Pizza Time in St. Augustine, FL

I was visiting St. Augustine and stopped for dinner at Pizza Time on St. George Street. St. Augustine's Christmas parade apparently happened earlier in the day and the city was packed. It was wall to wall people all over, and Pizza Time was no exception. The first time I walked by the restaurant, the line was out the door and up the street. At that point, I didn't try getting food at the restaurant with a line that long.

A few hours later I was walking back towards my car and the crowds had subsided substantially. The line was confined to the inside of the restaurant. I still hadn't eaten dinner, so I decided to see what all the crowds were about. They had signs hanging up that Pizza Time was voted the Second Best Pizza in the US by Trip Advisor, so I figured their pizza must be pretty good.

I ordered two slices. One was a slice of White Pizza, and the other was the Foccacia Pizza. The white was okay, but was sort of a cheese overload. This sauceless pie was topped with lots and lots of mozzarella and ricotta. I'm not a fan of pizzas where there is too much cheese for the crust to support. Here, there was so much cheese that it was pooling off onto the plate every time I moved the slice. Pizza components should be well proportioned. I liked the Foccocia much better. Like the White pizza, this slice was also sauceless but also held together much better. It was topped with kalamada olives, onions, celery, basil, tomatoes, and cheese. I have never tried celery on a pizza and didn't know quite how it would work as a topping. The crunch was nice!

I liked one out of the two slices at Pizza Time. I don't know if I'd vote them second best in the country just yet, but they do have something going for them. Beware though. They are cash only...

Florida Cracker Cafe in St. Augustine, FL

I recently spent an afternoon in St. Augustine and had lunch at a restaurant along St. George Street called Florida Cracker Cafe.

I ordered the Shrimp Po Boy. The sandwich came with two sides, and I picked collard greens and cheesy grits. The sandwich was good, with surprisingly large fried shrimp, lettuce, tomato, onion, and remoulade sauce. My general experience with shrimp po boys normally involves tiny shrimp, which isn't necessarily a bad thing since they are hidden away on a sandwich. The shrimp on this sandwich were quite large, almost taking up the width of the roll if angled correctly. I liked the sandwich, but the sides were disappointing. The cheesy grits were very plain tasting with very little cheesiness. The collards weren't much better, being so salty that I took a few bites and gave up.

Florida Cracker Cafe had okay food. I liked my sandwich but the side items could definitely use some improvement. I did try their homemade potato chips which were another option for a side, and they were very tasty. Perhaps chips would be a better choice than grits or collards as a side if I return.