Seems like we’re making trips to the ‘other’ side of Florida and visiting parts of the east coast – which hadn’t happened in a number of years.
Destination Cocoa – 70 miles and 1 hour and ten minutes later…….we arrived.
While Cocoa was our ultimate destination we were ‘technically’ heading to Port Canaveral since our restaurant of choice was Seafood Atlantic.
The sign above indicates it was established in 1984 but there’s history. It was a multi-step process. Their roots were in commercial fishing 1984 and they fished & marketed their catch domestically and internationally. They buy from over 200 independent commercial fisherman in four Florida counties. That’s pretty cool!
In 1994 they opened their retail market. They had lots and lots of good looking fish they day we were there but alas it’s hard to buy fish when you can catch your own. 🙂 Our catch is very different, but waaaaaaay fresh.
They began serving in 2009 cooking the fish you find in their retail market. Here’s some idea of what’s cooking.
While these bikes would n.e.v.e.r. be our choice of transportation, behind the fence was the outside seating (which is your only option). The place was advertised as ‘casual, outdoor, waterfront open-air dining. Yep, good description.
The oysters were a big draw for this locale and accompanied by a bloody mary and coke – guess which one was mine. Wowser – look at all of the extra ‘stuff’ in the bloody mary – that’s a meal in itself!
Another top draw was the smoked fish dip. It was very yummy. Eric got a bowl of chowder before his meal arrived.
Eric’s selection was ‘sizzling scallops’ while I got the grouper sandwich. We both really enjoyed our choices. Alas, chips not fries came with my meal as that choice was pat of their menu. At least they were great chips.
One last photo before heading to our Cocoa destination. With the sun beating down, none of my photos were good. This was the best of the lot.
First stop……..Dirty Oar Beer Company. Loved their mural on the side of the building!
They opened in 2017 and their name identifies with the area. The oar (paddle) is used for mixing grains but is remiescent of a boat paddle and the seaweed ties into the area’s waterways.
Three indiividuals (NY, VT and NJ) moved to the area for family/friends/job and when at a time became unemployed, their wives pushed them forward with their dream as they enjoyed craft beer.
One beer each before our next destination.
BUGNUTTY. What a great name. Just saying it is fun. HAD to look up the meaning and found this:
>Being in a state of overwhelming emotion (drinking great beer – I added that 🙂 )
Their brewery is in a former 1932 Buick dealership and the owners/operators have a combined 50+ years of experience in brewing. Their goal is a complete experience with beer, pub grub, 12′ screen, live music and great service.
We had a few brews before ordering their HUGE preztel. If a place has fish dip or pretzel – we’re in!
This was another nice drive to one of our Florida’s coasts – not too far – yet enough of a drive to feel like you could ‘get away’ even temporarily.
Darden Travels 