Roosevelt Restaurant in Port Aransas

REOPENING SOON!

Great cottage "homestyle" potatoes at the Roosevelt.  The Roosevelt specializes is gourmet seafood brunch.  But traditional breakfast dishes are served as well.  Brunch was served Friday thru Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Roosevelt is nestled behind the historical Tarpon Inn in Port Aransas.  Just follow the highway into Port Aransas until it dead ends at an all-way stop on Cotter Street.  Turn left and you're there.  If arriving at the port from the ferry, just drive straight down Cotter until you're at the Tarpon Inn.

Roosevelt's expects to reopen sometime after Valentine's Day.  Rebuilding has been slow for everyone in Port Aransas.



Oysters Egg Benedict:


The chef lightly dusts oysters and pan fries them.  He serves the oysters on an English muffin under a poached egg.  The dish is covered with a Creole-seasoned Hollandaise sauce.  This dish comes with a side of Roosevelt's cottage potatoes.  This is an eat-slowly, take-small-bites dish.  Savor the flavor.









The Western Omelet:

My girlfriend Jewell ordered this dish.  "How boring!"  But then I tasted it.  "Wow!"  The chef has a hint of Louisiana-style seasoning in the omelet that brings out the flavor of the red and green peppers and the onions in the omelet.



Pancakes:

Roosevelt's pancakes are some of the best I have ever tasted.  They are not thick or thin, but cooked perfectly.  But it's the taste that comes through.  Must be in the batter.  My guess is that there is butter in the batter.




Shrimp & Grits:

Grits are cooked until thick.  The shrimp is cooked in butter and then the grits are added.  The whole dish is apparently stir fried in the butter.  My guess is either the shrimp or the grits is seasoned with sage, though the waitress said otherwise.  (Probably a trade secret.)  I want to try this dish at home!

Roosevelt's is located behind the Tarpon Inn.  Both Franklin Roosevelt and Ernest Hemingway were said to have stayed there.  In 1970, I was employed by the Corpus Christi Caller Times as a cub reporter.  The editor sent me with an older columnist to cover the auction of the inn.  He was the writer, I was the driver and photographer.  I took this same shot with a press camera (over five pounds in weight), but was dissatisfied.  To get the whole building in the shot, I would have to climb a radio tower at the Coast Guard station, then located directly across the street.  After getting permission, I climbed the tower with one hand, the other holding the press camera.  Great shot and that's the one they used in the paper.  No bidders at the auction, but a gentleman approached the owners afterwards and worked out a deal.  Very few changes have been made to his historical building over the years.  And as you can see, the "No Vacancy" sign is up.