Night People in Mandarin
Published July 21, 2008 | 
Have you noticed that most places, other than bars, close around 9:00pm here in Mandarin. I mean if you are a night-owl and really want to go out for a bite or need something from the stores there are not a lot of places you can go. Thankfully, our Walmart on San Jose Boulevard is usually opened 24/7 and you can get pretty much anything you want from there but sometimes it would be nice to be able to go somewhere else in the middle of the night.
I am a night-owl. I work the midnight shift at one of our hospitals in the Emergency Room. I have to pretty much keep to that schedule even on my off days or else I will mess up my sleeping patterns. So, when I get restless on my days off I usually go for a drive. It’s pretty nice out there for the most part with hardly no one else on the road but if I want to get a burger or a decent cup of coffee then my choices are limited. The people at the Gate Store on St Augustine Road just before the I-95 overpass almost never disappoints. They keep the coffee fresh and the flavored coffee creamers cool at almost all times of the night. Their store is also very clean and the prices for other stuff is not too outrageous.
Of course as far as the great burger or pizza is concerned I am out of luck after 10:00pm or 11:00pm during the week except for McDonalds down by I-295 on St Augustine Road. But just remember their menu is limited after 11:00pm and I found out that all the 24 hour McDonalds closes between 3:00am and 4:00am for computer updates.
So, for those magic hours after 2:00am when the bars close and before 5:00am when the fast food places open for breakfast there are not too many choices in the Mandarin Area for a night-owl to go. If you know of any businesses opened after 11:00pm during the week or even the weekend in the Mandarin Area please post that information here and what they offer! I must find another place to go when I can’t sleep and don’t want to wander the aisles at Walmart!
Cheers!
Reviewing Mandarin Places to Eat
Published June 21, 2008 | Hey everyone! Just a little note about posting reviews on restaurants and fast food places. We want to encourage everyone to subscribe to the blog and begin making posts and uploading pictures of their favorite places to eat. There are a few rules however.
First of all, please make sure you keep your comments rated ‘G’. We know that it is so tempting to blast a place where we got really bad food or terrible services and of course, you can do that here. But we are a family website and posting your review should be an honest reflection of the dissatisfying service or food you received not how bad your language skills are. Most people appreciate an honest opinion of a place so that they will not waste their hard-earned money on bad food and/or bad service.
Second, pictures should be compressed for documents. Almost everyone has access to some kind of picture software. I use Microsoft Picture Manager that came with my computer. Sorry, but only subscribers can upload pictures to the gallery. If you have trouble with any of this or do not have access to some kind of picture suppression software then just email me the pictures at: jolene.macfadden@jacksonvillesmandarin.info and I will compress it for you and then upload the pictures.
Third, we are not an advertising space. While it is true we do not mind if you own the restaurant and want to post your specials or upcoming events, advertising for it’s own sake is not what we do. If you are not sure just email us with the post and we will review it.
Fourth, most of all we want to encourage an honest review of wherever you and your family enjoyed your food adventure. So when you eat out take a picture of the most interesting thing (most people have a cellphone with camera to email it to yourself) and tell us about what foods you and your family enjoyed!
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