Museums + Food Spots

Tired of staying in Gainesville, so we took a short weekend getaway 🚗💨. Itinerary: 10:30 AM - Depart 🍣 Lunch at Oishi Sushi 🖼️ Visit Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens 🛍️ Quick stop at St. John’s Town Center 🍢 Dinner at Top Pot & K BBQ 🌙 Head back Highlights: Cummer Museum: The garden was lovely—classic flamingos and pretty flowers 🌺🦩, with the St. Johns River right behind it. As for the art, I’m no expert, but the paintings were beautiful! The museum is compact; we spent about 2 hours there. St. John’s Town Center: A large outdoor mall, kind of like an outlet. We only browsed briefly 🛒. Food Notes: Oishi Sushi: Just okay—the sashimi didn’t feel very fresh 😕. Top Pot & K BBQ: ⭐ Highly recommended! It’s an all-you-can-eat hot pot + BBQ spot. The place was packed (BBQ had a wait), so we went with hot pot only. Compared to a similar-priced spot in Gainesville, this was a major upgrade! Rich and fragrant sesame & peanut sauces 🥜 Tasty beef and lamb slices 🥩 Real shrimp paste, not just starch 🍤 Wide variety of meats and veggies 🥬 Dessert station had amazing sago dessert and silver ear soup—drank several bowls 🍧 Complimentary crispy fried pork (pretty good) and seafood pancake (we skipped it) One small note: The sauce bar could be more complete (missing fermented tofu, etc.), hope they add more options! Overall, Top Pot & K BBQ is bookmarked for a return visit—next time we’ll try the BBQ side too! 🔥🥢 #US #Florida #Jacksonville