Margarita Abramov remembers the first time she saw St. Augustine, Fla., in the summer of 2010.
“We drove over the Bridge of Lions, and I couldn’t believe it. I thought, ‘We’re in Europe in the middle of the United States,’ “ said Abramov, a native of Russia who came to America in 1978. “I knew we had to live here. It was so special. We bought a house and moved our children here right away.”
Abramov is the owner of Sara’s Crepe Cafe, a restaurant that opened in the historic district of St. Augustine just this past July. Her restaurant, which features crepes based on her grandmother’s recipes, is one of many exotic and unusual places to eat in St. Augustine, a truly eclectic town of sights and sounds and smells with a global flavor.
Known as “America’s Oldest City,” St. Augustine was founded in 1565 by the Spanish and will celebrate its 450th anniversary in 2015. Meanwhile, next year — 2013 — the city will mark the 500th anniversary of the landing of Ponce de Leon in 1513. Although Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering America, he never actually set foot on the mainland of North America. It was de Leon who is credited as the first European explorer to do that when in late March of 1513, his ships landed on Florida’s east coast near present-day St. Augustine. He claimed the land for Spain and named it La Florida (LAH flow REE dah) or “place of flowers.”
Dignitaries from all over the world — including King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Elizabeth of England — are expected to participate in next year’s 500th anniversary celebration in St. Augustine.
Sara’s Crepe Cafe, named for Margarita’s grandmother, features crepes made the Russian way.
“Crepes are considered to be a French dish, but it is very similar to blini, a Russian dish,” Abramov said. “What I decided to do was incorporate the recipes of my grandmother to create a new kind of crepe. The dough is different — more tender and flavorful.”
The experience at Sara’s often includes a Russian violinist playing in the courtyard, as well as a variety of other European musicians who frequently entertain. Out in the courtyard, well-behaved pets are always welcome, and the staff at Sara’s is always happy to provide a bowl of fresh water for Fido while his people enjoy the food and the music.
The menu features signature crepes such as Napoleon (fresh eggs, smoked ham, housemade Hollandaise), Semona (Atlantic smoked salmon, white wine mornay, capers and fresh herbs), and Count Amaury (beef tips and mushrooms with a black truffle and fresh thyme demi-glace), among many other exotic treats. In recent weeks, Margarita has expanded her menu to include traditional Russian perogies/pelmeni, corned beef sandwiches, mussels fra diavolo, as well as an expanded breakfast menu.Continued... 1 2 3 4 See Full Story
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Of course, Russian crepes aren’t the only exotic food you can get in St. Augustine. For truly genuine French cuisine, there’s the Bistro de Leon, near the Cathedral Bascilica of St. Augustine, where Chef Jean-Stephane Poinard, a native of Lyon, France, sets a truly continental table. Poinard, a fifth-generation chef, is one of the honored chefs invited into the elite fraternity of Les Toques Blanches Lyonnaises in France. He has perfected the art of French home cuisine known as “la cuisine de meres.”
Next month (Nov. 18), Chef Poinard will be the honored chef at the James Beard House in New York City, where he will prepare a seven-course dinner for 80 guests. Titled the “French Connection Celebration of Beaujolais Nouveau,” the theme will pair French wines with dinner.
Recently, he previewed the dinner he will prepare that night for a lucky group of journalists. The menu included split pea soup with bacon chips, beef tail “confite” raviole with Port juice reduction and asperagus tips, boneless frog legs served over a tomato garlic Pain Perdu in watercress cream, red wine and blackcurrent cream “granite,” a flounder filet cooked with a red wine sauce with bacon and pearl onions, and for dessert, roasted pineapple in Madagascar vanilla bean and rum.
Needless to say, leftovers were not an issue.
“When you cook, you have to love people,” Poinard said. “My cuisine is like a symphony. I cook to the rhythms of music — and it’s fun.”
If French dishes aren’t your thing, how about some traditional Italian fare at La Pentola? Or, try some Saganaki (flaming cheese) at Athena, an exquisite Greek restaurant.
Perhaps one of the most unusual dining spots in St. Augustine is called Gaufres & Goods, a Greek and Polish restaurant cafe located on Aviles Street, the oldest street in continuous use in the United States. Perogies and stuffed cabbage are served with pyzy (dumplings stuffed with meat), a traditional dish of southern Poland.
The mom and pop owners, of course, are both Polish (mom) and Greek (pop), and they’ve found the perfect way to bring two cultures together on one enticing menu.
Surely the most bizarre place to eat in St. Augustine is the Cafe Alcazar inside the famed Lightner Musuem. The museum — as well as city hall — is located in what was once the ornate and spectacular Alcazar Hotel, built by railroad magnate Henry Flagler in the 1880s for his wealthiest clients. The Cafe Alcazar is actually located in what was once the deep end of the largest indoor swimming pool in the world.
In its day, the pool was used for all sorts of shows and activities, including water polo, synchronized swimming and even high diving competitions from the third-floor ballroom balcony.Continued...
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Now operated by George Chryssaidis, who also owns Athena as well as Georgie’s Diner in town, the Cafe Alcazar is known as the “secret cafe”, and the menu has a definite Greek flavor.
All three Chryssaidis restaurants feature an imported extra virgin olive oil called Frixa, which is the name of Chryssaidis’ home town in Greece. Frixa is a village in the rolling hills overlooking the River Alfeios and surrounded by olive groves. The Chryssaidis family has been in the business of making olive oil for generations.
The olive oil has become a local labor of love for all concerned. Even the label design, which features the golden mask of King Agamemnon, was a graphic design class project at Flagler College, and more than 20 designs were submitted in the competition.
“It’s very meaningful to us as we share our olive oil that began with St. Augustine’s community spirit,” Chryssaidis noted.
Bottles of Frixa olive oil can be purchased at any of the three restaurants.
Currently, the Cafe Alcazar is only open for lunch (11 a.m.-3 p.m.), but before or after your meal, you can spend some enjoyable time strolling through the extraordinary Lightner Museum.
Hobbies Magazine founder Otto Lightner bought the building for $150,000 in 1947 to house his collection of 40,000-50,000 antiques and collectibles gathered from Chicago estates after the Wall Street crash of 1929. The building and his collections were left to the citizens of St. Augustine upon his death in 1950.
If you’ve had all the European flavors you can handle on one visit and are hankering for some good old American grub, O.C. White’s has got you covered. Overlooking the picturesque marina and the Matanzas River, it’s one of the most popular restaurants in the city. And the crab cakes and sweet potato fries go down like a cold beer on a hot summer day.
One way to check out all of these restaurants and more is to take the City Walks Savory Faire tour, known as St. Augustine’s original “foodie tour.” This two and a half hour walking tour explores the cultural and historical influences on the tastes of St. Augustine. Come hungry and with inquisitive taste buds, as this entertaining guided stroll pops in and out of restaurants for tastings of food from all over the world. The tours are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, visiting different restaurants on different days of the week.Continued...
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City Walks also has a great daily Pub Crawl. And for those who like a little spirit with their spirits, some boos with their booze, and maybe a ghastly or ghostly tale or two, there’s the Creepy Crawl, a two and a half-hour walking pub tour that explores the varied types of paranormal activity you may experience in St. Augustine.
At local haunts, they say you never really drink alone.
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