ZELP: my adventures in Food & Travel

Last weekend, I went to Palm Beach Florida with a friend because he won a trip to meet & have dinner with Vanilla Ice, aka Rob Van Winkle - all expenses paid (airfare, hotel, transportation, boat tour, & spending money). We stayed at the fabulous & National Historic Landmark hotel, The Breakers. 

Front of The Breakers, Palm Beach

The Lobby

Tip: Its preferred if you have transportation available to see the sights around Palm Beach. If you have transportation, there’s shopping areas and restaurants with more appropriately priced options - all within a 10 minute drive from the hotel. If you plan to spend all your time at The Breakers, plan to spend at least $100 for meals (for 2, per meal period, 2 alcoholic drinks).

Perfect place to watch the beach, watch the sunset, or enjoy a tropical beverage

First meal we had was a post flight meal at The Ocean Grill restaurant. Thankfully, I checked our room flyers and noticed there was happy hour going on at each of the restaurants. The Ocean Grill was offering Happy Hour from 3-7pm at the bar only. Check out a little flyer insert in the room binder or online for the list of Happy Hour locations, times, & prices.

Happy Hour was only for drinks so we ordered 2 drinks (specialty margarita was not on HH price but my beer was - $3.50) and a few appetizers. 

Curly Fries & Jerk Chicken Quesadillas

Tip: There are several other restaurants at this hotel & we tried to eat at all of them. The only places we didn’t try was Echo, asian fusion restaurant located off property; Flagler’s Steakhouse, also located off property; an Italian Restaurant; and the Circle Room, breakfast & a notable Sunday brunch.

Tip: There is a little souvenir/coffee shop in the hotel called Breakers Hotel News & Gourmet (BH N&G).  If you are looking for some pastries, quick breakfast/snack or ice cream, this is a good place to go. There are several souvenirs & shopping to do in this place but for the budget minded (or as budget minded you can get at this 5 star resort), they have good options.

Day 2 we went on a little boat tour of famous & rich homes on the coastal waters of Palm Beach & West Palm Beach. It was interesting to see vacation homes for the billionaires & millionaires. 

Dock area

Few Homes & their docks

Yacht Shipyard

Post boat tour meal was back at the hotel - we checked out The Beach Club Restaurant.

Ordered 2 alcoholic drinks & 2 entrees - drinks were ok but the food was delish.

Lobster Roll - and my friend said it was the best he’s had!

I ordered Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos - pretty good & hearty portion of fish but the slaw was too watery and dripped too much on the plate.

Some more pictures from The Breakers…

View of the Atlantic Ocean from my beach chair

View of part of the golf course and grounds

After a relaxing beach day, we got ready for dinner at Top of the Point Restaurant (another Breakers restaurant, located off property). There is a shuttle from the hotel to take you to their off property restaurants - just ask the Guest Services or Concierge desk on where to meet the shuttle. 

This was no ordinary dinner. This was dinner hosted by DIY network to meet & eat with Vanilla Ice. Ice, Ice, Baby Vanilla Ice.

The night started off with free alcohol - top shelf bottles and assorted appetizers. 

Ahi Tuna

Bruschetta

Crab Cake

Beef Tenderloin

Rob showing off his tattoos…his wife Laura is seated next to him

That was a great night full of fun stories about his career & life. I sat next to his road manager of over 20 years. We took photos of what we ate for dinner but its not uploaded yet. My friend ordered the Filet Mignon and I ordered the Pan Seared Sea Bass. Both items were very very good - especially the mash potatoes that came with the entrees. Those mash potatoes were heavenly, soft, fluffy, and buttery. Amazing.

Day 3 - our last day at The Breakers. After we checked out, we decided to eat at the Seafood Bar. This restaurant is known for its selection of fresh seafood & its aquarium bar.

I definitely recommend this restaurant. The food was amazing…the best I’ve eaten all weekend (even better than the Top of the Point).

We opted for the Pre-Fixe Lunch menu.

Started the lunch off with a spicy Jalapeño Margarita - it was delicious & spicy. 

First course - Hearts of Romaine tossed with Whole Grain Mustard dressing, served with a side of Hearts of Palm, Cherry Tomatoes, and Crostini

First Course - Deep Fried Coconut Shrimp

My entree - Pan Seared Mahi Mahi served with Tomato Risotto and Broccolini

Friend’s entree - Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi served with peas & Florida corn Veloute, with Grilled Chicken, topped with Butter Braised Lobster & Crab

Dessert - Chocolate Blackout Cake. This is an individual portion but it was large enough to share with a party of four!

I was still nursing my spicy Jalapeño Margarita - notice the jalapeño pulp in the liquid. Nothing like muddled jalapeños…

After we walked around the property, we decided to end our afternoon before our flight back home at the Tiki Bar overlooking the beach.

Farewell to the Breakers Hotel…hopefully I will return when become a millionaire.