Dinner With Friends

Last night we went to dinner with Marlaina, Greg and Dave - my long-time reader and our new friend. We dined in downtown Jacksonville, at the River City Brewing Company , located on the St. John's River with a view of the Main Street Bridge.

Marlaina and I decided we didn't love the service at the restaurant (although I don't think the boys noticed), but the food was good and everyone seemed happy about what they ordered.

We started with Key Lime Banana Pepper Calamari (Fire Roasted Red Peppers, Chardonnay, Key Lime Butter Sauce, Garlic, Parmesan Reggiano and Green Onion) which I thought was very good, and an order of Coconut Shrimp (Honey-Chipotle Glaze, Florida Orange Sauce). The shrimp was good but not nearly as tasty as the calamari, which is a change for me since I usually prefer shrimp.

For dinner, I had the Diver Sea Scallops (Herb Seared, Served with a Lobster-Sherry Cream Sauce and Lobster Ravioli) which was very good. Ed had the Herb Seared Cedar Plank Salmon (Fire Roasted Marinated Roma Tomatoes, Red Peppers, Artichoke Hearts, Purple and Green Onions, Kalamata Olives in an Herbal Peppercorn Butter with Grilled Romaine) served over mashed potatoes, which he really enjoyed. Marlaina had the Herb Roasted Chicken (Smoked Tomato Cheese Grits, Roasted Garlic and Lemon-Thyme Broth) served over mashed potatoes, Greg had the special, Herb Grilled Grouper over Creamy Risotto With Sea Scallops and Dave had the Ribeye (18oz Garlic & Herb Grilled Angus Ribeye Steak) served with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Buttered Asparagus. He doesn't like aparagus, so he gave them to me - they were DELISH! His steak looked so amazing, I almost regretted ordering scallops.

Desert for everyone but Dave was Key Lime Pie. It was good, not great, but good. The conversation was good and we had quite a few laughs. I always love hanging out with Marlaina and Greg, but meeting Dave has been such a nice treat. I'm glad he was able to join us for dinner. Hanging out with other drivers is a pretty rare opportunity since we're almost never in the same place at the same time, but I'm so glad we were able to have this weekend together. And it's not over yet!

More tomorrow...


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