Daily Report: Local Grub

My sleep schedule is starting to skew forward again, which I don't like. I really wish I did not sleep as much as I do, but that has been the case since I was a child: Eight hours a night has never cut it for me; more like 9 and sometimes 10.

I'm going to schedule a visit to the doctor and get back on my stop-smoking pills. Not only do the Zyban pills cut down on my cigarette use (I'm back up to 3 cigarettes daily from the typical zero or 1) but Zyban does a fantastic job at regulating my sleep cycle better, so that I can make due with just 8 hours of sleep.

This afternoon, Uncle Bob and Cousin Bobby took me to The Frosted Mug, which would be a perfect hangout if it wasn't located right on the busy Tamiami Trail.

This was my second visit there. The first visit I had chili dogs, which were fairly good. This visit, I had a mushroom cheese burger, which was the best burger I have had in years! (Yes Bob in Pattaya, sorry.) Funny thing about parts of Florida: The Frosted Mug is one of the oldest businesses and buildings in the area, built in (get this) 1957!

Tonight there was simply no work to do. Whenever there is a 3-day holiday weekend, work can get a little tight, but we don't often run out completely. That sucked. But, I did sit down in front of the TV and pedal away for a few hours on my exercise bike while watching some educational TV.

Actually, I wound up watching a bit of "Man Versus Food" on The Travel Channel. Host Adam was visiting Sarasota for one particular episode. So, I found out the three "must visit" restaurants in Sarasota:

1. The Old Salty Dog on City Island. They have the best view from a restaurant, looking over gorgeous Sarasota Bay, and their deep-fried foot-long hot dogs appear insane... especially when you add the toppings.



2. Yoders Amish Restaurant, has pressure-fried chicken that is reportedly the best fried chicken a person can get. Also, more importantly, they have the best home made pies in Florida.



3. Munchies 420 Cafe, is a late-night eatery famous for crazy 5-pound-plus dinners-on-a-bun, and what Man-Versus-Food Host Adam (a guy whose show is all about taking crazy food challenges around the nation) says is the spiciest chicken wings on the planet. (He ate only 2 wings before giving up.)



So there you go: Four great restaurants in the Sarasota area!

And by the way, in the first video above, Host Adam mentions that Sarasota is noted for having some of the whitest sand on earth. It is true: Because of Siesta Key's pure quartz sand, it is perennially listed as one of the best beaches on Planet Earth. (1. 2. 3. 4.)