My All-Time Favorite Restaurant

Posted: June 17, 2011 at 5:12 pm

Want to know some ways to get started with weight training? Check out my guest post for Anne over at Fannetastic Food! I hope you pay her and my tips a visit. 🙂

I was not a happy camper when I discovered our family couldn’t get a table at my all-time favorite restaurant. Peter could see my disappointment at the thought of going a year without dining at Aunt Catfish, so he offered to take me on a special lunch date there just the two of us. It meant eating an extra meal out and spending some extra money, but eating at my favorite place was certainly worth it. Even better that we got a date out of it! 

Aunt Catfish may not be a high-end restaurant with a notorious chef and intricate delicacies, but it is without a doubt my favorite restaurant of all-time. Favorite! I credit it to five things:

1) The Memories

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I vividly recall going to Aunt Catfish and playing on the wooden pirate ship playground when younger. I remember walking along the docks with my sister and cousin chatting about the cute boy we saw on the beach when in high-school. Now, I continue sharing moments at this restaurant with my own family.

2) The Salad Bar

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They have a delicious salad bar with a wide variety of items. You have your standard salad toppings and dressings, but also a “hot bar” with amazing corn bread, cinnamon apples, and other fresh foods.

3) The Crab Cakes

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I would fill up on the salad bar alone if not for the most wonderful crab cakes I have ever found. They do them right here – baked, crabby, and a perfectly flavorful basil aioli for dipping. Let’s just say I always leave there a bit past full. Worth it.

4) The Cinnamon Roll

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Instead of a mint or other complimentary treat, Aunt Catfish gives you a warm, gooey cinnamon roll with your dinner. We always save ours to have with our breakfasts the following morning. Even reheated the next day they rock my world.

5) The Charm

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I don’t know what it is, but Aunt Catfish just has this undeniable charm and quaint personality that I love. The waiters all introduce themselves as “Cousin ___". The drinks come in Mason jars. The decorations provide a splash of energy and fun to the atmosphere. Even when having to wait for a seat, which undeniably happens in the always packed restaurant, you feel at ease and at home.

6) The View

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The restaurant is right on the inter-coastal waterway and has a ton of windows all around the dining area of the restaurant. No matter where you sit, you can count on getting to watch a beautiful sunset as you have dinner. Or, in our case, sparkling waterways over lunch. A perfect finishing touch to an already wonderful dining experience.

I am so glad we went for lunch today. I know I would have regretted not going if I chose to save the money. Some things hold such special places in our hearts that they warrant that extra attention and effort. Aunt Catfish is one for me. I have a happy belly and a happy heart now.

  • Do you have a favorite restaurant? What makes it so special to you?

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20 Comments to “My All-Time Favorite Restaurant”
  1. I’m so glad you got to go! Way to go Peter 🙂

  2. Glad you got to go! Looks like a fun place.

  3. I have way too many favorite restaurants haha…but the reason I like all of them is because they have great food and a great atmosphere 🙂

    • Tina says:

      Those are the two biggest factors for me too. Food most important but it has to be a place with a good feel too.

  4. Beautiful location! My favorite restaurant is the Colt and Gray in Denver. It is definitely high end, but they have an awesome seasonal, rotating menu and it is where I always go on date nights to celebrate special things with my fiance. 🙂

  5. Sana says:

    Awww, so cute that Peter took you back!

  6. What a fantastic find! I love restaurants that evoke strong childhood memories. For my family, that restaurant has always been Maggiano’s. We started going there when I was a kid and I can still remember “ooh’ing and ahh’ing” with my sister over the “fancy” restrooms (which really aren’t that fancy). 🙂

    • Tina says:

      I remember you telling me about that before. Special memories always make a restaurant seem that much better, don’t they?

  7. Michelle says:

    Some of my favorite places to eat are little mom and pop places. This looks like a great place! Glad you were able to go!

  8. Jess says:

    That restaurant sounds fantastic!

    Loved your guest post 🙂

  9. Karolina says:

    I’ve never eaten there, but I have driven by there a number of times. maybe one of these times i’ll need to check it out:)

    • Tina says:

      I really like it! Part of that could be the special memories and attachment I have to it, but I do think the food is great too. 🙂

  10. Looks like so much fun! I LOVE places that serve drinks in mason jars! Aunt Catfish looks so charming and the perfect location for a date 🙂

  11. Karen says:

    Funny! That is the FIRST restaurant my husband and I always go to when we get to Daytona. He loves the cinnamon rolls, I have a weird addiction to the salad bar.

    • Tina says:

      Yay! Fellow Aunt Catfish lovers! I have to go there every year. I seriously would have been so sad if we had to leave without eating there. I would have been sighing as we drove past it on our way out of Daytona.

  12. Lizzie says:

    There’s a bar/restaurant in our old neighborhood (that used to be a 2 minute walk from that apartment!). It’s that nice, intimate, low light kind of place, without the price tag. We always sit at the bar, the bartenders know us, food is always great, (they even make up cocktails with random ingredients I think of that would be good together!) and we’ve been often enough, that sometimes we get complimentary drink or dessert. They have two small tvs at the each end of the bar with no volume, so you can watch games and still feel like you’re somewhere fancy 🙂

    Now you have another special memory to tag that restaurant with! 🙂 And those crab cakes looked REALLY good.

    • Tina says:

      Aw! That does sound like a great place. I love places where you feel you can relax but are still getting a nice evening together. Perfect!

  13. I love drinking out of mason jars:)

  14. Amber says:

    OMG! I love Aunt Catfish!! We have grown up going there with the families. I havent been in forever. I am glad to know it is still good! I grew up just down the street from there and grew up driving over to ponce to go surfing with my dad. Such a small world. I am glad you guys had a good time 🙂

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