Restaurant Wednesday

I'm starting a new blog for every other Wednesday. It's called Restaurant Wednesday. It will review and talk about different kinds of restaurants in the metro Jacksonville area by category of cuisine.

Today is steakhouses.

My pick for my favorite steakhouse is III Forks. We went last night. It's over on the Southside. This place is hands down the best place for steaks. Having been to the steak holy land in Jacksonville, Ruth Chris, I'm never, ever, ever going back. The food was phenom. Our dinner was the award winning III Forks salad which was salad greens, blue cheese crumbles(which I opted out of ), granny smith apples and pecans with a maple vinaigrette. The dressing was sweet but not in a bad overbearing way with the apples playing off that. Tart and sweet. The salad was huge and very filling. I also wanted to cancel my order and get another round of salad it was just that good but I'm glad I didn't. Next was the ribeye sandwich. I'm bit of a steak foodie and ribeye is my cut. III Forks only offers an 18oz and as much as I wanted it I'm not gonna be able to chow through 18oz so I settle for the sandwich. III Forks is like Ruth Chris in the sides are on the side and extra. The sandwich came with fries. It was cooked perfectly. PERFECTLY!!!!! The fries were spiced perfectly.

The restaurant was decorated nicely with marble floors and a long contemporary fireplace when you enter. The people were friendly. We had two waiters and the Maitre d'/Sommelier came to check on us as well as one of the owners. We never had to ask for a thing. The servers were so good that when the salads came out (we both got the same salad only mine didn't have the cheese) the server knew that my salad was the cheese free one. Every time a waiter walked by they all checked to make sure we didn't run out of drink. We ended up spending about an hour and a half at dinner. The food was IMHO priced correctly for both the portions and quality.

I'm trying to talk Daniel into going back for my birthday.

So I turn to you my reader, have you had your own III Forks experience? Or do you have your own preferred steakhouse.

NOLA

If a person could be in love with a city, that city for me would be New Orleans. I traveled there about a little short of a year after Katrina. It was pretty and tragic all in one. I remember driving from Jacksonville to New Orleans on 10. The drive over was relaxing but I was nervous because of everything I had heard about the city. Will it be safe? Are the hotels up and running? Are the roads still messed up? Are there places to eat? What will greet me in the crescent city?

My first taste of the Louisiana life was at the welcome center. Being the great people they are, we were welcomed with a grin and warm fuzzy feelings. Every question was answered. What I remembered the most was the mix of shock and appreciation on their faces as we stated our destination. We were coming. Strangers were coming back to their city. Tourists were returning.

As we got to the outer belt way of the city the scars of the storm were still there. Stores were closed; weeds grew in the middle of homes and signs hung from strange angles. It looked like a back lot only it wasn't. When we got closer to the downtown things became a little less movie like. Since I wasn't sure about the city we stayed in a suburb. In the morning I awoke and fell in love. Walking around and visiting shops, eating the best food and talking to the nicest people I've ever met. We did the tourist thing and danced on Bourbon St, ate gumbo and drank coffee at Cafe du Monde.

In the years since my trip, New Orleans calls me back and I desperately want to go back. My time there was short but it left a huge impression on me. I can say that I love New Orleans.

A week in retrospect

I'm going to start a weekly review of my week.

This week has been both cold and warm, as far as weather goes. Okay...Ummm....we bought a stroller for Cincy.... or wait was that last week or this week......okay....nothing interesting happened at work......ummmm....Crystal and I bought the movie Four Christmas's.....it's a pretty funny movie and I like it.......okay....yesterday or saturday me, Crystal and my Dad went to Whole Foods, and a few other stores in the rain......it was nice to hang out with Dad outside of his house.....ummmmm....don't put that....Baby stop it....I'll just type it if you're gonna do that....so that is it for this week....I'll write again next week.

Facebook Seppukoo

I just committed Facebook Seppukoo. I've been thinking about it for a while now. I just felt it was time for me to just close the Facebook. I mean really what was the point? Pretty much no one talked to me on it and it was drainging time from my day. I'd waste a lot of time waiting around to find out what people were doing with their day. Do I really need to know who you went to lunch with (it wasn't me)? So going forward if you want to find out what I'm up too check my blog or my twitter. My life just got simpler. I like simple.

I am a stroller mom...for my dog

Yesterday to cheer me up after falling down the stairs Daniel took me to the pet store around the corner from the house. We took my dog-ter Cincy. She's an adorable chihuahua and I've been her mom for about 5 years. People love adorable Chihuahua's. That makes taking Cincy anyplace out in public a pain in my bottom. Since she's tiny people will point, coo, or generally make a fool of themselves. Children will also run up to her and want to play with her like she's a doll. I hate it and so does she. Also since she's tiny most "small" dogs are huge compared to her. As we were walking around a huge Great Dane lunged at her scaring both her and myself. Needless to say I'd like to take her out but can't really. So Daniel got me an early Christmas gift. It's pink and has wheels. It's a dogie stroller.

My thoughts as a Christian....

Snapshot of me.

I stole this this from a pal. Here's a bit about me. Enjoy.

***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice? I'm in love with balsamic vinaigrette.

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Olive Garden or Five Guys

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? peaches

What are your pizza toppings of choice? Cheese, peperoni, peppers, onions.

What do you like to put on your toast? Butter

***********TECHNOLOGY***************
How many televisions are in your house? 2, we have one in the living room and another in a closet that we use for guests for the spare room.

What color cell phone do you have? Rose colored.

***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed? Left

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? No

What is the last heavy item you lifted? Nothing, a car accident makes lifting heavy items a no no.

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I wouldn't. I like my name.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Depend on the hot sauce. Some hot sauces aren't hot to me.

************DUMBOLOGY******************
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? Two, black and brown.

Last time you had a run-in with the cops? Whenever Daniel was in his crash

Last person you talked to? My Mom

Last person you hugged? Daniel

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Season? Winter

Holiday? Christmas

Day of the week? Friday

Month? January

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
Missing someone? Daniel

Mood? Sleepy for some reason.

What are you listening to? The wind

Watching? Nothing

Worry? Nothing at the moment.

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************
First place you went this morning? Downstairs

What's the last movie you saw? Year One

Do you smile often? Yes

Sleeping Alone Tonight? No

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************
1)Do you always answer your phone? Yes, it's not hard too seeing as no one calls it other than Daniel and my Mom.

2) Its four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? Nikki

3) If you could change your eye color what would it be? A lighter brown.

4) What flavor do you add to your sonic drink? I don't drink anything from Sonic.

5) Do you own a digital camera? Yes

6) Have you ever had a pet fish? I still do. A Betta.

7) Favorite Christmas song(s)? Carol of the Bells

8) What's on your wish list for your birthday? A ceiling fan duster, yes I'm that boring.

9) Can you do push ups? Ha

10) Can you do a chin up? See above

11) Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Neither

12) Do you have any saved texts? Yes

13) Ever been in a car wreck? Many

14) Do you have an accent? Only when I'm tired, then I sound very southern.

15) What is the last song to make you cry? Sunrise, Sunset

16) Plans tonight? Put up lights, change the village, then ignore DJhusband.

17) Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Yes

18) Name 3 things you bought yesterday. Solar LED lights, sugar, Southern Living.

19) Have you ever been given roses? Probably, I'm not a fan of roses. I can walk outside and see them whenever I want.

20) Current worry? Nothing.

21) Current hate right now? The children walking behind our house, you don't need to yell.

22) Met someone who changed your life? Yes and I married him.

23) How will you bring in the New Year? A gig

24) What song represents you? In My Life

25) Name three people who might complete this? Nikki?

26) Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? No every moment, thought, decision and fork in the road got me to who I am now. And I'm happy with that.

27) Have you ever dated someone longer than a year? Yes

28) Do you have any tattoos/piercings? Three piercings, one tattoo

29) Will you be in a relationship 4 months from now? Yes

30) Does anyone love you? Yes

31) Would you be a pirate? Argh

32) What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever pops into my mind.

33) Ever had someone sing to you? Yes.

34) When did you last cry? Last night, I was watching a clip about a chihuahua that only had back legs and the owners threw it away.

36) Do you like to cuddle? Yes

37) Have you held hands with anyone today? No

38) Who was the last person you took a picture of? Person? Daniel. Non-person Cincy

39) What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school? The Beatles

40) Do you believe in staying close with your ex's/prospects? No

41) Are most of the friends in your life new or old? New. In the last 3 years or so. I have a high turn over rate with friends. Chalk it up to honesty, low bs tolerance and no car.

42) Do you like pulpy orange juice? I don't like any kind of orange juice.

Why I'm a Lousy Tipper.

I've been reading online about how waiters hate customers who are lousy tippers. They lament that people stiff them on their hard earned tip. I am one of those people. Here's my side of the lousy tipper story.

I'm only a lousy tipper if YOU are a lousy waiter.

Doing only basic waiter work earns a basic tip. A basic tip is *gasp* 10%. Yup that's right, I'm a 10% tipper. Remember when 10% was the norm. Somehow that has inched up to 20%.

If you add a little extra then I add a little extra....15%. By a little extra I mean, get me soda refills without me having flag you down like I'm landing a plane on The Kennedy. Also check on me to make sure I don't want extra (fill in the blank). That's not asking for much.

Then there are those special people that earn the 20%. Those are the waiters that LIKE their job. Are friendly, make a joke or two. I don't care if it's fake fawning. I'm eating out. Having someone else cook the food and serve it to me is the REASON we eat out. I want a happy upbeat person who is nice and friendly waiting on my table.

So waiters if your not making 20% then maybe there is a reason you're not making 20%. I as a customer is not gonna be guilted into giving you more then you earned.

So I ask dear readers where do you fall in the tip debate. Blanket tipper where everyone gets 20% or do you have your own system?