by the eu professional drinkers
This week EU sent our crack team of social drinkers to a very diverse set of beach bars. From the uber-metropolitan oxygen bar to the oldest dive bar on Ocean Boulevard, we feel we have done an adequate job of covering some great beach bars to enhance your summer fun. Get a little wasted, catch some live blues, or try a breath of fresh air. The beaches has it all. Although this is the second half of the EU Pub Crawl in the Jacksonville beaches, this won’t be our last. Next week we move on to historic San Marco and then to Riverside, but we will return to the beaches soon. Enjoy.
Location: In Neptune Beach on Ocean Avenue
Type of Place: A Smoky Full-Service Beach Bar (that doesn’t accept credit cards)
Serving: Domestic and Imported Beers, House and Top-Shelf LiquorsAtmosphere: Filled to the gills with surfers, frat boys, real beach people, and old school whiskeys that have whiled their years away in the joint. Enter the bathrooms at your own risk.Amenities: $.25 pool, 1 free pool table, free ping pong, pinball machines, digital jukebox, 2 large bars.
Drink Specials: Prices are always affordable but Happy Hour is everyday from 10-12 p.m. for $2.50 mixed drinks made with house liquors.
Watch your step when you walk into Pete’s bar. The place has been open since 1933 and I swear I saw some of the founding customers still there enjoying themselves. Pete’s brings the bar scene the way it should be: 25 cent pool, cheap drinks, and dirty bathrooms. God I love this bar. Oh…because of the ping pong table. Seriously, Pete’s IS the beach bum hangout of Neptune and Atlantic Beach, so if you’re in the neighborhood and want to hear what the swells are like, or the latest news on what happened to Joey the other night after the party, stop in. You will be back.
-John dooling
Location: In Neptune Beach at 207 Atlantic Boulevard
Type of Place: Family restaurant with a nightlife.
Serving: A Full menu and bar featuring imported and domestic draft and bottled beers, as well as a great selection of wines and top-shelf liquors.Atmosphere: Hip, clean, comfortable, and well-lit. This isn’t a dive bar, but it isn’t too fancy for a sloppy good time either.Amenities: Lift your leg in their nice, clean bathrooms. Featuring live music, video games, and several televisions that are viewable from the bar.Drink Specials: Happy Hour is every weekday from 2pm – 7pm, when everything is $1 off.
The Sun Dog Diner is cool because it blends the traditional diner with a swanky 1950s night club–complete with the trendy art deco of the time. The result is a hot spot at the beach that attracts all walks of life. You can come in and enjoy tasty sandwiches, soups, salads or even steaks and seafood, and then chill out with your friends for cocktails while you watch one of their TVs at the bar. The menu is loaded with all types of tasty appetizers, so if you’re not in the mood for a full meal, they’ve got you covered. The night life at Sun Dog doesn’t disappoint either. They are always rockin’ it with one of Jacksonville’s own great bands. From acoustic to something more funky, they feature every genre of live music. Sun Dog’s got the bark and the bite, so check it out the next time you’re in Neptune Beach.
-John Dooling
Location: 212 3rd Avenue South, just of 3rd Street across from Krystal
Type of Place: Oxygen bar
Serving: Oxygen with various aromatherapy scents.Atmosphere: Tropical and calm. Amenities: Fresh air, massage chairs, and even canned oxygen.
Drink Specials: Oxygen water and various vitamin-rich fruit drinks.
For a change in your bar-hopping routine, throw in some fresh air from Exhale. Cool off after a day at the beach with some oxygen water and a chair massage while you enjoy a eucalyptus or tropical aromatherapy with your oxygen. Name the sensation you want to experience. From relaxation or cleansing to sensual or energizing, they have a blend that can make you feel better than that dirty old oxygen you are used to breathing. This is the only oxygen bar in this area, the next closest may be as far as New York or Miami. In larger metropolitan areas, oxygen bars are fairly common, but this is Jacksonville’s first full-fledged, full-service oxygen bar. It’s the only fresh air at the beaches!
-JOHNNY ST. THOMAS
Location: 1500 Beach Blvd, next door to The Homestead
Type of Place: Barbecue restaurant and full-service bar
Serving: Newcastle, Blue Moon, and Yeungling on tap. Many domestic and imported bottled beers and a selection of red and white wines. Also featuring a variety of top shelf and well liquors.Atmosphere: The original blues-inspired folk art perfectly complements the shanty blues bar décor of street signs, classic blues music (on stage or from overhead) painted guitars, and wall paintings in this almost-Memphis, almost upscale bar and restaurant.
Amenities: Live blues music on stage, a large bar, 2 flat screen televisions and some of the best barbecue in town.
Drink Specials: Every drink they serve is special, and it’s all full price.
MoJo Kitchen doesn’t just have a blues theme, it has a blues philosophy. From the barbecue, to the music, to the art on the walls, it’s got “blues on tap.” The barbecue is like the best family cookout you’ve ever had, but so much better. It’s hickory smoked, crazy tender, and just plain yummy. The toe-tappin’ blues music that’s played all day and night creates unison between your jaw and your feet. I was looking for a “now playing” display, so I could look up the tunes myself. After dinner MoJo takes the blues experience to a new level with a live showcase of legendary and local musicians. The original artwork by Nicklos is the perfect sidebar to the pulled pork and succulent collared greens. His art portrays legendary blues artists, many I’ve never heard of and most I’ve never seen, in a raw and intriguing likeness. MoJo Kitchen is a lesson in barbecue and blues.
-sherry ohl
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