NYC to FLA Road Trip..stopovers (I-81) in Virginia and Sea Islands?
Mar 20th, 2013, 06:32 AM
#41
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Thanks..Charleston is a bit out of the way for us this trip. I have all but decided on Jekyll Island, with a room at Cherokee Cottage..from there we will head inland again, with next stop Winston Salem, to visit friends and sample more barbecue.
Comments on Jekyll Island Club rooms? Will spend two nights, I think, and will eat once on St. Simons..any comments about restaurants on Jekyll, but not at the hotel?
Comments on Jekyll Island Club rooms? Will spend two nights, I think, and will eat once on St. Simons..any comments about restaurants on Jekyll, but not at the hotel?
Apr 14th, 2013, 12:33 PM
#42
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Anyone?
Thinking of B&J's in Darien for seafood...small detour en route to Jekyll but seems to be popular locally......anyplace equally good but less of a detour on the route from Florida to Jekyll?
Thinking of B&J's in Darien for seafood...small detour en route to Jekyll but seems to be popular locally......anyplace equally good but less of a detour on the route from Florida to Jekyll?
Apr 16th, 2013, 07:56 AM
#43
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No food mavens along the Georgia coast? Do us clueless Yankees have to blaze our own trail, with no help from locals???
Recs on the menu apart from the obvious local (I hope) shrimp??
http://bandjssteaksandseafood.com/Menu.html
Recs on the menu apart from the obvious local (I hope) shrimp??
http://bandjssteaksandseafood.com/Menu.html
Apr 17th, 2013, 07:49 PM
#46
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Returned a few hours ago from the above-mentioned B&Js in Darien and I highly recommend!
Outstanding local shrimp, Florida oysters..beautifully fried and served in immense portions; half oysters, half shrimp, with great cole slaw and long-cooked green beans: $18.95.
Great spot....just a few minutes off I-95, exit 49, on Rte 17. About 30 minutes from Jekyll Island.
Not at all fancy..just a cinder-block-type place, but friendly staff and oh, that seafood!
Open daily; wine and beer.
CMCfong..thanks for topping your report!!
Outstanding local shrimp, Florida oysters..beautifully fried and served in immense portions; half oysters, half shrimp, with great cole slaw and long-cooked green beans: $18.95.
Great spot....just a few minutes off I-95, exit 49, on Rte 17. About 30 minutes from Jekyll Island.
Not at all fancy..just a cinder-block-type place, but friendly staff and oh, that seafood!
Open daily; wine and beer.
CMCfong..thanks for topping your report!!
Apr 24th, 2013, 03:48 AM
#48
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Just returned to NYC after 4 nights on the road--we retraced our steps, taking I-95 from SE Florida.
First stop: Jekyll Island, where we had booked two nights at Jekyll Island Club. We ended up spending only one night there, however. Second night: The Cloister on Sea Island.
Food:
Day of arrival, we ate a large lunch at B&Js in Darien. Described above, this is highly recommended, and is an easy detour off I-95. For those who think shrimp is a frozen product in a bag from Costco, or a recently unfrozen headless and bland item from a local fishmonger, wild local Georgia shrimp is a revelation. Portions are huge, prices are fair, and service is friendly. Highly recommended. Puts to rest the notion that there is no good food within easy reach of I-95.
Second night: Repeat dinner at Southern Soul BBQ on St. Simons. DEscribed above, this is a good bet for travelers lodging on St Simons or Sea Island. Ten minutes or so from The Cloister. Very good bbq, interesting mix of patrons from upscale golfers to local working folks. By 6pm they were out of smoked chicken, by 6:30, ribs were erased from the menu as well. Indoor and ourdoor seating; expect quite a queue if you arive after 6:30pm. Pulled pork platter, $9; half slab of ribs, $12. Each come with two sides; bbq beans are recommended.
http://www.southernsoulbbq.com/
After two nights in the Sea Islands, we headed north on I-95.
Late breakfast: Smokin' Pig in Richmond Hill, Georgia, just a few steps easy of I-95 exit 87.
Open 11am to 9pm; Sundays 11am to 3pm. Closed Mondays.
As the handwritten thank you note from Gregg Allman attests, this is a recommended stop. Not so much for the pulled pork, which was a tad dry, but for the excellent smoked sliced chicken sandwich. $4.25 alone; $5.75 with two sides. Get off at exit 87, the restaurant is beside a gas station on the north side of the road leading east from the highway.
Again, puts to rest the idea that one is consigned to fast food chains when driving I-95.
http://www.smokinpigbbqjoint.com/
First stop: Jekyll Island, where we had booked two nights at Jekyll Island Club. We ended up spending only one night there, however. Second night: The Cloister on Sea Island.
Food:
Day of arrival, we ate a large lunch at B&Js in Darien. Described above, this is highly recommended, and is an easy detour off I-95. For those who think shrimp is a frozen product in a bag from Costco, or a recently unfrozen headless and bland item from a local fishmonger, wild local Georgia shrimp is a revelation. Portions are huge, prices are fair, and service is friendly. Highly recommended. Puts to rest the notion that there is no good food within easy reach of I-95.
Second night: Repeat dinner at Southern Soul BBQ on St. Simons. DEscribed above, this is a good bet for travelers lodging on St Simons or Sea Island. Ten minutes or so from The Cloister. Very good bbq, interesting mix of patrons from upscale golfers to local working folks. By 6pm they were out of smoked chicken, by 6:30, ribs were erased from the menu as well. Indoor and ourdoor seating; expect quite a queue if you arive after 6:30pm. Pulled pork platter, $9; half slab of ribs, $12. Each come with two sides; bbq beans are recommended.
http://www.southernsoulbbq.com/
After two nights in the Sea Islands, we headed north on I-95.
Late breakfast: Smokin' Pig in Richmond Hill, Georgia, just a few steps easy of I-95 exit 87.
Open 11am to 9pm; Sundays 11am to 3pm. Closed Mondays.
As the handwritten thank you note from Gregg Allman attests, this is a recommended stop. Not so much for the pulled pork, which was a tad dry, but for the excellent smoked sliced chicken sandwich. $4.25 alone; $5.75 with two sides. Get off at exit 87, the restaurant is beside a gas station on the north side of the road leading east from the highway.
Again, puts to rest the idea that one is consigned to fast food chains when driving I-95.
http://www.smokinpigbbqjoint.com/
Apr 25th, 2013, 01:06 PM
#51
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Starrs: I could not agree more! We never eat shrimp here in the NYC area because it is almost always sold, head off and frozen or defrosted, from Asia. I only wish the denigrators here in the NE could sample that pristine product available in the SE.
CMC: I had several e-mails to the Jekyll Island Club before booking, making sure that their pool would be heated, and we are rather ravenous swimmers. We arrived and jumped into a freezing cold pool, only to be told that there was a problem with the heating system. ("Sorry, out heat does not work..we are missing a part")
Very disappointing, as this was a lovely spot. They were most amenable to assisting us with a move to another spot, The Cloister, which did have large, heated pools and, of course, a much higher price!
I admit that this is a "problem" that would be viewed as nutty by most people, but although we were disappointed that Jekyll Island Club did not let us know in advance of the problem, since we wrote again and again that the large heated pool was our motivation for staying there for two nights and making sure that the pool would be heated on our arrival, they did make good on the charge, and assisted us in the move to Sea Island.
WE did drive from Sea Island to Winston, and once again had a blow-out dinner at Smiley's BBQ..more to come...
Delaying construction en route from Charlotte to Lexington, and we also hit tornados that took down a huge old tree on the front lawn of our friends house, where we stayed that night..
http://www.allmenus.com/nc/lexington...gton-bbq/menu/
CMC: I had several e-mails to the Jekyll Island Club before booking, making sure that their pool would be heated, and we are rather ravenous swimmers. We arrived and jumped into a freezing cold pool, only to be told that there was a problem with the heating system. ("Sorry, out heat does not work..we are missing a part")
Very disappointing, as this was a lovely spot. They were most amenable to assisting us with a move to another spot, The Cloister, which did have large, heated pools and, of course, a much higher price!
I admit that this is a "problem" that would be viewed as nutty by most people, but although we were disappointed that Jekyll Island Club did not let us know in advance of the problem, since we wrote again and again that the large heated pool was our motivation for staying there for two nights and making sure that the pool would be heated on our arrival, they did make good on the charge, and assisted us in the move to Sea Island.
WE did drive from Sea Island to Winston, and once again had a blow-out dinner at Smiley's BBQ..more to come...
Delaying construction en route from Charlotte to Lexington, and we also hit tornados that took down a huge old tree on the front lawn of our friends house, where we stayed that night..
http://www.allmenus.com/nc/lexington...gton-bbq/menu/
Apr 25th, 2013, 07:07 PM
#52
The Cloister is very nice and recently renovated as I understand it. It's where old money southerners always went on their honeymoons. My BF went there for hers. I'm sure you enjoyed that part of the trip, even if it was an unexpected change.
Wild shrimp is amazing. I have a place in the mountains and a young family moved up to the mountains and bought a little breakfast restaurant. He had been in the fish business in Brunswick and decided he was going to open up the restaurant on Thursday night for coastal seafood. Folks said he was crazy. Now they are open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night selling only seafood brought up for the coast. They will make a burger for the non-seafood folks. It's a treat to have fresh wild shrimp in a mountain restaurant.
Glad you enjoyed your road trip and our shrimp!
Wild shrimp is amazing. I have a place in the mountains and a young family moved up to the mountains and bought a little breakfast restaurant. He had been in the fish business in Brunswick and decided he was going to open up the restaurant on Thursday night for coastal seafood. Folks said he was crazy. Now they are open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night selling only seafood brought up for the coast. They will make a burger for the non-seafood folks. It's a treat to have fresh wild shrimp in a mountain restaurant.
Glad you enjoyed your road trip and our shrimp!
Apr 26th, 2013, 07:07 AM
#53
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We did have some pretty wild weather. Glad you were safe and had fun.
I appreciate the explanation on Jeckyll Island Club. I did not like our room at all (main hotel) but thought if I stayed in Crane cottage I would be very happy there. I completely understand the frustration with the pool and glad to hear it was satisfactorily resolved.
I appreciate the explanation on Jeckyll Island Club. I did not like our room at all (main hotel) but thought if I stayed in Crane cottage I would be very happy there. I completely understand the frustration with the pool and glad to hear it was satisfactorily resolved.
Apr 27th, 2013, 07:43 PM
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Sue: IF you get to Smiley's, you already probably know what to order but if not, I highly recommend the coarse chopped pork with "outside brown," (small coarse chopped BBQ tray $6.50 ([plenty for two people with healthy appetites) I recommended the fried okra and bqq slaw as the two include sides, although hugh puppies and corn sticks ae also popular.
Smoked BBQ chicken (1/2 chicken with two sides: $6.95) was excellent, too, and comes with an additional two sides. Fried squash is great as well; they have deft hand with the deep fryer.
. We sampled a bit of bbq on this trip and nothing came close to Smiley's quality.
Closed Mondays; open Tuesday through Sunday 6am to 9pm. 336-248-4528. 917 Winston Road/ Route 8, Lexington.
Smoked BBQ chicken (1/2 chicken with two sides: $6.95) was excellent, too, and comes with an additional two sides. Fried squash is great as well; they have deft hand with the deep fryer.
. We sampled a bit of bbq on this trip and nothing came close to Smiley's quality.
Closed Mondays; open Tuesday through Sunday 6am to 9pm. 336-248-4528. 917 Winston Road/ Route 8, Lexington.
Apr 28th, 2013, 01:17 PM
#57
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Sue: I still cannot get over the general advice that there is a lack of good eating near i-95 from NY along I-95 to Florida. And I am not speaking of places that require jackets worn by males.
While I m sure that the eateries at Jeklyll Island club and The Cloister are more than delicious. we were seeking more of a local down-home feel.
We could not have been more pleased with B&Js in Darien (check menu to see their AYCE buffet options.)
Next time.....3/4 days in the Darien, Ga area, not to mention the Le Creuset treasures awaiting at the outlet store in Yemassee, SC.....great values!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
While I m sure that the eateries at Jeklyll Island club and The Cloister are more than delicious. we were seeking more of a local down-home feel.
We could not have been more pleased with B&Js in Darien (check menu to see their AYCE buffet options.)
Next time.....3/4 days in the Darien, Ga area, not to mention the Le Creuset treasures awaiting at the outlet store in Yemassee, SC.....great values!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apr 28th, 2013, 01:46 PM
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I know some good places off 95 in NC and SC, but not as familiar with Ga. I'm sure there are plenty of great places.
One of my friends is a social worker with a foster care agency. Some of her foster parents work in that factory in Yemmassee. Twice a year hey have a big ole sale at the factory. It's never advertised. She's giving me a heads up when the next one happens. It's supposed to be un-be-lie-vable.
One of my friends is a social worker with a foster care agency. Some of her foster parents work in that factory in Yemmassee. Twice a year hey have a big ole sale at the factory. It's never advertised. She's giving me a heads up when the next one happens. It's supposed to be un-be-lie-vable.
