Mackey’s Mud House in Pensacola
The Rooftop Dining area at Mackey’s Mud House, Pensacola
Mackey’s Mud House has been open mere months, but is already attracting attention in downtown Pensacola for it’s variety in tastes and the freshness of their offerings.
We decided to give it a try. We love the growing sense of life in downtown Pensacola, love the open market and the variety of restaurants.
The chips and salsa knocked our socks off.
I love the colored chips, but, even better, they were thin and crisp. The salsa tasted fresh, and had just a little bite. It was a great way to start the meal.
I ordered cider slaw and the Mediterranean Pasta. The slaw was the way I like it, no mayonnaise, and tasty. The Pasta had more of that fresh taste – made with all fresh ingredients, maybe the healthiest pasta I have eaten in a long time.
AdventureMan’s Mediterranean Pizza was also fresh and delicious, and as you can see, there was so much of it we had to take some home for dinner. Yumm. 🙂
We ate inside; it was still a little too warm for me outside.
Our waitress was Jen, who was totally on top of things, friendly, efficient and informed, without being intrusive. We’ll be going back. . . and I’m thinking this is a great place to watch the Pensacola parades from . . .
Pensacola Ale House ReVisit
“I’ll have what she’s having!” I laughed, as I parroted the famous line from When Harry Met Sally. As soon as we were seated, I could smell the sauce on the shrimp pasta; garlicy, spicy, oh yummm.
“She has the light sauce, you want that?” asks the waiter.
“Exactly what she is having,” I repeat. The smell is driving me crazy.
When it arrives, it IS all that. It tastes even better than it smells. There is so much of it that I take half home for dinner some night. Fabulous. AdventureMan had the hamburger. He said it was good, but . . . not McGuires. Not Red Robin.
Mostly we avoid chains, and the Ale House is a kind of a chain. We prefer local places. On the other hand, their food is reliably good, and now and then we even have a great meal. My Shrimp with light sauce was great.
My View at Flounders on Pensacola Beach
“They’re all asking to have what you are having!” the waiter shouted across the aisle as I saw eight people watching me eat a Baja Fish Taco, not a pretty sight. They caught me with a mouth full, so I could only smile and nod good-naturedly, trying to indicate it was delicious – if messy. AdventureMan had a grouper Po’Boy and a bowl of their matchless seafood chowder.
In spite of the messiness – Baha Tacos was a three napkin meal, all the lettuce and tomato and jalepeno slices keep falling out, it is so stuffed, and holy smokes, it is so delicious. Four people at that table ordered the same. It is a wonderful dish. It is on the appetizer section of the menu, but it comes with three huge fish tacos, more than I can ever eat, so they bring me a box when they bring the entree. Yes, it is just as good later in the day. It tastes so fresh.
The weather is perfect now, crawling up into the 80’s, cooling down into the lower 70’s at night, sea breezes blowing, humidity . . . well, bearable. Reminds us of November in Kuwait.
Here is my view at Flounders:
The Meat You Eat Can Make You Sick
A fascinating – if long – article on how our meat is farmed and the high cost of ‘cheap’ meat:
‘Healthy’ Cows, Sick Consumers: CDC Warns of a High Cost in Cheap Meat
by Bruce Watson Sep 25th 2013 6:00AM
On the surface, it’s hard to question the cost-effectiveness of factory-farmed meat. After all, the math is pretty simple: You start with inexpensive animals, raise them at relatively minimal cost, butcher them in the cheapest way possible, and sell them for low, low prices.
But the math gets a little more complicated when you look at the long-term health impact of all that cheap meat. Of course, there are the obvious things that everyone’s already worried about — issues like cholesterol and high blood pressure and gout and whatnot — but the biggest downside comes from something that you probably haven’t considered: antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
In a recent report, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that 2 million Americans are hit with antibiotic-resistant infections every year — and 23,000 people die from them.
Doctor Feelgood
So what causes all these outbreaks? In part, it’s our overreliance on antibiotics. Every time your doctor prescribes antibiotics to you, the bacteria in your body grow more able to tolerate them. Those antibiotic-resistant germs can then get passed on to other people, leading to the spread of harder-to-kill infections, which leads to more doctor visits, and so on, in a vicious cycle.
So, obviously, the first solution to our antibiotic-resistant bug problem is to stop overprescribing antibiotics. We should, many health experts argue, save the antibiotics for the times when we really need them.
This Little Piggie Had Penicillin …
But our overuse of erythromycin and amoxicillin is just a small part of the problem. Even if you never fill your antibiotic prescriptions — even if your doctor never writes them — chances are that you’re still consuming a huge amount of antibiotics in your food. More specifically, in your meat.
When factory farms look for ways to cut costs, space is one of the first things to go: Factory owners often crowd animals together in cramped pens. But when cows, pigs and chickens live in such cramped conditions, often with open wounds and amid ever-growing piles of feces, the barns become a breeding ground for bacterial infections. One way to cut back on this is to give the animals more space. Another way is to pump them full of antibiotics.
Not surprisingly, most factory farm operations go for the latter. In fact, the meat industry currently uses 80 percent of all antibiotics that are consumed in the US. All those drugs keep the animals relatively disease-free — and help keep meat cheap. But it’s not exactly an impressive price cut for the customer: According to one estimate, the use of antibiotics on farms saves the average meat-eating consumer $5 to $10 a year.
And those minor savings may come at a huge cost. Sloppy slaughtering methods often contaminate meat with antibiotic-resistant bacteria from the animals’ colons and stomachs. And, even if factory-farmed meat makes it to your grocery store without becoming contaminated, there are other ways animal waste enters the food cycle: Water and manure that are left over from factory animals often get used on crops, further spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
So What Can You Do?
As I’ve pointed out in the past, there are a few ways to protect yourself. To begin with, you can ensure that your meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F — both at your home, and in any restaurants that you visit. Unfortunately, while this will kill any bacteria hiding inside your burger, it will also transform it into a well-done hockey puck.
Maybe you should just stick to the brisket.
You can also try looking for organic meat. While a little more expensive, it is produced without antibiotics, which lowers your chance of encountering antibiotic-resistant bacteria. For that matter, you may want to think about using organic vegetables — or, at least, carefully washing your fresh produce.
Another option is to get involved. Last week, I wrote about new USDA procedures would cut inspections on chicken and pork, and would allow Chinese poultry to be sold in American markets. Since these plans also reduce the number of USDA inspectors — among the few barriers between you and food poisoning — they could directly affect your health. If you get a chance, you may want to tell your congressman or senator that you’ve got some problems with this.
Given the huge lobbying efforts behind the USDA’s inspector cuts and opening the U.S. to Chinese chicken imports, chances are that both policy changes will happen. Even if they don’t, however, it never hurts to be safer with your food.
Bruce Watson is DailyFinance’s Savings Editor. You can reach him by e-mail at bruce.watson@teamaol.com, or follow him on Twitter at @bruce1971.
Dinner at the Twisted Fish in Juneau
Even though it was down on the docks where the cruise ships dock, local people we asked often mentioned Twisted Fish as the place they liked to dine in Juneau. Here is the menu so my Mom can see the prices 🙂
The entrance to Twisted Fish facing the wharf:
Interior dining area with view
Interior Host(ess) and Bar
Very nice side salad
First Mate’s Plate – grilled salmon, grilled halibut and (for us) a side of sauteed spinach instead of fries or mashed potatoes 🙂
Although it is on the cruise ship docks, it is way down at the south end, and many of the cruise ship people would rather eat free (well, already paid for) on board, or eat elsewhere. The Twisted Fish was recommended by a local, and we can see several locals already seated when we come in. The hostess is good at finding us a good table with a view – we like this place.
Twisted Fish is in the same building as the Taku smoked fish building. It has a lot of wood decor, and a lively bar, and a good menu. AdventureMan and I end up ordering the same thing – side salads, and the First Mate’s Plate, which is a slab of grilled halibut and a slab of grilled salmon, served, as we requested, with no rice or potatoes, but with sauteed spinach, YUMMY. We had a Lost Angels cabernet, nice, dry, complex. The sun set behind one of the cruise ships, LOL.
I had hoped they might have some kind of berry cobbler for dessert, but all their desserts were huge mammoth portions of fudgy chocolatey or creamy things, and we passed on dessert and went looking for gelato. We were hugely full anyway, and very happy with our dinners. It’s a good thing, because by seven, all the tourist-oriented stores and ice cream places are closed down, hosing down their outside venues, pulling all their display items inside.
It’s hilarious how quickly and how early everything shuts down. I wonder what the Europeans think; do they look for night life? I wonder about our Middle Eastern friends used to the souks with lights and colors staying open all hours of the night ‘for your buying convenience?’ 😉
Zen Chinese Food in Juneau, Alaska
I felt so bad, I felt like I was betraying my heritage, but after nearly two weeks of eating salmon and halibut and crab and shrimp and scallops . . . we were ready for a change. AdventureMan spotted Zen, a restaurant in the Goldbelt Hotel, and it looked interesting. When we went inside, there were a lot of people there already, but many of them were busy accessing the internet, waiting for friends, arranging upcoming parties, etc. We were ready to EAT.
It gets worse – they have a really good menu. There are halibut dishes, shrimp dishes – I could have stayed true to the traditional and had ginger halibut, or something, but no, when I backslid, I backslid all the way.
We looked around, everyone was ordering the lunch specials. There are so many to choose from!
AdventureMan settled on the Hot and Sour Soup and the Cashew Chicken. When it arrived, he was impressed. Not only was there an abundance of cashews, they were also deliciously roasted:
I had the Miso soup and Vegetables with Garlic – perfect!
Might as well go all the way, once you backslide. You can always pick yourself up and behave tomorrow! 😉
The food came quickly and was beautifully prepared. We were surprised at how much care had been taken on dishes that were part of the daily specials. Service was prompt without being intrusive, and friendly. We were glad we ate there. We lament the lack of really good Chinese food in Pensacola; sadly, Zen had the edge over the best that Pensacola offers.
Revisiting Old Haunts and The Island Pub on Douglas Island
First, some random shots from our afternoon in various parts of Juneau, Alaska:
I didn’t take this photo, but I might be in it. I found it in the historical annals available from the Juneau-Douglas Museum. This is the old Evergreen Bowl pool, fed by glacier streams, where I learned to swim. This pool doesn’t exist any more; they have a new, indoor year-round pool:
Out at Mendenhall glacier; no bears this trip, only their crossing sign and a lot of stripped salmon 🙂 Sleep well, salmon-fed bears!
Kayakers at Mendenhall Lake; this is across the lake from the glacier observation point
The old Skater’s Cabin, where we used to go ice skating when the lake would freeze. Volunteers from civic organizations would get up early and take home-made snow-pushers, and make paths through the snow on the ice, and clear a large patch where people could skate. The ice was rough, not like an ice rink at all. If you could skate here, you could skate anywhere 🙂
AdventureMan insisted I stop at this quilt shop while he read brochures in the car, LOL! No, I am not kidding, I am only laughing because he pretended he loves to wait in the car while I visit another quilt shop.
Dinner was at the Island Pub in Douglas, across the Gastineau Channel from Juneau. We used to go to this very same restaurant when I was a kid, then called Mike’s Place, only I never got to sit upstairs; I think that the bar was upstairs. Families went downstairs. They told us that they are thinking of renovating and opening the downstairs, too.
They were packed. We were lucky to get there when we did. I think we were the only people who don’t live on Douglas Island, there were couples and families and friends meeting up after work, and a birthday group – all people who live on the island.
The place has a spectacular view, especially around sunset when Juneau, across the channel, just lights up.
Our friend had said this is her favorite place to eat, and she was right! We had the smoked salmon spread, which was really good and really rich:
When our pizza came, it was also delicious, but the salmon spread on the pizza strips filled us up. We each ate one piece of the huge pizza and packed up the rest to warm up for breakfast the next day. It was still delicious!
This was one of the best meals we had on our trip. Great beer, great wine, great food, great atmosphere, great view.
Juneau and Tracey’s Crab Shack
Getting close to Juneau, we spot these very strange cloud formations:
As we dock, we call the hotel shuttle from Country Lane and they are there within minutes. They drop us off at the hotel so we can unload our bags, then take us over to the airport so we can pick up our car.
You know me and public art. I love these sculptures in the Juneau airport, and especially that they have the traditional Haida forms as part of their form:
It is a gorgeous day in Juneau, 70°, hey, the sun is shining, it is very warm, this is a great day. We head immediately in to town for lunch at Tracy’s Crab Shack.
This is for my Mom; she likes to see the prices 🙂
Tracy’s Crab Shack is one smart operation. First – location location location. They are right on the cruise ship docks. First thing you step off one of those giant ships, you see Traceys. Second, they don’t rely on location. They have a first quality product. They don’t compromise. They cook the crab legs right out in the open, fresh, while you wait. They have crowds standing in line to get these crab legs, and you eat outside at butcher paper covered tables; the crab meals are served in paper containers and you SHARE tables. It works.
We share a table with two rough young men and have a fascinating conversation. They drove up, have had fabulous adventures and we shared information. I said that the thing that surprised me was that I expected Alaska to be more wired than it is; one of them said that his big surprise was to find Alaska as wired as it is, and that wifi is available at a large number of cafes and restaurants. That was fascinating to me, to opposite perspectives. Part of it, I think, was being on the ferry system – all the ferries in Seattle are wired, so it was a shock to me that the Alaska ferries were not.
One of our tablemates had now visited all 50 states, and the other had visited
49 states.
We saw people from all over the world lined up and eating King Crab at Tracy’s. AdventureMan had the crab bisque over rice and I had the crab cakes. Eating King Crab legs is messy, and I didn’t want to smell like crab for the rest of the day.
Tracey’s is the number one rated restaurant in Juneau on TripAdvisor and UrbanSpoon. I think it must be the combination of the crowd they attract and the product. Juneau people eat there, too.
Dining at Captain Pattie’s, the Best Meal of our Trip
We’d been driving since breakfast, stopping, getting out, maybe hiking a little, taking photos, and we wanted a nice lunch. The weather is gorgeous, even hot, and we head for the Homer spit.
The name Homer Spit just cracks AdventureMan up, even though he knows Spit in this usage means a long, thin, flat beach that goes out into the sea (Definition of spit noun (LAND) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press), he still cracks up just like a little boy when he hears it or says it. This is what Homer Spit looks like:
It is actually like four or five miles long, longer than it looks on the maps. While a lot of people hike out there, we drove; we want to continue exploring after we eat.
The nicest restaurant we can see is Captain Patties, and we decide to give it a try.
From the moment we walk in, we are so glad me made this choice. The interior is clean and neat and sunny, there is sea memorabilia on the walls, and the place if filled with people who look like they live here.
This is the view from Captain Patties:
We love the place, and we love it that they are fine with us each ordering soup and splitting the main dish. We have found that we just can’t eat as much as restaurants want to put on our plates. At home, it is no problem, we ask them to pack it up and we have it for dinner, or lunch another day. We don’t want to waste food, and we don’t want to pack it up, either, so sharing a main dish works for us.
Today we choose seafood chowder – oh man, we’ve been eating chowders everywhere but this one is THE best. And we split a grilled local seafood platter, everything on the plate, the scallops, the shrimp, the salmon and the halibut, all local. It is unbelievably good. It is so simply prepared, no elaborate sauces, and it is so tasty, so good.
On the wall hangs this piece. From our whaling adventures with Captain Alan on the Scania, we know that this is baleen, what the whale uses to screen fish as he ingests them. 🙂
We wanted to go to The Mermaid for dinner, but they were fully booked, right up to closing. We could see people waiting outside at Fat Olives, a lot of people, so we decided we had such a good lunch at Captain Pattie’s that we would go back for dinner. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha on us. Whoda thunk, but in Homer on a gorgeous Saturday night, you had better have reservations for dinner. We ended up having a nice enough dinner, but nothing special, across the street, wishing we were back at Captain Patties.
Our dinner somewhere else, nice enough, but not the same:
AdventureMan had salad and salmon quesadillas; I had Ceasar salad with grilled salmon:
A few last views of Homer:
The Homer Airport, cozy and efficient:
Public art at the airport 🙂
Sign on a property outside of Homer:
One of several thriving community gardens we saw in Homer, full of delicious things to eat. We love it that Pensacola also has good community gardens.
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