Many people today, when traveling,

have become accustomed to going with what they know. When it comes to

dining and accomodations, that often means going with a national chain.

Granted, there are some wonderful

mom-and-pop places right in this area, but it sometimes takes a resident

some time to seek them out. And you can get poor service or bad food anywhere,

but with a familiar name you usually know what it's going to taste

like. That can be especially important overseas if you do not have a particularly

adventurous palate. For instance, when I spent five days in the Philippines

and one day in Hong Kong in mid-November, I sustained myself with the

hotel breakfast buffet each morning and a mix of McDonald's, Wendy's,

KFC, Pizza Hut and Outback the rest of the time. (Yes, I'm a food

wimp. There, I just saved you the trouble of e-mailing.)

So, it was with great delight

during a more recent trip - a holiday outing to Florida - that

I discovered what a pleasant surprise a relatively unknown food establishment

can be, when it looks like there might be no other prospects for miles

ahead.

We awoke in Cocoa Beach the

Saturday morning after Thanksgiving to find the temperature in the mid-40s

and a strong wind blowing. We quickly decided to get a head start on the

holiday traffic and come