In the hopes of luring folks into the pool during our giant pool party at Isla Grand last night, the boss offered all of our staff free drinks to demonstrate their belly flopping skills around midnight.
Not sure how well it went, as I was DJing in another part of the complex. But, it would likely have wreaked havoc on the henna tattoos and body paint they’d picked up in the hopes of winning the most-outrageous-swimwear contest.
Spring Break 2009!
Per my earlier note, our meal plan is pretty badass. Unfortunately, our staff can’t usually eat it this week–since there’s so many people on the island and we’re swamped with work.
Adding insult to injury, one of our restaurants just doubled the amount of shrimp they give out with their meal giving the mountains of Chinese food I wrote about earlier a run for their money.
Today was the first big day of check-ins. It’s usually pretty rough, as everyone rolls in at once. But today was actually fine. People came here and there. Everyone was in a good mood. The weather’s beautiful.
Now that everyone’s checked in, changed, and showered, the party should be a riot tonight.
But most of us will be asleep, since we’ve been here for 13 hours.
The signature drink at Louie’s is the Charlie’s Cherry. Every club here has one. They usually run around $12 and have around ten shots in them. I drank a third of one once and that was plenty for an evening.
Invariably, there are giant dudes from Iowa that come down and try to drink three. (I’ve never seen anyone drink more than that…though it might be possible). In any event, last night was this year’s first appearance of such a man.
Technically, last week was the first week of spring break. But there weren’t more than a couple dozen people on the island. Now we have nearly that many on staff, most of whom rolled in today.
In spite of having spent the last day or so in a car, everyone seems psyched to be spending the next month in a place folks normally pay to be.
All of which puts us in good shape for when the first large group of spring breakers rolls in tomorrow.
This is of course a subjective list, and I allude to what restaurants I love to eat at throughout a bunch of my blog posts but here we go…one thing about recommending a restaurant is you also have tell people what the hell to order. For example, Torchy’s Tacos here in Austin has the best queso in Texas, but the tacos suck, does this make sense?
Breakfast:
Well, my hands down favorite if I want a big ass ol’ Texas sized breakfast is Bennys By the Bay Cafe. You know the kind of place that isn’t all pretty inside, smells a little greasy like bacon but the Lord have MERCY good. A couple fried eggs, double order a bacon, some fresh hashbrowns (i’m talking he (walter, the owner) baked the potatoes & shredded them -retarded good kind) – my kinda breakfast with all you can drink coffee. You’ll be outta there for about $6 on this bad boy.
Here’s a quick video on Benny’s”
I also highly recommend at some time you go across the causeway to Manuels. Their breakfast tacos are 1.5 feet long, and ranked by Texas Monthly as one of the best in our State. Don’t think Texans know how to make tacos. Think again foo !!!
Manuels has two drawbacks. 1.) The place is filthy and should be shut down until its cleaned top to bottom. Unacceptably dirty. 2.) Long wait on the weekends.
A rival taco place to this on the island I really enjoy is Rovan’s. I think anything beyond the breakfast tacos for breakfast ain’t that great -it’s normal cafe food. But…the egg taco with bacon, mushrooms, and cheese on the side rivals Manuels in all ways.
Best Pancakes on the Island are at a little hole in the wall called Ted’s Restaurant. Same goes with coffee – theirs is the best.
Lunch:
There are of course 99 places with something good, here’s the list:
Best place to impress someone on lunch: Amberjacks. Order the salmon salad or ANY piece of fresh fish, just say it’s the chefs choice prepared anyway he wants. It’ll be superb
Here’s a video on the outside of the Amberjacks on South Padre:
My hands down favorite place for lunch is the South Padre Brewing Company. The place is slow, has overall horseshit service and is overpriced….BUT a.) their chicken salad pita is the BOMB order with fresh roasted potatoes and throw Atkins the bird. or b.) I’m not a big pizza guy, but theirs during lunch is really good.
Also, Mamacita’s has the best chicken fajitas (they call them tequila lime chicken) in south padre. The best steak fajitas is at Louies Backyard, HANDS DOWN….superb fixin’s they bring you quacamole and sour cream unlimited & off the bat – love it.
Here’s a video on the outside of Louie’s Backyard before they opened one day:
If you are one of those “all you can eat fried fish” people – I’ve ate most of them in South Padre. I have to say the Grapevine Cafe is ok. Not great, but ok…again, I’m not in love with frozen cod.
For the fried shrimp crazy people, Daddy’s Seafood Kitchen is the best on the Island. The large shrimp basket is good. They “double butterfly” their shrimp which you’ll have to go their & check em’ out to see what that means.
Ok, fresh (and raw) oysters …I’d go to Palm Street Pier myself. They keep them ultra cold & ultra fresh – they can point to where they came from actually in the bay – I won’t eat oysters I can’t see the beds on anymore. One bad oyster and you’ll shit your pants for 2 days.
Are you a “burger & fries” sort of person? Nod goes to Benny’s By the Bay…INCREDIBLE bacon cheeseburgers. A close 2nd I would say is daddy’s seatood kitchen…yeah that’s weird but true. Seafood & good burgers? But they do.
Dinner:
Ok, dinner can cover one hell of alot of palettes. Very subjective, but let’s face it, good service can make up for mediocre food and mediocre service you can stand with stellar food. Thing is, in South Padre Island NO ONE has yet stepped up to give what I feel is truly first class service.
A smile when you arrive, quick order, drinks always full, a check you don’t have to beg for and a Nice “see you again soon!!!” when you leave….I would say 99% of South Padre Restaurants have at least 2 of these things wrong. It’s fucking unbelievable in my mind. I have an Italian uncle that owned several restaurants, and if he got treated this way he’d probably go to the Owners house & ask why – In South Padre, if their is a complaint, they treat you like a rude tourist, even though you are paying exhorbinat rates and they want their 20% tip.
With THAT SAID…here goes…it’s alot easier to bitch then rave…
Best Steak Fajitas (this is my GO TO meal if I can’t decide) – Louies Backyard in the locals bar. They also happen to have the BEST steak dinner on the island. Yeah, it’s a bar, but also a bad ass restaurant with some really nice dining out on the deck over the water. It’s not cheap, but who gives shit? You’re on vacation!
Best seafood of any kind: Amberjacks…excepting fried shrimp & raw oysters…you already read about that.
Sushi – now here REALLY is an exceptional situation – not only does Kohnami have the ONLY sushi on the Island..it’s as good as any sushi I’ve had up here in Austin Texas – so that says alot. Again, sit at the Sushi bar, and don’t order. Let the chef decide and don’t be a pussy….if you are still eating “philadelphia rolls” or “california rolls” just go to HEB and save some money dumb ass.
Specialty Food: Zest Deli – this place is a MUST VISIT if you go to South Padre…the inside feels like an upscale deli in Greenwich Village in NYC…but they have pork tenderloin, the best cesar salad on the Island, fresh veggies, and about 100 different kinds of wine you can taste. I LOVE this place…it’s SUPERB…sorta a late lunch/early dinner place but really really good.
That’s my list. You might notice a few of the “big” restaurants missing – its because their food sucks worse than Chili’s, and their service is straight up horrible.
When you go to South Padre for Spring Break, don’t be a moron – go out for at least ONE nice dinner while you are there -it’s a vacation, not a Natural Life Beer diet the whole time.
For more information on great spring break travel packages to South Padre Island, visit http://www.inertiatours.com , email us questions: chad@inertiatours.com, or call us toll free 800 821 2176
I would get up and take a shower, and roll down to Benny’s by the Bay Cafe, which is located at the Sea Ranch Marina on the southernmost tip of South Padre Island.
Benny is actually Walter (the Owner) its his Dog)
Once there, I’d go & get my self service coffee, then wander over & steal some of Walter’s fresh milk from the fridge for my java. I’d order 3 eggs over hard, double order of his ridiculously good bacon, and a large serving of his freshly made hashed browns (the best I’ve ever had). A slow breakfast and 3 or 4 cups of coffee would do the job.
Next, I’d stop by my friends Bryan’s office to say hello to everyone at Island Services, shooting the breeze for 20 to 30 minutes, eventually sauntering out to get back to the Inertia Tours office located at 1515 Padre Blvd by Club Chaos. Once there, I’d pretend like I was going to whack our Operations Vice President in the balls (he’d be on the phone) chuckle, then fire up email and get them all answered and probably take a few calls.
Eventually, I’d wander over to my brother’s shop http://www.paradisetowingcompany.com and see what’s going on with South Padre Island Towing these days. By this time, it’d be 1 p.m. and time for lunch. I would have put Bryan Pinkerton off until this late, then me, him, and Adam Hancock from VIP Rentals would cruise over to Pirate’s Landing to meet up with South Padre Island Mayor Robert Pinkerton. We’d eat lunch, Bob would ask for a full, huge glass of ice for his Iced Tea like he always does. Bryan & Adam would get soup and Po’ Boys, and I’d order some sort of fish. Bob Friedman the Owner would stop by, we’d chat with him, and soon off we’d go. Light Island Politics would follow and a general discussion of the economy.
After we finish up, I’d head to my condo on south padre across the Queen Isabella Causeway, and grab Miki my retarded little Pom dog and my girlfriend Austin
Miki the Masta!
My lovely girlfriend Austin would come with also, but she’s not good at walking the dog, I’d have to take over:
Austin at the Mini Golf
We’d go for a walk down the beach about 2 miles each way to get our cardio done, then head back to get ready for kiteboarding lessons with http://www.airpadre.com with Jeff Hoxtell. I love to wakeboard, but in South Padre, the water is far too shallow in they bay.
Exhausted, we’d come back and get ready to go to Dinner at Kohnami for the Sushi Boat and some Sake bombs, and finally off to Louies Backyard for a drink before hitting the hay.
Sure, it wouldn’t have to be Spring Break in South Padre to do these things – but I would want it to be – Inertia Tours does it right! Check out my Company http://www.inertiatours.com to book, or call me 800 821 2176 and I’ll book your trip effortlessly for you and your group. My email is chad@inertiatours.com if you prefer
Inertia Chad operates http://www.inertiatours.com, the wildest spring break trip provider to south padre island, texas for college students
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