A couple of months ago, I reviewed Abbondanza, on Simonton Street here. The first experience there was delightful. I am sad to report, however, that it seems that was a fluke.
A couple of weeks ago, we visited Abbondanza in hopes of repeating the same good meal we had the first time. Alas, it was not meant to be. After a 30 minute wait (we were told it would be 10-15 minutes) we were seated. Another 10 minutes go by and we are watching various servers shuffle around, yet not one of them comes over to our table. Another few minutes go by and a server appears. This is the conversation:
Useless Server: Are you ready to order?
Me: Excuse me? (At this point the U.S. had not so much said hello to us, nor offered us a glass of water).
US: (Notices the bottle of wine on our table, which we brought) Is that yours? You can’t open that here.
Me: Actually, we can. You have a corkage policy which allows it.
US: I’m going to talk to my manager.
Meanwhile, I realize this isn’t going to end well for us, and as I prefer not to waste my time on bad service, I asked the hostess to reseat us with another server. The hostess was quite snooty and explained that they serve over 300 meals a night and people seem to like it. Once again I realize, I’m not people.
Finally, we move to another table, and I ask to see the manager. She didn’t seem to care too much what our issue was but insisted that we stay and that we would have a excellent service, and she would waive the corkage charge, which was waived last time we were there just because, so I didn’t see how this was so great.
We stayed. The food was good, and we even had good service. Alas, Matt the waiter is only there for the season, and is leaving in April. I will not be going back, and frankly, I would recommend you go to Mangia Mangia if you want pasta, as they always have excellent food and service. Skip Abbondanza altogether – there are too many other good choices around. Life is too short for bad restaurants.
I listen to Radio Margaritaville almost exclusively in my car. One of the things I like about it – aside from the abundance of Jimmy Buffett music I get to hear every day – is that I hear new bands frequently. Some are clearly better than others. One song I found myself singing along with is 
I eat mainly fish, pasta and vegetables. Very rarely do I eat chicken or meat. But every once in a while, I break down. Take last week at 
MMMMM….
We have many choices in every day life: regular or decaf? Would you like fries with that? To stay or to go? It goes on all day. Most of us like having some choices, it makes us feel like we have control over our lives by managing the little things that go on.
Having lived in New York City for six years, and marrying a pizza-obsessed guy, I have had my fair share of pies: thick crust, thin crust, brick oven, Chicago-style and even surviving four college-filled years of that dreadful St. Louis style cut into squares (there is no good way to eat the middle of the pizza).
for the past six months, I finally decided to give it a try. It could have been the “Bikers Welcome” sign, or the sign from the New Jersey Turnpike that I found appealing, I’m not sure. There is plentiful outside seating (although packed the night I was there) and about 6 booths inside.
and velvety smooth. The hogfish sandwich special was perfectly cooked, with ripe avocado and aioli, all served with delicious fries. The omelet was well cooked, not the least bit runny, and had loads of filling. All dishes came with a side salad, which frankly, was a little gritty and could have used another washing.
A chilly afternoon, and downright cold night could not deter people from the 
not only my FaceBook friend, but I will look forward to him performing in key West again soon. Chris has songs like Uncle Scam Blues about taxes, and another about cleaning up your dirty dishes before company comes over. He’s keeping it real (yes, I did say that in my head like Randy Jackson on American Idol), so it is hard not to like this guy.