This year, Lulu graduated, passed Boards, (she's officially Dr. Lulu!), and moved to a new state, so Gus and I have been doing a bit of traveling again. I thought it would be fun to bring back the "Adventures of Gus and Kim", and share some of the restaurants we've tried, places we've stayed, and fun things we've done.
One of our favorite things to do when we travel is to try new restaurants - especially ones where the locals like to eat. We've taken several trips to Tallahassee, Florida this year, so I thought I would start with the restaurants we've tried there.
A couple of things before I get started. Since I've also blogged about having insulin resistance and the low carb diet I follow, I wanted to mention that when I'm on vacation, I'm not as strict with the carbs as I am when I'm at home. I usually anticipate gaining 2-4 lbs. while on vacation, and then I give myself 2-4 weeks to get back to my usual weight. So far, that has worked well for me, and my fingerstick blood glucose levels, as well as my A1C, have remained within normal limits.
The other thing is that when I was taking these photos, I wasn't thinking about using them on the blog. So I don't have photos of the outside of the restaurants or all of the dishes we tried. They were all taken with my iPhone and some I pulled from Snapchat - so a few are a bit blurry. I apologize for those, and if I get back to the restaurants, I will re-do the photos if possible.
With those "disclaimers", let's get started with the Tallahassee restaurants!
One of the first places we tried in Tallahassee was Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille, which is located in Kleman Plaza near the FSU (Florida State University) campus. They serve "modern Southern Cajun", and oh my, my - is it ever delicious! This is probably my favorite dinner spot of the ones we've tried so far. Gus had blackened redfish with red beans and rice. If you're not familiar with redfish, it's similar to mahi mahi. I had the Shrimp & Scallops Orleans, which is served lightly blackened over a crispy grit cake with Tasso ham cream sauce. Can we talk about the grit cakes? Soooo good! Everything was delicious, and I can't wait to go back.
Shrimp & Scallops Orleans
Another restaurant from our first visit to Tallahassee was Azu Lucy Ho's, which is a Chinese-Japanese-sushi restaurant located in a strip mall, so it would be easy to overlook. The ambiance reminded us of one of our favorite Chinese restaurants at home.
Shanghai spring roll
For an appetizer, I had the Shanghai spring roll, which was very good. For our entrees: Gus had chicken fried rice (because that is his go-to dish), Buddy had sushi, and I had grilled salmon teriyaki with broccoli and Shiitake mushrooms. We all enjoyed our meals, and would definitely come back.
Different sushi rolls
Grilled Salmon Teriyaki
Azo Lucy Ho's is located at 3220 Apalachee Parkway, Suite 13, Tallahassee, Florida. The hours are Monday - Friday 11am-10pm, Saturday, 11:30am-10pm, Sunday 10:30am-9pm. Since it's in a strip mall, there is plenty of parking available.
The next time we visited Tallahassee, we spent a few more days - and Gus' birthday just happened to fall during that time. On his birthday, Gus got to pick both the lunch and dinner spot. He chose Canopy Road Cafe for lunch and Mom & Dad's Italian Restaurant for dinner.
The Canopy Road Cafe that we went to was located in a little strip mall, and like Azu Lucy Ho's, it's easy to miss. The cafe is fairly small and very popular with locals. It reminded me of waiting in line at Camille's in Key West! There is both indoor and outdoor seating, but we were there in August, so no one wanted to sit outside! They offer both breakfast and lunch, and I don't think you could go wrong with either one. We had breakfast (which was delicious), and several people around us ordered lunch, which also looked pretty yummy.
Gus had the Meat Lovers Omelet (sausage, bacon, diced ham, & cheddar cheese), hash browns, and toast; I had The Hasher, which was two eggs (scrambled), and corned beef hash fried crisp. We also shared a pancake because they were the size of a large dinner plate! One of the best pancakes I've ever eaten - and their syrup was soooo good! I asked if it was made from scratch (it's not), but it was as good as my Grammy's homemade syrup. For some reason (possibly because I was hangry), I didn't take any photos here!
Canopy Road Cafe has four locations in Tallahassee: Midtown, Capital Circle, The Parkway, and Southwood. (We ate at The Parkway.) They're open 6:30am- 2:15pm daily. Since the Parkway location is in a strip mall, there is plenty of parking available.
It would be so easy to drive past Mom & Dad's Italian Restaurant and not even realize it's a restaurant. It's in a one story building that reminds me of an older doctor or dentist office. They're only open for dinner, and since the place is small (and popular), I would recommend reservations. They've been in business for 54 years, so they're obviously doing something right!
First, the bread basket. Wow. I don't usually indulge, but since it was Gus' birthday and our vacation, I had a half slice of the Italian bread. I haven't had Italian bread like this for a very long time. They must have a little ol' nonna (grandma in Italian) making bread in the back. The next course was salad. I had the Caesar salad, while everyone else had tossed salad with Italian dressing. I didn't care for the Caesar dressing and Lulu didn't like the Italian dressing - but Gus did. Both were heavy on the vinegar, which Gus likes.
On to the main course...Gus had veal scaloppini, Lulu had chicken piccata, her boyfriend, Bruce (his superhero alias), had lasagna, and I had veal cannelloni. Everything had really generous portions and was very good. I was slightly disappointed with my cannelloni, but that was because I didn't read the description well enough. They use ground veal, and there was some spice in it that I just didn't like. Plus I think I was hoping it would be similar to the prime rib cannelloni from one of my favorite restaurants back home. It wasn't. So just be sure to read the descriptions carefully. Everyone else thoroughly enjoyed their meals!
For dessert, we shared lemon cream cake and cannoli. Sooo good! Lemon cream cake is my favorite Italian dessert, and theirs was perfection. The cannoli was obviously freshly made because the shell was crisp. I hate when restaurants fill the shells ahead of time and let them sit - the shells get soft and soggy.
Mom & Dad's Italian Restaurant is located at 4175 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are: Tuesday - Thursday 5pm-9pm, Friday - Saturday 5pm-10pm, Sunday 4pm-8pm, closed Monday. They have their own parking lot.
The next day, we decided to grab lunch, then hit up a couple of local breweries. Lunch was at a place called Township, which is a pub that serves urban street fare "with a unique twist". It's near FSU (Florida State University), in an area that is all new construction. There is a lot of student housing, a few shops, and a few restaurants. It was pretty obvious that this place is there to cater to the college crowd. They have counter service, so you can walk up and order food and drinks or you can sit at a table and someone will wait on you. It has an industrial vibe, is very open, and has over 70 beers on tap. We opted to sit and have someone wait on us, but I think our waiter must've been new. He was extremely slow, and didn't know much about the menu or the beer on tap.
Honestly, I can't even remember what everyone else had - we had to wait so long for our beer and food that I washangry really annoyed. If you eat here, you may just want to mosey up to the counter and order there! I had the tuna poke nachos which consisted of wonton chips, wasabi crema, raw tuna, and sweet chili sauce. The tuna, wasabi, and chili sauce were very good - but the wonton chips seemed a little stale. I tried the Mango Wit beer from Proof Brewing, and it was delicious. Lulu had the Rekorderlig Passionfruit Hard Cider, and Gus had the UFO White Ale from Harpoon Brewery - both were very good (if you like cider and witbier, which I do). Bruce had Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin, but I didn't try that.
Township is located at 619 S. Woodward Ave., Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are Monday - Friday 11:30am-2am, Saturday - Sunday 10am-2am. You will need to park on the street or in one of the nearby garages.
Next, we headed to Proof Brewing Co. - fun place! They have a good bit of outdoor seating, but the day we were there, the sweltering heat and humidity forced everyone indoors, where there is limited seating.
I got a flight of four different beers:
As you can tell, I like sours! I also like wheat beer - witbier, Hefeweizen - and some stouts. All four of these sours were really good. My least favorite was the Strawberry Lemonade Evil Kiss - and that's only because it had less flavor than the other three.
I tried some of the beer everyone else had, and enjoyed those as well. Creatures in the Dark stout was my favorite of the three:
If you're ever in the Tallahassee area and enjoy visiting breweries, I highly recommend this one! Proof Brewing Co. is located at 644 McDonnell Drive, Tallahassee, FL - inside Railroad Square Art Park. Their hours are Tuesday - Thursday 4pm-midnight, Friday - Sunday noon-midnight. They have a parking lot, but sometimes they have events there and you will need to park on the street.
We decided to also go to Deep Brewing Co. since it was nearby. They have a diving theme that's so fun! This brewery is smaller than Proof, so there is less seating, but we didn't have any problems on a Saturday afternoon.
I had flight of four beers here, and my favorite of these four was Sublime Key Lime:
Deep Brewing Co. is located at 2524 Cathay Court, Suite 1, Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are Friday 1-11pm, Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday 2-9pm. This is in a small strip of businesses that has a small parking lot.
For dinner that night, we opted to stay in, and Bruce brought pizza back from Gaines Street Pies. I opted for a 10" Man on a Buffalo...Chicken pizza. It had creamy homemade ranch dressing as the base, topped with chicken breast, bleu cheese crumbles, and buffalo sauce. It was very good, and I'm picky about pizza. Gus had a pepperoni and sausage calzone and it was HUGE! I didn't try it, but he said it was delicious. Andddd...I didn't take a picture of any of our food from here either! Argh!
Gaines Street Pies is located at 603 W. Gaines St. #3, Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are: Sunday - Thursday 11am-midnight, Friday - Saturday 11am-3am. They have two other locations; Midtown Pies and Killearn, but I believe those locations have different hours.
Another great place for brunch is The Southern Public House near downtown. Sort of rustic industrial vibes, indoor and outdoor seating, and a bar. The food was outstanding!
I had scrambled eggs with homemade corned beef hash, grits, and a biscuit. The hash was cubed corned beef with cubed fried potatoes, which was sort of interesting - I've never had hash like that. I think I would have preferred smaller pieces of the corned beef, but it had good flavor. The grits were delicious, and had both cheese and corn. Yum! Gus had the chicken and biscuits with grits on the side (the chicken was fried chicken tenders), and loved it.
The Southern Pub is located at 224 E. College Ave., Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are Tuesday - Thursday 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-9pm, Friday - Saturday 11:30am-10pm, Sunday 10:30am-4pm, closed on Monday. You will need to park on the street or in one of the nearby garages.
We'll be going back to Tallahassee in November, so I'm sure I will have more restaurants to add to the list. Be on the lookout for upcoming posts with more restaurants in Florida, places we've stayed, and fun activities! If you enjoy travel and food, be sure to follow me on Snapchat (I'm enjoythevue) and Instagram, because I snap a lot when I'm traveling (and I have trips planned for October and November), and I also post photos on Instagram that might not show up on the blog.
Have you eaten at any of these restaurants? Do you have other favorites in the Tallahassee area? I'd love to hear about it!
Canopy Road Cafe has four locations in Tallahassee: Midtown, Capital Circle, The Parkway, and Southwood. (We ate at The Parkway.) They're open 6:30am- 2:15pm daily. Since the Parkway location is in a strip mall, there is plenty of parking available.
It would be so easy to drive past Mom & Dad's Italian Restaurant and not even realize it's a restaurant. It's in a one story building that reminds me of an older doctor or dentist office. They're only open for dinner, and since the place is small (and popular), I would recommend reservations. They've been in business for 54 years, so they're obviously doing something right!
Bread basket
First, the bread basket. Wow. I don't usually indulge, but since it was Gus' birthday and our vacation, I had a half slice of the Italian bread. I haven't had Italian bread like this for a very long time. They must have a little ol' nonna (grandma in Italian) making bread in the back. The next course was salad. I had the Caesar salad, while everyone else had tossed salad with Italian dressing. I didn't care for the Caesar dressing and Lulu didn't like the Italian dressing - but Gus did. Both were heavy on the vinegar, which Gus likes.
Chicken Piccata
Lemon Cream Cake
Cannoli
Mom & Dad's Italian Restaurant is located at 4175 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are: Tuesday - Thursday 5pm-9pm, Friday - Saturday 5pm-10pm, Sunday 4pm-8pm, closed Monday. They have their own parking lot.
The next day, we decided to grab lunch, then hit up a couple of local breweries. Lunch was at a place called Township, which is a pub that serves urban street fare "with a unique twist". It's near FSU (Florida State University), in an area that is all new construction. There is a lot of student housing, a few shops, and a few restaurants. It was pretty obvious that this place is there to cater to the college crowd. They have counter service, so you can walk up and order food and drinks or you can sit at a table and someone will wait on you. It has an industrial vibe, is very open, and has over 70 beers on tap. We opted to sit and have someone wait on us, but I think our waiter must've been new. He was extremely slow, and didn't know much about the menu or the beer on tap.
Tuna Poke Nachos
Honestly, I can't even remember what everyone else had - we had to wait so long for our beer and food that I was
Township is located at 619 S. Woodward Ave., Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are Monday - Friday 11:30am-2am, Saturday - Sunday 10am-2am. You will need to park on the street or in one of the nearby garages.
Next, we headed to Proof Brewing Co. - fun place! They have a good bit of outdoor seating, but the day we were there, the sweltering heat and humidity forced everyone indoors, where there is limited seating.
Flight of beer
I got a flight of four different beers:
- Pomegranate Passion Fruit Evil Kiss (Sour - Berliner Weisse)
- Raspberry Kissing Giants (Sour - Gose)
- Strawberry Lemonade Evil Kiss (Sour - Berliner Weisse)
- Teatime Evil Kiss (Sour - Berliner Weisse)
As you can tell, I like sours! I also like wheat beer - witbier, Hefeweizen - and some stouts. All four of these sours were really good. My least favorite was the Strawberry Lemonade Evil Kiss - and that's only because it had less flavor than the other three.
Creatures in the Dark stout
- Hefeweizen (German Hefeweizen)
- Lemongrass Saison (Saison/Farmhouse Ale)
- Creatures in the Dark (Chocolate Imperial Stout - sweet)
If you're ever in the Tallahassee area and enjoy visiting breweries, I highly recommend this one! Proof Brewing Co. is located at 644 McDonnell Drive, Tallahassee, FL - inside Railroad Square Art Park. Their hours are Tuesday - Thursday 4pm-midnight, Friday - Sunday noon-midnight. They have a parking lot, but sometimes they have events there and you will need to park on the street.
We decided to also go to Deep Brewing Co. since it was nearby. They have a diving theme that's so fun! This brewery is smaller than Proof, so there is less seating, but we didn't have any problems on a Saturday afternoon.
Sublime Key Lime
I had flight of four beers here, and my favorite of these four was Sublime Key Lime:
- Sublime Key Lime (Sour - Berliner Weisse -- they call it a Florida Weiss)
- Ocean & Rose (Sour - Gose)
- Berried Treasure (American pale wheat ale)
- Island Time (Sour - Berliner Weisse)
Deep Brewing Co. is located at 2524 Cathay Court, Suite 1, Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are Friday 1-11pm, Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday 2-9pm. This is in a small strip of businesses that has a small parking lot.
For dinner that night, we opted to stay in, and Bruce brought pizza back from Gaines Street Pies. I opted for a 10" Man on a Buffalo...Chicken pizza. It had creamy homemade ranch dressing as the base, topped with chicken breast, bleu cheese crumbles, and buffalo sauce. It was very good, and I'm picky about pizza. Gus had a pepperoni and sausage calzone and it was HUGE! I didn't try it, but he said it was delicious. Andddd...I didn't take a picture of any of our food from here either! Argh!
Gaines Street Pies is located at 603 W. Gaines St. #3, Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are: Sunday - Thursday 11am-midnight, Friday - Saturday 11am-3am. They have two other locations; Midtown Pies and Killearn, but I believe those locations have different hours.
Another great place for brunch is The Southern Public House near downtown. Sort of rustic industrial vibes, indoor and outdoor seating, and a bar. The food was outstanding!
scrambled eggs with homemade corned beef hash & biscuit
grits
I had scrambled eggs with homemade corned beef hash, grits, and a biscuit. The hash was cubed corned beef with cubed fried potatoes, which was sort of interesting - I've never had hash like that. I think I would have preferred smaller pieces of the corned beef, but it had good flavor. The grits were delicious, and had both cheese and corn. Yum! Gus had the chicken and biscuits with grits on the side (the chicken was fried chicken tenders), and loved it.
The Southern Pub is located at 224 E. College Ave., Tallahassee, Florida. Their hours are Tuesday - Thursday 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-9pm, Friday - Saturday 11:30am-10pm, Sunday 10:30am-4pm, closed on Monday. You will need to park on the street or in one of the nearby garages.
We'll be going back to Tallahassee in November, so I'm sure I will have more restaurants to add to the list. Be on the lookout for upcoming posts with more restaurants in Florida, places we've stayed, and fun activities! If you enjoy travel and food, be sure to follow me on Snapchat (I'm enjoythevue) and Instagram, because I snap a lot when I'm traveling (and I have trips planned for October and November), and I also post photos on Instagram that might not show up on the blog.
Have you eaten at any of these restaurants? Do you have other favorites in the Tallahassee area? I'd love to hear about it!
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