Coffee Break with Liz and Kate

Print

I confess to being a fan of the Food Network show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri. Really, who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned, high-fat, carb-laden meal from a hole-in-the-wall greasy spoon diner once in a while?

A few months ago while on our family vacation, we took a day off from Disneyland to slow down with a relaxing trip to Ventura, California. When lunchtime came, much to my family’s chagrin I steered them past all the standard recognizable fast food joints, past all the nice clean sit-down, waitress type restaurants and right down South Seaward Avenue to Seaward Fish and Chips. I think I can safely say this is the kind of diner/dive Guy Fieri would love.

It’s close enough to the beach that there is sand scattered along the the sidewalk outside. It’s old, tiny and quirky. The walls and ceiling are decorated with real dollar bills. And the fish and chips are to die for!

How did I find this place so far off the beaten path? Well, when it comes to planning our family vacations, I become a little kooky with my need to be organized and have everything planned out. I happened to pick up an issue of Family Fun Magazine (May 2010) that had an article on Family Getaways and guess what was featured??? Yep  Seaward Fish and Chips. I saw this picture and knew that I wanted it to be MY family sitting on the porch of this fish and chip stand.

So me being the mom and all…well, I made it happen. Moms get to be in charge of stuff like that.

First of all, let me tell you that the fish and chips in this place are the best I have ever eaten. That’s because the owner (Tim) of Seaward Fish and Chips has his own fishing boat (Lady Raquel)  which he takes out  daily (I’m guessing) to bring in the freshest and most delicious fish. (That part I am not guessing about.)

Second of all, the atmosphere of this place is beyond quirky. The walls and ceiling are covered with dollar bills decorated by customers and held up by push pins.

Do you love the bizarre-ness of this as much as I do?

So we did what any self respecting fish and chip lovers would do…we pulled out our dollar bills and went to town decorating with the markers provided by the cute high school aged girl behind the counter.  (Is this even legal?)

Here’s my Coffee Break with Liz and Kate dollar and my mucho delicious fish and chips.  (Okay, so I never said I was an artist.)

And here’s the placement of my dollar, on the right wall up by the ceiling.

So here is my challenge to you, dear readers. Take a trip off the beaten path. Try something you’ve never tried. Eat somewhere you normally wouldn’t eat. Order something you wouldn’t normally order…take an adventure Kate/Guy style.

And if any of you happen upon Seawards Fish and Chips in Ventura, Ca., pull out that old dollar bill, decorate it,  stick it up next to mine, snap a pic and email it to lizandkate@live.com. I dare you…

Print