850 Lane Ave South
Jacksonville, FL 32205-4705
(904) 783-9579 

Cross Creek

We were hungry for something a little different.  We were driving around and decided we wanted some steak, something grilled and meaty.  We came across Cross Creek Steakhouse.  The place doesn’t look like much from the outside.  Wooden building made to look like it was made out of barn wood with a screened in porch.  We entered the restaurant and I was surprised at the décor.  Lots of cool, old and unusual stuff to look at.  There was a corner display of scarecrows and pumpkins for fall.  We were seated way in the back of the restaurant.  This place is huge!  Like I said, it didn’t look like much from the outside, but inside…the place seemed to go on and on forever. 

View of the Bar From the Lobby

Our waitress quickly came over and went over the specials with us and took our drink order.  She came back just as fast with our drinks and we ordered some sweet potato fries for an appetizer.  We were going over the menu and decided on what we wanted to order.  Our waitress came with a huge plate of sweet potato fries and took our dinner order.  I was having the barbecue sampler plate with chicken, pulled pork, beef brisket and ribs with a side of coleslaw and steamed broccoli.  Pie got the endless plate of grilled shrimp with a side of steamed broccoli and a baked potato.  Now that our dinner order was in, we got back to our appetizer.  Let me tell you, these sweet potato fries were amazing!  They didn’t taste greasy even though they were fried.  They were crinklecut and cooked crispy, but not hard and crunchy.  We dipped them in some honey mustard and before we knew it, they were gone.  As we were looking at the empty plate wishing for more, our dinner order came to our table.  Perfect timing! 

Sweet Potato Fries

Our waitress asked if we needed extra napkins, ketchup, more drinks and basically made sure that we had everything that we needed for our dinner.  The dinner was fabulous.  The ribs were to die for and the chicken was done to perfection.  The pork was pulled and not shredded into a pulp like many restaurants do.  I wasn’t thrilled with the brisket, but only because I am not a fan of that cut of meat…it kind of reminds me of corned beef and corned beef freaks me out.  It’s a texture thing I think.  Pie got 2 more plates of the shrimp.  Our waitress made sure that the next plate was right there when he finished the first one.  Many times when there is all you can eat shrimp, they aren’t that quick to bring you the next plate.  Not here!  He wasn’t a fan of the broccoli, it was seasoned with some spices and it just wasn’t his taste.  I put it with mine and finished it up.  When our dinner was finished, our waitress asked if we would like some dessert.  We settled on sharing a piece of cheese cake.  Great cheesecake!  I ate the top of it to avoid the crust and Pie got to eat all the crust and what was left over.  

Fall Display

We got our check with our dessert and paid our bill.  This was nice since most restaurants can’t get the timing of the check right.  They either bring it without asking about dessert making you feel like they want you out of that table; or they bring it way after you have finished your last bite and just about to slip into nap mode right at the table.  Dinner for both of us was about $35…not bad, not bad at all.  Well worth the money! 

Stuffed Lynx? with a Sucker in it's Mouth

When we were leaving, we asked for a menu to take with us.  They were coming in from the printer the next day the hostess told us.  She went out of her way and asked a couple of the staff if they knew if there were any stashed away somewhere.  They searched high and low to find one and they finally did.  They were so nice and friendly; so was our waitress.  They do have a kid’s menu although I have to admit that we didn’t look it over.  Cross Creek has a great restaurant going on Lane Avenue South.  If you are looking for great food, great service and a great price all at a place that makes you feel right at home and appreciated…go to Cross Creek (but wear some stretchy pants!).

Review by Rhonette, email:  rhonette@piesplate.com

4310 Southside Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32216-5474
(904) 998-4414

www.copelandsjacksonville.com 

We were looking for somewhere to eat late on a Saturday night.  I say late, but it was around 10pm.  Not much was open, but we came across Copeland’s on Southside Boulevard in Jacksonville, FL.  We are not much into chain restaurants, but we decided to give it a try.  The restaurant wasn’t too busy, a few large parties were finishing up and there were a few couples having dinner.  We were seated in the back of the restaurant and our waitress came to take our drink order.  We were looking at the menu and saw that they had quite a variety of food.  A little something for everyone. 

Burger Without a Bun

It’s tough for me to find something to eat sometimes; I have Celiac Disease which is an allergy to gluten found in wheat, barley and rye.  Basically, I’m allergic to flour.  This menu, as diverse as it was, posed quite a challenge for me.  Everything was breaded, battered and fried.  You will usually see me ordering a salad in a pinch, but I was salad-ed out this evening.  I finally decided on a burger minus a bun with an order of fries.  Pie had shrimp scampi on a bed of pasta.  The appetizers were all things I could not eat, so we also ordered an order of fries for a starter.  Luckily, the fries were good.  Our waitress was tough to find once she brought us our dinners.  It seems that they were beginning to close down the dining room and she was running around filling salt and pepper shakers and polishing tables.  We needed ketchup and some extra napkins.  Another waiter was nice enough to bring these to us.  We finished our dinner and were going to order a dessert.  The waitress was nowhere to be found again.  When we finally got her attention, she put down her cleaning supplies and brought us our check with out asking if we wanted dessert.  Oh well.  We paid our bill and headed towards the door. 

Shrimp Scampi

I must say, I was not impressed with their food.  It was ok and that was about it.  I didn’t find anything special about it at all.  Even though their fries were good, I wouldn’t care if I didn’t ever have them again, they were just ok.  The dinner was a little more than we usually spend, coming to about $45 for the both of us.  I thought it was too much given we had French fries for an appetizer and didn’t have any dessert.  All in all, it was a good experience; it was reinforcement as to why we don’t go to chain restaurants.  On our way out, Pie went to use the rest room.  He said there was graffiti on the walls and the bathroom was basically trashed.  This surprised him since Copeland’s seems to try to be more than an average restaurant.  We asked for a menu (we always do this when we leave so we can reference it later) and they didn’t have one for us.  It took some rummaging around for them to find a take out menu to give us.  We noticed they have a kid’s menu.  It has a variety of choices for the kiddies’ palate and all for under $4.00.  

If you are into overpriced chain restaurants with mediocre food, Copeland’s is the place for you.  However, we won’t be making a return visit any time soon.

 Review by Rhonette, email:  rhonette@piesplate.com

1620 Margaret St

Jacksonville, FL  32204

(904) 425-3380

www.fiveguys.com 

Two or three times a month, an office bound friend of mine requests a meal from Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Being the good friend that I am, I always oblige. Jacksonville, Florida has several locations of this chain restaurant available. The location that is closest to the downtown district is in the historic neighborhood of Riverside.  Every single time that I visit this location, there is always a great attitude in the staff and a manager is working in the exposed kitchen. On this stop the manager, Jason Beard, even introduced himself to me. 

My friend that I order for is a big fan of the bacon double cheeseburger, all the way, add hot sauce. That is not how you order the double at the restaurant. When you order a burger at Five Guys you should know that all of the ‘burger’ orders are already doubles…unless of course you get one of the little burger choices. These are the single patty sandwiches and this is what I ordered. For him a bacon cheeseburger all the way with hot sauce; for me a ‘little’ cheeseburger with only mayo, ketchup and mustard. Along with the burger order I included an order of the fries. You should know that my ‘little’ burger was less than $4.00. 

If you have not been to a Five Guys, let me give you a little idea of the atmosphere. It is your basic walk up to the counter kind of quick burger place. They offer peanuts to snack on while you are in line and are cooking your food. Every one of their places that I have been to has stacks of 50 lb. bags of potatoes piled on top of each other in the restaurant area. A neat little novelty that F.G.B.F. (that’s what I am going to call them from now on) has is that they take great pride in their potatoes and what city or farm they are from. Somewhere in each F.G.B.F. they post the location of where today’s fries came from. You will place your order at the counter, pay, get a cup for your drink (Coke products) and watch n wait. When your meal is ready they will yell the number that appears on your ticket. Be aware that if you order fries, they will be very hot. They also will over fill your cup of fries to the point where you will end up with a bag that is half full of extra fries. So, I grabbed my Diet Coke and sat near the counter/kitchen. When my food was up, sure enough… they yelled my number. Then I got the bag, grabbed some napkins, and then sat back down. Even though I was going to take my friend his lunch, I was ready to eat right then and now. Sitting there I opened my ‘little’ cheeseburger and grabbed the excess fries that filled the bag. It was then (and purely by accident) that I discovered I like mustard on my fries. Even though they have vinegar available to put on the fries, I stuck with the mustard and ketchup. The vinegar on the fries is especially popular for the people from the Mid-Atlantic and up North. F.G.B.F.’s are based in the Washington D.C. area. This should explain the vinegar. 

The burger from F.G.B.F.’s is a great sandwich. If you are looking for consistency and a friendly atmosphere you should definitely swing by a F.G.B.F.’s. Now if you have been to one in the past, I am sure that you have been back. Or if you are one of my good friends then I am certain you will either meet me up there or send me to get your lunch for you. Find the nearest location and look at the menu online at www.fiveguys.com

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com