Our weekend in Jacksonville is officially in full swing!
My sister, Leslie, arrived in Ocala last night a little before 6 p.m. and picked up the Fagan family before heading on to Jacksonville where we’re spending the weekend with friends.
Ryan drove us to Jacksonville because Leslie had some last-minute work to wrap up before the weekend.
Someone wanted to lend a hand…
Sadie’s seat was supposed to be right next to Leslie which didn’t seem to please her. She wanted to be on Leslie until she got a new idea. About 10 minutes into our drive, Sadie made it her goal in life to make it into the front seat.
She’s an ambitious one.
When we arrived in Jacksonville it was just past 8 p.m., so we quickly picked up Leslie’s boyfriend Ross and dropped Sadie off to play with his chocolate lab, Kona.
Then it was dinner time!
Ocean 60
When I mentioned I would be in Jacksonville this weekend, a few of you reached out to me, telling me to try Ocean 60, a restaurant, wine and martini bar located in Atlantic Beach.
Ross and Leslie visited Ocean 60 in the past and gave it rave reviews, so Ryan and I were pumped to try it out.
Our waiter was very knowledgeable and described the food and specials in a way that made all of our stomachs grumble. We were hungry and everything sounded terrific!
To begin, we ordered drinks and the blueberry mojito was a perfect choice for me.
I’m a mojito lover to begin with, but the drinks at Ocean 60 were exceptionally good. The mojito was sweet without being sickeningly sweet and tasted refreshing and minty. Perfect!
Then our waiter surprised us and brought us out a little dish to kick off our meal, complements of the chef. Sweet!
That would be a seared scallop served atop some the best grits I’ve ever had in my life. I asked the manager how they made their grits so creamy and flavorful and he said it’s because they don’t cook them in plain water to start, but begin with a homemade stock made with fresh vegetables before adding grits and other ingredients. The extra step was definitely worth it!
Ryan then ordered a soft shell crab sushi roll for our table to share as an appetizer.
It came with seaweed salad which is always a hit with me, so I happily ate it up! I loved the crispy tempura on the outside of the roll. It added the perfect crunch.
Before our entrees were served, each enjoyed a palate cleanser of raspberry sorbet.
I normally don’t really care for sorbet because ice cream is five billion times tastier (I actually call it “poor man’s ice cream”) but this sorbet was creamier than usual and more like ice cream than most! Ross and I have similar feelings about sorbet and we both liked this sorbet.
Then it was time for the main course!
I ordered the Prince Edward Island mussels which were served in a sauce made with white wine, shallots, garlic, Spanish chorizo, cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese.
It was served with grilled bread and butter for dipping.
The mussels seemed to be larger than mussels I’ve had in the past and this dish filled me right up!
I also had a few bites of Ryan’s grouper and scallops and thought the scallops were great!
Before heading out, our table split the key lime cheesecake for dessert.
The best part of cheesecake is always the graham cracker crust!
It was such a fun night and today the fun is only going to keep on rollin’.
A barbeque is on the books for this afternoon and we spent the morning preparing food and stocking up on beverages.
I’m off to thrown on a sundress before making myself a margarita!
Enjoy your Saturday!
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Yup… you can tell the resemblance in the family line. That restaurant looks yummy. Martini bar? yes, sign me up! And that mojito… delicious! Glad you had a great time.
Sadie is adorable.
🙂 people always say leslie looks like my mom and i look like my dad! and then when we’re not wearing makeup people have honestly asked us if we were twins. i don’t see it at all!
My sister and are are the same, people say we look alike but I don’t see it.
It looks like the restaurant lived up to the reviews! I’m looking forward to going out for dinner tonight – I need a break from cooking!
I have come to find that dogs love the front seat and always try to mooch their way up there 🙂
Love your top!! the color looks pretty on you.
My dog does the same thing in the car! She can never seem to get close enough to us even when we’re trying to drive! And all that food looks so tasty.
As someone from Prince Edward Island (a.k.a PEI), I am loving the fact that Florida restaurants are serving PEI mussels.
Yes! As a fellow maritimer, the moment I saw that I was ecstatic!
That mojito flavor sounds great. I recently had a cucumber mojito which was yummy!
THAT I must try!
*grumble grumble* Oh myyyy! I am suuuuch a fan of mussels and seafood just like you, and that dish looks heavn’ly….I love tomatoey sauces like that to pair up with seafood.
Your main course looks delicious,and I love how the grilled bread was used for dipping. I call it my other fork sometimes. 🙂
Sushi looks great too! Have you ever tried purple rice sushi?
That drinks and those mussels look amazing.. I absolutely love mussels! Enjoy that margarita 🙂
Haha my brother’s golden retriever HAS to sit in the front, she will climb onto whoever is sitting there the first chance she gets!
Everything looks incredible! I would’ve been all about the soft shell crab roll!
Oh sounds delicious! WOW. I would totally have loved your meal too. Oh and I agree–sorbet does NOT compare to ice cream!! Hah 😉
have fun!
I love it when they give palet cleansers! And i like your shirt!
I live in Atlantic Beach, less than a mile from Ocean 60! Are you guys going to Dancin’ in the Streets today? If you go out to eat again I recommend Sliders Seafood, its a couple blocks south of Ocean 60. I used to work there and my little brother and sister work there now. Have fun BBQing!
Just started reading your blog and find it to be very interesting. Keep up the good work!
My husband is from PEI (and it’s where we got married two years ago)! I agree that the mussels are amazing. I recently had some in Calgary and again in Vancouver, but there is no comparison. Glad that they made it all the way to Florida! Now you’ll just have to try some island potatoes, and you’ll be all set! 🙂
Your sister and Ross make such a cute couple…as do you and Ryan of course 🙂 That meal looks so amazing, I love fresh seafood, and especially scallops!
I love seeing dishes from fun new restaurants. It looks like you guys had a delicious meal. I think the sushi appetizer would have been my favorite part! 🙂
yum! these plates look delicious!
Your dinner looks delicious! and so does that drink 🙂
Glad you and Ryan got to try Ocean 60! Next time you two are in town we all need to go to Eleven South and Marker 32 out at the beach 🙂