Real southern food and nice people!!…read more We will probably get the country fried steak again rather than the liver. But I'll likely be back once a week!! The amount of food for your money is great and it's all piping hot and fresh. I can see why it's a staple restaurant around here!

Steffens Diner has been on my radar for a while. Living in Callahan, Friday date nights with my…read morewife can be challenging when restaurant options are scarce and repetitive. Opening Yelp, I check the list of saved restaurants, and my wife points out this place. I mean, 4.9 stars with 525 reviews, and the Google rating is 4.6 with 3450 contributions. One would think with all those stars, you'd be guaranteed a great experience. That, of course, may end the evening with "brown chicken, brown cow." We arrive, and immediate retro-dinner vibes set in. As we walk past the back door into the kitchen, we see two small, well-used smokers. My first thought was, "Whatever gets the job done." I know I have turned out many great cuts of meat from mine. Next, I notice an older woman struggling to smoke a cigarette, hacking away; it was a clear sign she should quit. We walk into the restaurant, and the retro vibe continues, from the old diner seats and tables to the music playing from the ceiling speakers. Being a car guy, I liked the row of model cars above the bar, but they could use a feather duster or a Swiffer. One word of caution: if you are heading to the restrooms, be aware of the sudden change in floor elevation; there is no warning, and a trip-and-fall is possible. The first waitress comes over after we're seated; she looks like she had a rough day, judging by the leftover food on her black shirt. At least the table was clean and well-designed. Turning to the reviews, the highlighted items are fried chicken, country fried steak, and a few others. The menu offers some unexpected options, like crab-stuffed cod and beef bourguignon, demonstrating nice variety. We started by asking what their top-selling items were; they mentioned fried chicken and country-fried steak. Feeling adventurous, I chose the beef bourguignon, and my wife went with the crab-stuffed cod. We began with jalapeño poppers, which looked great when they arrived. Ignoring the caution, I took the first bite and immediately realized how hot they were, temperature-wise, as the filling blistered my mouth. The flavors were good, and the fresh jalapeño peppers were crunchy rather than soft. If this were an indication of how the rest of the meal is going to go, the "made fresh every day" motto displayed would be a treat. Well, except for setting caution aside for the hot items. Our dishes arrived, and the presentation was decent. My wife's dish looked good, but my beef bourguignon seemed very old and overdone. We said grace and started eating; well, so much for that "it's made fresh every day" motto. If mine were made fresh, the chef would likely have killed it twice. The chew of the first bite was so dry and long that it could have made Wrigley's gum proud. It took me back to my high school days when Hubba Bubba bubble gum first appeared. (Yes, I am that old.) I tried to push through it, hoping for a moist bite and those seasonal flavor notes; alas, they never came. The flavor profile was missing Rosemary and bold red-wine notes. Julia Child would be rolling over in her grave. I grabbed a piece of the cornbread that came with our selection to dip into Aujour. Well, you would have to question whether anyone tastes the items before serving them? A box of Jiffy Cornbread mix has more moisture and texture. It was something with the biscuits. There was still flour on the putter surface of the biscuits. Our server came by to check on us, and we didn't hold back our disappointment. She went to the kitchen, apparently took a piece, and confirmed it wasn't good. She then said she would comp the meal and offered to replace it with anything I wanted. Just then, my wife reacted after her second bite of the crab-stuffed codfish. It turns out she had a piece of crab shell lodged between her gums and a tooth, which was very painful--way worse than biting into a popcorn shell. Once it was removed, she managed to get a few more bites in before CRUNCH!!--another shell. By this point, the experience had fallen short of what we had seen in the reviews. The server returned and asked if we were interested in dessert. We agreed on a slice of Limoncello cake. When it arrived, it looked amazing again, but the first bite told the story. This was supposed to be Limoncello, and it was clear that the lemon had left the chat... I was thankful for the extra lemon I ordered for my sweet tea; once a squeeze of lemon juice was added, the chat was revived. Before completely passing judgment, we would like to experience breakfast. As much as the reviews raved about the menu items, I'll keep my opinion until then

After we attempted to go at least four times and every time the lights were on and you could see…read morepeople inside but the doors were locked, we were surprised to see and unlocked door. We went in for dinner it was surprisingly warm friendly with good homestyle cooking. The fish in the seafood soup were delicious, service was great and we can't complain. We asked the server why the restaurant doors were locked on the other occasions and they said they were taking a break. We would like to return if they're open again.

Quite possibly the best Cuban food I've ever had. The owner and the waitress rolled out the…read morehospitality, comfort and amazing food. DO NOT MISS this place! Get off the freeway, and come sit down, strike up a conversation and get served the best Cuban food! You'll thank me later, trust me.

Stopped in to meet our daughter and son-in-law for lunch, after church. We had a lot to choose from…read moreon the buffet, everything was good to okay and We all had enough to eat. The kind lady bussing tables was outstanding, and efficient. The place is well lighted and kept clean especially for the size. We will comeback when we are in the area, and overall it's a solid to 4 stars. Price point was comparable to the new restaurant pricing normal.

Yet spending another Thanksgiving meal here at Ole Times. One thing is you never have any…read morecomplaints about the food. The turkey is always done to perfection, the ham yummy and plenty of sides and desserts. The salad bar was completely vacant, however...this was somewhat disheartening, considering how supposedly "health minded" American adults are these days. That was our first stop of the day. Cabbage slaw, carrot salad, macaroni salad, olives, huge delicious slices of beautiful tomatoes, gorgeous slices of cucumbers, nicely green lettuce, several types of peppers and ham. Cheese, salad dressing of every kind...best stop so far! Smoked pork, ribs, fried fish, yeast rolls, sliced roast beef, ham, turkey slices, meatloaf, fried chicken, baked chicken, green bean casserole, mac & cheese, cornbread dressing, turkey gravy, mashed potatoes, lima beans, black eyed peas, creamed corn, greens, rice, fried okra... Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, lemon meringue, peach cobbler, soft serve ice cream, chocolate cream pie, cookies, brownies...oh, I'm exhausted just from trying to list everything! There was so so so much more than what I even listed here, plus the absolute best waitress and Arnold Palmer maker! Why cook at home, burden yourself, spend HOURS cleaning up afterwards and hours more packing everything away? Take yourself and your loved ones out to Ole Times Country Buffet just one time for the holidays and you'll never go back to cooking again! (I sure haven't)

I never "got" how people could rave about fried chicken. To me it was chicken, usually too greasy…read moreand covered in way too much spicy breading to make up for its overall lack of taste...and then I tried Shut Em Down. I have never had such a revelation and change of heart about a single food. This chicken will change your life! I have to drive about 30 minutes or more and 20 miles to get it and I happily do so when I get the "Shut Em Down Cravings" Each piece is individually cooked when you order it so you ALWAYS get hot (sometimes too hot to eat right away despite how much your mouth is watering) pieces of chicken. The sides are also good, though truthfully not nearly as good as the chicken, and you get two with your meal. Oh, and their home made baked good are delicious as well. The staff are friendly and quick to point out the best deal on what you are ordering (there are specials almost every day). Plus the atmosphere is VERY relaxed, sort of a diner meets Cracker Barrel (without all the junk on the wall). It is an overall bargain because it is hard to spend more than about $15 for lunch (including a drink) and you always have some to take home. There are other good fried chicken spots in JAX of course, but this is a GREAT fried chicken spot. Heck, now I've got the darn "Shut Em Down Cravings", guess it is a trip across the river for me soon.

The food was delicious! The staff immediately greeted us and took our order. The restaurant was…read moreclean and had natural light from the windows. I got the veggie plate and picked macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, and cabbage. Everything was very flavorful, especially my sides. They are very vegetarian friendly, all the vegetables/sides are meatless.

Tiny place that serves breakfast and lunch. Today I ordered the fish basket (cod) with onion rings…read more I was hoping for grandma onion rings in a place like this but they were frozen from a bag. My dining companion had the 1/3 with cheese and bacon and fries. The tea was delicious and I mixed it half and half. They use simply syrup and Martin's liquid tea packages. So old fashioned and good. They carry Pepsi products. My fish were good and the onion rings hot out of the fryer. My friend's burger was very good. If you think about what this diner is, it is simple food done well and inexpensive served in a friendly atmosphere. The oil was new and everything was done well.

This restaurant was taken over by the folks that own the Coop. They kept the format and menu,…read morecalled it Little Biddy! excellent for breakfast or lunch.

The world needs more home cooking. Why pay $40-$70 for a meal with no food on the plate?…read more Fraze's has delicious food and good portions. The service was spot on, and the ambiance was laid back and chill. Fancy food has its place, but when you want a good meal and a very reasonable price, head over to this place. I was not disappointed! They also have karaoke a couple of nights a week. :-)

Stopped in Saturday at lunchtime as they've been on our weekend list to try for quite some time…read more They're closed on Sundays so that limits our opportunities to visit. We ordered the Saturday special of the BBQ- Cuban ($12), a small garden salad ($3.50)the Fried Fish Dinner ($15 50) and a bottle of Yuengling ($3.50). Food and service were both OK. Prices are very reasonably for the quantity of food. We would have ordered the fried chicken but it's boneless and we prefer our fried chicken with bones. Attached is a picture of the fan in the bathroom. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we didn't use the restroom until we were ready to leave. Stopped in Saturday at lunchtime as they've been on our weekend list to try for quite some time. They're closed on Sundays so that limits our opportunities to visit. We ordered the Saturday special of the BBQ- Cuban ($12), a small garden salad ($3.50)the Fried Fish Dinner ($15 50) and a bottle of Yuengling ($3.50). Food and service were both OK. Prices are very reasonably for the quantity of food. We would have ordered the fried chicken but it's boneless and we prefer our fried chicken with bones. Attached is a picture of the fan in the bathroom. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we didn't use the restroom until we were ready to leave.

It is absolutely remarkable place and the staff are so knowledgeable and friendly and kind caring…read moreand sweet and helpful and very fast service to it is so clean and sanitary they clean after every customer and the food is made fresh every day I love it so much and i adore them so much they deserve a raise! The staff seriously thank you for all your hard work devotion to the community and others and dedication making incredible food and service plus your humility and amazing love and support and kindness and unbelievable remarkable service and hard work and always remarkable people and staff and I appreciate you so much great job to chef for making awesome food always fresh and incredible! Plus patience and sweet and caring and absolutely wonderful people thank you Have a great school year everyone! From Lauren

I waited for several visits before posting this - hoping for redemption I suppose? Perhaps I was…read morewaiting to see if some of their issues were just because they were new... I've kind of given up hope at this point. When we have visited the establishment in person I'd give it another star, but their quality control is SO bad, I feel like it would be a stretch. When they were new, we got a carry out order that had food with mold on it. While the mold was facing up in my tray in plain view, I still dismissed it as something that could happen. However, every delivery order we've ever gotten from there has been completely messed up. Most of the time missing items, or neglecting to make elected substitutions (offered not implied). However, literally EVERY time we've ordered from there we have not received any sauces or dressings... First off, I'm not talking about a ketchup packet, I'm talking about salads with no dressing. Chicken tenders with no dressing, etc... things that made the food inedible when you don't receive them... so, straight in the trash they go. Also, I'm not talking once or twice... I'm talking probably 6 times. So much so, in fact, that I now buy sauces and dressings from the store to keep on hand in case we order food from there because we know we aren't getting it - which defeats the purpose of ordering out. Also, so many times we've had to request refunds that UBER EATS cancelled some of our features because it has pretty much labeled us as complainers at this point, and they assume that we're doing this to get out of paying - which, if we're honest, you send me a salad to my house with no salad dressing, I AM going to ask for a refund. I'm not a rabbit, nor do I have a rabbit to feed it to. At the end of the day, I'm not trying to rant - but seriously, I've been eating at Metro Diners for nearly 30 years, and have done so in numerous states at this point. I love the restaurant, but this location just seems helplessly lost. If you're going to eat here, do it in person - so at least you can send someone to fetch whatever they don't bring. I wouldn't order delivery from here unless my goal was just to not eat dinner... like a new fad diet... Anyways, hate to make people look bad, but their QC has been so bad that it has made US look like the bad ones. That's a new low that I didn't even realize was possible. If I'm going to be embarrassed, they should share in that with me.

My husband and I visited Sweet Mama's Southern Homestyle today for lunch. I had the shrimp and…read moregrits. My husband had shrimp grits and fish. The food was absolutely amazing! The staff was professional and pleasant. The restaurant was clean and inviting. I also ordered oxtails for my mom "to go". I will definitely be eating at this establishment in the future! If I could give this restaurant 10 stars if I would!!

I've been coming to Sweet Mama's for a couple of years every time my husband and I visit…read moreJacksonville, so I was a little disappointed with this visit. The pork chop looked good, but it didn't seem seasoned, and there wasn't enough gravy on it to really be considered smothered. My husband's soda also had a strange aftertaste, which wasn't pleasant. On a positive note, the sides were absolutely delicious. The sweet potatoes, butter beans, rice, and cornbread were all flavorful and enjoyable. That's honestly what saved the meal for me. I know every restaurant can have an off day, and because we've had great experiences here in the past, we'll definitely give them another chance. This visit just wasn't up to the standard we've come to expect from Sweet Mama's.

Delicious BBQ!!! Sweetest employees. What a great stop just off I-95 just above the FL line…read more No bathrooms but there is a gas station beside them.... they just asked that you make a purchase. Outdoor seating only Great way to support small businesses!

Just driving by the smell draws you in ! The staff are very friendly as well. The sandwich is…read morepretty tasty and chewy. Not to bad at all