

For the main course, I had my eye on lobster salad over mixed greens, a light supper, but the chef's special of the evening sounded too good to ignore. Red snapper ($23.95) topped with a generous amount of lump crab meat was outstanding. What made the dish was a pesto gravy poured over the crab. Its creamy consistency and brown color were surprising for pesto, but the garlic and basil flavor was unmistakable.

My guest chose the yellowtail snapper ($19.95). It was coated in coconut tempura batter and fried, then served with mango salsa and mashed potatoes.

I left, pleased that we had ordered some great items off of Taste's menu and enjoyed the restaurant at its best — sitting among the locals.

Taste in Hobe Sound

[Rail Paul]

Pleasant late lunch at Schooner's in Jupiter. This is a restaurant / bar on Coastal Way off US 1, with a mix of indoor and outdoor seating, high tops, etc. Nice informal vibe. Kids welcome, saw a few dogs in the outer section.

 

1001 N A1A  Jupiter, FL 33477

 

The restaurant has shaped up a lot in the year since I last visited.  The menu has been tarted up, with several very engaging new items. My dad had a special "Caribbean seafood soup" which was clams, shrimp, mussels, pieces of fish, onions, celery, carrots, chili, melon, tomato, in a NY chowder broth served with toast.  he liked this a lot.  Wonderful fragrance, maybe allspice and garlic.

 

My mother had a generously sized bleu cheese burger, cooked as requested to medium rare. Dee had a big slab of mahi mahi grilled with lemon and butter, served over a sweet potato whip. I had a special sandwich described as a crusted grouper which was really wonderful. Big piece of fish, moist / wet inside, thin crust outside. Served on a baguette.  For the second time in three days I found myself impressed with the bread.

 

Pints of Ying, Bud, Miller Coors were $2.

 

Specials are on a daily list, with prices. There's a lot to like here.  Lunch menu until 4pm, I believe.  Then the early bird kicks in. Decent sized appetizer portions were 8-12, entree portions were $10-20. Service was attentive but not obtrusive

 

http://schoonersjupi...com/lunch-menu/