According to Emily Post, napkins may only be used to cover laps, clean up spills, or signal the waiter via semaphore that your table has hit an iceberg. Master restaurant etiquette over a gourmet meal with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of bistro fare at Roosevelt's at the Tarpon Inn in Port Aransas.
In an aura of what Gulfscapes Magazine calls "easy charm," chefs at Roosevelt's at the Tarpon Inn plate a menu of adventurous bistro fare. Aromas from quail tails wrapped in bacon and stuffed with brie and serano peppers ($19) waft up toward the high ceiling and drift among exposed rafters and kites crafted from napkins. At an open grill, chef Tim Metzner flaunts techniques perfected at the Culinary Institute of America to summon chicken breasts brimming with a savory mélange of sundried tomatoes, artichokes, prosciutto, and herbs ($26). Forks fall through the delicate strata of pan-seared snapper with shrimp and ricotta ravioli ($32), which satisfies seafood cravings without the trouble of finding a wetsuit to match one's cravat.
Glasses clink merrily on the restaurant's outdoor patio, and contented sighs wander into the nearby Tarpon Inn, which is named for a catch by former guest Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As eyes wander across the late 19-century structure and verdant landscapes, rocking chairs support reclining diners as they soak up history like embezzling professors.