Cocoa Beach 2023 - Second in a Series

 Haven't done so well keeping up with things. Let's just say we've hit quite a few beach bars:

• Fishlips Waterfront Bar and Grill.  We were there twice, once on the lower level and the second time on the second floor patio. The best item we ate was grouper bites. We also had peel & eat shrimp on our first visit. The portion was so large that we brought half home and had them a few days later. They were good ... but not great.
• Went back to Fishlips on Monday. We had the same grouper bites and tried a new appetizer, "bang up shrimp" -- Korean flavors and very good.
• Rusty's Seafood and Oyster Bar. We had grouper bites and a brie cheese plate (brie with walnuts, warm baguette, strawberries, melon, granny smith apple slices). Bob loves grouper and I really enjoyed the brie combo plate.
• Seafood Atlantic. The oven "had issues" the day we were there, so we had a limited menu. Not a bad thing, because the shrimp cocktail was easily our best ever. We enjoyed chips and salsa too in the perhaps overly sun-drenched patio.
• Gator's Dockside Bar. We had just eaten lunch at home (grilled cheese, canned soup) so we just had drinks at Gator's -- Bob's usual margarita and a Bud Light draft for me. We sat at the bar and met a couple from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Like us, they were enjoying a little respite from winter.
• Cocoa Beach Ale House. We stopped into this local bar the day after St. Patrick's Day, so I had a Guinness on tap, thinking it would be fresh (it was). Bob made the mistake of having his usual margarita which was a disgusting orange concoction. The server explained that orange was added to "cut the lime taste", which it certainly did. I think she must have been told to add a slice of orange but somehow misinterpreted the instruction. We had coconut shrimp with our drinks (delicious) and brought home a turkey BLT for dinner, with chips. The BLT was so large that we had only half the first night and the rest on Sunday. Just great.
• We went back on Tuesday, March 28, two days before our departure. I had a Guinness and a Modelo, Bob a Michelob Light. Coconut shrimp again, along with chips & salsa (never thought Bob would be a C&S guy, but he's changed). Same take-home BLT wrap, but this time the tortilla seemed to be chipotle-flavored. Equally delicious.
• Sunset Cafe We had a late lunch here after a quick trip to the Village of Cocoa. I'm writing this weeks after our visit, so I can't quite remember what we had. I think it was a delicious shrimp cocktail and the fish & chips lunch special. I went with a cabernet sauvignon and Bob probably had a margarita. The view is great, and you can take a boat trip on the Banana River from here.
• Captain Hiram's  We had lunch here with my cousins, Nancy and Tom. The drinks were good, and we enjoyed our grilled chicken sandwich. Mostly, we loved the company and the view.
• Squidlips This was our last lunch in Cocoa Beach. The coconut shrimp were pretty good, and we liked the fish tacos. Bob had his usual delicious Margarita and I (mistakenly) ordered a Key lime martini -- very good but really a creamy dessert beverage, not an apéritif. The vieew of the Banana River is great and it's fun to watch little kids treat the fish to  vending machine fish food. Well worth a happy hour visit.
• We've also enjoyed some pretty good food from Publix. The best was probably yesterday's tilapia, which I sautéed and served with salad and seafood salad. Really good

Fiscal note: food seems very expensive here, although eating out is comparatively cheap. It must be hard for working families to make nutritious meals.