We came for the NCAA tennis championships at Lake Nona’a USTA. Only an hour into the matches, rain came done. So we decided to have lunch.
Beautiful lighting features – I’m wondering if the Tiffany lamps got its inspiration from -:) – arts has no borders.
I tried their national drink Raki (Maotai to China?) – which is an alcoholic – snaps – made of twice-distilled grapes. Not bad. The namesake lager is good too.
The food is delicious, especially the rice : kind of like Chinese oil rice, the most delicious. According to the staff, it made with very little oil. They saut
Thought their service is slow in early afternoon. We waited at front for their hostess, who, as it happens, was sitting right by the front, doing paperwork (?)
I’ve $50 credit for winning a small tennis tournament. So we’re here -:) before losing it.
French Open qualifying round has started this Monday. One of the screens is showing a men’s singles on red clay: GoNet Geneva Open.
At 3:30 Thursday, it’s pretty packed. Perhaps due to the ice cold cold cold beer ? My Chardonnay is good too.
Parks, cemeteries, libraries and archives are always high on my agenda to visit.
One of the services I used the most is the inter-loan. Two of my memorable loans are from LoC (Library of Congress): of Liu Bingzhang‘s memorials and the Little Sampan, a memoir by Chow Chung-Cheng (周仲铮 1908-96; Zhou Zhongzheng).
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Recently, I have been visited by a couple of mourning dove (or the same one?) in the garage.
Monday, as soon as I opened the garage, it flew in – the light is still on. Today, the garage is open since I left and, as soon as I pulled my suv into the garage, it flew in too, to the same location, holding a straw or thin branch in its mouth.
From the legends told in African nations to Greek and Roman mythology and modern-day beliefs, mourning doves are universally seen as a sign of good luck and new beginnings. Whether you’re looking for answers or missing a lost loved one, a visit from a mourning dove is a message of comfort and love.
We had lunch here last September, it was average. So is today: on the water, good service, average food, clean single booth bathroom, average food with big portion. The ten of us got there by boat.
My Pinot Grigio is served in a glass tumbler, thank you.
This man made island is in Hillsborough Bay, north of Apollo Beach and west to Bird Island, off Route 41. Alafia Bank Sanctuary operates from this little island.
We sailed close to the installed reef barrier/system, saw plenty sandhill cranes 沙丘鹤, pelicans 鹈鹕 and the little oystercatchers 蛎鹬, among many other species.
We waited for the Tropicana train to pass by on the swing bridge at Alafia River ↓
… and lunched at Jerry’s Dockside. Returned to the boat club slip by 2:30.
Big Top Brewing Company at Cock n’ Bull is a neat sports bar with indoor (many tv monitors showing major league games), outdoor under the roof and an open air backyard where smoking is allowed, for performances. They started out when there wasn’t craft breweries in Sarasota vicinity. Their beers are decent and I like the fact that they use real glasses, even for outdoor section.
Beauties, dogs and someone’s birthday whose friend brought many vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. It’s a good party.
This band Dead Set, that playing Grateful Dead music at 7pm, isn’t as decent as the one that played at Skipper’s Smokehouse two weeks ago.
The tasting room in the front, restaurant located in the back. Simple decor, pleasant vibe, good food and decent service.
We got there at 4:50 on a Friday without a reservation – I forgot – and are seated within 15 minutes, despite many empty tables.
The staff is friendly. Their first restaurant was opened in 2005 and this one in 2021 (?). Their winery is in Ohio or Illinois (? – getting old, can’t remember …), and buy their grapes, instead of growing it – so there isn’t a bad year so to speak. Two reds we tried are good – Merlo and Cooper’s Red. Schott Zwiesel glasses are nice.
The bread is good and warm but not the whipped butter. My tuna appetizer is good, however, is bit sweet. Chicken is fine. Gumbo came a little cold, my friend loves his food HOT, asked them to heat it up.
“We don’t have microwave. We’ll have to remake it from scratch.”
“Oh, never mind. Just put it in a box, I’ll take it home.” They served him another one rather quickly and took it off the bill.
Beautiful lighting features – I’m wondering if the Tiffany lamps got its inspiration from -:) – arts has no borders.
