Diary of a Road Trip Episode 3: Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach has a reputation: spring break, NASCAR, bike week. We saw a different side of it over the Fourth of July weekend, when the famous bars were open and the lines weren’t there. Here’s where we went.
Riverside Johnny’s
Right on the Intracoastal Waterway, with plenty of parking and a lively crowd. Come for the sunset and the drinks. The chicken sandwich and burger were fine, but the views were the star.
Boot Hill Saloon
The famous biker dive, and an adorable one. The cemetery across the street inspired its slogan. If you haven’t been, can you really say you’ve been to Daytona Beach?
Froggy’s Saloon
A cool dive in what I believe is an old converted bank. We walked in at 10:30 a.m. and nobody blinked.
Dirty Harry’s
Right across the street from Froggy’s, on the same stretch of old downtown Daytona. It’s easy to hit these in a row.
World’s Most Famous Brewery
A touristy tap room pouring beer from breweries around the region. A fun stop on the crawl.
Daytona Tap Room
Every local we asked pointed us here for smash burgers, so we went. It’s a big, bohemian room with a huge beer list and an old-school griddle up front. Not the best burger I’ve ever had, but very good, and the one the locals swear by.
Bonus: Jackie Robinson Ballpark
We drove past it and had to find out why. Daytona Beach is where Jackie Robinson played his first integrated baseball game. Worth a google if you want to rabbit hole about this topic.
Daytona is a little worn and a little forgotten, and that’s part of the charm. Spend a day or stay the night.
Real Florida. Great Eats.
Hear the full Daytona story in Episode 3 above, and follow the whole Diary of a Road Trip on the Eat It Florida podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
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