The Florida Cracker: Family Fun on St. George Street
You walked all the way from the Historic Downtown Parking Facility to the Bridge of Lions. You went to the Pirate Museum. You did the tour of Flagler College. And now everyone's hungry. The thing about the exciting world of tourism, exploring new places, and historic St. Augustine sites is that eventually everyone starts to get hangry.
- The Florida Cracker, 81 St George St, St. Augustine, FL 32084
Hangry & On Foot
There's been times where we were cruising Open Table for a miraculous reservation for six that was less than a two-hour wait. We think, let's get a pretzel to tide us over. Sometimes, after finding out that Prohibition Kitchen is one hour, The Colombian is tours hours, and the pizza place line looks painful, we've nearly given up to opt for fast food on the drive back to Jax. Most of the time though, we beeline for the Florida Cracker.
The wait times aren't usually too bad, plus we save a good thirty minutes by going straight there instead of searching for availability on our slowly loading phones.
My family has been going to this restaurant for decades. It's practically their Biaggio's (the go-to Lake Forest pizza joint I grew up frequenting). This Salussolia staple should be added to your St. Augustine eating itinerary.
Find the Tiki Tables
Sure, you can pre-game at the Tini Martini bar. You could explore the Lightner Museum and dine at Cafe Alcazar. You could have fish and chips while sipping a Guinness at Meehan's. But you really should dive into the heart of it all and eat at the tiki tables that whisper Southern beachy bayou getaway. The Florida Crackers offers indoor and outdoor seating. If there's not live music outside, you're likely to hear some nearby.
The dress code is casual. Diners wear a range of typical tourist fare: a big straw hat, a few baseball caps, a lot of sunburns, some flowy dresses, and possibly a local dancing gypsy. You just never know with that town. While a South Georgia crooner might be playing a mandolin down one alley, the next will feature a student violinist taking their first shot at busking.
IPA & Gator Tail
First matter of business for the haggard foot travelers will be to order a beverage. My in-laws approve of the wine options, though the list is not exhaustive. I say, opt for a locally brewed IPA (or red ale if you don't swing that way). You'll see options from Jacksonville and Tampa. St. Augustine restaurants often feature beers from local breweries like Intuition, Bold City, and Veterans United. It's pretty great. Unless it's a sour. Then, it's not so great. But I digress. Now, that you have a drink in hand (or in mind), pick an app!
Order the gator appetizer for big meaty bits of fresh, flavorful gator tail. It's the best gator tail I've had, and I've been to Gatorland, the Black Hammock by Lake Jessup, Clark's Fish Camp (RIP) by the St. Johns, and Safe Harbor by Mayport. By far, this batch was best. The amount of meat, the flaking fried and crispy skin, and the flavor. Delish.
Married to the Po'Boy
For your meal, choose from seafood sandwiches and other staples, like burgers. You could try the catch of the day, a Shrimp Po'Boy (my husband's favorite), fried shimp or some other Southern Special. They have a solid kids menu. It's a dependably excellent way to satiate hunger for the whole family.
Last visit, I had the Peel & Eat Shrimp, Lucy got a hot dog, and can you guess what Michael got? That Po'Boy. We chowed down and replenished our sight-seeing energy. This visit we'd been to Ripley's Believe It or Not. So much weirdness! I'll save that for another blog.
Quick word about the service. While peeling a shrimp, I happened to see a gentleman nearby accidentally drop some food from the table, one of the fried green tomatoes. While he sopped sauce from his shirt, I saw the server quickly slip over to the kitchen and ask them to prep one more. She walked to the diner, offered him napkins, and told him more was coming. It was pretty above and beyond.
No Room in the Belly
Now, if we were at the restaurant with Dad Salussolia, then we would have had a slice of Key Lime Pie before leaving. This visit, it was just us. We didn't save any room for dessert.
I had planned to get some fudge or an enourmous rice crispy treat from the place next door. But I was just too full. Even as we headed back to the garage, the smell of Kilwin's waffle cones tempted my taste buds, but just like that legendary day in the manger, there wasn't any room.
