Port Aransas

[BigDHornfan 6545]

Just got some pretty decent creeper pics and posted them in the hot or not thread.


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[JohnnyShotgun 34]

And where might this hot or not thread be? Asking for my wang.

[BigDHornfan 6545]

And where might this hot or not thread be? Asking for my wang.

You need about 8 more posts

[BigDHornfan 6545]

Any good places for breakfast tacos?

[BigDHornfan 6545]

LaPlaya was outstanding tonight.

[immortal13 4059]

Where is the best seafood in Port A?

[dmtx 159]

18 hours ago, BigDHornfan said:

Any good places for breakfast tacos?

Cancun taqueria off 361. same shopping center with Coffee Waves

[BigDHornfan 6545]

Had dinner tonight at Shells. That place fucking sucked. Wife’s pasta was over cooked to mush and I’ve had a better steak at Chili’s. I had their version of surf and turf with a ribeye and blackened drum. The drum was so so but the steak was a briquet.
And they didn’t seem to have worried about turning on their AC.


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[kevwun 15757]

A wise man once said never get the fish special on a Monday.

[Captain Texas 5]

just came back from Port A. Cleanup is still ongoing but they apparently know all about aggy down there.

[Skipper 6127]

Heading down next week.  Mosquito issue any better for those that have been recently?

[Hornius Emeritus 12448]

On ‎7‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 1:08 PM, Larry T. Spider said:

I went to the gaffe a couple of weeks ago. Quite an interesting bar. Too bad I missed the belt sander racing.

 I have a friend who races at The Gaff.  He actually has three  sanders, Burning Rubber Duck, Turbo Trout and Frantic Flamingo. That is a huge amount of fun. 

He's in the tye-dye shirt with Turbo Trout at the 44 second mark in this video:
 

 

[zman13 178]

Anyone stayed at Camp Coyoacan?

https://campcoyoacan.com/

Tempted to stay there next time. Good location, get to stay in a yurt, games, etc. Downside is communal bathrooms.

[Dry Elbows 142]

22 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

 I have a friend who races at The Gaff.  He actually has three  sanders, Burning Rubber Duck, Turbo Trout and Frantic Flamingo. That is a huge amount of fun. 

He's in the tye-dye shirt with Turbo Trout at the 44 second mark in this video:
 

 

That looks awesome. 

[Hornius Emeritus 12448]

4 hours ago, Dry Elbows said:

That looks awesome. 

 

They are racing this weekend. 

[Al Czervik 1229]

On 7/2/2018 at 2:01 PM, Longboard Horn said:

Will be heading to Port Aransas later this summer. Besides fishing and the beach, which bars and restaurants would y'all recommend? 

Had a meal at Beach and Station Street, very good.  The place isn't much to look at but the food was great.  Bring cash.

 

 

[CycleTex87 2965]

On 7/24/2018 at 9:14 AM, Skipper said:

Heading down next week.  Mosquito issue any better for those that have been recently?

I’m in town this week.  They are spraying for mosquitos every night, but the wise man will bring some repellant. Other than that, the weather is beautiful. Tonight, the surf is as low as I’ve ever seen it in 40+ years of coming to Port A and Padre Is.  Calm winds and a full moon.  Crowds are down this summer.  My fishing guide says that everyone in SanAntonio and Austin thinks it’s a third world country down here, but on the contrary, it’s fantastic.  Most restaurants are open. Most damage is either repaired or under repair, so there’s lots of contractors on the island, but it’s not bad.  Fishing is great. 

[Bill Brasky 1443]

the gaff is byom, bring your own meth 

[SurlyBDR 22761]

31 minutes ago, Bill Brasky said:

the gaff is byom, bring your own meth 

How much you got and when should I meet you there 

[Hornius Emeritus 12448]

10 hours ago, Al Czervik said:

Had a meal at Beach and Station Street, very good.  The place isn't much to look at but the food was great.  Bring cash.

 

 

 

I can second this recommendation.  The gumbo is out-of-this-world good. The stuffed flounder is excellent, too, but that gumbo is the best I've ever had. Better than when I make Paul Prudhomme's recipe. 

[dmtx 159]

we just got back from Port A. when we first drove by beach and station st grill, we thought it was closed, it definitely looks in worse shape. We did go to the phoenix, did not have sushi but contributed to the Dave fund. the crab cakes are phenomenal. i was disappointed at liberty hall, phenomenal meal, but i learned he no longer makes the french silk pie from pelican club. In the 14 years we've been going, never ate a mexican dinner in port a. the kids wanted mexican food, so I said, we have to try la playa. that place is legit! 

my big takeaway, I have never seen so many campers on the beach. tons of tents and travel trailers all the way to Cinnamon Shores. One site had four travel trailers. we were parking anywhere form marker 27 to 31, and we were on the beach before 9am each morning. 

[drifter379 1106]

Headed down tomorrow. Taking the camper and staying at On the Beach RV Resort.
I love port A and have been going nearly every year for the last 14. Wife and I were married on the beach behind the Sandpiper.

[drt 638]

Anyone know how Port A is over Christmas?  Worth the extra few hours to South Padre for an extra degree or two of warmth?

[Celery Man 20929]

I say go to Port A, but I really like the town.

Seagull is nearing completion.  I'm hoping to get down there in October.

[Celery Man 20929]

Am in Port A now.  Very quiet, things are slowly starting to look more put together but the scars are definitely still visible.  La Playa closed on Sundays now (boo, understandable).  Wanted to pop on here real quick and give a thumbs up to Billy Joe's Crafthouse.  I don't know the full story - my sister said it's run by a guy who ran a kitchen after the storm and helped keep the island fed, and is very popular.  Was expecting something more like The Brewery, interesting... ambiance (brightly lit smallish room with a bar and some TVs, a few high tables and some low tables, and a bigass stage taking up one end).  But this pizza is legit, the burger looked good too.

[Celery Man 20929]

[Celery Man 20929]

Heading back this weekend.  Anything new?

[Steamboat1874 4048]

Bump.....

 

Heading down there in a couple of weeks and was looking for any new information.

Did the hurricane screw up the Arnold Palmer golf course? I noticed it is having a new grand opening on June 1st but it is only 9 holes now with an additional 3 par 3's.

[justhookit 4191]

So much has changed and/or is new that I’m not sure where to really even start. Yes, like everything else the golf course was damaged but I think it’s back to at least decent shape from what I have heard. Billy Joe’s mentioned above is still open but he was recently indicted for embezzlement so I’m not sure where that is going.

Most of the old bars have reopened (Salty Dog just started building) and there are some new ones. Lovett’s is gone but they cleaned it up and it’s a new place called Red’s Riviera. It’s pretty generic. There is also a new outdoor bar called Red’s at the golf course. There’s a new bar next to La Playa where Wild Horse was called Lelo’s. It’s sort of trying to be a family friendly place with food. There’s a wine bar out in the big shopping center near Kody’s. The other new bar is a combo drive thru beer barn and outdoor bar by Whataburger where Neptune’s/Marcel’s/whatever it was called after that was located. And I’ve been hearing this for a few years now, but the owner of Tarpon Inn keeps telling me he is going to open an upscale bar in the building behind the hotel next to Roosevelt’s restaurant. Latest ETA mid or late summer.

La Barataria reopened but had a fire over the winter so it’s gone. The owner bought the building on Cutoff where drop anchor was and is doing some sort of Caribbean type place. It opens soon. I still think Inferno/Liberty Hall is the best food in town. Venetian is a favorite too. For more casual food I’ve been eating more lately at Moby Dick’s and it’s surprisingly good. Far better than the other “tourist” places. Castaways demolished their old building and moved across the street to where Phoenix was. Upgraded the menu, raised the prices and still serve shitty food.

Since I’ve been “homeless” since the hurricane I’ve stayed in a lot of different rentals and hotels. If anyone is looking for one of the cheaper hotels I’ve got a new rec- Red Roof Inn. Of course it’s nothing fancy but it was totally gutted after Harvey so it’s all brand new on the inside, decent location, free breakfast, good staff.

Edited May 23, 2019 by justhookit

[yoladu 4090]

What's the story om Sandcastle? Any updates?

i having trouble fathoming the damage if 21 months post Harvey they are still not able to book rooms. Other issues?

 

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by yoladu

[justhookit 4191]

Nope, it’s still Harvey. Almost none of the large condo buildings are open. They all had flat roofs and they all failed, flooding all the units. Aransas Princess is the only one that I know of that’s open for rentals. Most of the buildings are still gutted. Slow/poor insurance hasn’t helped matters but people don’t realize how much damage Port A had and it wasn’t limited to the condos. A lot of the damage wasn’t noticeable from the outside of buildings.

Even the smaller, older 3 story condo buildings like Aransas Harbor (to the right just off the ferry), Island Retreat, BeachHead, etc. had severe damage and are partially to totally closed.

You also have to remember that most of the buildings were old so even with lesser damage there is a lot of work to bring everything back up to code.

I ended up knocking my house down and am only about a month into the new build. 3 houses on my block did the same thing and are on my timeline. 3 other houses are way behind, 2 are tear downs and one is still undecided. I’m just a block off the channel and my street was absolutely wrecked. The coast guard station just down the street from me was just torn down early this month. It’s still going to be quite a while before Port A is really back to normal.

And good luck to everyone trying to find good contractors to do the work in a timely manner. There’s still a huge shortage of places to house the construction people. Add it all up and it’s kind of amazing as many places have been able to reopen.

Edited May 23, 2019 by justhookit

[yoladu 4090]

thanks for the update.

i was getting ads on Facebook that Port Royal was open, offering specials.

Edited May 23, 2019 by yoladu

[kevwun 15757]

We ended up staying at Palmilla Beach Resort a few week ago because VRBO screwed up and rented us a house that had been sold.  It was very nice, but it's also very expensive.  They have condos and houses for rent though.

[justhookit 4191]

39 minutes ago, yoladu said:

thanks for the update.

i was getting ads on Facebook that Port Royal was open, offering specials.

It is as far as I know, just not the whole thing.

[Steamboat1874 4048]

13 hours ago, kevwun said:

We ended up staying at Palmilla Beach Resort a few week ago because VRBO screwed up and rented us a house that had been sold.  It was very nice, but it's also very expensive.  They have condos and houses for rent though.

That. is where we are staying as well.

i know it is expensive but it sure looks nice.

 

Did you eat there and if so how was it?

[kevwun 15757]

It is very nice, you will like it.  We stopped by the pool and after the beach one day, but didn't eat anything.  The food we saw looked ok, but I wouldn't count on it being amazing or anything.

[obigbo 8]

Stayed at Palmilla Beach  last year and the food at the Black Marlin is great.  They served a scallop leak bacon butter dish that was one of the best scallop dishes I have ever tasted.  Everyone is our group was impressed at the quality of the food for such a small place.

[Steamboat1874 4048]

34 minutes ago, obigbo said:

Stayed at Palmilla Beach  last year and the food at the Black Marlin is great.  They served a scallop leak bacon butter dish that was one of the best scallop dishes I have ever tasted.  Everyone is our group was impressed at the quality of the food for such a small place.

The photos on the menu looked great so looking forward to it.

[dmtx 159]

damn. you said scallops, i am sold. we're headed down next week. Most reasonable dwelling we found the last two years was off of airbnb. 

 

[Steamboat1874 4048]

Boss has a house there which is being repaired and his favorite restaurant in PA is Liberty Hall which I want to check out.

[thrillhammer 683]

9 hours ago, obigbo said:

Stayed at Palmilla Beach  last year and the food at the Black Marlin is great.  They served a scallop leak bacon butter dish that was one of the best scallop dishes I have ever tasted.  Everyone is our group was impressed at the quality of the food for such a small place.

is lisabellas open in cinnamon shores?  that was the best meal I ever had in port a, back when she was off alister.  don't know anything about black marlin but will have to check it out.

[Celery Man 20929]

Had rack of lamb at the Venetian. It is good. Waiting on food at Billy Joe’s right now - haha hadn’t heard about the indictment. I think Lisabella’s is open, but that’s just from a list of “now open” places I saw.

Beach is pretty narrow near the seagull/sandpiper

[Paco 1934]

I'm down in South Padre and the tides are insane.

[Armybrat 40814]

On 5/25/2019 at 6:23 PM, Celery Man said:

Had rack of lamb at the Venetian. It is good. Waiting on food at Billy Joe’s right now - haha hadn’t heard about the indictment. I think Lisabella’s is open, but that’s just from a list of “now open” places I saw.

Beach is pretty narrow near the seagull/sandpiper

I hope that is high tide!

[mchookem 16318]

Seashell Village was one of the first places to reopen, we've stayed there 2-3 times a year for about the last 15. love that place, great pools (one heated), nice common grilling areas, convenient location. not on the beach directly if that's what you need, but we always drive anyway. pet friendly and nice, family owned. love it there!

they housed about 20 Port A families for many months post-Harvey. they are on a slight rise so had minimal flooding damage. good people. 

[Steamboat1874 4048]

Anyone ever try this place?

http://www.padreislandburgercompany.com/

 

It is down near Schlitterbahn close to Snoopys'

[justhookit 4191]

It’s the best burger in the area, but that’s a pretty low bar. I stop in sometimes if I am passing by but don’t go out of my way or anything. Decent beer selection.

[Steamboat1874 4048]

14 minutes ago, justhookit said:

It’s the best burger in the area, but that’s a pretty low bar. I stop in sometimes if I am passing by but don’t go out of my way or anything. Decent beer selection.

Snoopys survived right?

[justhookit 4191]

Yeah all the major damage was north, northeast of there starting about 5 miles south of Port A.

[Steamboat1874 4048]

Have always enjoyed going to Snoopys.

I don't know anything about Doc's Seafood and Steaks next door.

Edited May 30, 2019 by Steamboat1874