Smokehouse Downtown

We had our monthly dinner date the other night.  We've been on a roll with trying some new places and this month was no exception.  We decided to try out Smokehouse Downtown, a new-ish BBQ restaurant in an old club downtown.

I was going to take a picture of the building... but then I didn't.  I took a special of the specials board instead. 























I took my beverage order from the board and went with the Smokehouse Punch.  Mr. T got a beer from a local brewery, Swamp Head.























While we were waiting on our friends to get there our waiter gave us a little more information about the restaurant.  The are currently buying their produce from a local farm but have a green house on the roof of the restaurant.  The restaurant was hoping to be using their own tomatoes in about a month, which is awesome.

On to the food!  We ordered two appetizers, the quesadillas and the smoked pork and collard green spring rolls.  Both were really great and something different.
























For my main meal I went with the beef brisket.  I decided it was a good idea to go with a standard so I could compare it to other places.  I chose the sweet potato fries and Gouda cheese grits.  The rest of our table went with ribs, pulled pork, and smoked chicken with sides that included smoked corn, collard greens, and white cheddar mac and cheese.


















I went with the seasonal Blackberry BBQ sauce.  It was great.  The grits weren't the creamy grits that I usually make and Mr. T wasn't a fan, but I loved them.  The greens had a decent amount of vinegar in them which wasn't everyone's favorite but I think we're in the minority of the vinegar/greens group.

The service was beyond fantastic.  Our waiter took the time to really go into details about the restaurant, their farm to table view, and even took us on a tour to see their 14-foot smoker and rooftop greenhouse. 

If you're in Gainesville try this place out.  Great food, great drinks, and better service.

Blue Gill

Mr. T and I have a monthly dinner date with some of our friends.  This month we tried a new place in town called Blue Gill.  They're located in next to a parking garage outside of the hospital gym.

I think this place is classified as "Southern Inspired".  The appetizers include boiled peanuts, pimento cheese, and fried green tomatoes.

We started off with two appetizers.  Mr. T ordered the boiled peanuts and our friends ordered the biscuits with sausage gravy.  Both were fantastic.  The gravy had plenty of pepper in it and the biscuits were still nice and crunchy around the edges.

We also ordered some beverages.  One of our friends got a nice glass of white wine.  The rest of us were a little less classy and went with a "Gin and Juice" and "Trailer Park Punch".  They were served in mason jars with tiny umbrellas and cherries.  (Which is what makes a good beverage if you ask me)

Then it was time for the main meal.  I got the "Blue Gill Burger".  It was a beef patty with bacon, smoked pork, and melted pimento cheese.  It was a very rich and smoky burger due to the smoked pork and bacon.  It was really good.  It was served with the choice of a house salad with their house vinaigrette or house made chips.  I went went the salad.

Mr. T got the pork belly.  I didn't get a picture of it, sorry.  It was a good sized piece of pork and it wasn't over cooked. It was served with a side of butter beans which were very creamy and had bits of bacon throughout.

Our friends split an order of "Ham Hock Mac & Cheese".  It was a basic dish that reminded me of something my mom made when I was a kid.  I'm pretty sure it was made with white cheddar cheese and had big pieces of ham in it.  Their dish was served with some random roasted veggies (I picked out some squash, brussels sprouts, and green beans).

One the way out I decided that we needed to get one of their "Fried Pies" to go.  Our choices that night were the cherry or the chocolate.  I went with the cherry.  It was awesome... and totally healthy.

The verdict: We'd go back.  It's a cool venue, the staff was really great, and the food was hot and tasty (except the salad... it was cold... as it should be)  It's not going to become an everyday place for us but it is fantastic for date nights or dinner with friends.

The Dillard House

I recently went on a trip to north Georgia.  Part of this trip included going to The Dillard House in Dillard, GA.  I've heard about this place from my family and some friends.  This was my first experience.














We arrived towards the end of the service but were able to get a pretty nice window seat. 














The food was served family style and was all you could eat (they even gave us take home boxes).  We had our choice of: bacon, sausage links, sausage patties, pork chops, scrambled eggs, grits, sausage gravy, red eye gravy, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, fruit, cinnamon apples, orange juice, and muffins.  I was good to go until supper time.

Everything was great.  My favorite things were the bacon (of course), chicken fried steak, and the cinnamon apples.  The service was really fantastic.  I was however, a little disappointed with the biscuits.  I think I might have just picked the wrong one out of the basket because I was told that they other one was great.  That is the main reason I hate being at the end of service.

I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the breakfast menu but here's the lunch menu for the day.  Next time we go up that way I plan on stopping by and trying out lunch or dinner.

Leonardo's Pizza By the Slice

Leonardo's Pizza By the Slice

1245 West University Ave

Gainesville, FL 32601

352.375.2007

 Check out their menu here .

Every town has their "go-to" pizza joint.  In my opinion this is Gainesville's.  It's been around since I was a child and pretty much has stayed the same.  It's a counter service restaurant and honestly, the staff isn't going to go out of their way to help you, but the food is good.  You can't have everything.

They have all the traditional pizzas: cheese, pepperoni, meat lovers, etc.  They also have a pretty good vegan slice, portobello mushroom, and greek slice.  You can get a thick slice or a thin slice.  Talk about options.  One must have when you're there are the garlic rolls.  They're amazing (and come with a side salad).

Here is a slice of their cheese with their organic salad and rolls.  The organic salad comes with mixed greens, feta cheese, dried cranberries, toasted almonds, and raspberry vinaigrette.  It's my favorite.

If you're looking for a good bite to eat stop by Leo's and give it a shot.

The Top

The Top

30 North Main Street

Gainesville, FL 32601

352.337.1188

Find them on Facebook

I can't believe that I haven't talked about this place before.  The Top in Gainesville is seriously my favorite restaurant ever.  It's located downtown on University and Main.  The decor is far out there (Colt 45 light up beer sign next to a bear lamp and some flying geese) and there is usually at least a 30 minute wait, on a good night, but it's totally worth it.

There is something for everyone, which is the main reason I like it (along with the Woodchuck on draft).  They have amazing, high quality steaks and the best local tempeh.  If you talk to anyone that goes there on a regular basis they will tell you to get the sweet potato fries and the peanut butter pie.  They are correct.  Do it!

Here's a run down of some my favorites:

Sesame crusted Ahi Tuna

Grapefruit Gimlet                                     Shrimp and Grits- Southern Night!

Peanut Butter Pie!!!

I don't have a picture, but their hamburgers are unbeatable.  The blue cheese and bacon one of my favorite.  Mr. T likes the "Widowmaker".  It's an espresso rubbed burger with bacon and something spicy.

The later you go the longer your wait is going to be.  It's also going to get louder and darker.  If this isn't your thing I strongly suggest going during the week and closer to 5:00.

Weekly Specials:

- Tuesday: Taco Tuesday

- Wednesday: Southern Night

Adam's Rib Co.

Adam's Rib Co.

2111 NW 13th St.

Gainesville, FL 32609
Telephone: 352-373-8882

Hours: 

Monday-Saturday: 7AM to 9PM

Sunday: 9AM-9PM

I love BBQ.  It's awesome in every way.  One of the places that Mr. T and I like to go to is Adam's Rib Co..  It took us a while to try it, I'm honestly not sure why.  They have all of the typical BBQ and sides.

Their ribs are huge and my favorite thing is that you can add 1 rib to your meal.  When we went I got the 3-rib meal.  It was three ribs, two sides, and garlic bread for $8.49.  You can see the mac and cheese peeking out under the garlic bread, I forgot to get a picture of the baked beans... they're fantastic.  I also appreciate the fact that they serve collard greens.

 

While you're there sample the sauce bar.  There's at least 20 different sauces: mild, hot, spicy, pepper vinegars, and mustard.  There's Memphis Style, Carolina Style, and everything in between.  My favorite is the Honey BBQ.  Mr. T loves the Gator Sauce.  

Adam's is open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  It's worth it.

Dragonfly Sushi and Sake

Here is my restaurant review #1.  I have become a new lover of sushi thanks to my husband.  Dragonfly Sushi and Sake Co. is one of my favorite places in Gainesville to get sushi.

The atmosphere is pretty modern with an open kitchen and exposed duct work on the ceiling.  The staff has always been really polite and attentive without being annoying.  That's a big plus in my book.

Their drink menu is huge.  There is a wine section, a sake section, a beer section, and a regular cocktail menu.  Mr. T's favorite is the Mr. Kim.  It's a cocktail with sake, pineapple vodka, passion fruit juice, orange juice, and a slice of lime.  It tastes as good as it sounds.  I love their Mount Fuji.  It's another sake cocktail with Midori, pineapple juice, sour mix, sprite, grenadine, and a cherry.  It's fantastic, and now I want one.  :)

Now to the sushi.  It's really excellent.  The one below is the krispy krunch roll, it's my favorite.  It is filled with krab, tuna, cream cheese, roe, and avocado.  It's so good.

The small roll on the right is the Ebony and Ivory.  Eel, cream cheese, tempura shrimp, and eel sauce.  So good!

One thing to make sure you try is the Sushi Pizza.  It sounds weird and looks even weirder.  It's a flat sheet of rice and nori topped with krab and shrimp with may and cheese on it.  They bake it and serve it with scallions and eel sauce.  It's so bizarre.

Dragonfly is a great place to go for a special occasion.  It's not cheap and I wouldn't consider it a place to go wearing shorts.  I would however recommend it to anyone looking for a fun night on the town.