Leonardo's 706/ Boca Fiesta

Joey took me on a surprise date on Saturday night, we had dinner at Leonardo's 706, and then we went to see Julia and Julie. It was a perfect date!

Leonardo's 706

706 was absolutely amazing!

I had a glass of Chianti and Joey had a Stella Artois. Before our appetizer arrived they brought out cracker type bread served with an olive salsa. I'm not an olive fan, but the olive salsa was great, it was sweet and very flavorful.

For our appetizer we had the 706 Rolls, these things were amazing. Rolls covered with garlic butter, and I mean covered...it was 2 grapefruit size balls of garlic butter. So basically the rolls were swimming/floating in garlic butter ( by the way these were only $3.95). Paula Deen would be proud!

For dinner Joey had the grilled sea bass over rice, with grilled asparagus ( this was the nightly special). I had the chicken Gorgonzola pasta, bow tie pasta with chicken, broccoli and pecans in a creamy Gorgonzola sauce. I usually do not order chicken in pasta, because it is usually bone dry, however, this chicken was very moist. I think the pecans were roasted, they went perfect with the creamy Gorgonzola sauce. I would definitely order this again.

We didn't have dessert, because we were just way to full. However, they offer homemade desserts that look pretty good.

They serve brunch on Sundays from 10:30am to 4:00pm, which I can't wait to try. They have a fair amount of patio seating which is nice, since cooler weather is just around the corner.

You can view the menu at: http://www.leonardos706.com/

Boca Fiesta- Sun Center

Last Friday night for dinner we tried Boca Fiesta and it was great! They are a great alternative to Big Lou's...how many places can you eat for under $10.00 downtown?

I had the Jalapeno Margarita and it was excellent, it was nice to have a Margarita with a bite.


We both had the burritos which were very good and a good size. I had corn on the cob, well really Joey had the corn on the cob, but I ate it...it was good. I also had a side salad with the Cilantro lime vinaigrette it was excellent. It is perfect for the summer, light and tangy! They also give you free chips and salsa with your meal.

They have a very cute menu....they have lots of options for "carnivores and herbivores". They also serve Tebow Toothpicks- Battered and fried strips of Jalapeno and Onion.

If you are brave you can try the weird meat of the month, this month it is Rattlesnake- Rabbit Sausage !

For dessert they serve Sweet Dreams Ice Cream! What's better than that? Sweet Dreams has the best ice cream in Gainesville!

You can checkout out the menu at http://www.bocafiesta.com/

Since seeing Julia and Julie- I'm interested in French cooking...no I'm not going to try cooking all of the recipes in Mastering the Art of French cooking but I am trying 3 new recipes this weekend: Pork with Camembert, French Scalloped Potatoes and Creamy Spinach puree.

till next time....keep on eating :)

Blue Highway Pizza/ Chung Ching Market

Blue Highway Pizza

Town of Tioga

Saturday we went to Blue Highway pizza for dinner. Out of 10 stars I would give it a 6. Whenever I go to a new pizza place I always find myself comparing it to Satchel's. The food was pretty good. I thought the atmosphere was different, it was sorta like eating with high class hippies.

I had the four cheese calzone with artichokes which was huge. The crust was picture perfect.

Here are my comparisons:

Blue Highway vs Satchel's pizza

Service- Blue highway wins....the staff at Satchels isn't always very nice.

Speed- Blue Highway wins....Satchels only has 2 small ovens, which usually means going to Satchels is a 3-4 hour event, we were in and out of Blue Highway ( probably about 2 hours including wait time)

Taste- Satchels wins....they have the best pizza sauce, and the best salads

Price- They are about the same, however, Blue highway wins because they take credit cards. Really Satchel get with program you need to be able to split checks.

Atmosphere- Satchels wins....they have a "junk" store to shop in.

Convenience- Satchels wins....only because they are closer to our home then Blue Highway.

First Ever-Boch Belly Interview with sister n law Jennifer Hall

Pizza was excellent. I had the spinach, fresh mozzarella, and bacon thin crust. Lots of flavor.

Caesar salad was good- croutons were very crunchy.

Wine and draft beer selection was average. Hopefully this will broaden a little once the location becomes more established. Service was pretty good.

Very loud- might need something to absorb some of the sound. The should turn down the music when it's busy. Otherwise you you barely hear the person next to you.

I felt sorry for the outside waiter. He had to go in and out of the front entrance- this is definitely less than ideal and there will be an accident there one day ( hopefully no one gets burned).

Overall, good experience and will definitely be back.

Chung Ching Market

Across from Gainesville Police Dept. On 8th

Several times a week Joey and I drive by Chung Ching Market, and we always say we should check that place out....so finally on Sunday we did.

I found Chung Ching very interesting. They have all kinds of oriental food, and most of it is pretty cheap. They have great produce and it is super cheap....for real people Publix is highway robbery. Bell Peppers were 4 for a dollar, fresh cilantro was .39 cents!

I would encourage you to stop by Chung Ching just to check it out. Here are a few things that we purchased, I will let you know how they turn out:

Red Curry Sauce in a can

Flavored Gum ( can't tell you what kind because I can't read Chinese but it looks good)

Jumbo straws ( these are even bigger than McDonald's I know I'm weird)

Rice noodles

Until next time....keep on eating.....

The Jones

Okay so I know I have been a slacker...and believe me it's not like I haven't been eating....

Friday night Joey and I went to this hole in the wall off of 23rd called The Jones Eastside Eatery. It is across the street from New York Pizza Plus ( sorta next to Big Lots).
All of the food is organic and local, the prices were okay ( they weren't cheap, probably around $10 dollars per person).
I enjoyed the arepa rancheros- corn arepa on bottom, black beans, cheddar cheese topped with two fried eggs and salsa.
Joey had the buffalo burger ( which made us think, who raises buffalo in Gainesville....I'm guessing UF). Joey said the burger was good, but a little bit gamey. I didn't try it because it had sauerkraut on it.
I can't wait to try this place for breakfast the menu looked awesome and it's always nice to support a local Gainesville business. They do not have a website, but they have a myspace page, you can view it at www.myspace.com/thejoneseastside

The Boch Belly is ready for lunch...better go feed it.