rivercityvibe   “Puerile, smutty, schoolboy nonsense” – My Mom

I only realized the other day that Monty’s had changed its name. Apparently, this happened seven years ago without me noticing. It is now called West Inn Cantina and serves Mexican food. This won’t be news to many (any) of you, but it is noteworthy to me.

Monty’s is something of an institution. Many of my buddies fondly remember underage drinking there back in the day. It is still ON FIRE on Fridays and Saturdays, upsetting Brick and Biscotti’s customers by forcing them to rub shoulders with the kind of people who prefer drinking PBR in a low dive (people like me, basically). Last time I stopped in there on Friday evening  I counted seven drunks bellied up to the bar (including me and two buddies). This is about standard…….

That’s the sort of place it is. An awesome place, basically. But once I had been awakened to the fact that it was a Mexican Restaurant too (who knew?) I realized I would have to try the food. I needed to mentally reconcile both elements of this neighborhood institution – Monty’s and West Inn Cantina: The low dive and the family-friendly restaurant. Was it possible? I didn’t know.

So on Saturday, I went there late afternoon with a small entourage to try the food. I walked in through the door stone cold sober (that’s a first) and was shown by Krystal (lovely, helpful and charming) to a table outside. I ordered a margarita and beer, to be followed by a chicken burrito and a beer. Then I had another margarita, tipped well and left….. And do you know, the food was kind of great……. and I was at no time accosted by drunks.

The experiment was a success. I have reconciled in my own mind the Avondale schizophrenic that is West Inn/Monty’s. It is still a low dive where you can drink confident of the fact that your check will not be very large and that nobody is in a fit condition to judge you. The magic is that you can also take your family for a pleasant Mexican meal if you’re that way inclined.

I just wouldn’t let your mother/kids/grandmother visit the restroom unescorted. In fact, make sure they keep to the street side of the bar………… Also, don’t go there looking for dates. Seriously.

I had been trying to dislike Avondale bistro, Orsay. I LOVED Crush, its predecessor, and was, I now realize, unreasonably put out by the fact that Crush had better french fries  and that Orsay’s management put such great store on now offering cocktails. Like I want a chocolate martini with my Onglets de Bouef……

Also, and this is critical. I expect restaurants to follow industry convention and have a HOT, HOT, HOT babe as a greeter. Sadly absent at Orsay.

But that’s as much criticism as they are getting. For my fourth visit I took foodie friends with me from the beach. They loved it, and so did I. From the beginning to the end of the experience, it was Jacksonville Excellent. The service, however, was Jacksonville Outstanding. Let me explain why.

Spelled "complement" wrong, I'm afraid.

I arrived half loaded, so did not fancy the switch from beer to wine. I noticed that they only had Bass on draft (other than hateful lagers) so I asked our server Matt (who will be from now, known as Super Matt) if they had any bottled Sierra Nevada. He, in his rock star cool way, answered in the negative. I lamented the fact, and he said, full of confidence,  “Don’t worry, sir. I can do this.”

Before I could restrain him, he was out the door and sprinting for the Liquor Store opposite (did I detect a little showmanship in his comedy run….?) . I watched Super Matt through the glass. He picked up a six pack, paid for it, and returned to the restaurant via the OTHER door (nice touch, Super Matt).

Seconds later, a frosty cold mug of palatable beer appeared. The fact that I had alienated and annoyed my whole party by ‘imposing’ on Super Matt in this way, lent a certain frisson to our table atmosphere. Super Matt wasn’t bothered. He took it all in his stride. The legend.

We had girls with us, so were forced to order plates of things and share them. I hate this style of feeding, but the food made up for it. It was Jacksonville Excellent –  very enjoyable and cooked to perfection. The upside of the sharing thing, was, of course, I could eat most of what was provided. And I did (leading to more tension).

Orsay is awesome (see what I did there?). Go tonight. Call Crystal on 904 381 0909.