Right around 8 a.m. today, Ryan and I headed to Bradenton to meet up with his dad and his dad’s girlfriend for breakfast at Harry’s, a cute restaurant located on Longboat Key.
When we sat down, we were greeted by friendly faces and a basket of warm biscuits.
I ate two and loved every bite. As Ryan’s dad’s girlfriend Gina explained, Harry’s is part of a group of “original” restaurants in the Bradenton-area that pride themselves on using “real food” and fresh ingredients in their dishes.
It definitely showed because everyone’s meals came out looking fresh and vibrant. I personally loved how they didn’t rely on butter and grease to flavor their foods and let the food itself do the talkin’.
For my meal, I opted for two poached eggs (because I can’t seem to make poached eggs myself) served with an English muffin, ham and fresh fruit salad.
I used the eggs and ham to make my own breakfast sandwich.
After breakfast, Ryan, his dad, Gina and I walked across the street to a park to spend some more time together while exploring the area.
On our walk, we stumbled upon a rose garden and Gina and I enjoyed smelling the beautiful blooming flowers.
The yellow roses reminded me of our wedding flowers. 
After our walk, we drove back to Bradenton where Ryan and I said goodbye to his dad and Gina before hitting the road to Sarasota to spend the rest of Easter weekend with his mom and her boyfriend.
We arrived in the early afternoon and after catching up for half an hour or so, the four of us headed to Square 1 for lunch.
When we sat down, I figured I would get a light lunch because I snacked on a bunch of candied almonds and Chex Mix while we were waiting to head out.
While looking over the menu, the fried pickles jumped out at all of us. I’ve heard of fried pickles before but have never seen them on a menu.
The waitress had great things to say about them, but our group agreed that they sounded so strange. We were all intrigued enough and placed an order to try the fried pickles and ordered some onion rings as well to share as an appetizer.
I dominated these appetizers! I’m not sure what type of batter or oil they use at Square 1 to fry the onion rings and pickles, but it was fantastic and reminded me of tempura-style frying. I wasn’t even hungry by the time my salad was served.
Somehow I managed to eat the whole thing… full tummy and all. It’s a gift.
Now we’re back at Ryan’s mom’s house and plan to take it easy for the rest of the night. Ryan’s mom is hosting a big Easter brunch in the morning, so a night of laid back lounging sounds good to everyone!
Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend!
P.S. The Fashion page was updated!
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Harry’s looks super cute! Those pictures make me miss Florida. I’m glad you get to enjoy the fabulous weather.
Fried pickles are the best!! I went to school in Tallahassee and for some reason every bar and restaurant seemed to have them there. I wonder if that contributed to my few extra freshman pounds, hmmm…
Julie! I love that you have never heard of fried pickles before! I’m proud to say that in the restaurant I work at we serve fried EVERYTHING. Our fried pickles are spears though, rather than chips and I can tell you that they are just fantastic! We also have fried macaroni, fried twinkies, and fried oreos. How’s that for fattening? If you’re ever in Austin, Texas, you should definitely make it a point to eat at Plucker’s Wing Bar!
Fried *oreos*!!?! Oh my yumminess… it’d be hard to work around those babies!
JUST watched an episode of Kelsey’s Essentials on the Cooking Channel.
She poached a couple eggs and made it seem really easy! She put it on top of a salad with a warm bacon vinaigrette! OMG I have to make the recipe.
Happy Easter!
Looks like a day full of great food and company – my favorite kind! Enjoy a relaxing night 🙂
Looks like good food. Hope you have a great weekend!
Aw, my best friend lives in Bradenton! Love it there and Sarasota. Good choice on the fried pickles…I was hesitant at first too but now I love them!
You and Ryan are so darn cute. Fried pickles are a staple at the Wisconsin State Fair, along with pretty much everything else fried!
I love fried pickles and I’m so glad ya’ll got to try them! They are so different but so good! They are really popular out here in TX!
I have poached eggs before, and I just bring the water to a simmer, add the vinegar, take my spatula and get the water swirling in the pot, drop the egg in, put the top on the pot and leave it alone for just under 3 minutes. They weren’t the perfect round shape, because I didn’t use a holder, but they were so good and perfectly poached! You should try it again 😉
Happy Easter!!
Your day has been full of good eats so far! I think Ryan and his dad look so much alike! Enjoy the rest of your night 🙂
What a beautiful day with family! I would have totally dominated those onion rings with you 🙂
Fried pickles are awesome! They are pretty much the only fried food I will eat yummm
Looks like a lovely family filled weekend! 🙂
Have a great time 🙂
I am so glad you don’t have to live another day without fried pickles! They are the best! Glad you’re having a nice Easter weekend! 🙂
Soooo this is cheating but I have a poached egg pan and definitely recommend it! My mom picked up one in the grocery store for like $20 because my attempts were always failing.
This is a more expensive version but the cheaper one works great : http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/poached-eggs.html
How cool, I’m from Bradenton/Sarasota! This makes me miss my family!
Great place to spend Easter Weekend though. If you have a chance go to St. Armands Circle, lots of cute boutiques, great restaurants and an entire cafe dedicated to french macaroons!
Make your own breakfast sandwich.. that sounds amazing! Puts a unique little spin on such a common meal. How cool!
Loove fried pickles!!! Did you know, that the restaurant that began frying dill pickles is close to where I live when I’m in the States??? So awesome! 😀
Fried pickles does sound quite interesting….I too have eaten SO much this weekend–with my M.S. graduation and all–but it is so worth it 🙂 Love your b-fast idea, too!!
FRIED PICKLES! Yumm! They sound delicious and the batter/oil must’ve been magical 😉
Enjoy the fam time, Julie!!
I love that you are in my town!!! 🙂 I’ve been following your blog for awhile now and love your cute pics and yummy eats. Sarasota is beautiful isn’t it? All of my family is in town right now celebrating Easter here because it’s the prettiest place for everyone to gather–with the best weather!
I think that is funny you guys went to In & Out Burger. It’s actually fairly new to the city. There have been about 4 restaurants that have been in that spot over the past 7 or 8 years. Sadly, nothing seems to make it there 🙁 Hopefully this place will pull through.
If you want some other great places to try you should check out Mattison’s City Grille downtown, Station 400, The Salty Dog or any place on St. Armands.
Enjoy!!! 🙂
Sounds like a wonderful day with the inlaws! Love those fried pickles, too. Yummm!
Frickles! This is making me so hungry right now!
I would have never attempted poached eggs if not for my poaching pods. They’re little green silicone cups you float in the boiling water, and the best part is how perfectly they fit on sandwich thins or an English muffin. We bought them at bed, bath and beyond.
All that food looks amazing!! I have never tried to make poached eggs before, but now that you mention them I might just have to try them!
Happy Easter!
Ryan and his dad look so much alike! Sounds like a fun day. Have a wonderful Easter…and I’m sure your excited to have your sweet treats 😉
I would love to try fried pickles- I am a big fan of pickles! Fried pickles remind me of Snooki
That’s so fun that y’all got to see all 4 of your parental units over the weekend. You’re lucky that y’all live so close together! Sadly, Ryan and I live too far away from our families… so we are making due with just the two of us. Glad you’re able to soak up all of this family time on your holiday weekend!!
PS. Charlotte has a place with killer fried pickles… they’ve even been showcased on the travel channel (or maybe it was the food network? I can’t keep up…)
You guys have just been quite the travelers! 🙂 Both restaurants today look absolutely delicious!
Fried pickles! I love those! Kinda weird though. It’s one of those things that you’d think wouldn’t be good but it so is! 🙂
Wouah, the place is beautiful!
I love fried pickles!! I guess they’re more prevalent in SC, because A LOT of places serve them as “bar food” type stuff… fried pickle spears are the best!
I wish more restaurants relied on good, fresh ingredients. I wish they also trained their employees on food allergies, then I could actually eat out more often!
My parents actually live about a mile from Harry’s on LBK and I’ve actually never been there, aside from a wine tasting once! Your breakfast looks delicious though– Guess I’ll have to try it out sometime : )
You’ve never had fried pickles?!?!?!?!? Holy shiznit! They are a staple here in TEXAS! lol
My grandpapa lives in Bradenton! I used to vacation there every April vacation. I loved visiting Anna Maria Island. 🙂
I love fried pickles. Don’t know why, but I do.
what a lovely time you guys are having! enjoyed this post 🙂
Fried Pickles are AMAZING! I waitressed in college at a place that had them on special every day. Its a big thing in the north. We like to fry up anything and everything I guess.
I can’t cooked poached eggs on the stove either! But you can totally microwave them.
Fill a cup or small bowl with 1/2 cup of water. Crack the egg in and make sure it’s covered by the water and place a plate on top. Then you microwave for about 1 minute or until the white is set.
SO EASY!