PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- North Florida begins to look like fall in late December. The sycamore and oak leaves begin to turn red, while the various vines turn a lovely golden color. It isn't like Maine, but we take what we can get in the land of pines of palms. Also, it's quite warm up here. I wore a short-sleeved shirt yesterday until sundown, then put on a fleece sweater.
Been in the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area since Thursday, and I've seen my brother, father, stepmother and her family. Last night, we went to Bono's Barbecue for dinner. Bono's is a Jacksonville-based restaurant that makes ribs, chicken and pork just how I like it: dripping in sweet sauce and falling off the bone.
Before leaving Melbourne, I had dinner at Dustin's Barbecue, a place with most locations in Volusia County. Dustin's is like Sonny's, only not as good. The portions are smaller, the price is higher, the beans are too soupy; the sweet tea and sliced pork were excellent, though. There just wasn't enough for the price tag. Melbourne just can't do barbecue. Maybe it's the red tide. Or the lagoon. Or the flame trench. Or the proliferation of space and defense contractors. Anyway, the meat's usually too dry.
Sonny's, of course, is my personal favorite of chains with many locations. It was the second-nicest restaurant in Bradford County and was started in Gainesville, so it holds a special place in my heart.
While here in Actionville, though, I'd like to visit Jenkins Quality Barbecue. It's my favorite Jax place. There's something kind of thrilling about knowing I could be shot while waiting for my half-chicken dinner with mixed sauce. (OK, there really is not.) Plus, I always get a second chicken for James, my homeless friend over by the Karpeles Museum. I'm overdue for checking on him.
OK, I need to get ready and go meet my dad. Don't know what we're doing today.
*If you know of any songs about barbecue, send them my way. Long-term readers will know my titles are usually song lyrics relating to the theme of the post.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
It sounds nice up there in North Florida. Indeed, when I drove through, I liked the looks of it more than I did Central Florida. If leaves change color here, I wouldn't know. It's pretty boring.
I'm a huge fan of pine trees, though, so that's an aspect of North Florida that I really liked. It doesn't seem as though we have too many pines in Central Florida, though there are a few.
But Maine really is the best of both worlds. They have the usual brilliant foliage on the deciduous trees, but they also have the tall pine trees. After all, Maine is "The Pine Tree State."
Good barbecue in Florida? I don't know that I believe that :)
And it's just now fall? It has snowed seemingly every day since the beginning of December here. Sigh. Good thing we have excellent barbecue to warm us up!
Please check if "Pickin' a Chicken" fits for a song about barbecue: http://www.justsomelyrics.com/1086051/Eve-Boswell-Pickin-%27-a-Chickin-Lyrics
Post a Comment