The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Of A Week Of Eating In Jacksonville

A week in Florida was not all about sun, surf, and heat (it was really, really HOT!), but it was about eating too.

The Good:
One of the GOOD places we ate at twice was Mulligan's 19th Hole Resturant and Bar at the Naval Airstation Jacksonville (NAS Jax) Golf Course across from the Navy Lodge where we were staying. Surprisingly the food here is quite good which I talked about before. On a Sunday evening, when we arrived, I had the Club Sandwich which was good, but on my birthday (Wing Wednesday) the chicken wings were even better. Dad and Terry had said they were good and they were right. We got five different flavors, with (IMHO) the best was the hot Buffalo Sauce ones with second being the regular Buffalo with Carolina Barbecue coming in third followed by Honey Barbecue and the Teriyaki.

At Mulligan's I had...

...nice Club Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries....

...five different kinds of Wings.

Another GOOD were the seafood places we went too. The first was my "birthday dinner" on Tuesday at the Julington Creek Fish Camp...let I just say this place was most excellent. I and my Dad started out by sharing a dozen Oysters on the Half-Shell. I don't know if it was the in-house horseradish sauce or the fact they were shucking them over my shoulder, but these we some of the best I have had. Anyway, for the main course, I had iron skillet pan fried Red Snapper with roasted Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans. I will say this dish was delicious. Let me add this was the second best Red Snapper I have had (the Assam Whole Red Snapper at Penang in Atlanta just edges it out). I finished the meal with a good slice of Key Lime Pie.

The Julington Fish Camp...

...was hopping.

The Oysters were good!

Dinner before...

...& after.

Dessert.

The other seafood place I tried was on our day at Jacksonville Beach where we tried out Beachside Resturant and Seafood Market. I passed by the place on my last visit to Jacksonville and after stopping at another place (see more below) I decided to give it a try. Here I went with one of the house specials; the Steamed Mayport Shrimp. It is a half-pound of local shrimp served with red potatoes, corn, hushpuppies and a garden salad. This place I will say was better than expected. Besides a restaurant, it is also a seafood market and it had fresh examples of the shrimp I ate.

Beachside...

...in Jacksonville, not Key West.

It wasn't fancy....

but the food....

...was good.

Here is the market side...

...& what is for lunch.

It is always tomorrow.

Before I forget also on the GOOD side the breakfast at the Navy Lodge.

Making waffles....

...the finished product.

You know Deb would find one.

The Bad:
This first place on the BAD wasn't really bad for me but was for everyone else. On our shopping day on the 28th, we headed downtown to the Jacksonville Landing and went to the Irish Pub, Fionn MacCool's. I was going to have Shepard's Pie, which is like a pot pie but it is made with lamb and topped with mash potatoes. However, at Fionn MacCool it was for some reason wrapped in a pastry. So, it came between that my old favorite Bangers and Mash or red-wine braised Lamb Shank with rosemary roasted potatoes and asparagus. I asked our waiter which one to go with and without hesitation, he said Lamb shank and I was glad I did, it was delicious. Unfortunately, I was the only one to enjoy my meal. Deb wasn't impressed with her Fish and Chips and Dad and Terry did care for their Reubens either. Oh, and the waiter spilled Terry's drink on here...BAD!  In my defense, it was the highest ranked Irish Pub in Jacksonville and a Top 20 restaurant in town.

Outside Fionn MacCool's...

...& inside.

The kitchen.

My food was good.

Another BAD was our stop at Cracker Barrel on the way home. It wasn't that the food was bad it was just that I wanted to try the Campfire Chicken and I was told they had run out...on Saturday afternoon, BAD.

Cracker Barrel in Georgia...

...& we also made our first stop at the Newport location.

Zaxby's was BAD.

The Ugly:
I guess the UGLY would go to the place we didn't eat at. Before going to Beachside we stopped into a place just off the beach called Ocean Grill and Bar. I ordered a Yuengling Tall-Boy and was planning to eat and that is where the UGLY came in, which was the prices to eat here. We finished our drinks and then head to Beachside Resturant and Grill.

Outside...

...& the view from inside.

I didn't eat, but I enjoyed a beer.

Anyway, that covers our return to Jacksonville and the Good, Bad and Ugly of where we ate.