Gators Dockside is what it is and, for me, accomplishes its mission well.
Basically, GD is a large Gainesville sports bar with food. My high school alumni group(s) use it for gatherings because it can easily absorb us without our renting a separate room. It is set up so everyone can table hop and catch up with old friends etc. Acoustically it is a challenge, but hey, it's a sports bar. The staff and management do a great job at accomodating our groups so that the service is timely, courteous, and patient. If we have extra needs they have always done whatever it takes to meet them.
All that being said, how is the food? Remember that GD is a very large room that must produce large quantities of food quickly and have it be memorable and tasty. They accomplish those goals. All of the meals I have had there have been a notch above sports bar fare with unique and interesting twists that take it out of the burger and fries mass production mode you might expect.
A good example is The Seabreeze Salad that I ordered yesterday at the Gainesville Gathering. I am trying to follow Weightwatchers guidelines and look for ways to minimize the damage that a sports bar can render. This salad met my needs and made my taste buds sing. Darn it was good. The salad had grilled chicken over greens with Mandarin orange segments, dried cranberries, candied pecans, crumbled blue cheese and a low-fat Zinfandel vinegarette. Low-fat dressings often taste "chalky" to me and I generally dislike them. This salad dressing,however,was thoroughly delicious. Every part of the dish worked together perfectly.
Try Gator's. Don't expect a 5 star restaurant, but once you accept the premise of the restaurant you may agree that few do it better.
1 comment:
You are making me very hungry and really wanting to head toward Florida!
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