Fish Tacos - King Seafood (Marathon Key)

Asking the locals where to go to eat is very much a mixed bag.  Sometimes they lead you to a place that has a food unique to that area, but may or may not meet your food preferences (see Pittsburgh restaurant putting french fries on everything).  Sometimes they lead you to a food unique to that area and it is just a bad idea (see Cincinnati Chili).  Sometimes they lead you to a place that was great once, but outgrew its cult status and became a sellout shell of what it used to be (see Big Texan Steak House).

Sometimes they hit the nail on the head and you find a great spot.

Walking into King Seafood is not all that impressive.  Two picnic tables out front, a fresh fish counter facing the door, a looooooong counter running the length of the rectangular building, and a cashier at the end of the counter.


A closer look reveals some wonderful things.  First, the restaurant is spotless.  There is no smell of fish whatsoever, and the hood above the grill and fryer is so shiny it creates a glare.  These are rare traits for any restaurant, much less a small local restaurant in a tiny fishing town.

The staff was all very friendly upon entering and was having some lively banter in Spanish with one of their obviously regular customers.  I took my phone out to take some pictures and the customer looks at me and says "uh oh, Facebook.  Facebook."  I gave him the thumbs up and went about my business.  He waves me to come over and points at his plate.  On his plate was some delicious looking yellow rice and humongous shrimp in some tasty looking and aromatic spices.  He picks up one of the shrimp and tells me to try it, then picks up a Yucca Fry and offers that to me as well.  I obliged and tried both.  Wonderful.

At this point, you can be pretty confident the food is gonna rock.  A local gives you the food off his plate and it does not let you down.  Order fearlessly my friends, as we will be happy munchers.

Of course, fish tacos are on the menu and I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't give 'em a whirl.

First, though, we had to look at some other food as well.  Altogether, myself, Rip, and Rachel ordered Blackened Fish Tacos, Fried Fish Tacos, Mahi Sandwich, Calamari, Fish Soup, Yellow Rice with Fish, Cole Slaw, and 3 sodas. All of this freshness and deliciousness for $60 including tip!  Pretty good value.

Calamari - light and tender.  Yellow Rice - aromatic, flavorful, and fresh. Fish soup and Mahi Sandwich got rave reviews from Rip and Rachel (I could not consume due to pork being in the soup and too much food in front of me to try the sandwich).

Now on to the fish tacos.  A well documented fact that I prefer grilled or blackened fish over fried fish on fish tacos.  The one exception is if you are using a flour shell and use a very juicy fish.  In this case, I find that for a variety of textures, you will definitely need to go with fried fish or (strangely enough) overcook the fish to give it some body.  Of course, if you wanted to use a tender fish, why overcook it?

So King Seafood uses flour shells.  They do something I have not seen since I left Adobe Gilas all those years ago.  They put the shell on the griddle and put shredded cheddar on the shell to melt it.  Creates an experience all its own and that is what made me an Adobe Gila's taco addict.

As for the fish itself, we ordered one order with blackened fish and one with fried.  This way, we were able to try both ways and judge what we thought of them.  The blackened mahi was plentiful, and cooking on the griddle, made my mouth water.  The fish, when fully cooked, was added to the shell and topped with fresh tomato and lettuce.  It was then rolled and placed on the plate with sour cream, cole slaw, and pico, with two lime wedges on top.  A beautiful presentation and a dish I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into.

the flavors were delicious after a little pico and tabasco was added.  I prefer Cholula or Pickapeppa, but that's just me.  Overall, a great fish taco and unique in the ways that it did not contain cabbage on the taco and the rolling of it made it difficult to add more ingredients to it.  A fish taco worth checking out.

The staff checked with us several times that we were happy and was very gracious.  Nice folks.  The food was spectacular as a whole and with people that friendly behind the counter, I can definitely see myself going back.

So we amble off with a light buzz and full bellies.  We get back to the homestead to find the sun going down. A few obligatory pics to show off that not only did we have a great meal in Marathon Key, but nature took pretty good care of us too.  Cheers!

Boulder Cold Hop

I received some bad news late last year.  Mr. Jeff Brown, owner of Boulder brewing told me that the brewery was going to discontinue Cold Hop British Style Ale.  This was a massive disappointment to me, as I loved that beer.  I loved that beer in the same way that I love so many other Boulder Beers such as Hoopla and the Hazed & Infused.  I love these beers because they are so massively aromatic and full-flavored while not being weighty or palate killing.  They are un-subtly subtle which makes them great everyday drinkers.

Well, I got a piece of good news about a month or so ago, and that was that Cold Hop was going to be made again.  Unfortunately on a limited basis, but whatayagonnado?

A little bit about this beer.  The brewery's description of Cold Hop is:

A unique ale with a rich golden hue, and the 7th release in our Looking Glass Series of specialty beers. Cold Hop's pleasantly fruity, floral hop aroma and earthy flavor perfectly balance the mild sweetness of the English grains, resulting in a refreshing yet high-gravity British-Style ale.

This beer was the seventh beer in the Looking Glass line at Boulder Brewing.  At 6.5% alcohol, it does pack a tad of a punch for a British Style brew.  However, my recollection of this lovely is that it is extremely easy to drink, but again the sweetness of the grains give it a much different appeal that Hazed, which is a bit drier.

Long story short, there are about 20 kegs of Cold Hop floating around the state of Florida.  If you see it, grab a pint and enjoy the fact that you are not only drinking a limited edition brew, but you are drinking one that I probably with I had the luck to be drinking with you.  Cheers!

A Cask of Mojo is a Party

Renegade Rip set up our first firkin of Mojo IPA event at the World of Beer - UCF this past week.  I'm so excited to be finally able to get our variety of casks going out to our various suppliers and being filled with delicious goodness.  As fortune would have it, this cask was also flanked by draft of Sweaty Betty, Hazed & Infused, Mojo, Hoopla, Hoopla on nitro, and Planet Porter.

If you are not yet initiated into the idea of a firkin - it is basically a vessel (think of a keg) sitting around 10.5 gallons that you put a live beer into and pour it directly out of the keg. As opposed to a keg that uses CO2 or Nitrogen Mix to pushthe beer out, it is simply the act of nature that pours this one.  The downside is that you have to drink it pretty much within a few days or it goes bad.  The good news is that you get the freshest version of the beer that you can get with the added benefit of a fairly low carbonation level that creates a completely different experience than if you had the beer of the tap.

If you are not yet initiated into Mojo IPA from Boulder Brewing - well you are just passing up an amazing experience.  The brewery describes Mojo as such:

Mo-Jo: 1: A magic spell or charm; magical power; 2. Herbaceous ale that summons hop attacks. 

Pale in color but packed with flavor, MoJo reflects the perfect balance of hop bitterness and malt character. The unique Amarillo hop adds a slight citrus flavor to an ultra-crisp dry finish.

Ratebeer. com rates the beer at 95 out of 100 and at 7.2%, it packs a delicious, citrusy punch.  

Mojo was the fourth beer in Boulder Brewing's Looking Glass Series, which was begun by the legendary Hazed & Infused Dry Hopped Ale.
 
But the beer means so much more to me than just hops and alcohol. There is something about this beer that makes me extra proud to represent the brewery.  It is uncompromising but at the same time mellow.  A 7.2% single IPA is pretty heady, but this one maintains an easy drinking nature.  For someone who does not like to have the enamel burned off their teeth (aka those like me), this beer is for them.  

So the event commenced and followed with a great crowd who, according to Renegade Rip, was completely enamored with the Sweaty Betty Heffeweizen.  No shocker to me as this is a shamefully under-appreciated beer that is just waiting for its day in Florida to bust out.  I'm looking forward to the day when it is huge and I can cross my arms like Lebron James and say "I told ya so."  

Keep your eyes peeled for more firkins popping up from Boulder Brewing, Lazy Magnolia, and the such.  We have got them getting out and about and they are an instant hit.  Cheers!

Losing A Bet and Paying for It - In Dunedin

Sometimes you get to lose a bet and still be a winner.  This was the case when a month ago, my buddy (Steve Defran) and I made a weight-loss challenge.

The standards were pretty well cut.  The person who loses the most weight in a 30 day period wins the bet.  The loser drives the winner to Dunedin for fish tacos and all the beer you can drink.  A trip that we assume will cost the loser in the neighborhood of $300.  Not an easy pill to swallow, but my thoughts were that if I can lose 10 pounds, my buddy loses more, and I lose - hey we both won. And anyway, there are worse ways to lose than to have to go to Dunedin and eat my favorite fish tacos in Florida, right?

Throughout this challenge, myself and Defran did our best to support each other while chiding each other into letting the loser know they are in for it when the day of weigh-in came.  As it turns out, I lost the bet.  But I did lose 10 pounds in the process.  Fat boy Defran lost 18.

So when the day came to get our party on (a Saturday night as it turns out), we started out with some pretty special brew.


The beer that turned me into a beer lover was a 3 year old bottle of Ommegang Abbey Ale, or just plain old Ommegang as it was referred to at the time.  In homage to this experience, I try to keep a few cases of 3 year old Ommegang around at all times for special occasions.  This was such an occasion.  to make it even more fun, our driver is a big Bourbon barrel aged beer fan and I just happened to have a bottle of 2007 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout laying around.  For the guy who was about to put us in a car and transport us 2 miles southwest, a bottle of 12% beer seemed the perfect thing to calm his nerves.

Getting on the road, we set up all of the electronics, got the radio adjusted, and discussed our plan of attack.  The great thing about Dunedin is that you have Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin House of Beer, and 7eventh Sun Brewery all within walking distance of each other.  This way, you can have some of the best beer Florida has to offer without ever getting in your car.  This being the case, a good plan is necessary.  Whatever the plan turned out, fish tacos was priority 1.

Heading out after catching a small buzz, our path down I-4 was halted by a need to stop by a bar along the way.  A curious place on HWY 27 just off the interstate that I've wanted to stop at for some time.  A little Irish place behind the 7-11, I wasn't expecting too much but figured a nice drink halfway to Tampa is not a bad thing.

We park the car and walk into this very dark space with some televisions, a jukebox, full liquor, and some drafts on a wall. The bartender asked us what we wanted and we just asked for a couple of drafts, planning on having only 1 drink each.  When I reached down to grab my wallet, I realized I forgot it at home.  

Naturally, forgetting your wallet at home when you are supposed to be the host of a cross-state drinking binge is suspect.  I'll be the first to admit, it takes the air out of the ball when you say "you pay for everything and I will pay you back."  Kinda loses its luster to be the winner of a bet.  But we were where we were and given the distance we didn't want to drive back to DeLand.  I took a good ribbing for it, but being the buds we are, Defran agreed to pay and I'd pay him back with Tomo holding the receipts.  Sucks, but what are ya gonna do?

Back on the road, we had to fill up with gas and my favorite gas station is at exit 14 on I-4.  A great stop right before you get into the Tampa area, you can fill up the tank, take a whizzer, and grab a Slurpee.  In this case, we snagged some cheap road beers and some sodas to last us the rest of the night.

Back on the road and we ain't stoppin' til we hit Dunedin Brewery and a rendezvous with some fish fa fish fish tacos.

When we do arrive around 4:30 pm, the parking lot is packed and we have to go to an adjacent lot to park.

Walking into the Dunedin Brewery, my usual spots at the bar were full.  In fact, the whole place was full.  I am usually at the brewery on weekdays in the daytime so I'm a tad spoiled when it comes to my fish tacos and the bartenders who I've come to know.  We had to wait a bit for a seat, but someone came around to see if we wanted a beer.  Ooooooh yeah.

My first choice was the Vortex on the Bay IPA collaboration with Fort George Brewery out of Oregon.  Defran had the brown and Tomo went with the coffee stout.  Finally a spot at the bar opened and we were seated to start on some tacos.  Now here is where we ran into some problems.  As it turns out, my buddy Defran is not open to eating fish tacos.  Tells me he hates fish and hates tacos!  All this time talking about this trip and the sucker never mentioned that he wasn't gonna indulge in the deliciousness.

So we ordered two orders of fish tacos, some of the incredible cheese curds, and Defran ordered something I don't remember.  I've gushed about the tacos over the course of 2012 so I won;t bore you with the descriptors.  I WILL say, however, that I talked my closed minded buddy to at least give a try of a fish taco out of my plate.  He did, and he dug it.  Not.A.Shocker.

After another beer, The Rock Double IPA, we decided to go hit 7eventh Sun Brewery for a beer or two before hitting Dunedin HOB and getting back to Dunedin Brewery to finish off our night.

Stepping into the 7eventh Sun Brewery, the guys were shocked at how small the place was.  This is what I try to explain to people that they don't seem to get - you don't need a huge facility to produce some great beers and as a start-up, is a great way to hedge your bets on the possibility that your product didn't catch on.

As an avid lover of the beers from 7eventh Sun (I love Saisons and they always have some great ones), I was completely comfortable with Defran and Tomo ordering whatever they wanted and we could be confident that the product would be of top quality.  This is not always true of a place still in its infancy but at this place, not a worry.

So we each have a Saison (of different sorts) and get to chattin' about what a great time we had had so far.  Next thing I know, Tomo is talking to some folks near us and came over to introduce us.  Now, if there is one thing I know about Tomo, he has a knack for randomly meeting people.  One of the friendliest people I know, I can always count on him to strike up a conversation everywhere he goes.  Somehow, some way, the folks we ran into were some friends of his that just happened to be there!  Once again, you never know who Tomo will run in to.

After a few beers at 7eventh Sun, we decide to move the party to Dunedin HOB.  This is the point of the night where we started to go sideways.  You know when you can go out and very distinctly point out the moment where perhaps the night could have, or should have, ended?  This was that moment.  The voices got louder, the conversation got more "poetic", and the language devolved into a series of emotional arm-throwing and four letter words that we were able to release by only pronouncing two of the letters.  We were now becoming the guys who I dreaded seeing in my bar ownership days.

the House of Beers was packed!  The vibe was awesome and when we walked in I began salivating for a beer.  For me, I saw just what I wanted to see.  They had Boulder Brewing Flashback Brown on draft!  One for me please.  While we're at it, let's increase our chances of getting onto trouble and get one for Defran as well.

My buddy Rick, who owns the bar stopped by to say hello and to be honest, I personally don't remember leaving the bar.  I do distinctly remember enjoying myself for the few moments that I was cognizant and I always have a great time there.

So this is where it gets interesting.  The plan was to go back to Dunedin Brewery and have another round of fish tacos.  I can remember with great clarity, thinking to myself how much I am going to enjoy those things.  If I was not drooling, I was very close.  Starving, drunk, and looking forward to fish tacos - not a bad life.

We walk into Dunedin Brewery - first myself, then Tomo, and lastly Defran.  When Defran stumbles in, one of the bartenders looks right at him and says "He can't come in here."

Whaaaaaaaaaaat?  But I was dying for some of those delicious tacos that I only get once a month at best.  But I'm starving.  But I'm having a great time!  But we planned this trip so that we could have fish tacos, not so that we couldn't have fish tacos.

Still somewhat in my wits, I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of one of my favorite breweries, so we shuffled Defran out the door.  So now it is try to get us home - or so I think.  Luckily, we were parked across the street and had plenty of room to let El Boracho (Tomo's nickname for Defran) stumble about, accidentally bump into cars, and as it turns out, fall over an 18 inch wall.  (See pics)

After a profanity filled tirade that I caught on film (in editing now), assembled in the car.  Discussing how good those tacos could have been, Tomo and myself agreed that we were both starving and needed some grub.  Remembering that The Taco Bus on Hillsborough Avenue is open 24 hours a day, we agreed upon a spot.


For those not familiar with the Taco Bus, the one on Hillsborough is not in t he nicest of areas.  You're as likely to come across a prostitute as you are anyone else and I'm sure if we were looking to get high, good product couldn't have been too far away.  This being said, the atmosphere at the Taco Bus is awesome and once you're on property, the crowd is fun and amenable.  Moral of the story, as long as you're there, no worries.  Venture off - and you could probably find some trouble.

Tomo parked the car at the Taco Bus and got out of the car.  Defran was passed out in the back, so we figured we'd let the sleeping dog lie.  In an area such as this, perhaps better we don't let him out among the general public where he can get us beaten or worse.  The plan was to go up to the bus, order some food, come back to the car, wake Defran up, get some food in him, and get on the road.  Fairly simple as far as plans go.

Good news for me, Taco Bus has not only fish tacos, but tempeh tacos as well!  And the tacos are not just good - they are great.  As a side note, if you are in the area, it is definitely worth checking out (especially in the daytime).  There website can be found at http://www.taco-bus.com/#!.

While I  am waiting for the tacos, Tomo decides to go back to the car.  Wattya know - no Defran.  Disappeared.  Vamoosh.  In the wind.

At some point, El Boracho woke up and decided to take a walk down Hillsborough Avenue at 2:00 am on a Saturday night.  Not only was he walking, he was obviously drunk and obviously didn't fit in there with his Double Zero Drunky the Bear jersey that he wears way too much.  Well, I'm not leaving without those tacos.  I asked Tomo to watch Defran flounder down the road while I waited for the Taco Bus to finish preparing our meals.

A brilliant plan and one that could only come around while you are drinking.  We decided to get in the car, drive past him, sit in the car and eat, and just wait for Defran to ramble on down to us.  Instead of stopping and catching him, we'd just let him wander right into the car.

So sitting in the car, enjoying some 2:00 am snacks, the jester finally showed up, got in the car, fell back to sleep, and we finished our tacos in peace.  The drive home could not have been filled with more peace than this great night had provided. Cheers to El Boracho for winning the contest, cheers to Tomo for driving and babysitting us, and thanks to the wonderful bars we visited for your hospitality.  Cheers!

Boulder Brewing Beer Crawl

After what seemed like years of planning (and a month of teetotalling prior), the Boulder Brewing Beer Crawl in downtown DeLand finally arrived.  Thanks to the generous donation of beer from Jeff Brown of Boulder Brewing, we were able to raise money for Mainstreet DeLand.

A few things about Boulder brewing if you're not privy: Boulder Brewing is Colorado's first microbrewery, having been established in 1979.



These guys have seen many, many breweries come and go.  Makers of the legendary Hazed and Infused dry-hopped ale, Boulder Brewing received the 43rd brewing license ever issued in the United States.  Not only is their beer great, they are also PACE Certified as a green brewery and take tons of steps to help save the environment.  In fact, every 6 pack of Boulder beer you buy, you can feel good knowing that the carriers are made from 100% recycled paperboard!  This company is truly a company that I feel very lucky to be affiliated with.

So we put together this little beer crawl to raise money for Mainstreet DeLand.  Mainstreet is the organization that is responsible for keeping DeLand vital and they do what they can to ensure people keep coming downtown.  A little-known thing about Mainstreet is that most of the events they carry on are money losers.  This being the case it's always nice to help raise money for them and help aid in those events such as Monsters on Mainstreet where the kids can come out and trick-or-treat during Halloween season.  This is also an organization that I'm proud to be a partner with and I'm always enthused at their activity.

We were able to involve 10 different location for the crawl and had 5 different beers to choose from.  This way, folks could cherry pick where they wanted to drink and we could ensure they could be in their comfort zone.  The 5 beers that we had ran the gamut of styles:  Hazed and Infused, Mojo IPA, Sweaty Betty Hefeweizen, Kinda Blue, and Singletrack Copper.

Thanks to the hard work put on by my buds at S.R. Perrott, we had a banner made for each locale that had the name of the restaurant and the Boulder Beer they were serving.  This way, people could just walk up and  know what was being served.  With some of the crowds that developed, that was a good thing.  The banners ended up beautiful and I was especially proud of the giant Boulder logos on them - but of course I'm biased.

The locations cover nearly the entirety of downtown:  Abbey, DaVinci, Bill & Frank's Brickhouse, The Elusive Grape, Casey's on the Corner, Issues, De La Vega, Mainstreet Grill, The Grotto, and Dublin Station; all took part and all poured massive amounts of brew!

I began my adventure losing a weight loss bet, but was comforted by a delicious gift of some brews that my buddy Mike at Dunedin Brewery gave me from his trip out west:  Fort George brewery out of Oregon.  We had cans of their Vortex IPA, the Cavatica Stout, and the Quick Wit, which was an unbelievable Belgian Wheat with lemongrass - Yum!

So me and my buddy Defran caught a little buzz at the house and then headed downtown for some brews.  First stop - Abbey for some Hazed.  I can't get enough Hazed.  The wonderful thing about this beer is that the heavy dry-hopping produces a massive floral aroma but the additional hops does not add bitterness so you get a huge nose, huge flavor, and and easy finish.  I absolutely love this beer.

Walking out, Steve was hooking up some Hoopla Pale Ale outside and I had to have a glass.  Another interesting beer.  This one was a collaboration beer between the brewery and Kyle Hollingsworth of the band The String Cheese Incident.  See video insert of the story behind Hoopla.  This is another that I love because you can have quite a few and not see palate fatigue on it.

Next stop was to Casey's to get me some Sweaty Betty.  In my opinion the most underrated beer in Florida.  This is an extremely flavorful bavarian wheat that has massive aromas of banana and clove and is so incredibly beautiful on draft.  It appears like you'd imagine white stained glass would when you put it in the sun.  A gorgeous beer with a gorgeous name.  I dig it!

And on to Davinci to have some Mojo IPA.  This one is a very citrusy IPA and at 7ish percent alcohol is no lightweight.  We do well with the Mojo and it always makes me look forward to the Mojo Risin' Double IPA that we get in January.  Awesome IPAs all the way around.

At Davinci we had a few glasses of whiskey, too.  Always my first love, I just can't say no to whiskey in any of its forms and when I see someone order a glass of Jack, I just hafta have one myself.  What can I say?  The point is, I was getting pretty loopy at this point and one of my favorite bands to watch in DeLand, The Republik.

So, a quick Singletrack at Issues and back to Abbey.  Singletrack is a neat little beer.  A very flavorful amber ale that just packs a ton of flavor into a very drinkable brew.  The Singletrack in glass, we head to Abbey and on to see some Republik.

This is a band that is definitely worth checking out.  They travel nationally, but play quite a bit in Florida.  I own one of their CDs that have their own material on it and they are quite good songwriters as well.  Talented band and they seem like nice fellas too.

Once inside, I settled back in with my Hazed & Infused and relished in how great my world is.  Great band, great night, great cause.  Very happy with how everything went and I'm proud of all involved.  Big thanks to everyone who took part.  Cheers!