Caroline's, Apalachicola, Florida ****

In recent years Edna Earl has only eaten breakfast at Caroline's -- but what a breakfast! Their breakfast menu is amazing! There are so many offerings that EE can't begin to list 'em -- and each one sounds absolutely delectable -- too much for breakfast, really. Okay, on second thought EE will try to list some of what's on the menu: There's bountiful omelettes of all varieties, a number of other egg dishes (Benedict, etc.), homemade pancakes with tempting sides, fruits galore, homemade breads, grits, various seafood dishes ...

Okay, Edna Earl is going to do something she usually doesn't do. She's going to include a link to the menu:
http://www.apalachicolariverinn.com/breakfast.html

Now, see why Edna Earl is impressed?

EE's recent trip to Caroline's was with three other people. Each of EE's party ordered something different, and all loved their food. Service was great, too, and you can't beat the setting there on the shaded deck overlooking the very place where the Apalachicola River flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

At a table near EE's group were seated a party of Europeans who were obviously having trouble ordering in English. The waitress could not have been more helpful, and the European visitors left Caroline's with stories of a very pleasant American (and Southern) experience, Edna Earl suspects.

The only reason Edna Earl is not giving Caroline's a fifth star right yet is that in recent years she's only eaten breakfast there, and just the once. She's going to try to go back soon and have lunch or supper so that then she'll feel confident about that very hard-to-get fifth ol' Edna Earl star! In the meantime -- You go, Caroline's!

Gibson Inn, Apalachicola, Florida **

What a wonderful dining room! Edna Earl just wishes that the food matched the room. They're trying too hard with the food. Calm down, folks. Take a lesson from the Tarrer Inn up the road in Colquitt, Georgia. And look around your beautiful, historic dining room and take a lesson from the space, too. See how very simple and very elegant it is? Subtle, restrained, traditional -- no? Why not just serve good, traditional food rather than try for something all super-internationalized and hyper-gentrified -- something that often doesn't work? (Edna Earl gets the distinct impression that there's one of those Iron Chef wannabes back there in the kitchen.)

For such high-priced food, Edna Earl couldn't get over how UNgarnished the plates were. Restraint is one thing; PLAIN is another. One of the two meals Edna Earl and her chums ate at The Gibson was breakfast. The next day EE's group ate breakfast across the street at Caroline's, and she'll have to say that Caroline's WAY outdid the Gibson -- certainly in terms of how appetizing the plate LOOKED. (Tasted better, too, and offered more choices, and the service was much better.)

Service at The Gibson was fine once EE's party finally got some, but they waited so long (more than half an hour), that one of the group finally got up and got some menus from a stack near the door.

The place just didn't seem to have their act together. Edna Earl thinks they're trying to define themselves. There's such a wealth of good ingredients there in Apalachicola, one of the seafood capitals of the world -- looks like the folks at The Gibson could look to traditions for some guidance.

The Owl, Apalachicola, Florida *

What a crock. Overpriced food, rude waiter. There were seven in Edna Earl's party, and not one reported having liked the food. There was this appetizer that -- well, yuck. GREASY comes as close to describing it as Edna Earl will venture. Three in EE's party tasted the thing and then left it alone for the rest of the evening. Edna Earl didn't particularly like the physical place, either. It felt dark and closed in. Maybe it was where Edna Earl's party was seated (upstairs), but it just was not a pleasant place. EE had heard that The Owl was good, but boy were she and her friends disappointed. EE hopes she hit it on a bad night. But, it was so bad that she doesn't know that I'll go again.