DDD - Away We Go!

One of my passions (along with trying new DDD joints) is taking cruises.  I love to get away and get on a ship and see places and meet new friends.  In June 2008 I booked a cruise on the Liberty of the Seas out of Miami with my older brother Tom, his family and friends and my cruise friend Jeanne.  I arrived into the Miami area about 8 hours before Tom did, so I decided to rent a car and try a few DDD joints in the Miami area.  I was very familiar with both places I visited as I had sen their episodes several times before making the trip.  The first place was in Miami Beach called the 11th Street Diner. On the show Guy met up with Rosie O'Donnell and in the kitchen he cooked a pork chop dinner and also a Thanksgiving-style turkey dinner.  The part of the episode I really remembered is that Guy was taken aback by the chef's use of "bonn appetite".  The diner is a classic east coast silver train car style diner and as the legend goes, the diner was trucked down from Pennsylvania by the owners, who missed the diner-style restaurants they had grown up with.  I decided that Thanksgiving had come early in 2008 so I chose the turkey.  I remember that it was very filling and tasty.  Afterwards I was off to the next place before having to pick up Tom and his wife Elaine and their daughter Rebekah at Miami Airport.  I arrived at a place that looked pretty scary from the outside called Scully's Tavern.  It may have looked scary at first but as I walked in I was warmly welcomed by the staff.  This biker bar was FANTASTIC!  I chose the food that chef-owner Chris had cooked on the DDD show, Escargot and Scampi Style Chicken Wings.  The Escargot were great as were the wings, but after just eating at the 11th Street Diner, I took the wings to go.  The thing that really impressed me about Scully's was how friendly and nice all the staff were.  When I told me bartender-server how I had found Scully's he brought out the owner who thanked me for making the trip.  I asked my server if he had been there for the DDD taping and he told me that he had a job BECAUSE of the taping, as business had gone up 400% due to the show.  I knew that this would not be the last time I would visit Scully's! 

I had a great time on the cruise, too!