A month ago I finally had the opportunity to dine at bb’s Restaurant and Bar, a popular, relatively upscale restaurant near downtown Jacksonville that has consistently received both awards and praise from repeated customers. The restaurant, a standalone building in between downtown Jacksonville and San Marco, serves both lunch and dinner and boasts a massive wine list and house-made desserts that change seasonally.

For appetizers, we indulged in salmon wontons made with salmon dip, crispy wonton and a homemade sweet and sour sauce. It was bitey and flavorful and fresh, everything you’d expect from such a dish.

We all opted for different things for entrées; I got the fried green tomato sandwich (I’m a sucker for fried green tomatoes) made with olive relish, Dijonnaise and arugula on a toasted bun. The Mediterranean chicken with tandoori grilled chicken, as well as the bistro steak sandwich with carmelized onions, were also hits.

Prosecco, beer and Pinot Grigio also flowed.

Of course we couldn’t leave without at least taking home a few slices of bb’s iconic cakes. I had tasted one a few months ago (key lime pie cheesecake, and, yes, it was as good as it sounds) when it was brought home. This time I got to indulge in looking at all of the cakes, and we ultimately landed on three different slices: lemon blueberry cheesecake, a raspberry white chocolate with a cheesecake base and coconut cake. I brought home their raspberry one and ate more than I should have, but I would do it all over again … and again.

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— Aoife O’Riordan, associate editor