Dining Out - A new restaurant every week

Even before retiring, I liked to eat out at different restaurants. I have always liked to try new things including food, and I am not afraid to try things that I have never had, within reason.  One of my bucket list items I added at the start of 2015 was to eat out, at least once a week, at a new restaurant that I have never been before. That may seem like an easy item to do, but since I have lived in the Melbourne Florida area for over 35 years, it is not easy finding new places. Therefore, I stretched my rules a little and I am allowed to eat out at a chain, as long as I have not been in the building before. Likewise, if a new restaurant opens up in the same building as one I went before, that counts as new also.

As I started to do this, people would always ask me to rate the place. I came up with my own rating system scale which I have included here.  Since these are my rules, I find that I have to tweak the system sometimes. Since it has been 24 weeks already, the scale has kind of reached a mean.

0 Bad No way in hell will I ever return to this place.
1 Okay Food was edible and I may return if all other places close first.
2 Good Food was edible and the place was clean; may take a close friend here.
3 Great Food was great and the service and atmosphere are worth sharing with friends.
4 Excellent Top notch in all categories and would do special dinners here with anybody visiting me.
5 Memorable Standards are high to reach this pinnacle, but I will definitely experience it again!

So far, I have had nine Good, twelve Great, and three Excellent. I guess I need to work on finding the memorable restaurant. But I have been lucky not to go to a bad place either. I think the driving force is cost, I am not ready to hit the fancy places without having someone to share it with me.

This week's restaurant was a 2, Good.  I went to IKEA in Orlando and ate at the dining room (maybe cafeteria) before I went shopping. I was hungry and I had never tried the Swedish meatballs before. The price was right and they were good. But being Ikea, they put the gravy on the plate first and then covered with the meatballs. Some assembly was required to get the gravy on top...

I am looking for new places to try. I have made a list but I am open to suggestions...
Location: Brevard County, FL, USA

Comments

  1. npm3530June 16, 2015 at 11:14 AM

    Looking forward to your reviews BJ! Jose and I are always looking for new places to try!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJune 16, 2015 at 5:50 PM

    Double Tapp Grill just opened on U.S. 1 right near you Bj. Ed Andre is the owner. He used to own the old Enigma (formely The Phoenix). Let us know if you want to try it on the weekend and we would love to join you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BJ ProvonchaJune 18, 2015 at 12:56 PM

      Let me know about this weekend, probably Saturday. i would love to try it.

      Delete
  3. UnknownJune 16, 2015 at 5:52 PM

    Double Tapp Grill just opened on U.S. 1 right near you Bj. Ed Andre is the owner. He used to own the old Enigma (formely The Phoenix). Let us know if you want to try it on the weekend and we would love to join you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJune 30, 2015 at 9:44 AM

    This is by no means a new restaurant, but Kathi and I both enjoy the Cheese Enchilada plate at El Charro restaurant in Cocoa.

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BJ ProvonchaJuly 2, 2015 at 6:15 AM

      Actually Bob, I have never been to El Charro....it is on the list and I definitely will give it a try! Thanks.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VT Trip - Steve's Park Diner

Image
 Although I was visiting Vermont primarily to visit relatives, there were other happenings in the town of Middlebury and surrounding areas. The unusual rain had not stopped the summer functions and events from happening. I was lucky enough to attend a few things, and one close to my heart was the small Memorial get-together for Steve's Park Diner being torn down. So on Saturday morning, August 4, after a nice walk from Tom's house on Weybridge Street, I arrived at the diner for one last time. I was early and sat myself next to the diner on the stone wall separating it from the Middlebury Town Hall Theater. The first person I talked to said she was the mother of one of the waitresses from the past, Jodi James. We had a nice chat and I saw an old class mate walking by. It was Kathy Smith, who did Independent Study with me Senior Year at MUHS, class of 1975. We did Oral Interpretation with fellow student Scott Sperry. It was great to see her. Other people starting showing up, some
Read more

Go to a retirement lunch

Image
A thing that is almost as fun as retiring is to go to the lunches for someone else that is just retiring. Usually, there are stories of the past and people are happy to see another person reaching the goal of full retirement. I have been lucky to have retired early, and now I am having the pleasure of starting to see other friends and past coworkers retire too. Today, it was my friend Kevin, who started work a year after I did. I have known him for over 35 years. That is a long time. Kevin at his retirement luncheon First, Kevin isn't even his first name. His full name is Michael Kevin Atchison. His wife's name is Christine but goes by Christy. I know Kevin is from Oklahoma and I always assumed Christy was too. They ended up in Florida because of the job at ENSCO, Inc., the company I retired from over two years ago after 34 years. The Florida Division of ENSCO was working sub-contracts for the Air Force. The Florida office was located at Shopper's World in Indian Har
Read more

VT Trip - 2023

Image
 My last drive to Vermont was in September of 2019. This time, being about four years older, I decided to give it another try. My goal was to make it to Virginia in the first day and then to Middlebury on the second. But between weather, traffic and construction, the goal can not always be met. My destination: I left Melbourne at 7:15 am on August 2 and I pulled in to the Holiday Inn Express in Roanoke Rapids North Carolina at 7:15 pm. It was about 682 miles in 12 total hours and I was only 9 miles from Virginia. There was a rainstorm in Georgia and lots of construction in North Carolina on I-95 that slowed me down. I left Roanoke Rapids at 7:17 am after having the complimentary breakfast at the Inn. Here is a picture of the Inn I stayed at, I actually have been to this one in a previous trip. As I said, I entered Virginia after gassing up in Weldon NC. The Welcome Center is right on the state line so my car was parked next to this sign... From that same spot I could also see the Welco
Read more