Crescent City and 3 Bananas

by Mike Miller
(Naples, Florida)

Crescent City Florida 3 Bananas Restaurant

Crescent City is a neat little town about halfway between St. Augustine and Deland. One way to get there is on US-17 north out of Deland. It's a nice quiet scenic drive. You can also get there from St. Augustine on the backroads. Go west out of the Ancient City until you reach Palatka, then go south on US-17.

Stop off at Welaka and enjoy the river views and the old buildings.

Many of the old buildings in Crescent City are pretty much the way they were 100 years ago. The city fronts on beautiful Lake Crescent, which is a large appendage of the St. Johns River.

There is a nice bed and breakfast in Crescent City, and a cute little restaurant named 3 Bananas overlooking the lake. 3 Bananas has nice fried fish, wings and a lot of other casual dining fare, along with a full bar.

I visited on Sunday November 1, 2009, and they were doing a good business. After I ordered my meal and had finished my first drink, I discovered they don't take credit cards. I had no cash, so I pictured going to jail or having to do the dishes.

Thank goodness they had an ATM right inside the restaurant, so I was saved.

3 Bananas has some nice vintage photos of the building when it was the old Masonic Hall. A friend of mine, Howard Hunter, told me a story about his father and uncle who lived across Lake Crescent near Espanola.

One night about a century ago when they were young bachelors they attended a dance at the Masonic Hall. They had a few drinks and were feeling no pain, but it was 2 in the morning and time to go home back across the lake.

They got into their rowboat and began rowing east. It was dark and foggy and visibility was near zero. As the sun finally came up in the east and the fog began to lift, the sobered up boys discovered they had forgotten to untie their boat from the dock at the Masonic Hall.

You will enjoy looking at the old houses and buildings in Crescent City. Some pix are on my Facebook account at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040787&id=1133770379&l=192081805b