Bonefish Grill.... San Jose Blvd.

Well, the place I once loved now is no longer. Maybe with the new hot spots opening at the TownCenter the Bonefish Grill just won't hang on. The inside felt old and run down to me. I knew of some favorites on the menu that were still great, but everything else wasn't up to par. Our server was not nice or welcoming, which sucked since it was friends and family night out for my 25 Birthday!!! We ordered the Bang Bang Shrimp ($7.9) which is always good. The Singapore Calamari ($6.9) which was good but not the best ever. The Cajun Chicken Egg Roll ($5.9) was HORRIBLE. The Mussels Josephine ($8.8)was amazing. The sauce around the mussels was even better for dipping bread. These muscles are good if you are here, but if you're looking for the same idea but great try BlueFish in Riverside, next door to The Brick. For entrees two people ordered the Bang Bang Tacos ($8.9) which won't disappoint because the shrimp are good. I had the Wild Grouper ($19.9)it was cooked, that's all I'll say about it. The Fontina Chop (13.9) wasn't good. Another guest ordered a steak Medium+ and it came out dripping blood. They took it back to the kitchen and 20 minutes later it came out again. The guest wasn't happy about it. Some meals were great, some were just edible, almost. Maybe we caught an off night, but that isn't fun on your Birthday. Dessert was better with Creme Brulee ($5.5) yummy and the most amazing Bourbon Coconut dessert that isn't on the menu.
Check out my facebook for extra photos and more info. Leave comments to let me know how your experience was at Bonefish Grill!
www.facebook.com/SouthernGrub

III FORKS... Southside Blvd.

This was my second time visiting III Forks here in Jacksonville. The first time the food was good, but our server wasn't so great. Ironically, this time I think we had the same server, he was much better. We started with Dirty Martinis, mine with blue cheese stuffed olives. Our server made a small glass of another martini to fill our glasses because they were not full when they arrived to our table. We had 4 total over the course of dinner and they came to around $50. We started with the Shrimp Cocktail, it comes with 4 large shrimp, the cocktail sauce they make isn't very spicy, but the flavor is great. We ordered two different entrees: Tenderloin Tips with mashed potatoes and the Seared Scallops. Both were great choices. The Tenderloin Tips were around $20 and the Scallops around $30. Most sides are ala carte and we decided on Asparagus and Mushrooms. I highly recommend ordering both of these!!! When your meal arrives they offer you a fresh tomato slice and a green onion. Go for the tomato, it's super fresh. III Forks is a young vibe at the tables around the bar and a more sophisticated seating in the other areas. The wine displays are neat and they have an all glass private room in the middle of everything. Check out III Forks and leave comments about your visit below.
http://www.iiiforks.com/

Cantina Laredo, Town Center

Cantina Laredo. Gourmet Mexican. Town Center.
It was ladies night; the Wine and Margaritas were half price! Out for a friend’s birthday we dined in the back of the restaurant in a private room. The restaurant always has a loud and busy vibe, pots and pans, people raising voices after too much tequila. We were in on 7:30 on a Thursday and the wait for walk-ins was two hours. The food is good, but not two-hour wait good. The service was good. We had more guests arrive and they set up an extra table, which was not easy with the venue being at max capacity. Everything was delivered in time, the drinks stayed full, and no big problems came out. This is what you should expect at a place such as Cantina Laredo. On your table should be two different flavors of a play on salsa. Both are delicious. Pictured above, the table started with the Top Shelf Guacamole. ($9.49) Made tableside, to serve two or four, the service of this is what makes it so good. It is extremely fresh, but doesn’t touch the recipe I make fresh in Costa Rica. This price on this appetizer is great because avocados in the grocery store are getting so expensive here in North Florida. The Ceviche ($8.99) was a pretty large portion of Shrimp, Scallops, and Fish marinated in limejuice. I ate enough Ceviche in Peru to probably turn myself into a fish, but this was just as good as Peru. Ceviche is relatively simple to make if your ingredients are extremely fresh. Entrees I have pictures of are the Carne Asada Y Camarones ($23.99) and the Pescado Del Dia ($22.99), which was Sea Bass. The Carne Asada Y Camarones was grilled steak topped with bacon-wrapped shrimp filled with oaxaca cheese and jalapeno. I didn’t try this but heard it was fantastic. The fish of the day, Sea Bass, was my meal. It was perfect. The fish had a great flavor, and was pan-fried to perfection. Melted in your mouth. The vegetables it came with were good, and the rice was just rice. I do think I had the best thing on the table because the fish was so good. If you hear your server offer this again in the specials, try it! For Dessert the Flan ($5.29) was ordered. Flan is custard with real caramel sauce. Another great cook at our table said it wasn’t up to par. Cantina Laredo was a great time. Try it out if you’re at the Town Center. The food is good, and it isn’t as pricey as Mitchell’s or Capital Grill next door.

Home cooked goodness... Seafood Pasta!

Home Made Seafood Pasta!
Last night I made a feast. With 3 lbs of pasta, it really was enough for an army. Upon everyone's arrival we had different flavored cheese, stuffed olives, roasted red peppers, sliced meats, and other anti-pasta flavors that we picked up from a small Italian Store in Jacksonville. (Sammy's Italian Market & Deli 9802 Baymeadows Road) After everyone had a drink I cooked the appetizer. I found fresh squid at Publix for $6.65 lbs and fried it in a simple salt/pepper/flour batter after soaking it in buttermilk. With a little squeeze of lime and marinara dipping sauce, it was amazing and fresh. As an entrée I made Seafood Pasta. Everyone raved about it. I used bowtie pasta and made a sauce that was extra creamy. The sauce was a pink/orange color because of the cream cheese, milk, butter, vodka, and tomato mixture. It had extra garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions. I rarely use recipes and just go along as I’m cooking, like last night. The seafood in the pasta consisted of: Large Shrimp, Sea Scallops, and Tilapia. I often find that EVERYONE over cooks shrimp. That means they are almost impossible to peal or they become tough. It is better when it is a little undercooked because the heat from your meal will continue to cook the shrimp through. The shrimp I placed into the sauce mixture at the last minute before being served and they were perfect. The scallops and fish I blackened with my own blackening mixture. They both were then pan sautéed in BUTTER. Butter makes everything better. I will never cook with anything but real butter, and nothing I make at home is ever low fat. :) The Sea Scallops were $7.69 lbs and the Tilapia was $14.96 for two lbs. I mixed everything together and placed the Scallops and Fish over the pasta before I through on fresh diced tomatoes and grated cheese. The Seafood Pasta was served with three different bread options. The entire meal cost around $50 for me to make, give or take. We had 15 people over for dinner, which make the cost per plate around $3.50 a person. We still had a ton of leftovers. (Lunch today will be great!!!) My advice for anyone entertaining company, always serve cheese, pasta, bread, and other filling stuff. It isn’t very expensive, goes a looooong way, and keeps people full! On this blog I can only post 5 pictures per blog, I wish I could share more because the company was better looking than the food. Great food and Great friends are the list for a successful life!

The Pita Pit, Fleming Island, Florida…

Their motto is "Fresh Thinking, Healthy Eating." Lose those big buns once and for all!
Pita Pit is the new, young, fresh, and healthy way of life! Located across the street from O2B Kids right in front of Carmike Cinemas. It is in a great location for a fast lunch pick up- or to sit, relax, and take a breather while you eat. All of the ingredients are fresh and made to order. You can dine in, take-out, or use their FREE delivery service!!! The also cater anything large or small. You can make any pita the way you want it, so it never gets old. I could eat here every day. Pita Pit being so affordable and healthy, eating there every day is actually a good idea. You always want more. From a little research I found out they won the Clean Plate Award several times. I am always impressed by how spotless the restaurant and bathrooms are. Pita Pit loves all customers but if you join the e-mail club or follow on Facebook and/or Twitter you get tons of specials daily. The staff is super friendly and the owners always seem to be on site. This means great customer service. Breakfast pitas are served all day long, and are great in the morning if you’re on the run. The menu has everything covered, from Breakfast Pitas, Meat Pitas, Veggie Pitas, to Kids Pitas. Such as the Dagwood, Chicken Ceaser, Chicken Crave, Club, Philly Steak, Gyro, Chicken Souvlaki, Turkey, Roast Beef, Black Forrest Ham, BLT, Tuna, Falafel, Hummus, Babaganoush, and many more. Ranging anywhere from $5 - $6. They offer several different kinds of cheese, sauces, snacks, cookies, toppings, etc. Plus Kids Eat FREE Every Monday through Wednesday. You can also order any pita “Fork Style” and have it as a salad. Pita Pit gets FIVE STARS from me. In my group today we had a hummus pita, chicken ceaser, and the philly steak, all to die for!!! My pictures don’t do it justice so go check it out and leave comments below to let me know what you think.

1810-5 Town Center Boulevard
Fleming Island, FL 32003
(904) 579-4930
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=67861495053
http://twitter.com/PitaPitOPFL

Taverna OPA... Orlando, FL

Taverna Opa - Greek Cuisine – Orlando
On a recent trip to Orlando for Cirque Du Soleil I had lunch at Taverna Opa.
I have never been to this place but have heard about others in Florida. We arrived around noon and were the only table, I thought that might mean bad news for the food we ordered but couldn’t have been more wrong. It was AMAZING. The ambiance was cool, fun, bright and young! We decided to order a few different appetizers and not meals so that we could try more of everything. Our server brought us fresh pitas and made hummus fresh at our table. It had a strong garlic flavor, which I loved! The Traditional Greek Salad ($9) was fresh vine ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, kalamata olives, feta, EVOO, vinegar, and fresh oregano. This was simple, but delicious. The feta was fresh and melted in your mouth. The Asparagus ($7) was amazing, tasted like butter and had chopped tomato, garlic, and a splash of wine. Yummy Yummy Yummy! The best dish we had was the Grilled Octopus ($10). The Octopus is grilled over oak-wood fire and extremely tender. A little drizzle of lemon juice and it’s a one of a kind flavor. Must try it! The hours of operation are 11am until the Ouzo runs out.
Phone: 407-351-8660
www.opaorlando.com

D' Fontana, Authentic Italian Food! Green Cove Springs, FL

A Pizzeria and Ristorante in Green Cove Springs! A quaint little place with great Italian food.Open Mon-Thur 11-9 and Fr-Sat 11-10. You can view the entire menu online at www.dfontana.com
In this order we had one small Greek Salad ($4.75) and a Med White Pizza ($15.99)
The pizza doesn't seem to be cheap anywhere these days, especially places like Mellow Mushroom. The White Pizza here is the only one I've tried and I LOVE it.
The Greek Salad is pretty standard, the dressing is good. In previous visits I have had the Manicotti ($9.75) and the Stuffed Shells ($9.75) and both were good! They came out piping hot and extra cheesy!!! My experiences here have been good, occionally I've had to wait a little extra on a meal, but nothing to complain about.
D' Fontana offers the following and more: Fried Mozzarella, Onion Rings, Fried Calamari, Meatballs, Sausage, Chicken Wings, Salads, Antipasto, Hot and Cold Subs, Spaghetti, Linguine, Veal, Shrimp, Lobster Ravioli, Tortellini Alla Penna, multiple Chicken dishes, Eggplant Rollantini, Baked Ziti, Lasagna, New York Style Pizza, Sicilian Pizza, Soups, Rolls, Calzones, Stromboli, Kids Meals, and Dessert.
(904) 529-5515
324 Ferris Street
Green Cove Springs, FL
Check it out and let me know what you think in the comment section below!