Clary’s Restaurant

I consulted Yelp to help find a new place for lunch when we were recently in Florida.  Clary’s, according to the app, had the best food around — homemade everything. From soup to sandwiches to desserts and sumptuous breakfasts, Yelp users gave it rave upon rave.  The food was rated delicious, the owner said to be super congenial and prices reasonable.  We jumped on our bikes and pulled up to the address, which turned out to be a large retirement community building.  I was puzzled.  “There must be some mistake,” I said to my husband.  “I’ll go in and ask, maybe someone at the desk will have heard of the place,” he said.  I wasn’t surprised.  Food was involved — so of course he was game to get to the bottom of things.  He came out the door of the big facility, beaming. “It’s inside,” he reported.  “It’s an independent restaurant open to the public and it looks really good.”  I didn’t want to go. My mother-in-law lives in a facility like this and while the food is okay, I wouldn’t pay to eat there — but I was starving and grudgingly agreed to have a look. We went in the front door, around a corner and down a long hallway. There was a small cafe, brimming with good smells, a lot of customers, and Vicky, the welcoming proprietor.  It turned out to have some of the best food we’ve had anywhere, ever.  There’s a moral here about learning not to judge a book by its cover or vowing to change preconceived notions.  I am a slow learner.