Two of us were in Jacksonville for a training seminar. We asked for directions to a seafood place, and were given directions to the Gene's on Penman. Traffic on 202 was so lousy that we went overland on Beach trying to get around traffic. We drove past this Gene's in a strip mall near StrikeZone and decided to eat and not drive any longer. \r
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We were greeted quickly by staff, and seated right away. Our server told us about the 20 shrimp for $9.99 special, but was unsure about what the ""trigger"" on the specials board was. She said it was a special fish that is only on the menu when they can get it, and kind of left it at that, which was disappointing. Being an idiot, or adventurous, I ordered the the Trigger Hatteras - fortune favored the fool in this case. It was incredibly tasty - a nice meaty white fish, nicely broiled with what tasted like a combination of cream cheese and remoulade sauce on it (some dill and mustard overtones to the sauce, but very nice). Gigantic portion of fish, and cooked just to done, not over cooked. The peel and eats served hot had a nice dusting of cajun seasoning, and were good sized - only two nasty sand veins that had to be cleaned out. The half pound order at $7 was a good size - we got about 20 shrimp for the price. The hush puppies were great - a touch of sweetness to them, and the coleslaw was crisp and not overly ""vinegary"".\r
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Two people, four beers, and peel and eats came to just under $40 before tip. The service on beer refills was a bit slow, but not too annoyingly so. \r
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Highly recommended. Jacksonville did not have much else to grab our interest, but Gene's sure made the trip memorable in a positive way.
Pros: Wide variety of menu items, quality of preparation and ingredients.
Cons: Our server did not have a great handle on the menu items, but the receptionist was very sharp.
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