Eatabout Stuart

We have found the Stuart area to be very cool. Lots of good restaurants; good fishing; pretty sites to see; nice folks. Not much around here not to like.



One of our favorite restaurants so far is 11Maple Street. It's billed as “Casual Dining in a Quaint Old Florida Home,” and it is that. Step inside this old-Florida home and you will be pleasantly surprised by a series of cozy dining rooms and a covered patio surrounded by gardens.
Our friends, Will and Tara, turned us on to this little bistro and the food was very, very good.
They offer small plates which are appetizer size and large plates with entree portions. Duck, Elk, Wagyu Beef, and Scottish Salmon are examples of their eclectic fare. We ordered a couple each, then shared. They were all delicious.
If you find yourself in the Jensen Beach area you really should try this restaurant. You will never forget it.

Another one of our favorites is the Pelican Cafe. It's a funky little place right on the water that's a short walk from our marina. Outdoor seating allows us to bring Radar along. They are very dog friendly and there's always treats and water brought to the table for the pups. The sunset usually brings a nice summer's evening breeze off the St Lucie river. That, a cold beverage, a good burger, and your pup... could it get any better?

Then there's Mrs Peter's Smokehouse . The best smoke fish we have ever tasted! You can't sit down to eat but go in and they will give you samples of everything. You will leave with some.
Our favorites are the Smoked Wahoo Dip and Spicey Smoked Salmon Strips.
Good Stuff!

Damn!  I've made myself hungry.

Adios,


Istaboa

Update: Dalai Lama's gift to Memphis

It seems we were wrong about our fellow Memphians. The house was packed to hear His Holiness speak.

Clipped from The Commercial Appeal:

People skipped work, traveled long distances and one couple even cut their honeymoon short to sit in the presence of the Dalai Lama.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Jackie McNamara of East Memphis.

Sitting in the nosebleed section of the packed 2,100-seat auditorium, the criminal investigator took a day off to hear the author and spiritual figure.

"If any city in the U.S. needs healing, it's Memphis," she said.

The Dalai Lama accepted the 2009 International Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum on Wednesday, showing his appreciation by donating his $50,000 honorarium to the museum.

The Dalai Lama blesses the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated.

A good day for Memphis.

Adios,

Istaboa

Good day for fishin'

A good day indeed...
Got up with the sun and was catching bait at first light.
The day was perfect. A bit cloudy, which prevented the sun from baking us and just enough breeze to keep us cool; still winds were light enough to allow the ocean to remain calm with just a nice easy swell to remind you that you're in the ocean... not a lake.
The Albury Bros 23 did well in the ocean as we ran it out St Lucie inlet to our designated spot which was about 10 miles away. Sweet boat! 
The action started quickly and, with Will's guidance, I landed the first fish, a nice Mutton Snapper, good eats. Then followed that up with a good sized Trigger Fish.... also good eats.

My philosophy is, catch what you can eat, then quit. But Will had yet to catch a fish so we kept dropping bait.
Things had slowed a bit when all of a sudden Will's second rod started bending like it was hung on the reef. But it wasn't the reef. He grapped the rod and and started cranking. We had no idea what was on the end of the line but we new it was big. I thought shark, Will thought turtle. We were both wrong.

 

As you can see from the picture it was a huge fish. A Goliath Grouper (also known as a Jewfish in politically incorrect circles... not sure why it's not PC to call it a Jewfish?)

Will was both extremely excited and exhausted after fighting this monster for 15 minutes or so. He said it was his largest fish ever. Will is a very tall fellow and that fish is almost as big as he is. We think it may be close to 200 pounds.

Since it's a protected species in the US, we let it go after we took a few pictures. The fish swam away a bit slowly -but surely-  back to the depths from whence it came.

After that we ate the lunch Mel had packed for us , laughed about how excited we got, and then caught a couple of Vermilion Snapper. All of this by 12:30. We cranked up the Albury and ran home.

 

A good day for fishin'.

We've had fresh fish for the last few days. Tonight Trigger Fish is on the menu. Recipe 

Should be good.

Adios,

Istaboa

Surreal...

Natalie Cole, and Dalai Lama in Memphis

 

 

Time to start fishin'

Capt. Will, one of our friends from Compass Cay who lives here in Stuart, came by yesterday. It's always good to see Will. One of the kindest people we know.
He also came bearing gifts. He had just returned from Compass and Tucker had sent us a bag of Hogfish.  Great eating fish.
You may remember Will from an earlier post... He is the resident Shark masseuse on Compass.

Will and his favorite shark, Squirt.

Will and I are rigging out the Albury to do a little fishing. The weather is right and Snook season has started. He has lived around here for years and has fished these waters since he was a kid. So fresh fish should be on Istaboa's menu soon.

Came across this YouTube video today and thought it was funny. This critter is called a Slow Loris
This has nothing to do with fishing. but... enjoy.



Hopefully we have a few pics of some fish to post soon. Don't expect large catches as we only catch enough to eat as a rule and we don't like to freeze them; we go out and hopefully catch dinner and come on back in.
Fresh fish!


Adios,


Istaboa