Minimoon in Venice

The day after a long weekend is never fun, especially when your weekend consists of minimooning in Venice…Florida that is!

Vishnu and I decided to take advantage of the long weekend and go on a little minimoon.  Even though we’ve postponed our real honeymoon until next summer due to schedule conflicts, we wanted to go somewhere for a few days and celebrate us.  Venice was the perfect pick – not too far, relatively cheap, relaxing, lots of good food, and it’s on the water!

We started our fun adventure on Saturday morning, arriving in Venice around 2:30.  After dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we headed straight for…you guessed it…the beach.

We spent a few hours soaking in the sun and playing in the water.  Around 5:30, my stomach started grumbling, so I suggested a pizza place I read about on Yelp called Scamotz Tomato Pies.  A lot of the reviewers mentioned that this place has the best pizza with the best crust, so I knew it was worth checking out!

As soon as we sat down, our waitress brought out garlic knots and two different dipping “sauces.”  The first was a roasted red pepper mascarpone sauce and the other was a garlic herb butter.  The herb butter blew me away – it was sweet, salty and creamy.  YUM!

Vishnu and I decided to start our meal with a couple of salads – I went for the traditional house salad and Vishnu opted for a orange parmesan salad.  Not only were our salads incredibly fresh, but they came with homemade vinaigrettes. 

If I had to pick a winner, I would say Vishnu’s salad won.  Both were great, but his was unique – mandarin oranges, pecans, and shaved parmesan.

For the main course, we ordered the roasted vegetable pizza.

So those Yelp reviewers were not kidding when they praised this pizza!  The crust was thin, flaky, and incredibly light.  And the toppings were fresh, perfectly roasted, and bursting with flavor.  The owner even makes his own sun dried tomatoes (the best topping in fact)!  I asked for a side of tomato sauce, since this particular pizza came with a garlic butter sauce.  I’m so glad I did because it was just the way I like my sauce to be – chunky and herby.  [My mouth is watering right now.]  I know how cliché all of this sounds – but trust me, this pizza was one of the best I’ve ever had. And you know it’s good because upon taking his first bite, even Vishnu “mmmmed.”

With full bellies, we headed back to the hotel to shower and take a little nap (that was all me!).  A few hours later we drove to downtown Venice (a small strip of shops and restaurants) to walk around.  Of course, I had to stop in the candy store to take a peak…and buy some dark chocolate almond bark!

After talking to a few people the day before, we decided to spend Sunday at Siesta Key beach in Sarasota.  But before beach time came brunch time at Word of Mouth. 

Word of Mouth is a cute, old town”ish” café/diner.  The food was simple, comforting, and delicious.  It really hit the spot!

Vishnu and I shared a blueberry almond scone to start.  This thing was delicious and full of fresh blueberries.  And the toasted almonds on top complemented the soft biscuit like scone. 

For my main meal, I ordered the buckwheat pancakes with walnuts and chocolate chips (hardly needed any syrup!).  Vishnu went with the crab and veggie quiche.  Both were delicious, however the potatoes stole the show – the flavor was unbelievable! 

With full bellies, yet again, we drove to Siesta Key beach for another fun day in the sun!  This beach was gorgeous – clear water, soft sand, and just the right amount of people to make feel lively. 

Contemplating life

I think Sunday afternoon was my favorite part of the weekend – me and Vishnu hanging out in the ocean with not a care in the world.  We need to find a way to make days like this a regular thing!

Later that night, we headed back to downtown Sarasota for dinner.  What a cute place – lots of restaurants, bars, shops, etc.  I kind of wish we had spent Saturday evening there as well.  Next time!

We ended up settling on Drunken Poet Café, a Thai and Japanese restaurant (recommended by our friend Yelp), for dinner.  I was in the mood for sushi, and Vishnu wanted something spicy for dinner. 

We started with some sweet potato tempura and avocado sushi.

I decided to keep with the theme and went with the vegetable roll and the avocado roll for my main meal.  Vishnu ordered the Pad Thai and loved it!  Another great meal.  We were seriously on a foodie roll during this trip!

After dinner, we walked around for a bit and got some gelato (that went undocumented). Our night ended in an Everybody Loves Raymond marathon – love that show!

Monday morning came sooner then I wanted.  After showering and packing, we loaded the car and drove home.  The end.

I’m so glad we decided to go away this weekend.  It was nice to step away from reality and spend some quality time together – not having to worry about cleaning, laundry, dinner, etc.  I highly recommend minimoons, even to those who aren’t newlyweds!