Hi, I’m the SPI Flip Flop Foodie!

I’ve lived in the South Padre Island/Port Isabel area for a couple of years now, and I’ve vacationed on the island for many years. Eating out on the island was always one of our favorite things when we vacationed (of course the beach was #1). I still love the opportunity to explore the gastronomical offerings available in the area and decided I would share my enjoyment of good food with others by starting this blog.

I lived in Austin, Texas my entire life prior to the move here, and reveled in the bountiful offerings of HEB's first Central Market, the roots of Whole Foods Markets, a plethora of fine restaurants, and fabulous neighborhood dives. With the debut of Food Network as my catalyst for learning to love more than basic fried southern food and Texas barbecue, I began to experiment with more advanced cooking techniques at home, and began to choose foods I would never have tried in the past when dining out. My husband and I enjoy travelling... and finding great food in unfamiliar places is a true delight.

Since moving to the Gulf Coast, I found myself ridding my closet of almost all of my dress clothes and shoes and living La Vida Isla… in shorts, tees, flip flops, and sun screen. I used to edit and write a newsletter for a hospital where I worked, was editor of my school paper, and my first job was in a small local newspaper. I miss writing and decided I was ready to get back into writing something …and my first thought ran to food!

I hope you enjoy the restaurant reviews, event reviews, and other ramblings I’ll provide from time to time. Eventually, I hope to incorporate recipes and interviews. I’ll keep you posted as things progress!

I have decided to rate the food-related events and restaurants I visit, as described below. Also please take a moment to review my tongue-in-cheek disclaimer.


SPI FLIP FLOP FOODIE RATINGS:

0 – My flip flops were not happy campers

1 – Okay – but I’ve definitely had better – not sure that I’d return

2 – A satisfactory meal –I’d try it again

3 – Pretty Yummy - I feel my flip flops wanting to head back from time to time!

4 – Lip smackin’ - good quality – flip flops will definitely be parked under their table again!

5 – OMG – that was an outstanding meal! I can’t wait to go back


Disclaimer:


This blog is intended solely for those interested in my personal opinion of restaurants I have visited. If you don’t like my opinion, you are free to go to the restaurant yourself, decide if you like it or not, and write your own blog. Everyone has different tastes. If you hate a restaurant I love, well, don’t go back to the restaurant I love, go to the restaurant you love. I only go to restaurants where I can wear flip flops. I do have dressy flip flops so don’t think you can wear your swimsuit or cutoffs to all of these restaurants. While South Padre Island has a beachy, no-tie atmosphere, some places are a bit dressier and might be more suitable to having a few sparkles on your flip flops. There may be links or advertisements found on my blog. I try to be conscientious about links but the web is a constantly evolving creature. If you are inadvertently exposed to offensive material, nudity, obscenity, or other unintended obnoxiousness – it was never malicious on my part and I sure didn’t mean THAT to happen! I’m a nice girl – I wouldn’t intentionally do that. Please email me what happened and I’ll try to investigate. Some things are outside of my immediate control. If you own a restaurant I didn’t like, well… I’m sorry. If you want to know additional details about my visit, please email me with the subject “I am a restaurant owner” and I will be happy to have a cordial discussion about my experience. If you yell at me in writing, I will not respond. If you don’t like my writing style, I have misspellings, or there are other technical issues, I suggest you find another blog to read because I’m pretty casual about writing styles. Okay, enough of that icky disclaimer stuff.