If you really know me, you know I am most at home at sea-level. My heart beats to the rhythm of the waves coming ashore. In my adopted home at Florida's First Coast, there's a lifestyle brand that embodies this philosophy in two words: Salt Life.
Welcome to Nancita's Salt Life Summer! You can bet there will be plenty of seafood on the menu, and plenty of Jimmy Buffet on the playlist. Frozen fruity concoctions with rum floaters will factor in somehow.
But first, let's eat!
Sunny and sizzling Jacksonville Beach boasts at least nineteen restaurants that purportedly specialize in seafood. Add eleven in Ponte Vedra, two in Neptune, and twelve in Atlantic Beach, and you've got choices, my friend.
What draws you to select one restaurant over another? Is it their website? Location? Word of Mouth? For me, after great food, ambiance plays an important role. Comfort, service, and the predictability of a good experience (read: consistency) are all factors I consider.
Then there's that one dish - you know the one - the thing you crave when you think of a place and when you go you want to get that over and over but you know you should try other things on the menu so it's a fight to the finish to decide will you get the craveable dish and satisfy that longing or try something new - something that will be judged not on its own merits but for how much you would rather have ordered the object of your obsession....
Or is that just me?
I present to you - in no particular order - my personal top ten most craveable seafood dishes from the First Coast Beaches restaurants:
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| Lobster Potstickers - Roy's - Jacksonville Beach |
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| Poke Bowl (modified) - Salt Life Food Shack - Jacksonville Beach |
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| Crabcakes - Palm Valley Fish Camp - Ponte Vedra |
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| Clam Bellies! - Palm Valley Fish Camp - Ponte Vedra |
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| Scallop Taco - Taco Lu - Jacksonville Beach |
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| Oysters on the half shell - The Fish Company - Atlantic Beach |
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| Crab Louis - North Beach Fish Camp - Neptune Beach |
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| Espresso Blackened Fish Tacos - Corner Taco Food Truck - Various Locations |
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| Conch Fritters w Lemon Aoli - North Beach Fish Camp - Neptune Beach |
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| Thai Shrimp Curry - Simply Tasty Thai - Atlantic Beach |
