February 14, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

We met fellow bloggers and Montana owners, JoAnn and Doug,  a few years ago when we were in Arizona.  We keep up with their travels at their “Living Our Dream” journal.  We noticed that they were spending some time in Texas near Corpus Christi.

The distance between Corpus and Weslaco is about 180 miles.  They contacted us and suggested a lunch meeting somewhere half-way.  We settled on the Baffin Bay Cafe in Riviera Beach, TX., located 90 miles away for each of us.

Riviera Beach is located about 10 miles east of the small town of Riviera, TX on Baffin Bay, which is an inlet off of Laguna Madre, near the Gulf of Mexico.

We picked a nice 70 degree day and headed north up US 77.   Along the way we spotted a couple of oddities.  First was a US Post Office that is really easy to miss. The Armstrong, TX post office is in the driveway of a ranch entrance.  The flag pole is empty.  I guess indicating that the office is closed.

Once we reached Riviera and turned off toward the bay, we noticed this hundred year old bank that appears to have been empty for some time. Notice the buckboard in the front yard.

Ten miles east of Riviera, you run straight into the bay.  At that point, you’ll find the Baffin Bay Cafe.  It is a little overgrown, and therefore not very easy to spot.

A local cat found it comfortable to bask in the sun on the roof.

This place had been recommended by some friends but we wanted to reserve judgment. When we went inside, we found that the place was clean, but not very fancy.

We met up with JoAnn and Doug at the prescribed time.

We asked the waitress for recommendations and she told us that it really didn’t matter, “everything is fabulous”.   Each of us ordered something different and the waitress proved to be correct.  Every dish that we tried was great.  I guess when an out-of-the-way place relies on word-of-mouth advertising, they had better get it right.

There wasn’t much going on in the bay.  This is a look out of the restaurant window toward the bay.

Next door to the Cafe is a boat ramp and an old bait store.  Neither building has seen a paint salesman in decades.

On the unlikely event that you find yourself heading south from Kingsville, TX, you could do a lot worse than taking the detour to the Baffin Bay Cafe.

A final thought appeared on the way home.

Posted in Texas Coast, Texas | Print | 3 Comments »

February 2, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

Recent visitor, Jerry, raved about the stuffed peppers that he had eaten, some ten years ago, at the old Yacht Club and Hotel in Port Isabel, TX.  Port Isabel is located on the mainland, just across the bridge from South Padre Island and a couple of blocks north of Hwy 100.

So off we went to experience this epicurean delight.  As luck would have it, the restaurant doesn’t open until 5:00 PM.  Since it was noon, and we were getting hungry, we decided to forego dining at the Yacht Club until a later date.

But, while there, we decided to look around.  Easily recognizable by its red tile roof and dome, the Yacht Club, established in 1926, had fallen into a state of disrepair. In recent years, under new management, the facility has undergone progressive renovation, beginning with the guest rooms.  The new owner, John Hiller, is extremely nice and eager to answer our questions.

The unusual symmetry of the entry door, seen below, looks like one side or the other was an afterthought.  It seems like another door was added to allow something to be brought into the building.

Most of the furnishings are antique and fitting the design of the inn all the way down to the front desk.  Across from the desk is this fantastic ship model.  You can see some of the period lobby furnishings in the background.

The dining room is bright and cheery.  Too bad they didn’t open until 5:00 PM.

The lighting is assisted by the windows surrounding the room at ceiling level.

If you’re in the area, it is certainly worth a visit.  If you try the stuffed jalapeños, let us know how you like them.

Posted in Texas Coast, Texas | Print | 2 Comments »

January 24, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

My cardiologist said to me, “Do you remember what you did to build up the plaque in your system?”  Following my affirmative response, he added, “Well, stop it.”

So, the week following my procedure and with out of town guests here wanting to dine out, we visited many of the wonderful contributors to my heart issues.

In Mission, Texas, we stopped at Pepe’s on the River to watch our friend Ruthi perform.

Pepe’s has some outstanding nachos.  It takes at least two people to tackle a piling order of this dish. We enjoyed an afternoon of dancing.

My favorite restaurant south of the border is Angel’s in Progreso.  They have the best salsa I’ve ever had.  The place was teaming with senior citizens. Imagine that.

Then it was off to South Padre Island and lunch at our favorite restaurant on the island, Daddy’s.   The dish called the Cowboy Joe’s is absolutely wonderful. It is a ribeye with a shrimp, spinach and 3-cheese sauce.

We also visited two fine Mexican restaurants, Costa Messa Restaurant in McAllen.  I’m not crazy about chipolte anything, but their chipolte salsa is great.  The second restaurant is Casa Del Tacos in Weslaco.  It isn’t just a house of tacos.  You’ll find a wide menu that includes homemade soups and good steaks.

Finally, we went to Donna, TX to visit Gonzales Burgers.  This place doesn’t even have a sign except the one that says “OPEN”.  You need to get there early.  People start lining up at about 10:30 AM.  Even if you are first in line, you may wait about 30 minutes for your order.  The burgers are enormous.

You can see the huge patties.  The burgers fill the over sized buns.

If that won’t clog your arteries, nothing will.

Ok, my Nutrisystems food just arrived.  Now I can work toward better health.

Posted in Mexico - Nuevo Progreso, TX Rio Grande Valley, Texas Coast, Texas, Mexico | Print | 4 Comments »

January 5, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

We made a whirlwind trip over to South Padre Island to check out some properties.

In 2006, construction on a beautiful, 31 story condominium tower began at the northern end of the developed area of South Padre Island.

Unfortunately, the structure took on a nickname of “The Leaning Tower of Padre” as one side began to sink into the sand.  In December, 2009, the building was imploded.  This is all that is left…….

While on the island, we stopped for lunch at  Daddy’s Seafood and Creole Kitchen, 3409 Padre Blvd., and were not disappointed.

I know that you’re supposed to eat seafood at the beach, but Rick had a ribeye with a Cajun seafood cheese sauce on top.  It was outstanding.  Tinka stayed with the seafood fare and enjoyed a sampling of various shrimp dishes.

There are a number of good restaurants on the island.  This is one of the best.

Posted in Texas Coast, Texas | Print | No Comments »

October 23, 2009 by Rick and Tinka.

In early May we visited, and wrote about, the Sandfest activities in Port Aransas, TX., which is the largest sand castle competition along the Gulf Coast.  Last weekend South Padre Island hosted a smaller version of the “castle” building.

The competition took place at Isla Blanca Park at the south end of the island. The structures were no less spectacular.

They even had a “Lesson Beach” section to teach some of the techniques to novices.

Unfortunately, we learned about a new beach hazard.  The Red Tide.   The red tide is an algae bloom that is not harmful to humans, but quite deadly to fish.  Thousands of dead fish were spotted by the Coast Guard just off shore and some were washing up on the beach.

One side effect of the red tide is that the blooms emit  particles that are irritating to everyone’s breathing.   Everyone we spotted had a hacking cough that quit when they traveled a short distance from the beach.

Smart people came prepared with masks.

Most of the artists came prepared.

We headed up the beach about a half mile along the beach at the north end of the road.  The surf was extremely rough, and the tide so high, that we didn’t want to work that hard to travel up the beach.  With the red tide, we didn’t plan to spend much time in the sand anyway.

Texas Parks and Wildlife keep a website to advise on the various beach conditions, including the Red Tide.  (Click Here)

We will certainly check out the conditions before our next visit.

Posted in Texas Coast, Texas | Print | No Comments »