Set Sail

Room with a view

If you travel to the West Palm Beach area, you’ll learn Riviera Beach isn’t exactly a popular hotspot for people to hang out. Instead of being known for beautiful beaches and glamorous riches, Riviera Beach is more known for crime, poverty, and public health problems. It is one of the cultural complexities of Palm Beach County – you have the richest of the rich living right beside the poorest of the poor. Just across the Intracoastal Waterway from Riviera Beach is Singer Island, which is full of beachfront condos and luxurious marinas, one being the Sailfish Marina. And the Sailfish Marina also happens to have a restaurant we have visited multiple times, including a visit during our recent vacation.

The setting for the restaurant and marina is gorgeous and classic South Florida. The restaurant faces the Intracoastal Waterway and Peanut Island, offering wonderful views of the boats in the marina as well as the island out in the center of the waterway. There is outdoor seating as well as an indoor patio and I really don't think there's a bad seat in the entire restaurant. This is the sort of place that is as popular for it's atmosphere as it is for the food.

Nicole got stoned

However, even without the atmosphere, this is probably the restaurant Nicole was most looking forward to during our time in Florida. You can get good seafood all over the place in South Florida, but crab legs can be a bit more difficult to come across, especially Stone Crabs. Stone Crabs are a local delicacy in South Florida and Nicole is a crab legs connoisseur. Sailfish Marina is the only place we've been that serves Stone Crab claws, and there was no question as to what Nicole would be ordering. I also ordered something featuring crab, but it wasn't quite as extravagant as Nicole's stone crabs - I ordered the Caribbean Crab Nachos.

I'd had the crab nachos multiple times, but it was always as an appetizer for the table. This time, I realized the nachos were always my favorite part of the meal, so I decided to have them as my entree. The nachos are served as a large pile of tortilla chips as the base and then topped with black beans, mango, jack cheese, cream cheese, and lumps of crab meat. The first time I saw it on the menu, I thought it was an odd combination. Now, it is up there with Pappasito's as the best nachos I've ever had. The sweetness of the mango is excellent with the richness of the crab meat and the saltiness of the tortilla chips. And as the cream cheese begins to melt, it makes it all come together. I've tried to copy this recipe multiple times, but I haven't been able to do it. I guess there is just something magical about the way it's made at Sailfish.

One of the things on our vacation bucket list was getting Nicole some stone crabs. At Sailfish Marina, she was able to enjoy her crab claws and I can't complain about my meal either. Great food and wonderful views...and you begin to understand why so many consider South Florida to be paradise.

A Little Nook

The Center Street Nook was another one of the places Nicole and I knew we wanted to eat during our vacation in Florida. This is one of my favorite restaurants (anywhere) and it is full of local character and charm. It seats about 20 people and this is the first place I think of when recommending a sort of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" type restaurant. When we lived in Jupiter, Nicole and I would occasionally walk to "The Nook" on Saturday mornings and enjoy a heaping plate of pancakes - filled with peanut butter, chocolate chips, and happiness. The staff were always extremely friendly, the food was delicious, and there was a special feeling about being able to eat there - I was very excited about getting to go back!

On our return trip, we decided to go by The Nook for lunch. We were lucky to come at a time when it wasn't particularly crowded and we were able to walk right in and get a seat - this is one of the only times I've ever had this happen. As usual, we were greeted by an extremely friendly waitress who took our drink orders as we looked over the menu. They were serving breakfast (served for breakfast & lunch) and normal lunch items so I was in quite the dilemma over what to order. Nicole went with breakfast (a veggie omelette) and I decided to get a sandwich because I was more in the mood for lunch. I've had many of their sandwiches but I'd never tried a burger of any type, so I ordered the Patty Melt on rye bread.

I miss you sweet potato fries.

The food came out and looked excellent, and to no one's surprise, tasted excellent too. One of my favorite things about this restaurant is that they provide a creative, unique menu without sacrificing quality or flavor. My patty melt was served on rye bread that had been buttered and toasted, which was a great combination with the generous beef patty, melted cheese, and onions. I don't eat too many burgers/red meat anymore, but I can make an exception when it tastes like this. And to go with my sandwich, I ordered sweet potato fries as my side - which they do a great job with.

To be honest, I really can't offer any sort of critical review about the Center Street Nook. I love everything about it. The prices, especially for the South Florida area, are very reasonable - breakfast ranges from $5-$8 and lunch ranges from $6-$10. The servers are always friendly and the owner is always there checking on tables and talking with guests. And everything I've tasted has been good. They could probably expand to offer more space but that might take away some of the charm and atmosphere. This is one of the special little parts of Jupiter, FL that a visitor must experience - I miss not being able to experience it more often.