Casa Mia, Jupiter Florida ... buon appetito

Enter city in search box on right for more restaurants in area

Casa Mia Trattoria and Pizzeria 561-972-6888

337 E. Indiantown Road, Suite 10E, Jupiter, Florida (Just west of the Intracoastal bridge on Indiantown Rd.)

Lunch: 11:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Dinner: 4 – 10 pm. Sunday-Thursday; diner until 11 on Friday and Saturday

http://www.casamiajupiter.com/

By Jane Feehan

Friendly, busy, fun, delish – and reasonable. That’s the newly opened Casa Mia on Indiantown Road. So far, it’s one of the best new restaurants to open in Jupiter ahead of the winter season.

A brick-lined lounge beckons both diners and drinkers with its expansive semi-circle bar and high tables. Whether it’s a pasta dish (average $12) or fresh seafood, including succulent mussels or calamari, meat entrées or individual pizzas (about $10), Casa Mia earns praise for preparation and pricing. Linguini with seafood is $15.95 – a bargain. Desserts and wine selections also score home runs.

And something else hints of continued success: They tweak, improve and add items - such as their breads - to cater to diners' tastes. That's always a good thing. Buon appetito!  Kid friendly. Large covered patio and pleasant dining room also available. Service: good.   Copyright  © 2010. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

For breakfast or brunch in the Jupiter area, see http://janesbits.blogspot.com/2011/02/breakfast-and-brunch-in-jupiter-and.html
Tags: Italian restaurants in Jupiter, casual Italian dining in Jupiter. Pizza in Jupiter.

Annie's Vintage Gourmet, Jupiter, FL: Good to the last detail

Annie’s Vintage Gourmet CLOSED
1132 W. Indiantown Road
Jupiter, Florida 33458
561-575-4700
Monday-Saturday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
www.anniesvintagegourmet.com

By Jane Feehan

For months the sign for Annie’s Vintage Gourmet marked its unopened location along Indiantown Road. Finally, in September, the prepared foods market made its debut to enthusiastic - and expectant - customers. It seems the wait was worth it.

Lots of details attended to at Annie’s from the easy-to-walk-around design and quaint décor to the choice of foods available. Besides a deli counter (with perfectly rare roast beef on display), there’s an expansive choice of prepared poultry, beef and fish dishes, salads, pizza, subs and sandwiches and on and on. There’s also a wide choice of eats for calorie watchers such as zucchini roll ups, fruit plates, and yogurt dishes. Most of the business is takeout but a few tables are available for morning coffee and sweets (they’re delicious) or for a light, inexpensive lunch.

Prices are competitive. A turkey wrap, big enough to share, comes with a bag of chips and a small side of macaroni or potato salad for $5.95, beating out Publix’s sandwiches that sell for the same price without the chips or side. Takeout dinners for two average $15 – a bargain. It’s nearly impossible to prepare a gourmet meal for two for that price at home. And, they’re offering a takeout Thanksgiving dinner for about $60 that serves two to four. Holiday meals for larger groups are also available.

Annie’s also offers an array of boxed pastas, olive oils, cheeses and other grocery items as well as a small collection of wines. If something you're looking for isn't here, Annie would probably get it for you. “We don’t want to turn anyone away,” she said. They also provide catering services and free local delivery. Copyright©2010. Jane Feehan. All rights reserved.


Tags: Prepared foods in Jupiter, Thanksgiving dinners,gourmet markets in Jupiter, Jupiter catering, Jupiter bakery, Annie's Vintage Gourmet review

Jetty's, Jupiter Florida: a restaurant's minimalist approach

For other restaurants along Jupiter's waterfront, read:
Waterfront dining thrives in Jupiter

(or Use search box at right to find restaurants by city)

Jetty’s Restaurant       
1075 N. Highway A1A

Jupiter, Florida 33477

Monday-Thursday: 5-9:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: 5-10 p.m.

561-743-8166

By Jane Feehan

Jetty’s provides a grand view of the Jupiter Lighthouse and inlet from its waterside patio. That’s a good thing because it falls short in several ways.

Seafood is the reason most dine at this spot and they do a great job with it. They also serve some good steaks.  But this is another eatery that doesn’t get the notion that a meal is more than the featured entrée.   Salads come wilted, bread is meager and vegetable accompaniments are minimal.  Prices average $30 for an entree, which is the norm for the area.

If there isn’t  a table available on the deck, leave. The interior is gloomy and filled with Denny's-style booths in vinyl. The bar – and this is what astounds me because they ignore it as a profit center – faces a dark corner of the interior without a view.  It’s merely a waiting room, so to speak, not a mood setter.

Jetty’s seems to have taken the minimalist approach with everything but the good seafood they serve. That said, they do draw in the business.  But with service focused on turning tables, a diner can walk out feeling like a number rather than an appreciated customer. Copyright©2010. Jane Feehan. All rights reserved. Enter city in search box on right for more restaurants in area. 

Use search box on right to find additional eateries in Juno, Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens.

For breakfast or brunch in the Jupiter area, see http://janesbits.blogspot.com/2011/02/breakfast-and-brunch-in-jupiter-and.html

Tags: waterfront dining in Jupiter, Jupiter seafood restaurants, Jupiter Inlet restaurants

Schooners Restaurant - Jupiter, Florida: Rev it up or get left behind

Schooners Restaurant

1001 N. Highway A1A

Jupiter, Florida 33477

561-746-7558

Mon-Thurs and Sunday: 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.

By Jane Feehan

With a name like Schooners it’s no surprise seafood reigns here. This dreary restaurant sits near but is not on the water; too bad, because they need a view to justify dinner (not lunch) prices.

Schooners seems a bit expensive with daily specials averaging $27. Fish is fresh but lacks flair in preparation. A sweet potato crusted grouper ($26+) looked more like a few spoonfuls of potato were thrown on top and nuked for a minute or two; thankfully the grouper was fresh.  I ordered a baked potato and coleslaw for sides. The “baked” potato came via the microwave rather than the oven. The side of coleslaw was excellent. Fellow diner supped on a generous portion of lemon sole with a savory side of beans and rice.  Our issues were the beginning of the meal: salad served with a mediocre bottled dressing and resurrected frozen dinner rolls (the grocery store variety).

Does it cost that much more money to make good first impressions? After beginnings like these, I’m not in a good mood about the main course. Anyone who reads this blog knows I’m into good beginnings, good first impressions. A restaurant meal consists of more than the main course.

So: Schooners needs renovating, better rolls and salad dressing, and more sophisticated food preparation. Maybe then they could draw younger patrons.  They have a big following but it’s mostly the over 65 crowd. Perhaps Schooner’s has seen better days. Service: good. Copyright©2010. Jane Feehan. All rights reserved. Enter city in search box on right for more restaurants in area.

Tags: Jupiter dining, Jupiter seafood.

Seasons 52 - Waterfront dining in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Seasons 52 ( a Darden Restaurant)

11611 Ellison Wilson Rd. (on the Intracoastal at PGA Blvd.)

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33408

561-625-5852

www.seasons52.com

Monday-Friday: Lunch - 11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

                              Dinner -4-10 p.m. (11 p.m. on Friday)

Saturday: 11:30 – 11 p.m.

Sunday: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

By Jane Feehan

Location, location, location.  That’s one attribute Seasons 52 can claim in Palm Beach Gardens. Staffers tell me this is their only restaurant in the nation (and there are many) that sits waterside.

But there's many more reasons to visit this establishment than its proximity to the Intracoastal.

Menus change with the seasons. Dishes are both kind to dieters (usually below 500 calories) and palate pleasing. It’s also inexpensive. Two can lunch for $20 or enjoy dinner for less than $50 (without alcoholic drinks). Desserts are divine – low calorie and delicious. Few endings to a meal can be as guilt-free as they are at Seasons 52.

Seasons 52 offers a terrific selection of wines, great service and a sophisticated décor dominated by wood, stone and earthy tones. With a large bar overlooking a deck dotted with tables and the adjacent Intracoastal Waterway, Seasons 52 gets busy early, especially during winter months. Reservations suggested. Copyright © 2010. Jane Feehan. All rights reserved.

Other Darden Restaurants: Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capitol Grille,
Bahama Breeze. For more information about Seasons 52 and these other full service eateries, visit: www.darden.com




Tags: Palm Beach Gardens restaurants, waterfront dining in Palm Beach Gardens, waterside dining in Palm Beach Gardens

Saving sea turtles one by one - Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida

Loggerhead Marinelife Center

14200 U.S. Highway One

Juno Beach, Florida 33408

Open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. and

Sunday, 12-4 p.m.

561-627-8280

 www.marinelife.org

By Jane Feehan

What began three decades ago as one woman’s quest to learn about and protect sea turtles along the northern Palm Beach County coast has evolved into a cutting-edge research facility and veterinary hospital with an exhibit hall that draws visitors from around the globe.

Today, the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach provides a temporary home to rescued sea turtles with injuries and disease or tiny hatchlings who have lost their way to the ocean after emerging from beach nests. One in a thousand lives to sexual maturity. With these odds it’s no surprise that green sea turtles and leatherback turtles are endangered species; loggerheads are in a threatened status.

On a recent visit I saw a recovering female loggerhead in one of the center’s tanks with gashes to its shell from boat propellers (see photo above). A much younger and smaller Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle – a species most often seen in Gulf of Mexico waters and also endangered – was rescued from the sea floor with fishing lines and a two pound weight wrapped around one of its flippers. Most of the flipper of another hapless creature was missing; it probably served as a small appetizer for a shark.

The travails of each turtle are posted at the tank in which they recover. Most of the patients are returned to the sea. About 200 rescued hatchlings were recently released several miles off the Florida coast. The center encourages any who find injured or stranded sea turtles to contact them.

According to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, the northern Palm Beach County coast is one of the most active turtle nesting (May through October) beaches in the world. Hats off to the center for the work they do and the interest they generate in ocean conservation and sea life. This should top the list of things to see - and to support - in Florida. It’s a nonprofit organization that survives on donations and the help of committed, well-informed volunteers.

The Loggerhead Marinelife Center hosts events, field trips and a variety of children’s programs. There is no entrance fee but donations in any amount are suggested. The facility, which also has a wonderful aquarium with living coral and tropical fish (see photo), is currently expanding to include more exhibits. Picnic tables are available – some with an ocean view. Copyright © 2010. Jane Feehan. All rights reserved.

Restaurant TVs: Dining and politics?

By Jane Feehan

In today’s politically charged world, a widescreen television at a dining or drinking establishment can be a portal to controversy.

On a recent visit to a restaurant – not a sports enclave – I noticed all five televisions were tuned into baseball, football, reruns of car racing – the whole sporting gamut.  We asked for some news – CNN or FOX – but were told the owner wouldn’t allow it. Seems choosing either CNN or Fox would generate controversy.

There’s probably some truth to that. Enter other establishments where management offers one cable news channel rather than another and it often comes off as an identifier of their political bent, intentional or not, as a few conversations reveal.

Blue-red, black-white, right-left, CNN-FOX – it’s a growing universe of dichotomies that’s increasingly uncomfortable, one we're confronted with even while dining. For the most part, we’ve worked through male-female divisions of days gone by; perhaps we’ll soon be able to build bridges across today’s issues.

Copyright ©2010. Jane Feehan. All rights reserved.

Sing for your lunch at Jupiter Beach Resort and Spa - Jupiter, Florida

Jupiter Beach Resort and Spa

Sand Bar, and 

Sinclair's

5 North A1A

Jupiter, Florida 33477

561-746-2511

866-943-0950

www.jupiterbeachresort.com

By Jane Feehan

Jupiter Beach Resort and Spa, the only hotel on the beach in Jupiter, offers some great venues to enjoy the outdoors. I stopped in recently for a poolside lunch – the Sand Bar – and was favorably impressed.

The setting - tables shaded by umbrellas amidst sea grape and other tropical flora and a bar decked out with comfortable wicker chairs – provides an island-type backdrop for relaxation or socializing.  Topography obstructs a view of the ocean from dining areas but there's plenty to make up for it: entertainment. A musician with a terrific repertoire of jazzy tunes played guitar, sang, and enlisted the singing talents of wait staff and patrons. 

Lunch, from their restaurant (Sinclair’s) kitchen, earns kudos also. Food is fresh, not expensive (average $9-12), and well prepared. Pick from a selection of sandwiches, seafood and salads – it’s all here.

Service is good. Call about outdoor hours of operation; they vary, depending on weather and the sea turtle nesting season.

The Jupiter Beach Resort and Spa (Summit Hotels) hosts weddings with a fabulous view of the ocean, not far from the pool; four were held the weekend we visited. Once a Holiday Inn, then a Hilton property, Jupiter Beach Resort recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation, perhaps placing it on the roster of finer hotels in the Palm Beach area. (Thanksgiving dinner served as buffet or off the menu. Check their site. It runs $29-39.) Copyright© 2010. Jane Feehan. All rights reserved.  Enter city in search box on right for more restaurants in area.



Tags: Palm Beach area beach hotels, Jupiter hotels, oceanfront hotels in Jupiter and Palm Beach. Thanksgiving Jupiter.