Road Trip to Florida for cruising, basketball and some Triple D's

This is the second year that I have been able to schedule a long vacation during the entire month of December. My friends Jeanne, Barry and I decided to book a couple of cruises.  Barry and I again decided to drive to Florida and as we planned it we decided to catch a few basketball games along the way.  I knew that I wanted to try a few Triple D places, if we could work them in.  My count was at 436 so if I could get to 4 new places I could get to 440 and with that I am hoping to reach 500 during 2016. 

We decided to drive to Port Canaveral, where our cruises would be leaving from, via Atlanta, Tampa and Orlando.  Barry loves to visit college bookstores for logo shirts, so we decided to make stops at Clemson and Georgia Tech.  We also decided to take in a few basketball games, one in Atlanta with Georgia Tech taking on Wofford University and one in the small town of St. Leo, Florida, which is about 40 minutes north of Tampa, to see St. Leo University take on Florida Southern.  St. Leo may seem familiar to some of you.  Back in the 1980s and 1990s, St. Leo seemed to make a yearly trip to take on Georgetown University at the old Capital Centre. 

We headed south and after a stop near the Greenville/Spartanburg airport we made a quick stop in Clemson, South Carolina at Clemson University.  After visiting the bookstore we drove over to Clemson Memorial Stadium, known to many as "Death Valley".  Although it is closed to the public, there are some good vantage points to see inside the stadium.  Clemson has a tradition that the players run into the stadium down a hill   They touch a stone at the top and charge "into the valley" for the game.  The rock called Howard's Rock is kept under lock and key, opened only for game time.  I was really surprised that the hill isn't nearly as big as it seems on TV, but it is one of the most iconic entrances in college football.

Top of the famous hill at Clemson Memorial Stadium

Death Valley

Howard's Rock

After a quick stop at the Clemson baseball stadium we headed south into Georgia and a visit to Atlanta.  It took us just under 2 hours to drive to Atlanta.  I have a good friend from high school that lives outside Atlanta and we arranged to meet in the small town of Tucker, northeast of the city to try a Triple D place that I have been wanting to visit since it was first aired on the show.  Tucker is a small town very reminiscent of Mayberry from The Andy Griffith Show.  Barry and I met Suzanne just outside a place that looked to be kind of plain, but looks can, and in this case are very deceiving!  "Matthews Cafeteria" is a traditional southern style "Meats and Two" place.  There is the traditional cafeteria style line and you just pick out what you want as the server fill your plate.  I remembered their episode and especially the owner Mike, who is a third generation owner, the restaurant was opened 70 years ago by his grandparents and it is now a Tucker institution.  I spotted Mike as soon as I entered and knew who I wanted to sign my book! 



Matthews Cafeteria in Tucker, Georgia


There were a lot of great choices to make for lunch, I chose the Salmon Croquettes with creamed corn and mashed potatoes and Barry and Suzanne chose the Brisket.  They also tried the Deviled Eggs which both of them raved about!  The food was fantastic!  I love these places, great food at reasonable prices and wonderful, friendly service!  Mike came over and talked with us for quite a while, we talked a lot about not only the filming of their episode but about the history of the restaurant and how much we loved the food!  Mike had them bring us some samples of the food that we had not ordered and asked us what we wanted for dessert, we told him to surprise us and then all of the sudden a small plate of brisket was delivered along with a slice of Lemon Icebox Pie, Strawberry Shortcake and a slice of Mexican Chocolate cake! 

My Matthews Cafeteria lunch, Salmon Croquettes with creamed corn and mashed potatoes

Beef Brisket compliments of Mike

Lemon Icebox Pie

Strawberry Shortcake

Mexican Chocolate Cake

What a great time we had!  Catching up with Suzanne was a real treat and meeting Mike and his staff was wonderful.  Suzanne said that she had never been to Tucker, but wanted to return to not only go back to Matthews but to also explore the town some more.  I know that this won't be my only visit to Matthews, great food and great people make this one of the best places I have been to on my Triple  travels!

Mike, the owner of Matthews and me

I said goodbye to the staff and then to Suzanne, the visit with her was way too short but she had to return to work and we had o head down into Atlanta.  After getting settled into our hotel for the night Barry and I headed out into the rush hour traffic to go to McCamish Pavilion to see the Wofford University Terriers take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.  The was a very light crowd for the game which Georgia Tech, known to some as "The Ramblin' Wreck" won. 

Bobby Cremins Court home of Georgia Tech Basketball

Opening Tip

Handshakes at the end

Scoreboard says it all!

After the game we headed to a Triple D place that was featured on a bar food episode and is open until 230a, so it was a great place to try after a game!  "Highlander" is in a small strip mall and has the feel of a "Goth" style place.  It is dark and a little smoky but very busy for a Tuesday night. The walls are adorned with all types of eclectic art, many of the pieces are available for purchase. I remembered from the episode they specialized in Spicy Chili and Mozzarella Sticks. 

The Highlander in Atlanta

Some of the Eclectic Art at the Highlander

On their episode they featured the Highlander's unique Mozzarella sticks called Pasta-rella Sticks, since the cheese is wrapped in pasta dough. Barry and I decided to try the Pasta-rella sticks, Potato Skins and a Cuban Sandwich.  I told our server why we were there and the manager came out to sign my book and told us we needed to try their signature chili and send out a cup for us to try,  The Potato Skins were pretty good, but they were like skins you can find at any good bar or restaurant.  the Pasta-rella sticks came with a cup of tomato sauce and were awesome.  The pasta shell really made it great and the sauce was chucky and real tasty.  The Cuban Sandwich was a traditional Cuban and Barry must have gotten the Jalapeno half of the sandwich, because it wasn't very spicy to me but he said he had a good bite of heat. The chili was SPICY and the spice was a slow burn, not too hot at first taste but grew.  It was very tasty, order it with sour cream!

Highlanders Signature Pasta-rella sticks

Good Pull on the sticks!

Potato Skins

Spicy Chili compliments of The Highlander

The Highlander's Cuban

We had a good time at the Highlander and  it was time to get some rest for a very full day ahead that included trying some more places in Atlanta and then making the long drive into the Sunshine State.

Before  we left the Atlanta area Barry wanted to check out the Georgia Tech bookstore, which is actually a Barnes and Noble store and I wanted to get to a few more Triple D places.  We headed into the city to the Highland section of Atlanta near the Carter Presidential Library to a small neighborhood place called "Folk Art Restaurant".  there is art work all over the place.  On the wall outside and really cool signs inside. 

Wall art outside Folk Art

The Guy sign amongst the artwork at Folk Art

Guy Ate Here!

I am not a huge breakfast eater so I decided to try the Biscuit and Gravy.  One thing they know how to do in the south is make biscuits and with this Folk Art did not disappoint!  The gravy was loaded with ground sausage and had a nice spice bite to it. 

Folk Art's Biscuit and Gravy

The meal hit the spot and after getting my book signed we left for the Georgia Tech campus.  Barry did his good deed for the day, helping a lady figure out how to use the parking meter, while we almost got a parking ticket trying to pay the same meter, luckily it all turned out good.  After doing some shopping we headed to our last stop in Atlanta.  "Fox Brothers Bar-B-Q" is a famous Atlanta place.  We got there just after it opened and it was already filling up, we got one of the last parking spots in the lot and when we left not only was it filled up but people were parking almost a quarter mile away! 

Fox Brother an Atlanta Barbecue legend

Barry and I were still pretty full from breakfast so we decided to try and share two appetizers.  We tried the Fried Pickles and Fox Brothers signature app called Fried Chicken Ribs.  The ribs are fried in the same way that fried chicken is.  It is served with Fox's signature white barbecue sauce on the side.  White sauce is a mayonnaise based sauce and was pretty good.

Fox Bros. Fried Pickles

Fox Bros. signature Fried Chicken Ribs

The pickles were really good, not too briny but with a bit of a bite.  The Fried Chicken Ribs were unreal, I could've eater a full rack of those.  The ribs were featured on their Triple D episode and really needed nothing with them, they were tender and so tasty, the sauce was good but in reality added nothing, these are a MUST when going to Fox Brothers.  Unfortunately neither of the brothers were there but the pit master was able to sign the book.  We headed out for the long drive to the Tampa area for the next leg of the trip. 

After a 6 hour drive we arrived to see a basketball game at St. Leo University in the town of St. Leo.  Those of you who followed college basketball during the John Thompson era at Georgetown University should remember the St. Leo Lions, they made a yearly trip to the Cap Centre for a game and a big payday!  St. Leo is a pretty nice campus and they play in a small gym to a very enthusiastic student fan base.  This night they were playing Florida Southern from Lakeland.  The students were great, loud and encouraging to their team that trailed throughout.  They were down with about 3 minutes left by 8 and then they came to life and the Lions roared to a 91-89 victory, it was probably the most fun and exciting game that I have attended in a long time.  The coolest thing to me was that as the fans and students left the players were at the baseline giving everyone high fives and thanking us for attending!

St. Leo University Athletic Center Home of the Lions

Florida Southern Mocs being introduced

The Lions aka Leo being introduced

Opening Tip

St. Leo wins!

After a really long and busy day we settled in for a quiet day before getting together with my cousins and friends for a dinner the next night at a Triple D place in Sarasota, which is about an hour south of where we were staying outside Tampa in the town of Brandon. As we arrived at the hotel was just off of Falkenburg Road and I remembered that there was a really cool Triple D place off Falkenburg, so I checked online and saw that it was about 5 minutes away!  OK, I knew we had lunch plans the next day!

Barry and I headed off for lunch and arrived after a short drive at "Danny's All American Diner and Dairy Bar".  Danny's is a small place with a definite baseball theme.  They specialize in burgers with  names like the Babe Ruth, Nolan Ryan, and Mickey Mantle! 

Danny's All American Diner and Dairy Bar in Tampa

This is no lie!

Love the Baseball theme!

I first visited Danny's in 2011 and got the Roberto Clemente, which is a burger grilled like a Cuban sandwich and it was good, on this visit I wanted to try something different.  I decided to try the Round Tripper and chose not to make it a platter with a drink a fries, which became a very good idea. The Round Tripper is a foot long huge hotdog topped with chili, onions and cheese, I opted not to take the jalapenos which are an option.  We went to the back of the place for their version of Al Fresco dining.  We were to first ones there but as we waited and then ate, the place became very busy.  The Round Tripper is a fork and knife dog and is a meal in and of itself!  On the building visitors write on the walls and I decided to do this, too. 

Danny's Al Fresco dining!

Leaving my mark at Danny's

The Round Tripper - Yes, there is a hot dog (quarter pounder) in there amongst the chili, cheese and onions!

I left there full!  If you are in the Tampa area and want a good filling hot dog, hamburger, or sandwich come check this place out!  It could easily be described as a dive, but descriptions are very deceiving!

After a relaxing afternoon, Barry and I headed south to Sarasota to meet a friend and family for a return visit to a classic Triple D place that I visited in 2009.  The hour ride was in a torrential rain storm and in part of Sarasota there must have been about 6 inches of water on the road!  We arrived at "Alpine Steakhouse" which was featured on Triple D in the first or second season on an episode all about turkey.  Alpine is a full service place, they make all of their food in house and from scratch, from rolls to butchered meats and seafood.  One of their specialties is Turducken, which is Turkey stiffed with Duck, which is stuffed with chicken!

I made a reservation for 8 but a few had to cancel for various reasons. Barry and I met up with my friend Patti, who I graduated from High School with as she now lives in the Sarasota area.  We also met up with my cousins Bonnie and Paul and Auntie Care, all of whom live in Venice, which is about an hour south of Sarasota. 

I knew in advance what I wanted to try: the Oysters Rockefeller and Turducken, which were the featured items on their episode.  I immediately recognized the owner son, Matt, who cooked with Guy on their episode.  He came over and not only signed my book and gave me an Alpine Steakhouse t-shirt but brought us a small tray of maple bacon strips for us to try and they were UNREAL!  I don't think I will ever have bacon that good ever again.  Patti, who doesn't eat very much meat or pork said that it was the best she had ever had, very good recommendation.  She also said that when she has people come to visit Alpine will be one of her "go to" places!  Barry, Paul and I got Turducken and we were not disappointed!  The meat comes out with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce, sort of like a Thanksgiving dinner.  The turkey surrounds the duck and chicken and between each layer is stuffing and crumbled sausage, it is pretty awesome. 

Oysters Rockefeller

Alpine Steakhouse's famous Turducken

We finished what could only be described as a very satisfying meal and it was great to catch up with my cousins and Aunt Care.  I had not seen Bonnie in almost 30 years.  I think I hadn't seen Patti in almost 20 years!  Travelling around and trying all these places is great but catching up with family and friends is the real joy, along with meeting the restaurant chefs and crew, I can't think of a better way to enjoy life!

Owner Matt, the Turducken Master and me

Great Family and Friends Paul, me, Patti Auntie Care and Bonnie

The backside of the t-shirt, a gift of Alpine Steakhouse

We said our goodbyes to the staff and then each other, it was a great time.  My Triple D portion of the trip was over, it was now time to head over to Port Canaveral and a couple of cruises.  I was able to not only get to 4 new places and bring my total to 440, but was able to met new friends and see other that I have not been able to see as much as I would have liked.  I thank God, I am very blessed!