"Carry That Weight"

 In my last post, I was thinking of changing my Bucket goals on eating, to make it more inclusive to places I have already visited, as well as trying new places. My mindset it to watch my diet so I do not have to "Carry That Weight". The plans are not set but I did get to visit a new place that opened in June in Eau Gallie.

In the site of an old Furniture Store that had become an antique furniture store. Not sure of the history of the building but it has been there as long as I have been coming to Eau Gallie back in the 1960s. The renovation has been going on for a while and since I cross the Eau Gallie Causeway a lot, I am always passing the building.

The first problem I saw was that there is not a lot of parking in the downtown Eau Gallie area, also known as the Eau Gallie Arts District (EGAD). I found a spot but it was only 4:30 on a Tuesday. In the photo, I am walking toward the large building from the East along the Eau Gallie Blvd. There are two entrances and I choose the left one.

I walked by the large kitchen into a bar and dining area. I sit down and I know the bartender on the right. Her name is Brandy, she is a fine girl, and also works at Tide & Tonic in IHB. I also knew her from Whiskey Beach. I ordered a summer lager that had the Nomad name on it. BTW, all the bars in Nomad's Canteen are covered with Air Stream trailers...

I had just been having drinks at Cadillac Cove with my old boss John Pitkethly, his son Scott, and almost retired Gaylen Drape. I did not eat there so I was hungry. Here are the appetizers; they call their food surfer soul food.

There are more pages to the menu but I only included what I ordered, the Watufaka Bowl. I had to look that word up and found it is:

 Its da HAWAIIAN slang fo What you fucker. its wat da Hawaiian say wen sumbody is giving dem one dirty look

And here is my Watufaka Bowl as it came out/ It was good but the mango was a little unripe and hard. My neighbor Rachel just gave me a basket full of mangoes from her tree and they are so ripe that the house smells like mangoes. I have frozen three gallon bags  for smoothies.

Even the restrooms are near an Air Stream. I met an 80 year old Asian man at the bar named Jerry, and he says the men's bathroom is a bad design because you can see the urinals from the outside, and the people peeing at them, when the door is opened. I know the Women's room has no urinals because later in the evening I went in there. Accidently of course, but the girl in there was not happy.

There are two bars on the first floor, this one is facing the North side of the building along Eau Gallie Blvd. Of course, it is covered by an Air Stream...

This is the view from the staircase of the downstairs dining area and large stage for live music. That is Brandy on the right, checking out for the day. Some tables have chairs and some have benches.

There are also some booths along the waitress area near the kitchen window. The windows above are along the second floor walkway. 

Some of the bars have wheelchairs access, so they can sit at the bar, displayed in middle of photo.

They have an outside balcony with a fourth bar, but it was so humid I took this photo and went back to the AC.  That is the Intracoastal Brewery complex; the building in the middle use to be Johnny's Bar where my Aunt Peasoup was bartender and a favorite hangout for my parents.

They have chairs and fancy wood tables along the balcony overlooking the first floor and music area.

I decided to get a beer up there and the bartender Drew said that since it was Tuesday and pass 5PM, all tall can beers were $4 including one of my favorites, Guinness. There were some others but I did not listen. The other glass contains some Bloody Mary mix that the other bartender Melissa let me try. It was very thick and flavorful, I will be back for a Bloody Mary.

This is a shot of bartenders Melissa and Drew at the upstairs bar. The sliding doors go out to the deck bar. It was humid out there but I repeat myself.

This is a shot from my barstool, looking toward the stage.

I want to mention that after leaving, I was Google searching on the food I ate, the Watufaka Bowl and found that there is another Nomad's Canteen in San Clemente California. The menu is almost identical, including the same font so I assume they are the same owners who opened this place in EGAD. I give it a 3.5 (Great to Excellent) for mostly the friendly staff, nice décor and overall ambiance. The food was a 2.5 but I believe there are some great things still to eat.

About Title

"Carry That Weight" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the seventh and penultimate song in the album's climactic side-two medley. It features unison vocals in the chorus from all four Beatles, a rarity in their songs. It is preceded by "Golden Slumbers" and segues into "The End".