Lu Lu's Oceanside Grill

Judy and I stopped by on a Saturday afternoon, after a pretty crappy day. We had attended the Native American Festival at the Casements which was a big disappointment. Then we had stopped at a bar in Flagler that was filled with alcoholics. It kinda looked fun from the outside but was one of the most depressing bars I have ever been in. Everyone was shitfaced and pathetic. It was 2 p.m. I also think a swinger couple was hitting on me but I guess I could be wrong.

Lu Lu's was a great way to end a crappy day. We had a wonderful waitress. She was informative, gave suggestions, knew the menu . . . she really had her act together.

Instead of being our usual gluttonous selves, we decided to split an appetizer. We ordered the flatbread with cranberries and brie. The flatbread tasted freshly baked, but the waitress told us the restaurant ordered it from an outside source. The cranberries were tangy and went well with the brie. My only gripe is that there wasn't enough brie. It should be known that there is NEVER enough brie for me. A few shavings of brie will NEVER cut it.

I had a garden salad. All ingredients were quite fresh and I asked if the dressing was made on site. It was the creamiest, best tasting ranch I've ever had. I'm not usually a big ranch fan, preferring vinaigrettes, but for some reason, on that day, the thought of ranch dressing on cucumbers and tomatoes sounded to good to pass up.

Judy got a big ass Lu Lu burger with sweet potato fries. She wanted red meat so she got a half pound of it. It looked delectable but I opted for the Cajun kabobs. ("Large gulf shrimp and sea scallops wrapped with bacon, dusted with Cajun spices and grilled. Served with yellow rice, steamed vegetable medley and Creole mustard.") It was "wrapped in bacon" that got me. The spice blend had a lot of salt in it and that along with the saltiness of the bacon, was overkill, but the seafood itself tasted fresh and was on the large side. I substituted a baked potato for the rice.

I was hoping for a better beer selection. They had a few typical imports and the usual domestics. The drink menu looked interesting, but I was in a beer frame of mind.

Our waitress brought us two complimentary cones of mango sherbet. Judy doesn't like mangoes (what a freak) so she gave her cone to me too. That didn't stop us from ordering a Hot Blonde on the Beach (warm cookie sundae). As per the Lu Lu's web site - "Our Blonde cookie pie served hot and topped with vanilla ice cream, warm caramel and chocolate sauces, whipped cream and powdered sugar. Everybody wants one!" It kinda sounded better than it actually tasted. It was good, but it just didn't live up to that description.

I'd go back without hesitation. I'm hoping to hit it for Happy Hour and then dinner one night during Bike Week. I have a friend who is coming down and I think he'd enjoy it too.

According to their website, they also have two additional restaurants. The Swamp Restaurant in Gainesville, Florida and Stella's Skyline Cafe in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Stella's appears to have a very similar menu to that of Lu Lu's while the Swamp Restaurant's differs to a larger degree.