Andaz Papagayo - Diamond Breakfast Benefit

One of the best benefits of Hyatt Diamond status is free breakfast. Not to be accurate, Diamond status members are supposed to get Club Lounge access where they serve complimentary breakfast.

But for hotels that don't have lounges, the restaurant breakfast is offered instead (a much better alternative!) and sometimes even free room service breakfast.

The Andaz breakfast is set up at the Rio Bhongo restaurant as a self-serve buffet with a made-to-order omelette station, though they also offered an a la carte menu as well. The sticker price for the buffet breakfast was $32/person plus the additional 10% service charge and 13% taxes. So definitely not cheap!



But thankfully, my mother landed Hyatt Diamond Status just before our stay. Now the 5 of us on the trip could all enjoy a hearty breakfast each morning, without ever seeing the bill. Here's what the breakfast spread looked like.

The Continental Breakfast Part

Not pictured, but my father's favorite part was the Bread Pudding of the Day. My father loves Bread Pudding.

The Hot Buffet

The hot food options rotated, but they usually had gallo pinto (rice & beans), plus eggs, plus some protein (bacon or sausage) and some vegetable.

And for the healthy guests that didn't want carbs and fats, they also had a great selection of fresh fruits and juices.

Now, since we know not everyone has Hyatt Diamond status or wants to pay $32+ per person for breakfast, the best option seemed to be the $12 Gallo Pinto item off the menu. It looked like a better presented sampling of the exact same items from the hot buffet section, but it would be a much better alternative if you wanted to save money.

Florida Seafood Scene - Rustic Inn

A big reason why my parents enjoy traveling is to get regional foods that we can't enjoy here in New York City. For example, if you've ever been to Japan, you know the sushi is so much better there. And don't even get us started on finding anything close to authentic Mexican food in Manhattan.

So on this South Florida trip, I knew my father was going to have his fill of stone crab claws, a local delicacy. And this time, the stone crab was in season (unlike our May 2012 trip).

Within an hour after landing at FLL Airport, we drove to the nearby Rustic Inn Seafood Crabhouse. This place looks like they're going for the "fishing dock" look, but replace the beautiful New England charm with Florida's version of commercial Americana culture.

Because we wanted something different, my father ordered us the Fried Gator & Frog Log Combo ($14) to start. My father had tried both decades ago, but he thought it would be "fun" to have his adorable 4 year old try them. I agreed, mostly because it would make a great story for my PreK class to hear about.

Here's a close up of the fried alligator bites. It was a white meat, which surprised me a bit and had the texture of a pork chop. They were cut up into pieces that could have been anything, so visually it didn't give me any reservations. Overall, I liked it a lot and ate a few of them without any sauce.

The frog legs were another matter. They clearly looked like what they were and I was less certain about enjoying eating them. My father took a bite and the meat fell right off like slow cooked chicken wings. To be honest, I was less crazy about these frog legs and preferred taking down some more gator bites.

But the reason we came to this restaurant was for the Crabs. Specifically, my father wanted Stone Crab Claws which were pricey ($28 for a pound) but consistent with the other places we visited. They were of course delicious, especially that ubiquitous mustard sauce on the side.



But the Rustic Inn also specialized in other crabs (including golden crabs, Alaskan king crab legs and dungeness crabs). Since we couldn't choose just one, my family shared an order of the Crab Lover's Delight Combo ($48). Trust us, it was PLENTY for all of us to share.

As you can see, you come here to eat, not to dress fancy, so we'd highly recommend not wearing your nice clothes and be prepared to get your hands dirty. They give everyone bibs and wooden mallets to slam open your crab shells. Note for when I'm older: Crab restaurants are definitely not a first date recommendation.

The total tally for the "massive crab lunch" was just under $100 before tip, but clearly there were more modestly priced options on the menu. And since we ate at 3PM, we skipped dinner completely. So our "linner" wasn't too hard on the wallet as it averaged out to two ~$50 meals.

Overall, we enjoyed our first Florida meal here, but the crabs were so drenched in butter (as if they were cooking in a liquid butter for days) that both my parents had some stomach issues. Guess they were not used to that volume of saturated liquid fats. Rustic Inn was good, but probably a one-time experience for us to be honest.

Royal Peaks Lounge

The Royal Peaks Lounge is the executive club lounge at the Westin Kierland Resort. Located on the 9th floor, it offers some extra space, free wifi and complimentary breakfast and snacks throughout the day.

While many dated reports on Flyertalk talk about the Lounge having strict entrance policies (2 adults complimentary with kids being charged $10 each), the sign in the front states you can bring 2 adults and 3 children per paying guest.

When we first arrived on Saturday around 5PM in the afternoon, we found the lounge completely empty. It was quite spacious, with enough space to comfortably seat 30 people inside, plus another 10 or so on the outdoor patio area.

I immediately ran towards the refrigerator to find me some chilled milk.

Soon, a woman came out of the side room and laid out the food spread of antipasti, cold cuts and cheese.

The next morning, we came back at 7AM for breakfast. We had read about the Pancake Machine and were excited to see what all the fuss was about. Being a 4 year old, I loved pancakes. It was extremely simple to operate. You just pressed the button and within 90 seconds, you'd have 2 pancakes roll out onto your plate.

In the mornings, they also offered deviled eggs, different types of fruits, a basket of pastries (croissants, bagels, toasts, muffins) and cold cuts and cheese. If those items didn't suit us, we could have chosen from three different cereals and other salty snacks.

While not the most amazing breakfast spread we've ever seen (that title belongs to the Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires and the Conrad in Hong Kong), we had more than enough food for breakfast. Plus, knowing it was completely complimentary kept us happy.

That 70's Vacation - Garbage Plates

Years ago, my father's college roommate told him about these "magical" meals called Garbage Plates from his hometown of Rochester, NY.

To put it bluntly, the Rochester garbage plates were the kind of late night diner food that caters to cheap college students, truck drivers and degenerates.

According to Wikipedia, a Garbage Plate is "a combination of two selections of cheeseburger, hamburger, red hots, white hots, Italian sausage, chicken tender, fish (haddock), fried ham, grilled cheese, or eggs; and two sides of either home fries, French fries, baked beans, or macaroni salad. On top of that are the options of mustard and onions, and Nick's proprietary hot sauce, a sauce with spices and slowly simmered ground beef. The dish is served with Italian bread and butter on the side. Health.com named the Garbage Plate the fattiest food in the state of New York."

So to order a proper Garbage Plate, you first pick the main protein (i.e., cheeseburger) and two sides (i.e., fries and macaroni salad). Then the plate is covered in "hot sauce" which is similar to ground beef chili meat that you find on a Skyline Chili Dog. You add ketchup and/or buffalo wing sauce and go to town.

My father had been thinking about this "local delicacy" for years, but just never found himself in that part of Upstate Western NY. So it was his plan to drive into Rochester on our way to Niagara Falls on the Friday before Labor Day.

However, as we passed the Rochester area along I-90 West, my father looked in the rear view mirror and saw my mother and me passed out in the back. Not wanting to wake us up just to take us to a random dive restaurant, he kept driving towards Niagara Falls where we'd spend Friday night. Instead, he planned to stop by on the drive back home to NYC on Monday.

Unfortunately, he forgot that Monday was Labor Day and many businesses would be closed for the holiday. Plus, given the type of restaurants that serve Garbage Plates, they didn't exactly have real time updates on their company websites.

He would have called, but (a) we were in Canada so phone calls would be expensive and (b) the hotel had horrible in-room wifi, so Skype was out out well. So then he took to Twitter.

After finding the Twitter handles, he first tweeted to the original Garbage Plate restaurant, Nick Tahou's. Unfortunately, they were closed for Labor Day.

Then he tried Dogtown. Also closed.

But on the third try, he found Steve T's Hots. Apparently, Steve T was the 2nd location of Nick Tahou's but after a family dispute, they separated. Of course, there's nothing proprietary about fast food meat with fries and sauce, so they had as authentic a garbage plate as anywhere else.

Not only was Steve T active online and social media, but they were open 24/7 including Labor Day!

So my father's dream was preserved and we had an ambitious (if not dangerous) plan to have a 10AM breakfast at Steve T Hots (2260 Lyell Ave, Rochester, NY 14606) and hope that it didn't have ramifications on his stomach for the 6 hour drive back to Manhattan.

We left Niagara Falls around 9AM and made it to Rochester in just under an hour. Located on a relatively commercial street, Steve T was a standalone building on the corner with a small parking lot upfront. It was pretty much as we'd expected.

We were one of three other cars, and we walked in knowing exactly what we wanted to order. My father would have a garbage plate, while my mother wanted a regular egg sandwich and a hot dog for little old me.

It was staffed by just one man who took your order, grilled up your food and operated the register. My father correctly suspected they weren't going to take credit cards, so he came prepared with cash. The menu seemed large, but it was all just different versions of a Garbage Plate.

My father (almost drooling) placed his order, trying his hardest to sound like a local and not a fanboy who dreamt about this meal for 15 years: "Give me a cheeseburger plate with mac salad and fries, extra everything."

Made to order, the food came out in about 10 minutes and my father did his best to maintain composure while he took a photo before devouring his long-awaited feast.

As my mother says, my father has never looked so happy.

That 70's Vacation - Niagara-On-The-Lake

A lesser known "secret" destination near Niagara Falls is called Niagara-On-The-Lake (NOTL), a charming little town 30 minutes north of the Falls surrounded by vineyards.

Of course, with my father driving, getting anywhere can be quite an adventure.

Since we had a car, we decided to drive up to NOTL. It seemed simple enough - just drive north on Stanley Avenue until we reached Route 405 where we'd head towards the US bridge, then turn north along the river.

Well, we were fine on Stanley Avenue, but then as we approached Route 405, my father mis-read the GPS map and actually go ONTO the highway, instead of the small access road alongside it. Look closely as the map below.

As a result, we ended up on a one way (no exit) highway towards the Queenston Lewiston Bridge - the one BACK TO AMERICA. Normally, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but we left our passports at our hotel!

Even though we made a U-Turn before actually getting onto the bridge (staying on Canadian soil), we still had to go back through Canadian Immigration.

Apologizing profusely, my father explained to the Immigration officer that we had gotten onto the 405 on our way to NOTL. "Didn't you see the signs?" he asked my pathetic father.

"No, I was just following our GPS."

After rolling his eyes, he took our driver's licenses and punched a few things into his computer. It must have checked out as we were permitted back into Canada.

Eventually, we found the small access road and then made it to NOTL with just 20 minutes before our 12:30PM lunch reservation at Treadwell Farm to Table Restaurant. As we drove along the main road entering the downtown area, we noticed how colorfully decorated the street was with beautiful floral arrangements.

As we struggled to find street parking, my father told my mother and me to head to the restaurant as he would continue to search for parking. My mother was given the street address (114 Queen Street), and we separated from my father. Normally, this divide and conquer plan wouldn't have been an issue, except that we were without our cell phone data plans to access the internet or our GPS maps.

My father eventually found parking down by the Lake. He then walked back past the NOTL park, towards Queen Street where all the shops and cafes were located. He hustled past tourists and eventually found a sign for Treadwell.

Fortunately, he arrived in time to keep our lunch reservation. Unfortunately, he had beaten my mother and me there. We were nowhere to be found! While my father took his seat, he started to worry if my mother would find the restaurant without the help of her iPhone data plan.

Of course, my mother and I eventually showed up, and were able to enjoy the best meal we had on our trip and definitely the best service we've possibly ever had.

The brunch menu was so amazing. For an appetizer, my parents and I enjoyed a charcuterie plate with local cured meats, fresh greens and crispy pork skins.

My parents ordered me the Smoked Bacon Pancake, which my mother agreed was one of the most delicious things we've ever had.

My father had an East Coast Lobster “Club” on Duck Fat Fried Bread.

My mother enjoyed her Crispy Skin North Atlantic Mackerel Filet with Fingerling Potato Salad.

But the best part (for me anyway), was our amazing server who was so professionally trained. First, she brought me some crayons and coloring books as she took our opening drink order. A nice touch, but nothing out of the ordinary in my limited experience. But after our entrees were cleared, she then offered me a trip to the kitchen where I could meet the dessert chefs and receive a complimentary scoop of sorbet! I told my father to tip her very well.