I've had two opportunities to lunch at eat cetera in the last couple of weeks.  The first time I had a special panini with cambezola (camembert + gorgonzola, a real treat), ham and grilled asparagus.  This week I shared lunch with a friend: we each had a cup of of corn soup with chipotle sauce, and shared a kobe roast beef panini with mushrooms and onions. Everything was so satisfying, and it's so good to have them back open downtown. Do yourself a favor and go by. Hours are Mon-Sat 11-7.

Shrimp & Stuff is indeed back in operation. We live nearby so we called in an order and it was ready in 10 minutes.  I had a great shrimp salad, big fresh shrimp in a creamy mix with chopped shrimp, served over lettuce with avocado, half-boiled-egg, and tomato.  So great to have a healthy salad!  My companion enjoyed his shrimp poor boy.  I am so in awe of the restaurants and other business that are doing yeoman's work getting back in action, as it makes such a different for all of us who are working toward recovery and rebuilding.

We went with some friends over to The Spot on Seawall around 12:30 this afternoon.  We arrived just before the line elongated so we didn't wait at all.  They have a limited menu right now but it included what I wanted, a Spotburger!  It was just the comfort food I needed.  The place was pretty well packed but we found a quiet table. My friend had a shrimp poor boy which he said was good (but he wouldn't share a bite).  They don't yet serve our beloved onion rings (best on the Island), but the waffle fries were quite excellent.  Sitting there in the hustle and bustle, on a beautiful sunny day, and looking out at the peaceful Gulf was balm for our souls.  There are ever-growing areas on the Island that are coming back to life very rapidly.  Driving home I noted that Queen's Barbecue at 35th & S is open for business.  More restaurants open every day.

Last night I had the meal of a lifetime!  We went to Saltgrass Steak House on Seawall, bone-tired from cleaning up Ike debris.  We had decided it was time for a little celebration.  It seemed like everyone in town was there and we saw folks we hadn't seen in forever, and swapped survival stories.  Shared a table with two long-time friends who we bumped into at the front door.  We dined on the artichoke appetizer and all four of us ordered rib-eyes, two with baked potatoes and two with baked sweet potatoes.  Fabulous and a true feast!  Thanks to the management and hard-working staff for opening up a little oasis of normality during all this confusion.

Krogers and Randalls are grilling lunches for folks outside today (Wednesday), at no cost.  Randalls had drinks, beef fajita tacos, and a banana. Krogers had hot dogs and beans, chips, and drinks. All these are salve to the palate of the weary, and the best food we've ever eaten!  Many, many thanks to these great community-minded businesses for their generosity.

My source on the Island tells me that Casey's at 38th & Seawall is open for breakfast and lunch, 8am to 4pm.  Good for them!  Enjoy a hot meal.

I'm one of those evacuees in exile, alert for news of our Island.  I just heard the announcement that return begins Wednesday. I'll get there as soon as resonable and promise to start scouting for eating places that offer more than MRE's.  Please comment if you already have news.  Hang in there everyone, we'll be back on our feet soon.

I wanted Vietnamese noodles last night, so I called in an order to Pho 20 at 39th & Broadway.  I have become addicted to B2 "Vermicelli with Char-Grilled Beef".  This is my local absolute favorite take-home food and most times it is great.  Last night the beef strips were particularly succulent!  As usual, however, it was ready before they said to be there, and it was not very warm when I got back home.  I wish they would package it in a way that I could re-heat the beef without wilting the lettuce and bean sprouts.

My friend and I had dinner at Bistro LeCroy the other night.  It's a beautiful place with very friendly and helpful staff, but no observable ghosts.  I really enjoyed my Tomato Basil soup and Pasta Nicola. My friend was not so enamored with the Blackened Snapper or Etouffee.  Most of the comments I've seen on the Galveston.com website are extremely positive, so maybe we just caught them on an off night.  The place does anchor the east end of the Strand area, and they sponsor a Saturday morning food market, so we appreciate their presence there.

See my full review by clicking here.

We went to Yamato Japanese Seafood Sushi & Steak House on 61st Street the other night.  What a wonderful dinner!  We enjoyed a bit of sushi, and also delicious beef and shrimp entrees prepared at our table.  The chef was quite a performer!  This is a family-friendly restaurant with great food and reasonable prices.  Give it a try if you haven't been there recently.  See a full review by clicking here.

Not long ago we drove out to Michael Burger on 3005 for a quick lunch.  It's such an easygoing, casual place, and we saw friends we hadn't seen in awhile.  Didn't have to wait at all, and grabbed our own cold beer from an icy tub.  We tried a couple of menu items, Wienerschnitzel and Jamaica Beach Burger, and our very young friend had a grilled cheese sandwich. Wienerschnitel was well-prepared, and the burger was OK, but both were underseasoned.  I understand that the grilled cheese was perfect.  Oh, and we had curly fries to boot which were excellent. Apple strudel with ice cream for dessert was definitely comfort food. This is a great place for a casual visit, and very family-friendly.

To read the Galveston.com Dining Diva full review, click here.

I finally got the Migas I've been wanting!  We went to Gorditas for breakfast and the Migas are great. Fabulous view of the Gulf, too.  I'd been putting off going there but I'm sure happy we went by.  Nothing like a good Mexican breakfast!  The ambience there is quite authentic. There's a review up at http://www.galveston.com/gorditas/

An old friend came in from out of town and we went to breakfast at Miller's, which used to be Miller's Landing when he lived here.  The place is so transformed that he wouldn't have recognized it on his own.  Food is transformed also, from those days.  My friend told me his fried eggs were done well, and the ham slices were nice and thick.  Biscuits were good too, and served with real butter (one of his fetishes).  I had the "Pappas and Eggs Skillet" which was relatively bland but the hot sauce provided tastied it up somewhat.  Too bad they serve Coffee Mate instead of real cream for the coffee. The interior is really lovely with lots of wood and architectural detail, and nice light jazz in the background.  I sure wish they'd tone down the paint color outside!

I had dinner the other evening at Mosquito on 14th Street.  Love that place!  I can seldom resist the Napa Salad, a mixture of lettuce, perfectly grilled chicken, citrus, grapes and walnuts in a spicy vinaigrette dressing. Usually the citrus is grapefruit sections but this time was orange slices; hope they go back to grapefruit.

To date I have had only positive experiences dining there. The atmosphere is lively casual, and staff are so friendly. I also love the Breakfast Bowl (available all day on Sundays!), but be sure they serve it hot enough.  Try the breakfast scones too, they're great anytime.

Feeling the need for some significant sustenance after a stressful day, we decided to rebuild our red blood cells by trying out the fare at Saltgrass. This casual Seawall steakhouse was crowded when we arrived on a Monday evening, but there was a table for us by the window with a fine view of the Gulf. There is not a better view on the island. The atmosphere was casual and lively but not obtrusive.

We settled in with a delicious warm loaf of “Shiner Bock beer bread”. It was homemade in the kitchen according to our waiter, as is most everything on the menu. We did not let the bread deter us from trying an appetizer of “Seafood Fondeaux”, a creamy mix of crawfish, shrimp, mushrooms and cheeses in cream sauce. This large serving, with herbed garlic bread for dipping, could have been a meal in itself. It was just spicy enough, Cajun flavored, with juicy shrimp. It went well with the glass of cabernet we ordered from the admirable wine list.

True to our plan, I ordered a personal favorite, prime rib, with baked sweet potato. The meat was flavorful, tender, moist and truly medium rare as requested, with a herbed and peppery crust.  The horseradish sauce was creamy and light. The sweet potato was fabulous! My companion chose the ribeye, which arrived rare as ordered. It was tender yet substantive, with robust flavor, and almost no waste. He had “Texas Rice” on the side, which was spicy-hot with cayenne but not uncomfortably so. The salads, included with each entrée, were OK but heavy on the iceberg lettuce.

We finished off the meal with coffee and shared a massive slice of six-layer chocolate brownie cake with ice cream. The ice cream had the texture of homemade and the cake was dense and tasty. But our appetites were not up to it and I admit we cried uncle and took most of the cake home.

Service was excellent initially, attentive but not pushy, and all staff were friendly and personable. However, as the meal progressed we found them to be busy with other diners and somewhat difficult to engage.  Perhaps they were unprepared for the heavy Monday night crowd. 

 We had not tried Saltgrass before because we figured it was just another chain. The quality of the food and preparation of the dishes were consistently excellent. Prices were reasonable with respect to both portion sizes and tastiness of the cuisine.  This is a great place for a casual meal, and you will definitely not go away hungry!