Flying Melon Cafe in Ocracoke, NC

Here's another post from the Watch Me Eat archives of previously unpublished food adventures. In this particular post, I'm going to expand from the food a bit and add some travel photos as well. Memories are fallible, but I will do my best to keep these posts as accurate as possible. Mistakes in the details may happen though. Feel free to correct!

In June of 2007, I was traveling back towards Florida from a more northern state and took a side trip through North Carolina's Outer Banks. Ocracoke is the southernmost island in the chain of barrier islands accessible by car. It is on Ocracoke that you must catch a ferry to return to the mainland. While waiting for this ferry, I did some sightseeing around the island, including seeing wild horses (in captivity?), ancient graveyards, and the Ocracoke Lighthouse.


After the quick exploration of the island, it was time to eat before catching the ferry. We settled on a place called the Flying Melon Cafe.

I remember I ordered the fish of the day. I can't remember what type of fish that was. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a fish commonly seen in restaurants, I'm thinking it possibly was scrod. The fish was served very simply, served over rice, with a side of zucchini. From what I remember, I had no complaints about the meal!

After dinner, we boarded the ferry at dusk and took the long voyage back to the mainland in the dark...

Patio Grill Pasta with Vegetables

I ate Pasta with Vegetables at Patio Grill in Longwood, FL. The dish consisted of angel hair pasta, topped with carrots, zucchini, onions, yellow squash, mushrooms, and some cheese. It also came with a piece of garlic bread. When I ordered, the menu didn't list the vegetables that came on the pasta, and I really would have preferred for the mushrooms to be left out (mushrooms aren't even vegetables, they're fungus).

Hibachi Express in Casselberry, FL

I noticed a new restaurant had opened on 17-92 in Casselberry, FL and decided to give it a try. It is a fast-food Japanese Restaurant called Hibachi Express. The restaurant's setup was similar to most take-out Chinese Restaurants. In Hibachi Express, half of the counter was taken up by a sushi bar...

They had a nice selection of sushi, but it didn't seem like the turnover was large enough to be taking chances by eating raw fish. It wasn't exactly Fuji Sushi where the place was bustling for the sushi. I was actually the only one eating in Hibachi Express at the time.

Instead of the sushi, I went with the restaurant's namesake and ate Hibachi Chicken. The chicken was served over rice, broccoli, onions, zucchini, and mushrooms. I felt the chicken could have used a little more sauce, but otherwise the meal was pretty good, especially since it was from a fast food restaurant...

Olive Garden Gnocchi

I ate dinner at the Olive Garden restaurant in Altamonte Springs, FL. I ordered a chicken and gnocchi dish. A chicken breast was served on top of a pile of the gnocchis, red peppers, zucchini, and onions. It was all served in an alfredo sauce.

Compared to other gnocchi that I've eaten, this wasn't all that good. The pasta was sort of starchy and didn't have the smooth creamy consistency that gnocchi should have. I didn't like the chicken either. It was way too chewy and should have been sliced rather than serving the whole breast.