1605 County Road 220 #145

Fleming Island, Florida 32003

(904) 637-0152

Box Seats

Most people who have been in and around the northeast Florida region have at some point either has been to or at least heard of Box Seats. This is an establishment that has many years of history for the sports bar lovers in the Jacksonville area. Even my waitress on this particular day has worked for Box Seats for over a decade. The current location and definitely the best facility that Box Seats has ever had is now in Fleming Island near the Home Depot just off of county road 220. If you live in the Jacksonville, Orange Park, Green Cove, or Fleming Island area you are well aware of the commercial explosion along 220. Box Seats has made this area home and they are a good fit for Fleming Island.

Box Seats Store Front

My server was quick to seat me; actually she let me pick my own seat as to the fact that it was a slow lunch crowd on this day. She gave me the typical sports bar menu and told me her name was Brenda as she went to get my Diet Coke. On my way in I saw the lunch specials that were written on the folding board that was set in front of the door. Included on the board was a double cheeseburger special, 5 wings fries and a drink, even a fried and smothered steak with mashed potatoes. Each of the specials was available for under eight bucks. My interest was to get an appetizer of either the broccoli bites, corn nuggets, or the battered mushrooms, but the biggest drawback was that all of these items were over $7. Either they were overpriced compared to other places or they give you a heaping pile on the starters.  So I decided not to get an appetizer, maybe a salad but again the cost was in the way. Of all the salads that I saw they were all eight dollars or more. The Pecan Cranberry Chicken Salad looked great but it was almost $10.00. So I decided to go with one of the ‘Packer Sandwiches’, my decision was for the Philly Cheese Steak with chicken instead of beef. This item was $7.99 and served with fries.

Meal at Box Seats

After I placed my order Brenda stood at my table and talked for a little while giving me the history of Box Seats. Slowly as customers came in Brenda went to tend the bar and knew many of the customers by name. This is a place that really has a ‘regulars’ feel but allows you to come in without feeling out of place. The inside has (my guesstimation of) 25 televisions some large and some average size but there is definitely a TV in site of every seat. If you are in need of a cigarette with your meal then you should know that there is outdoor seating available too. But do not worry, there are televisions outside as well.

 Not having to wait too long my chicken Philly was ready. This sandwich came as a recommendation from Brenda. The sandwich was very good, my disappointment was in the size. For paying almost eight bucks I would have expected a larger sandwich, or at least a more filled sandwich. Seeming like that was a complaint, I did enjoy the food and I did not leave hungry. My plans are to come back to Box Seats and I think the next time I go will be during a game or at least with some friends. This particular day was just a lunch time stop but I can see where this can be a fun place to go with a group.

Box Seats Patio

Brenda is one of the bartenders and waits on the tables in the bar area. The bar does have full liquor as well as the beer and wine. The menu has a good variety and all the items are in the same price range except for the shrimp or steak. These items will run you in the $15 to $16 range. In one corner they have a few arcade style games, dart boards and in another corner they have a stage for local bands. If they have any trivia tournaments, dart competitions, or live music there were no signs to let you know.

Specials Board

I do look forward to being back at Box Seats in the future. If there is a special event coming there be sure and let me know, I am always looking for a reason to go out.

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com

803 E Duval St

Jacksonville, FL 32202-1123

(904) 358-6429

Ann's Sandwich Shop

One of the exciting things about this site (at least for me) is to try new places or places that I have always wanted to try. For the many years that I have lived in Jacksonville, Florida, I have been a regular to a little sandwich place near the football stadium downtown. That place is Russ-Does, of which I have not yet written a review for. The history of these little sandwich shops is kind of cool. Most were built to cater to the blue collar workers at the shipyards in that region. In just a few miles of the stadium there are several options for a sandwich, only avail during lunch Monday thru Friday. At some of these places you can get a nice breakfast as well. Someone once told me that I needed to go across the street from Russ-Does Sandwich Shop and try Ann’s. On this particular day I did.

This is the point that I want to give a disclaimer. This review is from a personal experience and greatly formed my opinion that I will share with you the reader. If you are a big fan of Ann’s then I will not fault you for that. In no way shape or form do I want to seem as if I am trying to cause any kind of slander towards this establishment. At the same rate, I do not want to apologize for this summary. The reason for this ‘disclaimer’ is that my personal experience at Ann’s Sandwich Shop on Duval St in the shipyards area of Jacksonville was so bad that I cannot imagine someone going there as a regular. Let alone feel the need to recommend Ann’s to anyone, ever.

Ann's Store Front

As I was en route to Russ-Does I had to pass Ann’s Sandwich Shop, so I thought, let me give them a try. I parked in the front of the main door noticing the numerous hand written signs taped to it. The signs mentioned the new hours, the burger and fries, the hot dogs, and other ’specials’ available. As I walked in to the empty restaurant at just after 1 pm on a weekday I was first hit with a stuffiness that almost made me walk straight out the door. It was then that one of the workers there yelled to another worker that was closer to the air conditioner switch “WE HAVE SOMEONE HERE, TURN BACK ON THE AIR”. (I can’t make that up). In Florida there are only two times when the a/c should be turned off in a restaurant, never and never. Luckily the a/c did not take long to cool the place down. When I walked towards the dining area to see that there was really no clean tables in the whole place, one of the workers told me to go back and order at the counter. Already in an uncomfortable mood I looked at the menu of burgers and hot dogs and fries, basically all the items that were on the door were repeated on the sign. But the special of the day was fried fish, corn, fires, a roll, and a tea for just over $7. It looked as good as anything else.

Lunch at Ann's

As I ordered I thought about the strawberry cake that was pre sliced and sitting under plastic wrap at the register, but I could see that most of the slices were not completely covered. Well, they did have sweet potato pie, but it looked like a couple of customers wanted to test the pie to see if fingers could mash into the slices, they can. I ordered the special and went to get my drink. The un-sweet tea was less than tasty. I had to take some of the ice out of my cup because there were ‘things’ or ’specs’ in the ice. Now the task to find a clean table, I gave up. The table that I settled with had a used drink cup on it and I had to get a few napkins to wipe it down. The table next to me was a little cleaner but had a broom leaning against it. That broom was never touched the whole time I was there. Behind me were a few tables filled with garbage bags full of holiday decorations that I am guessing they intend to put up. My suggestion to the staff and owners would be to clean the tables and scrub the floor that was stained with the rust stains from the tables and chairs first. The two televisions that I saw were turned off and there was no music playing which prompted me to ask if they were about to close. They informed me no, that they are open until 3. So all I got to listen to was the staff complain about having to wipe tables or the schedule and their personal life.

Broom Against Table

Now my food is ready, seeing as to how busy they were (sarcasm)…. They left it at the counter for me to go and get, and not bring it out to me. I found a little bit of humor that they did not even put the dry stale roll on a plate or even a napkin. The corn was scooped straight from a can and heated up. It was still in the cans juices and not even heated to a proper temperature. The fries were from a frozen bag and not served hot enough to soften them up. The fish was good, it was very good. The tartar sauce was horrible and served warmer than the fries. I picked at the bread, ate a couple of fries tasted the corn ate most of the fish and decided to find a drive thru to finish my lunch experience. On my way out I could see the kitchen though the pass through window, I am not a health department worker but from what I could see did not look sanitary. I am absolutely amazed at the number of workers in the shop (maybe 6) and the filth and lack of quality provided to the customer.

There are so many things that went wrong with my visit to Ann’s Sandwich Shop that I cannot even think of how they are able to stay in business. Not only for the bad service, and the bad food, the cleanliness of Ann’s makes me wonder if they get a pass from the health department. Those of us that do these visits to restaurants and sandwich shops for Pie’s Plate try to give a second chance in hope the establishment has been able to redeem themselves. Maybe they can fix their errors, but I will never go back to Ann’s Sandwich Shop and will never recommend it to anyone. 

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com

Molly Hatchet's Sub Shop

When visiting Daytona Beach you must remember that every thing you see, visit or eat is either the Worlds Largest, Most Famous, or Voted #1. Molly Hatchet’s Sub Shop on South A1A is no exception. The neon sign on the front of the building tells you they are world famous and menu items tell you that they are number one.

As you walk in to little sandwich store front you will see that it is very small. They did not spend any extra money on comfort in there. The people behind the counter were all very nice and helpful giving suggestions on the menu items available. After I ordered a whole size Chicken Philly Sandwich (of course it too is World Famous). The young girl behind the counter asked me if I would like to have a ‘Boss Sauce’ cooked into the sandwich. Unsure of this Boss Sauce that she mentioned I told her no. She then suggested having me try it in a li’l sauce cup first. So she fetched me a sample. After a li’l taste I said to cook it in with the meat. It was a spicy sauce with a medium flavor of spices.

So I sat in the little room that consisted of a tiny bar, 4 stools, a kitchen and a counter to order at. I was feeling a little bit cramped as customers came in to get their orders they had called in from the local beachfront hotels and businesses. Watching the cars pass by on the main drag known as A1A just yards away from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. If it had not been for a high rise and a fast food restaurant you could see the beach from the front window of Molly’s. Enjoying my time sitting in there listening to classic rock I heard ZZ Top, Van Halen and Ted Nugent and realized that it was taking them a little while longer than I was expecting to get my food. Finally I stood up and went to the little counter and decided to wait there. From there I could see a sandwich sitting in the window. Finally the cook saw me and looked at the girl at the counter and said ‘Oops, order up’. She looked at me, grabbed me a Jones Root Beer, apologized and gave me my food and told me to enjoy.

Having the majority of the seating being on picnic tables outside and my fear of seagulls; I decided to stay indoors at the li’l counter. One of the first things I noticed about the sandwich was the bread. If this makes any sense it was very bready… What I mean by that is that it seemed to be too much bread. If you have too much bread, then the sandwich will lose some of the flavors intended. However this sandwich was huge and the juices just soaked up into the bread. My personal preference would have been a little more cheese on sub. As far as chicken subs go this was one of the best I have ever had.

Outside Dining

This is one of those places where if you are looking for a good sub, you have to visit. My only regret to this stop is that I only got the sub. I was not paying attention to the size options and the appetizers that are available. Such as Mozzarella Sticks, Clam Strips, Onion Rings, Pizza Bites, Fried Mushrooms and various other fried items. Looking at the menu there are many other items that I would love to try the next time that I find myself in Daytona. Maybe the next time I am there I will get the cheeseburger or the shrimp dinner. I don’t know what I will get the next time that I am there, but there will be a next time.

Review by Pie, email:  pie@piesplate.com