JB's opened in 2005 at the site of Bryar's Deli that had operated for many years in the same location. While in many ways Bryar's cannot be replaced, JB's has provided an attractive alternative with a refurbished décor and upgraded menu to provide a more upscale dining experience, with a wide variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options.

JB's Cafe seems to be based on a Jimmy Buffett theme, with Margaritaville and Parrothead decorations giving a unique character to the restaurant. If you do not like Jimmy Buffett music playing while you are dining, it would probably be a good idea to avoid JB's Cafe. I do not know very many people, though, who would not enjoy these sounds at least long enough to get a taste of the tropics while enjoying a meal.

JB's is what I would call casual dining, and was probably inspired by visites to bars and restaurants on the Florida Gulf Coast where many of the patrons are in tourist and beach attire. I would not call JB's a seafood restaurant, although there are some items that would probably be representative of Gulf Coast restaurants.

There is so much variety on the menu there is probably something that anyone would like, with the possible exception of vegetarians. JB's serves steaks, wraps, pot roast, sandwiches, salads, pastas, and probably a lot more I have yet to discover. I have been happiest with the Southwest style food, although I certainly have not tried a great variety of the items offered.

A breakfast menu is offered, although so far this is what I have liked the least. I have not sampled enough items, though, to either encourage or discourage others from trying it.

The Penne Chicken with feta and pine nuts I ordered from the dinner menu contained about the right portion of white meat chunks but was heavy on pasta. The dish was fairly enjoyable, although I did not like the sauce as much as I had hoped. It was substantial enough, though, to allow some of the dinner to be taken home as leftovers, and I thought it tasted better when reheated (it was actually quite good).

On another occasion I tried the Wild Mushroom Ravioli to see what the vegetarian dishes were like, and it had a similar large amount of pasta although I liked the sauce a little better than the penne chicken. Again there was enough food for leftovers, and I would have been happier with a smaller portion that I could have eaten in the restaurant. The worst disappointment, though, is that there were only two flavors--mushroom (both inside the ravioli and the sauce on top) and pasta. The menu says that the mushroom ravioli comes with a vegetable medley but I did not receive any vegetables, and I'm sure this contributed to the dinner being somewhat unsatisfying.

The Portobello Pasta was another enjoyable dish, and had a better mix of flavors than the wild mushroom ravioli.

The Chicken Enchilada Pasta demonstrated that the Southwest style dishes are some of the best ones at JB's. This consisted of chunks of chicken breast mixed in with pasta, some tortilla strips, and seasoning. The seasoning was very flavorful, and I did not even mind that it was made with pasta since it had enough sauce to penetrate the entire dish.

The taco salad at JB's is famous for its oversized shell

JB's has such a large menu that it would take a large sampling of items to determine the best dishes. Clearly, some items served are a lot more to my taste than others, but there should be something on the menu for just about everybody.