Dining Around Daytona Beach Florida

[arice]

hi,

my mom recently moved to new smyrna beach from the orlando area. i'm looking for recs of good places to eat in the area. she hasn't been too lucky finding places that she'd opt to return to and instead prefers to buy fish from her local fish market to cook at home. i'll be visiting her soon and am hoping we can try some new places... we like most cuisines, prices don't matter at this point (if it's cheap and it's good, even better!). all recs are appreciated.

thanks in advance for any assistance!

allison

Edited September 10, 2003 by arice (log)

[pjs]

Welcome Allison!

I see you’ve been inundated with responses.

Unfortunately due to the middle-income tourist economy model it depends on, this area of Florida is a chain restaurant-festered hell. Two up-scale independent restaurants with good intentions went under just this past week. I understand all-too-well your mother’s retreat to home cooking with the fine seafood available here, but there are a few alternatives:

Norwood’s Seafood, New Smyrna Beach. Anyplace that is still around after 40 or so years in this area deserves respect and a visit. Known for their wine list. Around here I don’t know if that is a plus or a minus.

Mario’s, Ormond Beach. Nothing more than good Italian-American. Been around forever also and crowded on the weekends. We’ve used them for catering more than once.

Billy’s Tap Room, Ormond Beach. Another old favorite of the locals. American bistro/brasserie food.

Port Orange/Ormond Steakhouse. A new operation to the area with two locations. The Port Orange location is said to be more rustic than the Ormond one. I’ve only been to the northern location. Good steaks.

On to the ethnic choices:

Pasha Middle Eastern Deli, Daytona Beach. Oh my, fresh baked pita and naan seven days a week. Schawarmas (gyros), falafel, hummus, imported yogurt, etc. Been around 20+ years. A lunchtime favorite.

Leanh’s Chinese Restaurant, Daytona Beach. Don’t let the name or the Chinese menu confuse you. Demand the one page Vietnamese menu. Once you do, they will treat you like family.

Let me know if you need more info!

PJ

[Nick]

I second PJ's suggestion of Norwood's. When I was a kid we had a winter place in New Symrna and we'd eat there quite a bit. That was back around '50-'53 and I still have fond memories of the smoked mullet.

[arice]

pjs...

thanks so much for the suggestions! mario's, leanh's and billy's tap room sound promising. i know that my mom has taken to norwood's, as it seems to be one of the few good restaurants near her house. i'll be visiting from philadelphia in a few weeks so hopefully we'll be able to try some of your recs.

i recently read a short "36 hours" column in the ny times on st. augustine. are you familiar with o'steen's or the gypsy cab company? are either worth the trip to the st. augustine area?

thanks again for your help.

allison

[pjs]

i recently read a short "36 hours" column in the ny times on st. augustine.  are you familiar with o'steen's or the gypsy cab company?  are either worth the trip to the st. augustine area?

Don't, do not, forget, or toss aside a trip to St. Augustine. Real history trumps the Disney crap every time.

O'Steen's is a no-brainer.

The Cab Co. has however started taking flak on that other web site's Florida board.

I read the NYTimes piece. I now need to revisit. Soon.

PJ

PS I see Nick is still jonesin' for smoked mullet. Nick, I'll happily trade you pound for pound, mullet for Maine lobsters.

[dlc]

We also have a home in New Smyrna and the best food is buying fresh fish and cooking at home. That said I would also suggest Garlic's, on 3rd Ave. J B's Fish Camp in Turtle Mound (great fried food when you need a fix), or Sea Harvest for take out fried fish. On Flagler there is a homestyle italian called Vincenzo's that has good pizza and pastas. On South Beach Manny's has the best pizza. Beachfront try Breakers for burgers and beer with live music at nite. The first sentence is the operative one in New Smyrna though.

[arice]

dlc... thanks so much for the suggestions! i'll definitely have to get out for some tasty fried fish while i'm there, though too much of the fried stuff makes my belly hurt

can't wait for some sunshine actually! philadelphia has been awfully cloudy lately.

allison

Edited September 15, 2003 by arice (log)