We have heard a lot of good things about Kaiser’s, so we had to check it out. We had to drive there as it is on A1A near Gypsy Cab. Kaiser’s is more than a deli with great sandwiches—walking in I was pleasantly surprised; it was so nice inside. Bright white walls, wine barrel tables, 2 leather sofas in a beautiful wine room with a great selection of wines. They also have a deck with outside seating. Phil had a Reuben with a beer and I had the traditional Italian with a glass of red. Both were delicious. They serve Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, and you can also purchase them by the pound. Check them out.
There is a new Art Gallery coming to town and although it isn’t officially open yet, it had a sneak peek preview of what’s to come this past First Friday, July 7, 2023. The gallery is called “The BART on Aviles” and is going to be a Wine Shop/Art Gallery. People questioned the name, but once they got it, it became ingrained in their mind.
BARt bART – Bar/Art combined.
Everyone that stopped in for complimentary wine and cheese hung out until 11PM! What a Party at the Barty. They loved the vibe/energy of the place. They loved the eclectic mix of artists. They loved the concept. Lots of future customers and friends were gained that night.
But for now, the art is off the walls to paint and freshen up the place. The anticipated Grand Opening will be August’s First Friday 8-4-23. Croix des doights!
“The BART on Aviles” is going to be a Wine Shop Art Gallery. The BART®™ will feature local St. Augustine artists; some well-known in the Art Community and some up and coming artists. At The BART®™, we want to feature an eclectic and avant-garde group of artists. Notice I said ‘we’ – YES, you heard right, Philip and I are the owners of The BART®™ and we are very excited about this new venture in life.
The Bart on Aviles is going to be a hip cool place. We are planning to introduce monthly events that focus on Wine, Art, Music and fun! Stay tuned.
Saturday morning found us at our favorite Brunch Spot—Roosevelt Room on St. George Street. A great way to start the day and the weekend. We started with Champagne, of course! The Mimosa of the day was Blood Orange, so I took a splash of juice! I had the Triple Mushroom Sandwich with a side of fruit and Phil had the Croque Monsieur with their famous Confit Pommes, which are so good! It’s our favorite brunch spot because they never disappoint, and Saturday was no different. And the staff is friendly and service is spot on.
Then we took a walk around town, stopped at Chocolattes for some croissants for Sunday morning. Chocolattes also has great breakfast sandwiches and beautiful cakes if you are having a sweet tooth. Next stop was The Gifted Cork to pick up a few bottles of wine. If you recall I told you about their wine club, June is Spanish wines, so we chose the two reds for this month. We have not done June’s wine tasting yet.
ChocoLattes
On our walk home we chose to walk along the Bayfront. Walking on the Bayfront is one of my favorite paths; first there is the water, and in my opinion, there really isn’t anything better than the scent of the salty sea air, plus there is always a nice breeze coming off of the water, so it keeps you cool, and depending on the time of day, the horse carriages line up along Avenida Menendez. Always love to see the horse carriages.
Sunday was a low key day which started with croissants and cappuccinos made by my own personal barista Phil. He really makes a delicious coffee! We have a great espresso/cappuccino machine, the Gaggia Classic Pro and our coffee of choice is Illy Intenso and combined they make a great beverage.
I have the BEST Barista
Sunday evening, we went to Forgotten Tonic around the corner for a cocktail and appetizer. Phil has his own drink there called an “Abbynormal” (think Young Frankenstein); it’s an Absinthe Mojito and while it may sound odd, it is actually very good…IF you like the taste of black licorice, so of course he had that. I had the Penicillin – Islay scotch, ginger, honey, lemon; I’m finding I like cocktails with honey and lemon and this one did not disappoint. For apps, we shared the Bruschetta and the Cajun Egg Rolls; which are always a favorite. And then we just came home and watched the telly…we have been binge watching Pennyworth on Amazon Prime. Which is pretty good!
On Monday, last day of birthday week it was a nice quiet day, I mean it is a ‘school day’ after all. I started the day with my morning walk. It was a very blustery day, I almost lost my ‘Wine People’ hat and at the top of the Bridge of Lions you could hear the wind vibrating the cables on all the sailboats at the marina. Have you ever wet your finger and run it around the rim of a wineglass? It was that sound at a much higher pitch/resonance. Natures orchestra. I love windy days.
After my walk, I made us a little breakfast – avocado toast with press pot coffee. And the rest of the day was a Monday…but not in a bad way.
And there it is, Birthday Week 2023 is over and celebrated in style!
Day 3 found us at Sainte George Restaurant at the top of St George Street, near the city gates. Their Facebook page stated live music from 5-6:30 but there was no live music when we got there. Well not 100% true…the bartender Charles is an Opera Singer—a Dramatic Tenor and since no one else was upstairs at the bar he sang a beautiful Aria for us. He had an amazing voice and range, almost Baritone…and that soft quiet final note…spectacular. So technically we did hear live music. And it was fantastic.
Charles the Opera Singer/Bartender
Happy Hour was 5-6:30 with $3.00 off Beer, Wine, and Cocktails. I had one of their specialty drinks—God Save the Bees; a gin based cocktail with Earl Grey Tea, Lemon, Honey and Cardamon Bitters and it was light and refreshing. Phil had his go to Double Vodka Tonic. We shared a few appetizers: Grilled Lamb Lollipops (one of Phil’s favorites), Orzo Pasta Salad (great for a veggie lover like myself), and a side order of the Baked Orzo Mac ‘N’ Cheese made with my guess of Aged White Cheddar… sooooo good
On our way out we stopped by the open concept kitchen to thank the Chef. Sous Chef Jared was working that night, we complimented on the food and just to confirm, my tastebuds were spot on – it was an Aged White Cheddar. I LOVE cheese! And while I love Brie, Chevre, Manchego, Stilton, the list goes on; one of my childhood favorites is Aged White Cheddar—particularly Cracker Barrel…. memories of afterschool snacks consisting of a nice chunk of it, with or without a cracker, sigh. But, back to the Orzo Mac ‘N’ Cheese, that, and a glass of red wine with their Simple Salad would be dinner enough for me.
Heading back towards our apartment we still had the desire for some live music, so we stopped by the patio lounge at Casa Maya. The patio lounge is great, it is basically an outdoor living room (patio sofas, chairs, cocktail tables) with live music and great cocktails. They have live music every night so it’s always a fun time for music and dancing if you want. I had my favorite cocktail there, the Del Mar and Phil stuck with his go to Double Vodka Tonic. We enjoyed two sets and resumed our walk back home.
But we got sidetracked by the first evening of Summer Concerts in the Plaza; Thursday’s thru 8-31-23.
The Concert Line Up
Str8up was playing that night and we stayed for their final set. Set a Thursday reminder on your phone, bring a chair, a picnic, the kids if you have them, and plan a nice ‘free’ evening at the plaza. Heads up, Dewey Via Ban is there 6-29-23, and personally I’m looking forward to ZaZa Flamenca on 8-3-23.
And since it is my birthday week, and since we were having such a good night, we really weren’t quite ready to go home. So, we stopped at the Chatsworth for a nightcap. If you haven’t been there yet, you need to check it out. Typical of StA they have a very friendly staff, and its comfortable like being in your living room—leather sofas, wingback chairs, lots of pillows. It is the quintessential British Pub. Phil loves to go there during Football Season because a) they have the best sliders and b) they have 3 TV’s playing (probably not in that order). They also have a room for private events and ‘High Tea’.
And then it was time to head home…all in all it was a great evening out in America’s Europe.
Back home, in bed, we held hands and talked about our night,
This past weekend we took a little getaway to Jacksonville. We stayed at our friend’s house on the Trout River. He has a beautiful slice of paradise featuring gorgeous Sunsets! We arrived late afternoon on Saturday, had cocktails on the dock and watched the sunset. And then we headed out for dinner.
As the sun sets on the Trout River, Jax
For dinner we went down to Five Points to dine at Hawkers—an amazing Asian ‘Street Food Style’ restaurant. We shared several appetizers: Roti Canai which was served with a delicious curry dipping sauce, Spiced Lamb Street Skewers with a scallion ginger ‘mayo’ sauce, Kalbi Short Ribs with a Korean BBQ Bulgogi sauce and the Crispy Pork Belly with Hoisin dipping sauce. All paired with a cold non-filtered Sake! Then on to entrees: on recommendation I had the Curry Laska Ramen, and it was delicious. Phil had the Duck Fried Rice, and our friends had Pad Thai and the Bulgogi Steak. And we also had leftovers! Sorry/not sorry…but we were in the moment, and I don’t have one photo of our dining experience! You will have to go experience it yourself. Go with a group, order a lot, and share everything! (Share your pics in the comments.)
On a side note, while waiting for our table, we took a walk around Five Points, the streets were closed that evening, and there were three Police officers on horseback, I just need to share I don’t know what breed of horses they ride, but they were huge! Maybe a Percheron…
Sunday started with coffee on the dock, a late breakfast made by ‘moi’, and then swimming/floating in the pool. It was so relaxing. And then came the rain; even in the rain it is still a beautiful slice of paradise. Later that day we finished off those leftovers.
On the way home Monday, we stopped at Jerry’s Artarama for a few canvases and portfolios. Whenever we go up for art supplies, we always stop at Cooper’s Hawk to pick up our member’s wine. We had 4 bottles waiting for us! And since we were there, we had lunch at the bar. I am normally not a fan of chain restaurants, but I have to say I have never had a bad meal at Cooper’s Hawk and Monday’s lunch was no different. We shared the Ahi Tuna Cruda appetizer special, Phil had his favorite, Ellie’s Chicken Picatta with Capellini pasta and I had the Gnocchi with Roasted Butternut Squash…and once again sorry/not sorry no pics!
Santé from Copper’s Hawk – Bin 92 Petite Sirah
It was a great weekend getaway, and it is also good to be back home in America’s Europe.
There are many Facebook pages with going on’s in the city, since you follow us, here are some things happening this weekend! Please feel free to add other happenings in the comments!
St. Augustine does not lack for live music options—there is always something going on. The weather this weekend was so beautiful we decided to go out for lunch and do a Music Crawl – similar to a bar crawl, but live music is involved…you knew that. Phil had a list of venues, performers, and times in his pocket. In theory we were going to listen to music from 2:00 in the afternoon until Midnight. First stop Meehan’s Backyard for lunch and Dewey Via. If you haven’t seen him—solo or with his band – check him out. The band is at the Dog Rose Brewery every Sunday. I had the Wedge Salad and Phil had the Fish and Chips (can’t go wrong with that choice). From there we walked to Casa de Vino 57 on Treasury. Phil had a beer, I had a glass of Italian Red. We sat under the pergola and listened to the band. Tray and Josh were the duo playing, drums and guitar; mostly country mixed with a bit of rock. They are there every other Sunday. During their break they sat with us, and they shared their cheese plate with us. The triple crème brie was amazing! After their set we went home; because a friend called saying he was in town; so, change of plans—Music Crawl cut short. But there are many weekends ahead for a future Music Crawl(s). Stay tuned…
Another fun Friday Night in StA! Malbec Mania wine tasting at the Gifted Cork. 7 Malbec Wines from Argentina and one bonus surprise wine – Jeanne’s favorite Malbec and the first case of Malbec she and her husband bought together. We enjoyed great wines, a cheese plate, information on the grape, region, and each wine poured, met new wino’s—I mean fun, friendly, people in our neighborhood. We took 4 bottles home with us—3 featured in the wine tasting and a Provençal Rosé; because 1) the bottle was beautiful and 2) it was a delicious dry rose, perfect for the warmer days ahead. And bonus, as members of their wine club we got an additional 10% off. Who doesn’t love a wine discount!
So quickly on their wine club, $60 a quarter, 2 free wine tastings a month, 2 free bottles of wine a month, and 10% off on all purchases. If you are local and a wino you need to go see Jeanne and sign up for her wine club and start enjoying the perks! Tell her Phil and Dee sent you.
Living in America's Europe 
