A DRINKIN TOWN WITH A FISHIN PROBLEM

Ayright y'all, now Miss Vero has seen everything! A Red Hat luncheon at Earl's Hideaway! Just snapped this photo while we were headed up to Sebastian to meet the Secret Squirrel for lunch. Didn't want to get too close, lest they suck us into their evil Red Hat Cult!

Sebastian used to be one good time party place and it seems like they're not gonna give up that reputation anytime soon. Right next to Earl's the new location of the already popular Pig and Whistle Pub fits right in along the slow moving, pedestrian friendly Indian River Drive.

And now our Supreme Sebastian Source tells us that another party friendly hot spot might become a new neighbor. Rumor has it that Lou's Blues, a club on the beach in Indiatlantic is lookin to take over the old Hurricane Harbor spot, just south of Hiram's.
http://www.lousbluesupstairs.com/

Miss Vero has been to Lous Blues many a time and we can tell y'all that they're so not famous for being on the beach (cause y'all can't see it at night) as they are for having live music 7 nights a week. So with Hiram's booking some national acts and Earl's getting into the big stage business, will Lous Blues complete the set? Looks like Sebastian might keep it's party town reputation after all.

Who woulda ever expected to see Earl's getting classy? Now if only somebody could please get Damien Gilliams to clean up his waterfront properties? We honestly haven't been payin any attention to Sebastian politics for a very long time, but here it is 'bout ten or so years since we've checked in and Damien is still Sebastian's red headed stepchild. At least the man's consistent.

WHAT'S UP IN WABASSO?
On our way back from lunch, we thought we'd scoop up some treats from The Fresh Mozzarella Company in Wabasso. As we pulled up we spied a small sign in the window saying that they were finally taking a vacation - in August, but a hand written sign on the door simply said "They're Gone!". A quick peek in the window confirmed an empty store.

Left Wabasso to travel further south to vote at the Indian River Library, but couldn't find a parkin spot! Way too many cars with LOAR stickers parked out front. And Sheriff wanna-be-probably-gonnabe, Mr. Loar himself in the parking lot with Mrs. Bob Solari, checkin out a fender of a car that mighta been just scraped a little. Never did get to park, so we'll try again another day. Heck, almost happy hour anyway...

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

PARADISE LOST

First of all, let Miss Vero thank y'all for the wonderful emails and comments yesterday. We loved the suggestion of being linked to the PJ, but kids, y'all know that 's not gonna happen, besides that would just raise their stock and send ours plummeting. We are achievin our goals right here, thank y'all very much.

We sent an email to Miss Marilyn Bauer at the Press Journal, wondering why someone local isn't hired (cause y'all know the job will be filled by a newcomer, oh yes hunnies, mark my words), but she hasn't responded yet. hmmm...

Now today children we are going to talk about a place we swore we'd never review - Captain Hiram's. So stop groaning right now, y'all hear?

Since Miss Diana Foote is reviewing places she's never been to (and we all have) and since she saw fit to write about Hiram's yesterday and the PJ saw fit to print it and her other drivel (not our word, the one lone comment to her last two articles - and no, we are not providin the link).

We thought, well, we should take a crack at it.

Miss Vero has a long history with Hiram's going back 20 years or so. Now it's a giant tourist trap run by a management company, but back in the day it was the coolest partyin place this side of Key West. As Miss Foote found out, food is, or has never been the reason to visit, except if ya'll know what to order. Hiram's was once known as a raw bar and one of the original owners, Mr. Martin Carter, would fix you up a dirty oyster if he happened to be around the bar. He also had a very good recipe for Maryland crab chowder and a little unassuming guy called Captain Jimmy made the best crab cakes. All of these items made it onto the menu, but we much prefer the days when Captain Jimmy would come out of the kitchen himself with the crabcakes or Martin went behind the bar with Roxanne to get oyster fixins. We were there recently and glad to see Roxanne still behind the bar.

This is our favorite place to sit inside, probably because of all the great fun and fishin pictures. Miss Vero is sad to see that the great Don Ray art has been taken down to provide room for some lame flat screens spewing out sports programs. Our favorite was always "Snook in the Mangroves" (any idea what a snook is Miss Foote? good eatin, that's what). And that was how y'all got the best fish at Hiram's, y'all caught it and brought it in and they cooked it up.
http://www.donraystudio.com/donray.htm

Now the place got a bit a popular and Mr. Martin and his partner, Mr. Tom Collins (yup that's his real name), decided to pretty it up a bit and send the fishin boot wearin locals out to the dock area, so as not to disturb the genteel customers they were trying to attract. They put a little outside bar in the back, it was real cute with only seven seats, they called it "The Sand Bar."

There were two women who worked there, Miss Kate and Miss Margaret and they wore bikinis and sarongs and Hatmon hats and they kept the locals very happy and business boomed. There was Captain Terry, Cokie, Joey and Marcia, Scott and Leslie, Captain Buddy, Bobby, Captain Gus, Captain Bruce, Doug Moss and his dog Malei, Uncle Bill, Pete Harris, George and Dr. John, just to name a few.

Hatmon was "imported " from Seacrets in Ocean City Maryland, (now y'all know where the Maryland Chowder came from) and it was on the success of local business and the idea to replicate Seacrets that Tom Collins built the Sand Bar y'all see today. In fact if y'all take a look at the Seacrets website, it will look strangely familiar.
http://www.hatmon.com/

http://www.seacrets.com/

There were so many great stories and people that were present at the birth of the Sand Bar. Sadly some of them are gone forever. We already told y'all about Pete Harris in our June 18th post "Mad about Micco" and one of these days we promise to tell y'all about Doug Moss, but one person y'all should know about is Dr. John. He is the only original regular that has a plaque at the Sand Bar.


Now first off, don't get any fool ideas about pesterin Dr. John with stoopid questions or askin him about Miss Vero. As we told y'all in previous posts, he is one of the smartest people we know ( there's only a handful) and he is a Doctor of psychology, so he can see your BS from a mile away. And if that doesn't deter y'all, he's a feisty Irishman from Newark, NJ. who will make that very clear to anyone who annoys him. Y'all might have heard him on the Love Doctors, he's a guest quite frequently. We are still wondering why WZZR doesn't give him his own damn show.

Dr. John Dispensing Wisdom

We suppose the reason we chose to tell y'all about Hiram's is because it no longer exists, not in the way it used to. It's like Sebastian and Vero Beach, still there, still thriving, but not as folks who have been here a while remember. New people come along like Diana Foote and Russ Lemmon, who haven't lived here long but get paid to tell us old timers about our own surroundings. We know it will never be the way it was and that's life kids, things change. But what we need is something to hold onto while we make that transition. We need to build that change on the foundation of the past. We need the new folks to know who the plaques belong to and why. Miss Vero sincerely hopes to give y'all that. We'll do our best.

Now let's mix up a cocktail and start the weekend! See y'all Monday..

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

STAYCATION - ALL I EVER WANTED!

Everyone's affected by the high gas prices and state of economy, at least that's what they tell us. So to do our part, Miss Vero has decided to have what is now commonly referred to as a "Staycation" and share it with y'all.

How 'bout going to Cuba? No, not really but here's an idea for y'all to get your cuban on.

Regular Cuban -
Go down to the Humane Society thrift store, Goodwill or Salvation Army and shop for Guayaberas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guayabera
Pick up some used dominoes, if y'all don't already have some.
Stop by the 7-Eleven on your way to the beach and get some Bustelo Cool cafe con leche in a can and grab some of their cuban sandwiches, which they will grill up for y'all real nice. Honestly kids, 7-Eleven has the absolute best cuban sandwiches.
Call your friends and tell them to meet you at JC or (the apparently unused) Humiston Park.
http://www.verobeach32963.com/news/060819.htm
Host a marathon domino game, tell your friends to bring the cigars.

Premium Cuban -
Get your friends to meet y'all at Felix's.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34709-d812299-r17004629-Felix_Place_Cuban_Gourmet_Cuisine-Vero_Beach_Florida.html
Doesn't matter what y'all order, everything is yummy, yummy, yummy! Be adventurous and ask for the house suggestions.
Go to Blockbuster and pick up season one of Dexter.
http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/home.do
Unless of course, y'all are the types that are easily offended by cussin and serial killer humor, in that case, proceed directly to the next step and try real hard to get over yourself.
Mix up a big ole batch of Mojitos.
http://www.tasteofcuba.com/mojito.html
Or - if-in y'all forgot to get the mint at Publix - Cuba Libres! (rum, Coke and lime).

Super Cuban-
Check into the Costa D'Este!


Miss Vero has decide that tonight we will pretend to go to Jamaica. We'll be dining at Mo Bay up in Sebastian.
http://www.mo-baygrill.com/
Miss Vero has been a patron of Chef Wesley's fine food since they opened and hunnies, it is better than good Jamaican cuisine, it's fabulous.
Then, while we're still in a good mood, we're gonna check ourselves into the Key West Inn at Captain Hiram's!
http://www.hirams.com/
Let's face it, only tourists actually eat there. Or, if it's real late, it's the only place in Sebastian that's open. The food is, how can we say it real nice? crap. Except for Martin's crab chowder or Captain Jimmy's crabcakes, it was always hit or miss. Maybe things have changed, Lawdy children, Miss Vero hasn't been there in a million dog years! We knew that place when it was just a bait shop! Mr. Tom and Mr. Martin and Miss Carol, the proprietors ( folks, who Miss Vero remembers well, but will probably not remember Miss Vero) certainly have made some changes over the years and if that's not a complete understatement, we don't know what is!
Anyhoo, there's no tellin who Miss Vero might run into up at the ole Sand Bar, sure will be interesting. Besides, staying at the scene of the crime is way cheaper than a DUI and will also provide us with front row seats for the parade tomorrow! Hangover and all, we'll be there.


We'll post late tomorrow, so y'all can see our parade pics and have sumthin to look at over the weekend. And remember kids, don't play with fireworks, Miss Vero, will not waste a cocktail puttin your sorry behind out if y'all catch your stoopid self on fire!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com


Oh! by the way, Miss Vero saw the review for Riverside cafe in the PJ yesterday - Now we get it! Diana Foote only reviews the restaurants that she's never been to!