OOOps, I stand corrected. I do see that you can swim with manatees at Crystal River, learn something new every day.

I don't know how seriously I would take cdnyul's opinion if he considers the Columbia restaurant to be "culinary slop".

Yes. We drove down in March one year. They provide the wetsuits, etc. You are going to need the wetsuits. The water was very clear but pretty cold.

Regarding O'Steen's, there is a bar/tavern next door where you can wait (and imbibe) until a table is ready. Tell the hostess and she will call when ready.

Don't miss O'Steen's!

Sandy (in Denton)

>

Granted, I have not eaten at the Columbia restaurant, but I might question the opinion of a person who thinks that a chain restaurant, with numerous recent one star Yelp reviews, with a decor that reminds me of the old Kapok Tree in Tampa, is haute cuisine.

My opinion is based on two visits to both St.Augustine and Savannah, most recently in Feb. 2014.

I only comment on places that I have visited recently,and I am not afraid to admit that some have been total duds.

I am not the type to tell people to take a train when they ask a car question, if I was, I would say that St. Augustine is pure Florida kitsch.

Mark

The OP has been around long enough to understand everyone is going to offer opinions and that many of them are drastically different.

My opinion is that the fort in St Augustine IS worth seeing, as is St A itself, despite some of the kitsch. I can't give much advice regarding restaraunts as we rented a house and fixed most of our meals there, but I do recommend staying away from Frida's, which is on a corner right across from the fort. Slow service, mediocre food, fairly high prices. We did have good clam chowder (recommended by a shop owner) at Meehan's, and there was a good selection of martinis at Tini's Martini Bar.

"Granted, I have not eaten at the Columbia restaurant, but I might question the opinion of a person who thinks that a chain restaurant, with numerous recent one star Yelp reviews, with a decor that reminds me of the old Kapok Tree in Tampa, is haute cuisine."

Well I have eaten at the Columbia and I can assure you it is anything but culinary slop. I can also assure you that I did not and never would use the term "haute cuisine" to describe it.

Agree about Columbia, having been to the original in Tampa. Pretty building.

I love the salad and bread at Columbia but Harry's is better for shrimp and grits.
Love swimming with the manatees. They snuggle up to you and feel a little like a pig. I see them a lot here but only swim with them at Crystal River. Go as early as you can in the am.

The white sangria at Columbia is VERY good. I've eaten at three of their locations, including the original, Clearwater and Celebration.

I'll weigh in on The Columbia. I've eaten there several times and found the cuisine to be excellent. It's fantastic Spanish food and I love the sangria, ropa vieja, and chicken and yellow rice. I live in the DC area and regularly eat at high end restaurants but I always stop at The Columbia if I'm in St. Augustine.

It's odd to me that someone who hasn't been there is relying on Yelp (really? Yelp?) reviews to form an opinion. I suppose it's technically a chain- if you consider half a dozen restaurants in one state a true chain.

St. Augustine is a lovely place and I enjoy the fort and just walking around. A week might be a tad too long- I think 3-4 days would be my limit, but I prefer to be pretty active on vacation. YMMV.

Enjoy your trip! Both cities are lovely.

Small correction: Ropa vieja and arroz con pollo are not Spanish dishes. The dishes on the menu are not, for the most part, dishes that you will find on menus in Spain.

>>Granted, I have not eaten at the Columbia restaurant,

The Columbia is a Spanish restaurant but ropa vieja and chicken with yellow rice are not typically considered Spanish dishes- they are Cuban/Caribbean. To be clear, my original post was meant to convey that the restaurant is Spanish, not the 2 dishes I mentioned enjoying there.

Most of the dishes on the menu bear little resemblance to dishes one would find on menus in Spain, regardless of what the text on the menu states. Not important, really. If you enjoy the restaurant, it's all good. Personally, I would prefer to eat at O'Steens the next time I pass through St. Augustine. It's all good!

I just remembered that, during our first visit to the Olive Garden version of Spanish culture, our daughter enjoyed the St.Augustine Alligator Farm.

It is on a designated US Historic District list.

http://www.alligatorfarm.com/

Mark

I think you could do a couple days in St Augustine, but not a week. There is really more to see than the fort, if you read a guidebook. I really enjoyed the old hospital a lot, that was my favorite site, and I liked the lighthouse, also. It definitely takes more than a couple hours. But I wouldn't spend a week there.

I've eaten in Columbia's in various places (like Sarasota and St Augustine and maybe Tampa), it's an okay midlevel chain restaurant, but I didn't think the food was that outstanding. Maybe it's what I had, I remember I wasn't impressed at all with one meal. But I'd go if I were staying in one of those towns a few days.

I really enjoyed St. Augustine. It definitely needs more than an hour. Love Savannah too. Hope to return to both soon.

Hi tdelano,

I spent 4 days in Saint Augustine one trip and 4 days in Savannah another trip and did not regret having booked this number of days for either city. How much time to spend in a given place is always a source of differing (sometimes heated) opinion I've noticed, and I think is really dependent on a person's oersonality, taste and interests. Gmoney's advice that "you can't go wrong with either" correctly fit my personality.

I love leisurely exploring neighborhoods, restaurants, historic sites and homes and both cities offered plenty of options for doing this. In St Augustine, I found the history of Castillo de San Marcos personally quite fascinating and spent a few hours reading the plaques and taking the tour there alone and then there's the Murat House, the Oldest House, the Lightner Museum; the waterfront is lovely and one can even take a trolley out to a beachfront and rent a beach bike like I did. In Savannah, the Owens-Thomas House, Isaiah Davenport House, Telfair Museum and public squares were all fascinating; near Savannah, Fort Pulaski has a fascinating history and Tybee Island is fun if you want to get the beach vibe.

Best wishes, Daniel

>I love leisurely exploring<

I think this is a great way to preface recommendations.