I have lived in Florida a total of over 20 years, living first in Orlando and now Jacksonville. As a native of Chicago, I can tell you we have food fights at a much higher level than just throwing in High School- food is a passion to a Chicagoan and this place is worth the passion! My only sad note is that it took my beautiful bride spotting the Yearling episode on the Florida Road Trip show on PBS to finally get me here. I will tell you up front that I do not take prisoners when a tourist trap tries to get away with average food at above average prices. For this reason I rarely bother with what appear to be tourist hype restaurants. Christina convinced me to bite the bullet and drive the extra 2 miles or less north on Route 325 after a very pleasant tour of the Marjorie Kinan Rawlings Florida State Park. We got THE best seat in the house- bar none. Not ten feet away was Mr. Willie Green, a blues artist who simultaneously sings blue (mainly written by himself), plays harmonica and the acoustic guitar. He was worth the price of the meal. Then came our meal (very promply and with constantly attentive service. We ordered (I may remember the name incorrectly-forgive me Yearling) Swamp Sampler. It was loaded with enough alligator tail nuggets, portebello mushroom slices, frog legs and fried green tomatoes to serve two or three. All were piping hot and fried to absolute perfection in a delicate yellow corn meal - aka no grease or stong flavors. The frog legs and gator are perfect for an entree. Then came my blackened grouper sandwich and her Creek Boy Fried Oyster sandwiches with baked sweet potato sides done to perfection. All of the food was served piping hot and cooked to absolute perfection served with several sauce option (all on the side for dieters). We had the entire meal with two drinks for under $40.00- a steal for great service, killer food and live entertainment unmatched without paying for a plane ticket to Chicago, Memphis or....Cross Creek.
Pros: A real find in every way. No negatives.
Cons: None- a huge surpirse: definitely NOT a tourist trap
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