Ruth, I love traveling with you. I have been to Galveston twice and not had adventures, experiences as you did! I must have had my head in the sand. Oh well, that is why we have you! Loved your newsletter, pictures and introductions to places and people.
Hi Sally! It's a pleasure having you along, if only virtually, on our travels! It's so easy to miss what makes a place special. We were lucky enough to have a few guides who pointed out some of the best of Galveston and piqued our interest and curiosity. If we'd just shown up and hung out at the beach on a cold and windy February day, we might have missed it. As it was, we had a lot of fun and wished we had more time. I hope you're able to return and discover some of Galveston's more charming features, places and history.
Your foodwriting and journalism skills blend so perfectly in your travelogues—what a gift! Salt water taffy, especially molasses flavored, is one of my favorites. Next time you’re in Maine, I’ll take you to the factory in town.
What a lovely compliment, Amie! I’d love to visit that factory (and sample a molasses-flavored taffy!), maybe after an afternoon kayak floating in Love Cove!😘
Thanks, Donna! I think you might like it--we really had a great time! I highly recommend the place where we stayed--the Hotel Lucine--too! (And no one paid me to say that!)💕🤗
Always worth the visit to enjoy your writing. I've been to a lot of places in Texas but never Galveston. This was a blast and fun to learn of the history. I appreciate your broad food taste. I think Houston and surrounding became an ex-pat city for NOLA folks after Katrina. Fun to hear about their attraction to the food traditions of Cajun and perhaps Creole. A long time ago I wrote about sandwiches where I mention the sandwich in question in passing. I still consider the muffuletta one of the very best of them. For the record, as ridiculous as it may seem, your healthy sandwich is not a half but a quarter of a muffuletta which is made on a LARGE round. If you ever get to New Orleans, about two blocks down from Cafe du Monde is a lesser known fixture in the city called Central Grocery. They are considered the originator of the Muffuletta and definitely worth the stop. More in your neck of the woods, there is an old-fashioned candy store in Morro Bay that makes saltwater taffy -- fun. Even better, when in New Orleans there are a bunch of shops that make pralines. Entrancing to watch it.
I think Houston also became a refuge for ex-pats from Galveston way back when and that helped it grow. There are quite a number who have migrated back to Galveston or moved there because they can find some rather gorgeous homes and apartments that are relatively affordable in an island by the sea! And I'm sure there are some New Orleanians among them too, not only folks displaced by Katrina but others who moved there long ago and brought some of their food and other traditions with them.
As we're heading to The Big Easy next, I appreciate your recommendation to check out the Central Grocery where the Muffuletta was born (I guess the spelling varies!)--and also the pralines. We have been to Morro Bay and will surely go again, so I will look for the salt water taffy there on our next visit. That taffy does seem to be a constant at popular beach cities. As much as I like it, I really can't eat too much of it as I'm hoping to hold onto my teeth a bit longer!😝
Thanks for your comment, Mark, and also for sending me a link to your excellent sandwich piece. It was funny, well-written, and made me very hungry!
Central Grocery is a great stop -- just a fantastic Italian deli that does not appear to have been updated for 100 years. We have friends who moved to Morro Bay a few years ago and hope to visit them down the road. I hope the taffy place is still there. I don't know if they still do but restaurants along the Central Coast used to offer abalone which became my favorite. As I recall they were farmed near Nipomo Dunes. I now know your husband won't be interested but if I ever see them on a menu I cannot resist.
When we were kids, abalone shells were plentiful and cheap, as were abalone, but I don't think we ever tasted them. Now, I don't believe you can find them on the menu anywhere! I will definitely be paying a visit to Central Grocery if I can. I love places that hold onto traditions--epecially when it comes to food!
My grandparents always bought us salt water taffy when they visited Atlantic City. Thank you for sharing so much history and good eats. The Sunflower House looks spectacular! I enjoyed the video and your on-the-spot interview, Ruth! The Taffy Man is sure getting a good workout!
Thanks for you comment, Vicki! I've never been to Atlantic City, but I'd like to go. The Sunflower House and the other Victorian houses are really so beautiful, and it's fun to wander around and see all the different colors that people have painted them and the way they enjoy decorating them for the seasons. I don't think the Taffy Man ever has to go to a gym!😆
The gumbo was really great. I get the feeling that it's something that every family makes slightly differently and the recipe is carefully guarded. I'm looking forward to learning more when we go to head to New Orleans later this month. Stay tuned--and thanks for your comment, Jeanine!
Wow Galveston has come a looong way. I only visited once- summer 1981. My ex and I visited his dad who was building “stilt” houses right on the water. The beach smelled because of an oil build up. I remember Eric’s dad driving along the beach tossing cigarettes and trash out the window! I’ll have to go back!
Yes, I do think they've been in the process of cleaning up the image of the place and probably the bay itself. It's still a bit brown, but is apparently safe for swimming most of the time and we didn't smell anything bad when we were there. I think I'd rather look at the water and walk along the shore than swim in it, but then it was cold and windy when we were there. Spring and fall would be better times as far as weather and crowds go, though we really had a great time in the off-season--it was a pleasant surprise. The Pleasure Pier and candy store would be fun for the grandkids (and the adults too)! Thanks for the comment, Susan!
What fun that you got to sample all the fish dishes! And the lobby of the place you stayed looks so welcoming. Holler if you need a taste tester for the red beans and rice (that was the standard takeout lunch dish when i had a work assignment in Houston many years back)
Ellen, I'd like nothing better than a taster for red beans and rice if and when I make it, but I fear I'd have to chase you down in D.C.!😆 I'm fascinated to learn more of its history, which apparently is tied to New Orleans, where we're headed next! Gumbo and jambalaya are also very popular there, along with beignets. Clearly I'm going to need an extra stomach to fit in such filling cuisine! Thanks for your comment--and fond greetings to the family!
Oh Boy! I'm about to go to south Florida at my husband's insistence and feel the same as you did when your husband proposed Galveston. You have now given me heart that it will be as interesting and filled with wonder (if not tafffy) as yours. My husband says thank you!
Aww, thanks, Pat! I'm quite often the reluctant traveler and then get drawn in when my preconceived notions of people and places turn out to be wrong. I've found it's actually good therapy in troubling times to be forced to reexamine your prejudices. I've often thought if more people traveled and left their comfort zone a bit more, their minds and tolerance might expand in welcome ways.
I hope you have a great time. I imagine I might read about your adventures in south Florida in a future post!
How interesting!! I never knew what Galveston was like and that taffy does appear to be a live yellow and green snake!! 😂
Doesn't it? Thanks, Lolly! It was fun to watch it being made.
Perhaps some day I will and carry your Places to Visit While in Galveston Guide with me. Wonderful!
Ruth, I love traveling with you. I have been to Galveston twice and not had adventures, experiences as you did! I must have had my head in the sand. Oh well, that is why we have you! Loved your newsletter, pictures and introductions to places and people.
Hi Sally! It's a pleasure having you along, if only virtually, on our travels! It's so easy to miss what makes a place special. We were lucky enough to have a few guides who pointed out some of the best of Galveston and piqued our interest and curiosity. If we'd just shown up and hung out at the beach on a cold and windy February day, we might have missed it. As it was, we had a lot of fun and wished we had more time. I hope you're able to return and discover some of Galveston's more charming features, places and history.
Those fish dishes sound, and look. so good. Another wonderful article.
Thanks for the comment, Judy! The fish dishes were delicious. I think you would have approved.
Love this piece - so much to see and taste in Galveston...I kept hearing Glen Campbell as I read 😉
Thanks, Leslie! Several people have told me the same thing! I guess I should add a link to the song! ❤️
Your foodwriting and journalism skills blend so perfectly in your travelogues—what a gift! Salt water taffy, especially molasses flavored, is one of my favorites. Next time you’re in Maine, I’ll take you to the factory in town.
What a lovely compliment, Amie! I’d love to visit that factory (and sample a molasses-flavored taffy!), maybe after an afternoon kayak floating in Love Cove!😘
Wonderful tour of Galveston. After your description of the food and interview of Taffy Man and Jeff’s videos, I want to visit there.
Thanks, Donna! I think you might like it--we really had a great time! I highly recommend the place where we stayed--the Hotel Lucine--too! (And no one paid me to say that!)💕🤗
Always worth the visit to enjoy your writing. I've been to a lot of places in Texas but never Galveston. This was a blast and fun to learn of the history. I appreciate your broad food taste. I think Houston and surrounding became an ex-pat city for NOLA folks after Katrina. Fun to hear about their attraction to the food traditions of Cajun and perhaps Creole. A long time ago I wrote about sandwiches where I mention the sandwich in question in passing. I still consider the muffuletta one of the very best of them. For the record, as ridiculous as it may seem, your healthy sandwich is not a half but a quarter of a muffuletta which is made on a LARGE round. If you ever get to New Orleans, about two blocks down from Cafe du Monde is a lesser known fixture in the city called Central Grocery. They are considered the originator of the Muffuletta and definitely worth the stop. More in your neck of the woods, there is an old-fashioned candy store in Morro Bay that makes saltwater taffy -- fun. Even better, when in New Orleans there are a bunch of shops that make pralines. Entrancing to watch it.
https://markdolan.substack.com/p/food-time-beef-on-weck
I think Houston also became a refuge for ex-pats from Galveston way back when and that helped it grow. There are quite a number who have migrated back to Galveston or moved there because they can find some rather gorgeous homes and apartments that are relatively affordable in an island by the sea! And I'm sure there are some New Orleanians among them too, not only folks displaced by Katrina but others who moved there long ago and brought some of their food and other traditions with them.
As we're heading to The Big Easy next, I appreciate your recommendation to check out the Central Grocery where the Muffuletta was born (I guess the spelling varies!)--and also the pralines. We have been to Morro Bay and will surely go again, so I will look for the salt water taffy there on our next visit. That taffy does seem to be a constant at popular beach cities. As much as I like it, I really can't eat too much of it as I'm hoping to hold onto my teeth a bit longer!😝
Thanks for your comment, Mark, and also for sending me a link to your excellent sandwich piece. It was funny, well-written, and made me very hungry!
Central Grocery is a great stop -- just a fantastic Italian deli that does not appear to have been updated for 100 years. We have friends who moved to Morro Bay a few years ago and hope to visit them down the road. I hope the taffy place is still there. I don't know if they still do but restaurants along the Central Coast used to offer abalone which became my favorite. As I recall they were farmed near Nipomo Dunes. I now know your husband won't be interested but if I ever see them on a menu I cannot resist.
When we were kids, abalone shells were plentiful and cheap, as were abalone, but I don't think we ever tasted them. Now, I don't believe you can find them on the menu anywhere! I will definitely be paying a visit to Central Grocery if I can. I love places that hold onto traditions--epecially when it comes to food!
This photos! The food! The narrative! I feel like I was there, Ruth!
Thanks, Jolene, and thanks so much for the restack, too! ❤️
My grandparents always bought us salt water taffy when they visited Atlantic City. Thank you for sharing so much history and good eats. The Sunflower House looks spectacular! I enjoyed the video and your on-the-spot interview, Ruth! The Taffy Man is sure getting a good workout!
Thanks for you comment, Vicki! I've never been to Atlantic City, but I'd like to go. The Sunflower House and the other Victorian houses are really so beautiful, and it's fun to wander around and see all the different colors that people have painted them and the way they enjoy decorating them for the seasons. I don't think the Taffy Man ever has to go to a gym!😆
Looks like a fun get away w/ some good food!! I especially like the gumbo place. Yum! But the seafood did also look inviting.
The gumbo was really great. I get the feeling that it's something that every family makes slightly differently and the recipe is carefully guarded. I'm looking forward to learning more when we go to head to New Orleans later this month. Stay tuned--and thanks for your comment, Jeanine!
Oh great! You’re just warming up!! My please re commenting.
Wow Galveston has come a looong way. I only visited once- summer 1981. My ex and I visited his dad who was building “stilt” houses right on the water. The beach smelled because of an oil build up. I remember Eric’s dad driving along the beach tossing cigarettes and trash out the window! I’ll have to go back!
Yes, I do think they've been in the process of cleaning up the image of the place and probably the bay itself. It's still a bit brown, but is apparently safe for swimming most of the time and we didn't smell anything bad when we were there. I think I'd rather look at the water and walk along the shore than swim in it, but then it was cold and windy when we were there. Spring and fall would be better times as far as weather and crowds go, though we really had a great time in the off-season--it was a pleasant surprise. The Pleasure Pier and candy store would be fun for the grandkids (and the adults too)! Thanks for the comment, Susan!
What fun that you got to sample all the fish dishes! And the lobby of the place you stayed looks so welcoming. Holler if you need a taste tester for the red beans and rice (that was the standard takeout lunch dish when i had a work assignment in Houston many years back)
Ellen, I'd like nothing better than a taster for red beans and rice if and when I make it, but I fear I'd have to chase you down in D.C.!😆 I'm fascinated to learn more of its history, which apparently is tied to New Orleans, where we're headed next! Gumbo and jambalaya are also very popular there, along with beignets. Clearly I'm going to need an extra stomach to fit in such filling cuisine! Thanks for your comment--and fond greetings to the family!
Oh Boy! I'm about to go to south Florida at my husband's insistence and feel the same as you did when your husband proposed Galveston. You have now given me heart that it will be as interesting and filled with wonder (if not tafffy) as yours. My husband says thank you!
Aww, thanks, Pat! I'm quite often the reluctant traveler and then get drawn in when my preconceived notions of people and places turn out to be wrong. I've found it's actually good therapy in troubling times to be forced to reexamine your prejudices. I've often thought if more people traveled and left their comfort zone a bit more, their minds and tolerance might expand in welcome ways.
I hope you have a great time. I imagine I might read about your adventures in south Florida in a future post!