Gator Bowl help

We are a group coming to watch the Clemson Tigers in the Gator Bowl. We are staying at the Jacksonville Sheraton (SPG points). We need help with information about the best way to travel to the game, and reservations for New Year%26#39;s dinner. Is Shula%26#39;s in the hotel good? Thanks!

Gator Bowl help

Hi pearlgirl,

You would go back to Interstate 95 and go north about 6 mmiles to the Main Street/Prudential Drive Exit. Follow Main Street over the blue bridge and turn right at the first traffic light (Bay Street). The stadium is about a mile down that road.

I haven%26#39;t been in the hotel or in Shula%26#39;s. Suspect it%26#39;s just a run of the mill hotel restaurant.

The action on New Year%26#39;s Eve will be Downtown or at the beach.

The action New Year%26#39;s Eve will be Downtown at The Landing which is adjacent to the blue Main Street Bridge. There are great fireworks on New Year%26#39;s Eve. Hope it%26#39;s a nice warm night! River City Brewery is a restaurant and bar with a great location on the river for view and watching the fireworks. It%26#39;s across the river from The Landing.

There will also be action at the beach and fireworks there usually. There are lots of restaurants to choose from there especially in Jacksonville Beach.

Happy New Year!

Spirit

Gator Bowl help

Hi, Pearl,

Unfortunately the Sheraton does not provide transportation greater than 7 miles so if you don%26#39;t have a car, you will need to take a taxi.

Shula%26#39;s is great. We ate there last weekend, but they don%26#39;t have anything planned for New Years Eve - jsut their regular dinner, and they close at 10:00. If you want to party, your best bet is to stay downtown after the game and make reservations at one of the downtown riverfront restaurants - Ruth%26#39;s Chris, Chart House, River City Brewing Company. There are more if you want more suggestions. Fireworks will be at midnight on the river. You could also go back to the hotel and rest a couple of hours and come back downtown. Just depends on how long you want to party.

Spirit - I think we were posting at the same time and usually offer the similar advice :)

IMHO Shula%26#39;s is actually one of Jacksonville%26#39;s finer restaurants. We%26#39;ve eaten there twice since their opening during the summer and both times we were with parties of 6 - 10 and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. I think their steak is equal to or better than Ruth%26#39;s. The atmosphere is more casual than the top end Shula%26#39;s in Orlando and Miami, but it is still very nice, kind of a very upscale sports bar. Unfortunately they have nothing planned for New Years Eve.

Guess I should post a review in the restaurant section - I tend to forget to do that.

You%26#39;ve already gotten excellent advice! Our folks here on the Jacksonville forum are super!

I%26#39;m not sure what time the game is...

I%26#39;ve not been to Shula%26#39;s, but we absolutely love the Chart House and River City Brewing Company. I don%26#39;t think you can go wrong with Ruth%26#39;s Chris either! The Landing and the river walks will be great places to see the fireworks. I would check into the River City Brewing Company and Chart House both to find out how late they%26#39;re open on New Years Day.

For New Year%26#39;s Eve, you may very well enjoy the beaches. It should be hopping with fun and tons of people enjoying everything. Spirit can give you some restaurant suggestions if you want to spend New Year%26#39;s Eve at the beach.

Also, see Trixie%26#39;s great post, ';New Years Events';. That will give you some great info.

I hope you have a great time. Good luck at your game! I can%26#39;t speak for everyone, but I%26#39;m pretty darned excited about our Gators going to the BCS championship!

I%26#39;ll be hoping for a big win for your Tigers against Nebraska!

Vicki

Thanks so much for the help. I think we will look around at restauranrs, but Shula%26#39;s may fit the bill after a 6 hour drive.One of the dad%26#39;s loves the restaurant in another city. I still could uses help with parking and timing. The game is at 1:00 on 1/1. Is there an outlying lot and shuttle somewhere?I think we%26#39;ll plan to stay and enjoy the downtown/landing/river area after the game so thanks for the suggestions. Should everything be open on New Years Day?

The Landing doesn%26#39;t have any activites posted on their site after 12/31, but I would imagine with all you guys in town they will be open on the first. Here is a link for the Gator Bowl Association. If you click on travel, you can access maps and driving directions:

http://www.gatorbowl.com/

If you don%26#39;t want to drive, you can park at River City Brewing Company and ride the water taxi to the stadium, $10.00 per person round trip. I would call them first just to make sure they%26#39;re operating that day, but they usually do during big games:

http://www.jaxwatertaxi.com/special.html

If you have more than a couple of people in your group, it%26#39;s probably cheaper to drive and park at the stadium.

Also, forgot to mention, the Sheraton is normally a 15 minute drive from the stadium, but with the game traffic, I would allow closer to an hour.

Jacksonville Transit Authority runs express busses from a couple points in town to the games. One of those points I beleieve is on Philips Hwy at the west end of Butler Blvd which is only a couple miles from your hotel. This is an option you might want to check out.

Suggest you call the JTA and see what they have to say. The Information number is (904) 630-3100.

Spirit

Shula%26#39;s was recently cited by the Health Departent inspectors with critical violations. Pretty bad for a brand new restaurant.

If you want a great restaurant with reasonable prices (not sure about New Year%26#39;s dinner though) is Enza%26#39;s Italian retuarant.

Here is there website: www.enzas.net

Call and see what they are offering for New Years. You won%26#39;t be disappointed.

Shula%26#39;s did have a high number of violations, however, if you will notice, they are procedural rather than the nastier ones that are generaly associated with an unclean restaurant. Also, there are 5 violations for restrooms. The restrooms are brand new, beautifully appointed and sparkling clean. They use the same soaps and lotions as the hotel rooms and smell lovely on every visit. Don%26#39;t know what they%26#39;re inspecting in there and I%26#39;m not a trained inspector, but it just doesn%26#39;t add up. Violations are common for new restaurants and the true test will be how they are resolved for follow up inspections. I%26#39;ve have eaten at Shula%26#39;s several times and would not hesitate to return.

Enza, on the other hand has a history of recurring violations from opening in January through the current inspection in December.