B.B. King, Spanish eats in Jacksonville

I road-tripped to Jacksonville Sunday night with food and wine writer Tim Rutherford to catch a live show by legendary bluesman B.B. King. The performance was amazing – and a more and more rare chance to catch the 87-year-old perform. B.B. laid down a blend of his classic tunes, backed by that amazing band of his, told plenty of stories and seemed truly reluctant to leave the stage after a nearly two-hour, intermission-free set. The Florida Theatre is beautiful...and not a bad seat in the house. I got some nice video of BB's entrance -- you can see it on my Facebook page.

Georgia finger-style guitarist Shaun Hopper opened for King. This due is a veritable one-man band – playing percussion on his flat-top guitar body and never missing a beat with his thumb plucking bass on the sixth string. Dude has a ton of energy.

Before the show, we caught dinner at Taverna, a self-titled Spanish restaurant set in a trendy little street in downtown Jacksonville. We sampled more than a half dozen dishes from the appetizer menu.

What caught our attention? Tim and I agreed that a special that night – a ceviche of calamari, shrimp and scallops with citrus foam, was a winner. So too was the bargain priced ($10) charcuterie plate of prosciutto and Brillat Savarin, a triple cream cow cheese from France. The board was accompanied by plenty of toasted crostini, grain mustard, fig compote, nuts, grapes and cornichon. A nice-sized ramekin of wildflower honey added just the right touch of sweetness.

A bowl of whipped ricotta dressed with herbs was also very, very good.

The restaurant is kind of austere – and almost looks incomplete. It quickly filled up beginning at 6 p.m. but by 7:30 was beginning to empty. Service was off to a good start – but fell apart at the end when Tim’s last glass of wine never arrived. We both agreed the place doesn’t take many chances with its food – and apparently plays right in line with local favorites. Tim, who ordered wine BTG, found the small list good enough – but was surprised to find at least two options not available.

Of course, we’re food and drink geeks and tend to really dissect a place, it’s staff and its food. Looking back, I think another visit may be in order.