I recently spent a week in New Smyrna Beach, enjoying a beachfront condo and walks along the shore. It was also a chance to catch up on some NSB dining, revisiting some longtime reliables that I haven’t been to in decades and finding one new (to me) gem.

The Baker’s Table

That newish gem is a small place in a nondescript strip mall called the Baker’s Table. Despite what one might infer from the name, it isn’t so much a bakery as it is a restaurant. 

It’s owned by a husband and wife team of chefs, Jaime and Jeanette Quintana, who have managed to do something I’ve been saying for decades is impossible – they’ve put together a global menu that works. You’ll find hints of French, German, Italian, Indian, South American and American cuisines, and they make it all work.

My dinner companion and I started with an appetizer of warm goat cheese tart, a quichelike wedge with a flaky crust with truffle honey, caramelized onions, walnuts and cubes of apple.

For my entree I had the cauliflower and chickpea curry, as well seasoned as any that might come from a kitchen dedicated to Indian cuisine. Served over basmati rice, the curry had creamy coconut milk and a tinge of saffron. Vegetarian dishes are not something I usually choose unless I’m in a vegetarian restaurant, but I didn’t miss the meat at all.

And besides, I was able to have some of my companion’s pappardelle Bolognese, with crumbles of Italian sausage in a velvety gravy that included ricotta, all of it clinging to wide ribbons of pasta.

We also had a side dish of trinxat (Catalonian!), a timbale of potatoes, cabbage and bacon. Delicious.

Service was first rate and the atmosphere was quiet and relaxing. I’m already looking forward to a return visit.

Norwood’s

Hopefully I’ll get back to the Baker’s Table sooner than I did to Norwood’s, which as nearly as I can tell was more than 28 years after my last visit. The place has grown considerably and is now known as Norwood’s Eatery & Bar Treehouse, denoting the upstairs and outside area that was added to the original structure.

The food I had was good and included a creamy she crab soup and spicy seafood gumbo, both served in metal vessels.

For my entree I had the shrimp and local rice grits, the two components served in a yin/yang design and topped with cornmeal dusted okra. The rice grits, from Congaree & Penn, were infused with white cheddar cheese, and hunks of spicy andouille sausage kept the shrimp company.

My dinner companion had the captain’s platter, a broiled collection of mahi mahi, shrimp, scallops and a crab cake, accompanied by thick green beans, all covered with a beurre blanc.

The food was good but the service was remarkably poor. With one major exception.

Since it had been so long since I’d been to the restaurant, I asked a couple of people, including one person who looked managerial, about the additions. They responded as though I was an annoyance. So my friend and I wandered around and came to a bar separate from the main dining room. The woman tending bar greeted us and asked if she could get us something. I said that we had just had dinner and we were wondering what part of the complex was original and what was new. Not only did she give us an answer, she came from around the bar and told us to follow her. She took us up the stairs to the treehouse and gave us a quick tour. That’s hospitality.

JB’s Fish Camp

JB’s Fish Camp has grown, too, but luckily it has kept its original fish-campiness. No problem with service here – it’s quick and friendly. And the food is no less (and no more) than you expect.

I had a lovely broiled grouper sandwich with fries and an order of hush puppies and enjoyed them on the outside deck with a view of the river.

Flagler Tavern

Flagler Tavern, the main drag mainstay, was never one of my go-to places for dining, though on this visit I had a perfectly acceptable fisherman’s pie, with mahi mahi in a hollandaise sauce, and a soft-shell crab sandwich.

But the best thing I had here was a platter of Saint James River oysters. Big, plump, cold, perfectly shucked and served with cocktail sauce and horseradish. They slid down wonderfully.

They were so good I came back a second night just to have another dozen.

The Breakers

I came back to the Breakers, a beachside shack, for one reason and one reason only: To see if the burger is still as good as it was when I last had it in 2000. It is.

Fat, juicy, greasy, topped with American cheese. Although I ordered it medium rare, it came out nearly raw. I loved it.