Tag: family

  • Welcome to Atlantis Where the Players Play

    Food poisoning being the final souvenir will not have the same effect on this blog as it had on my digestive system. My mom has had Atlantis and the Bahamas on her bucket list for a while, and we checked that off a couple of weeks ago.

    Chow with Chaz focuses on the food, so that will be the gist of this blog, but I will share a little on my thoughts of Atlantis the Resort. The beach and the ocean there are absolutely top notch. The ocean was absolutely beautiful. The beach was pretty too, but I believe that sand is a gift hand delivered from Satan himself. Therefore, I spent all of the time in the ocean…which was fine by me. The waves our first day were awesome. They weren’t the best the rest of the week, but the ocean was still so much fun. Second only to the beach was the sea life around Atlantis. There were aquariums or lagoons at every turn. We could see the sting ray lagoon from our balcony. There was even a sawfish which was super cool. Another area where Atlantis shined was the waterpark. Their rapids river was so much fun. The tube slide going through the shark tunnel was also awesome. The drop slide was only good for a hilarious picture of Kelsi.

    We stayed in The Coral, which was a mixed bag. The view from the room was phenomenal. The rooms themselves were fine. They were a little dated but clean and had everything you need. It was also connected directly to the Casino which was very nice. The two major negatives were the elevators and the clientele. Atlantis was FLOODED with very poorly behaved children. They all seemed to be staying at our hotel. Terrible parenting was on full display. The only thing worse were the elevators. When we arrived, only 1 of the 3 was working. At no point in our time there did all 3 work. The two working took turns being broken. There were people getting stuck for upwards of an hour. This was absolutely unacceptable for what they charge for a room.

    Now for what you all came for…the FOOD. The first word that comes to mind for food at Alantis is without a doubt…expensive!! Everything was expensive. I did not have any bad food at the resort. We had Shake Shack and Cocodrilo each twice for lunch. Both delivered every time. Cocodrilo was very pricy for what you get, 3 tacos were around $20. The tacos were very good though. I had pork tacos the first day and steak the second. The steak won that battle. We had some apps and some drinks at Claudio’s. Everything there was solid except for the service, the service was quite bad. Hands down the best experience at the resort was Fish by Jose Andres. All four of us went one night, and it was phenomenal. I had the shrimp and grits which were done perfectly. It was also probably the best bang for your buck the whole trip. My mom won ordering that night though. The fish slider was unbelievable. I would eat anything on the buns they used. She also ordered a mojo shrimp app that was fantastic. Maybe the star of the show though was the cobb salad. We all split it and it led to Kelsi and I going back for night 2.

    The Marina is technically part of Atlantis, I think, but we had a meal and cocktails several nights there. We had Marina Pizza the first night there. The crust was very different than any I had, but very tasty. My parents went back another night as well. Dilly Club was another place that really shined. We had coffee there a couple of times and cocktails a few nights. The balcony is right on the marina, so you are surrounded by absolutely massive yachts. The first night I had a coconut marg with a toasted coconut rim…I’d give it an 7 out of ten. Very good cocktail. The last night I had their maple old fashioned; it was probably a 5 out of 10. Very average. The second trip however, I had one of their espresso martinis. I believe it had caramel in it. 10 out of 10. No questions. Absolutely delicious.

    We had two dinners off resort…and 2 very different experiences. Kelsi and I caught a taxi back to Nassau and went to the Poop Deck. Very much no frills, the chairs were all plastic. It is all open air with the majority of the seats on a balcony. I had fried shrimp that were fine and Kelsi had red snapper which was really good. It was the fish of the day, so you go and pick your fish. While my shrimp weren’t mind blowing, the views and experience were top notch. Service was great. Again, you are overlooking the marina filled with yachts. Just a super cool experience. We walked to the bar next door which was also all open air. We had some very tasty cocktails with enjoying the breeze off of the ocean. Fantastic experience. The other dinner off resort left me with my souvenir. Our final night we went to Anthony’s. It had great reviews; my parents went the night before and had a great experience. The 4 of us did not have the same experience the final night. Service was absolutely atrocious. They were out of multiple things, some of which we weren’t told about until well after ordering. The food was fine, in the moment, but nothing great. It was not a place I would have gone back to…then the next morning that feeling was cemented. I got to fly home with food poisoning. So thanks Anthony’s, see ya never.

    Overall, Atlantis was a lot of fun. The company was top notch and the ocean was magical. I am very glad to have gone (thanks mom and pops!), but I do not think it is a place I would go back to.  

  • Best Meals of 2025…kinda

    Behind the scenes and a look into my brain (I hope you’ll continue reading!). I started this with the intention of doing a Top 5 of 2025. As I started, I didn’t make it past one as it represented so much for this year. So I am going to share that reflection with you all. Short tangent, I am drinking a Chocolate Chip Cookie Latte from Seed Coffee…if you’re in Knoxville, you need this drink!! This was a really big year for me. 2024 was very much a transition year for me. It was my first full year living in Knoxville. I was still finding my bearings (I still am to an extent), I was searching for a job, and was splitting time between my parents’ house and Kelsi’s. I spent time substitute teaching and eventually working fully part time at an incredible elementary school was some of the most passionate and incredible faculty. This was such a rewarding experience and I love you all at Rockford. However, in April I finally found full time employment in Knoxville. It took A LONG TIME, and so to celebrate Kelsi and I went to JC Holdway. As I continue to reflect, this is my 1A meal of the year, it was going to be number 1 but a second and much different celebratory meal will be second. As you can see, we celebrate with meals. This time at JC we kinda went all out. It was the best meal of my life. It was by far the most money I have ever spent on a meal and I did not regret a single cent. I don’t remember everything we had, but I remember it all being incredible. To be able to do that was such a blessing. Thank you so much to my parents for supporting me as I searched far and wide for a job, thank you to Kelsi for your patience while I was a broke boy and thank you to Jeni for taking a gamble on me. That meal was all of that being celebrated and it was done with the best food I have ever eaten. So it would be virtually impossible to beat…but I am going to have a 1B. Finding employment allowed Kelsi and I to being searching for a place to live. It started with us looking for places to rent and ended up with us owning a “whole damn house” – Kelsi. Our first night we had 1B…Marco’s pizza. A few hundred dollars less than JC. No tableside service. No fancy cocktail made by someone else. But the first of a lifetime of pizza Friday’s in our new home. That is something that could compete with JC Holdway. Marco’s may not be mentioned by Michelin like JC, but when shared in a place you can call home with the person you love most has to be the best meal of any year.

    If you have made it this far, yes we do accept housewarming gifts! Kidding, kinda. Love you all!!