A post to introduce gallery on something everybody likes: food and restaurants

When I was in my teens, growing up in suburban Milwaukee, Wis., my mother got me interested in ice tea one summer. She loved ice tea as a summer refreshment, preferably with lots of ice. The longer it stayed ice cold, the better, she would say. I still enjoy an unsweetened ice tea to this day.

My parents were behind another vivid food memory. I was 5 years old when I came home from the hospital after major corrective eye surgery. The medical term for my condition was amblyopia, but it is better known as lazy eye. As a precaution against infection after the procedure, the surgeon had bandaged over both of my eyes, leaving me temporarily sightless. I stayed that way for a couple days afterward, including the first full day at home.

At the dinner table the first night home, my parents served what they told me was something very special. (At this point, it helps to know that I was a very finicky eater for much of my childhood. One of the things I wouldn't go near at that time was steak. So they used this opportunity to make me try steak while "blindfolded.") They told me that they wouldn't tell me what this "special" main fare was until after I tried it. I resisted, suspecting something foul and distasteful. So they asked me, "Do you think we'd really give you something we knew you wouldn't like after all that you've gone through?"

I agreed that it would be cruel of them to sucker me into trying something they knew I'd spit out. So I sampled it. Of course, I loved it. So much so, that a few years later, after I got myself a newspaper delivery route, my parents gave me permission to buy myself a porterhouse steak each week -- as long as I put the rest of my earnings in my college education savings account (which I dutifully did).

So why the stories about food? It occurred to me a couple weeks ago how everybody loves food, and how I've devoted a lot of my picture-taking in recent years (well, a proportionately growing number, anyway) to the various meals Lee Ann and I have enjoyed in our daily travels and travails. I thought, why not pack them all into a handy location in my online photography site so that friends, family and visitors to this blog can refer to them if/when they ever go to a community that I've been to for ideas on where to dine?

Since that light bulb went on a few weeks ago, I've been creating such a gallery, one featuring arrays of pictures taken at all the places when I've stopped to eat and taken pictures. I can't swear that I've uploaded pictures from every one of them; even though I've archived my photos in a pretty organized manner on my computer and backup drives, there's always a possibility that one, two or more places might have fallen through the cracks.

As best as I can recall, this is the first time I've devoted a post to formally introduce a new gallery at my photography site, but I guess there is always a place for first times. I don't assert that these are professional quality photos, or even very good photos. The quality of most images is pretty good or at least average; most were taken with my iPhone. And most galleries offer a look at an eatery's exterior, interior and the food itself. But the quality in some falls short; a few have just pictures of food, a few others just the interior or exterior.

But the point is to give visitors an idea of what to expect there. To satisfy a curiosity. Or to have a place to consult early on. The photo I chose to lead off the post is my plate from a visit to the Sunset Grill and Raw Bar in Marathon, Fla. (Florida Keys) on Jan. 24, 2017. The main fare is smoked prime rib, and it remains the best prime rib I've ever had. Guess I still had the childhood steak anecdote from above in mind, so it just seemed like the logical choice to put in the lead-off position.

We went back to the Sunset Grille the following year, in February 2018, when we returned to the Keys, and we had another nice evening that time, too. It's when I took the photo below, which shows the well-known Seven Mile Bridge in the distant right background. Sunset Grille is an ideal place to kick back; it's right on the water and has an extensive seafood menu as well as traditional fare. And the bar is versatile. Best of all, it's an ideal place to watch a sunset, especially in January or February.

The gallery is organized by location -- first by state and then by community. If you're a regular visitor to this blog, you've seen most (if not all?) of my food pictures that can be found in the new gallery. So I won't clutter the space here with too many pictures. Just know they're there in one, compact place now. Head on over for a visit, if you'd like: Restaurants photo gallery

But I will present a selected array of images below that represent my favorites spots in various states I've visited and dined. You'll find these all at the gallery.

In Georgia, Savannah has become a favorite destination for Lee Ann and I, mostly because of the dining options we've come to experience. My restaurants gallery has quite a few Savannah eateries represented. We've made a point to visit The Lady & Sons -- the southern cooking restaurant owned by Paula Deen and her sons -- each time we go there. But on our most recent visit, in 2018, we made a point to twice visit Six Pence Pub (exterior shown above) because we each REALLY enjoyed the dishes we had there (and maybe, too, we were so hungry by the time we got there). I had the pot roast, mashed potatoes and zuchini side (first below); Lee Ann enjoyed the shepherd's pie and salad (second below). 

It dawned on me as I prepared this post that we haven't been to Charleston, S.C., since May 2017, which is unfortunate. It also means we haven't been there since moving to North Carolina. We instead have visited and revisited the closer community (by about an hour or so) of Myrtle Beach quite a few times in that period. Charleston has fine dining places aplenty, but we tend to gravitate to the casual eateries. Jestine's Kitchen, another southern eatery, has been a must-stop each of the three times we've been to Charleston. The exterior (above) is unpretentious, but the food is delicious. I ordered the fried chicken the first and third time we stopped in. When they had catfish on special on our second visit (below), I went for that ... and was not disappointed. Being a fan of liver and onions (second below), Lee Ann always goes for that at Jestine's.    

In Virginia, I could have gone with historic Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria, which several of our nation's founders are said to have patronized. We also had good meals at a pub in Yorktown along the James River and at another popular southern cooking eatery in Williamsburg. But for this post, I went with with the BBQ Exchange (above) in Gordonsville, a community northeast of Charlottesville not far from James Madison's Montpelier. Barbecue is the name of the game here, and I enjoyed a half-rack of ribs (below) for carryout on the afternoon I visited.  

It might not be appropriate to try and represent Tennessee on the basis of visits to only two establishments, but I'll give it a try anyway. The Landshark Bar & Grill (above) on the main drag in Gatlinburg was a lunchtime stop for me, Lee Ann and her daughter, son-in-law and grandson. I ordered fish tacos (below). 

In August 2017, amid the crazy of still trying to unpack after our move to North Carolina (we had already made two trips to and from Indianapolis, and would make two more trips -- one each in September and October -- to move stuff), Lee Ann hunted around for a recommended place near to us that we could run off to and enjoy a nice meal ... and some calm. The place we settled on was the Chef's Palette (above) on the southside of the Raleigh suburb of Cary. Maybe it was because we were so delighted to have a decent, relaxed meal at a nice sit-down restaurant. Or maybe it was because we were so darn hungry. Perhaps both. But the pork chop meal that Lee Ann ordered (first photo below) and rib-eye steak I ordered (second below) were absolutely scrumptious. I tasted some of the pork chop (it was prepared with a combination of peaches, bacon, pecans and arugula and a very light barbecue glaze), and it was succulent beyond description. And my rib-eye that night was the best I'd ever had. We have been back to Chef's Palette a few times since, and none of our meals has been able to replicate the utter joy we experienced that night. Note: The chef took the pork chop dish off the menu by the time we returned for our second visit. He did return it later, but with a slightly different preparation and presentation.   

In Indiana, the former Milano Inn (above) became a favorite sit-down getaway for Lee Ann and me until it closed in December 2016. I'd gone there quite a few times before meeting Lee Ann. By far, my favorite dish on the menu was the Timballo (first photo below), a five-layered lasagna that never disappointed and remains the best lasagna I've ever had. Also, Lee Ann and I both grew to like the parmesan-crusted grouper (second photo below).