Brass Monkey, Jacksonville, Florida

Brass monkeys in the UK means freezing cold...not exactly how I'd describe our barmy November visit to Brass Monkey in Southside, Jacksonville. We were looking for an early dinner somewhere and had intended to go to Mellow Mushroom, but being a Gator game night, it was rammed and we looked for somewhere we could get in without waiting ages for a table. The other end of the strip to Mellow Mushroom we found Brass Monkey . It was quiet when we walked in (6.30pm) but soon started to fill up, and as a bonus we had view of the large screen that was showing the football, so we wouldn't miss the start.

It's a tapas restaurant, with an extensive drinks bar, and I have since read that they have live music and other special nights. It's modern inside with low lighting and plenty of booths (our favoured seating). It was nice to have cloth napkins and a very attentive waitress.
We picked a few small plates of Tapas raning from $6 to $9 each to share and some were better than others.
Asparagus wrapped in Serano ham, with pesto sauce - you can't really go wrong here and they didn't, crunchy asparagus with crisp ham and a delicate pesto, very nice
Garlic Prawns - Disappointing, some of the garlic had been burnt and it made the sauce bitter, and the prawns were a little tasteless
Gruyere Macaroni & Cheese with truffle oil - I want more ! absolutely delicious, melty and with a little crunch from the panko topping, perfect.
Cagney Fries - Too big, not crisp, a sin if you are doing fries in my opinion. The taste was right but spoilt by the greasy texture
Chicken Empanadas & Avocado sauce - Pretty good, hubbie reckons that the pastry should have been more crispy and the chicken spicier, however I enjoyed them, and the sauce was super tasty.

It was very reasonable, and my Merlot was very nice and smooth for $6 / glass. We'd go again, but maybe a little later when the bar has heated up a bit.