by The Great Foodini

A saloon themed restaurant with three items that they hang their hat on: USDA prime ribeye sandwich, Ahi tuna sandwich, Royal Red shrimp all with bourbon.

Gary, the owner of the CharBar, a Saloon styled bar and grill sat down across from me in the booth I chose near the bar.

Gary looks the part. He had a grizzled look. A weather-worn face that seemed to immediately tell the tale of a life in the saddle.  As I began to ready my first question, he steadied his pair of piercing steely eyes that seemed to look directly into my soul and I half expected him to begin telling me how he faced down the railroad men who tried to run him off and how they’d have to pry the deed to his land out of his dead cold hands.

Luckily, Gary just looked the part, he was a very nice man. As he shoved a plate of Saloon Fries in front of me, he gave me a smirk You will like these he grumbled. They are Mexican cheese fries.

What I found in front of me was a plate piled high with French fries smothered with a blend of cheese, enchilada sauce, grated parmesan and jalapeno slices. The Enchilada sauce added a new depth to this dish that I had never experienced before. They were delicious and I was immediately in love with them.

The next dish on the table was the seared Ahi Tuna salad. Not only was this fresh Tuna seared perfectly, the salad of mixed greens with generous portions veggies was drizzled with an in-house made soy wasabi aioli dressing. This was beyond delicious. The steaks in this joint are also USDA Prime. Gary, at 71 years old, is in the kitchen himself cooking and cleaning without slowing down all night. Gary has been in the restaurant business more than 50 years and doesn’t plan to stop or remove his boots and cowboy hat anytime soon. This place also has perfectly seasoned Royal Red Kabobs. As a huge Red Dead Redemption Fan (XBOX1 Game), I will be revisiting this place again for the décor and just ordering a beer and a whiskey…of which there are 35 variations of whiskey here.

Foodini Jr. trying to Follow in Dad’s steps. – My son came to me the other day and said he wanted to be a food writer like me. So we hopped in the car and went to a spot. Here is his first attempt with very little assistance…9 years old.

*There is no wind today so I think flying kites is off the drawing board. So we are at Margaritaville instead and I am Foodini Jr. and I am inspecting muffins. First, I notice the muffins in the coffeeshop on the 10th floor have a lot of blueberries in them. It is good because it tastes like lots of blueberries. They are good. It is easy to eat because it is moist. The next muffin is the chocolate one. It is my favorite. It is full of chocolate and it is warm.

The view outside is outstanding and I can see the whole Gulf of Mexico. I can see a boat called the Betsy Ann swimming by really slow. The people on the boat looked like they were having fun.

The people here get these muffins from Pillsbury and Batter Pro. I think we should go there next.

Thank you for reading.