Slow Down on Friday with Intuition Ale!

Come and Slow Down tomorrow night at Intuition Ale! The brewery is hosting a benefit for Slow Food First Coast on Friday, April 29th at 6:00pm. Celebrate the end of the work week with locally-crafted brews and delicious appetizers featuring fresh, local ingredients from some of Northeast Florida’s finest small family farms prepared by a few of the top chefs in the area, including many from our own Riverside Avondale.

Who? Participating partners include Seacow Confections, Chew Restaurant, Restaurant Orsay, Taverna, Bistro Aix, 29 South, Marker 32, Sweet Grass Dairy, KYV Farm, Black Hog Farm, The Veggie Bin, Bold City Brewery, Eat Your Yard Jax, Bakery Moderne, Bold Bean Coffee Roasters, Trad’s of Jacksonville Garden Center, Grassroots Market, Blue Bamboo and of course, Intuition Ale Works!

What? Come out and meet some of the Slow Food First Coast board members and get to know where your food (and drink) comes from! Toast the night away with lively libations and fabulous food and enter a drawing with lots of great prizes, including:

- Gift certificates from Restaurant Orsay, Bistro Aix, 29 South, Trad's of Jacksonville Garden Center, Marker 32 and Blue Bamboo
- Produce baskets from KYV Farm and The Veggie Bin
- Cool merchandise from Bold City Brewery and Intuition Ale
- And many more!

How much? $5 gains entrance to the event and one raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets can be purchased for $1 and all proceeds benefit Slow Food First Coast. In addition, Intuition Ale will be donating $1 from every pint sold to Slow Food First Coast!

Mojo is coming to Avondale

Get ready for some barbecue.  The culinary geniuses behind the Mojo empire have signed a lease on a space in the Shoppes of Avondale, in the former home of Nadeau furniture store.  The new restaurant anticipates opening in February of next year and plans to host live musicians on weekends.

The Whole Hawg

If you’ve never been to one of the area's three Mojos, a great way to sample a little bit of everything is to order The Whole Hawg, a belly busting platter heaped with a variety of meats: smoked turkey, pork ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken, and sausage.  Mix-and-match the meats with Mojo’s five sauce options – sweet, mustard, vinegar, chipotle, and a house sauce – to figure out your favorite combinations.

Standout sides at Mojo include luscious mac ‘n’ cheese, creamy black-eyed peas, smashed sweet potatoes, and rich baked beans.

Baked beans, mac 'n' cheese, black-eyed peas

Owner Todd Lineberry is considering offering delivery service in the neighborhood.  Better for our waistlines if we bike or walk there!

Read the full story on Jacksonville.com.  

Photos courtesy Cari Sanchez-Potter of cari-viCARIous.com.

Restaurant spotlight: 'town

In this town, locally-driven menus are something of a rarity.  Thank goodness for ‘town, a newish slick urban bistro located in the tony Avondale shopping strip.  There’s been a lot of buzz about town about ‘town; just one visit and you’ll understand why.  ‘town really puts off a sophisticated, big city vibe and couples it with the approachability we all love about dining in the South.  The restaurant is open for dinner and Sunday brunch and has a mouthwatering bar bites menu if you’d just like to stop by and hang at the bar for a snack.

While there are a few Jacksonville restaurants that serve foods from local farmers and producers, few make it widely known that they are sourcing their products from our area.  A section at the bottom of ‘town’s menus announces that the restaurant proudly features local farmers and lists Twinn Bridges, Eli’s Raw Foods, Sweetgrass Dairy, White Oak Pastures, Magnolia Farms, and Down to Earth Farm as local sources.  By dining at ‘town, you’re supporting not only an amazing new restaurant but also local food producers who are doing their part to make strides in Jacksonville’s small but growing sustainability movement.

Read more about ‘town and their scrumptious food on the blog viCARIous by clicking here.


A few highlights?  Charcuterie, smoked salmon beignets, Anson Mill grits, and budin blanc hash for brunch… fritto misto, heirloom tomatoes, duck confit, grilled lobster, scallops, buttermilk ricotta gnocchi, snapper, bouillabaisse, and mini sugar donuts for dinner!  Check out photos of these dishes and more at viCARIous. 

‘town

http://www.town3611.com/

3611 Saint John’s Ave, Jacksonville, FL 

(904)345-2596

Photos courtesy of Cari Sanchez-Potter of www.cari-viCARIous.com.

Restaurant Spotlight: Indian dinner at Cozy Tea

Did you know that Cozy Tea in Five Points not only serves specialty teas and scrumptious lunches, but also hosts an Indian dinner the first Friday of every month? The menu changes each month, but last Friday guests were served an appetizer course consisting of fire-toasted papad (crisp lentil wafers), a mixed spring green salad tossed with the tasty house citrus vinaigrette, katchori (crisp baked round pastry with spicy sweet pea filling), an herbed fish cake with dill sauce, and sweet mango chutney. Three curries were served for the main course: murgh do pyaza (chicken in an onion and yogurt sauce), mirchi ka salan (green bell peppers in a sweet and sour nutty sauce), and aloo gobi mutter (cauliflower, potatoes, and sweet peas with oven-baked tomatoes and spices). Basmati rice and a basket of warm, chewy, buttery naan accompanied the curries, which were followed by hot chai and dessert.

Cozy Tea’s Indian dinner is a popular event, and rightly so. You’ll need to make a reservation at least a month in advance, and if there’s no room available for the following month they’ll put you on a waiting list. The monthly dinner coincides with First Friday in Five Points, so after your meal you can enjoy a drink and live music at any of the bars and shops in the neighborhood. Don’t forget to pick up a bottle of wine next door at Riverside Liquors and Village Wine Shop; the event is BYO.

Cozy Tea
http://cozytea.wordpress.com/
1029 Park Street, Jacksonville, FL (904)329-3964

Photos courtesy of Cari Sanchez-Potter of www.cari-viCARIous.com.

Local producers showcased at Slow Food farm-to-table event at Orsay

On Monday, Avondale's Restaurant Orsay teamed up with Slow Food First Coast to showcase local farms and other food producers in an epic twelve-course farm-to-table dinner. The dinner was the first collaboration between Orsay and Slow Food, a non-profit organization that seeks to change the way we produce and consume food by reconnecting us with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that produce our food.

Chef Brian Siebenschuh’s menu showcased almost thirty local suppliers, including our neighbors Five Points Honey and Intuition Ale Works. Some of the (many!) highlights of the dinner were raw Apalachicola oysters accented by sweet onion and datil pepper, seared spear shot grey grouper served on a bed of glazed spring vegetables, buttermilk fried chicken with braised greens and sweet corn, seared hanger steak with truffled mashed potatoes, and blueberry shortcake with citrus mascarpone crème.

At the event, Restaurant Orsay was awarded the Slow Food First Coast Snail of Approval in recognition of their contributions to the quality, authenticity and sustainability of the food supply of the First Coast region of Florida. Way to go Brian, Crystal, and the Orsay staff! Orsay was the fifth Riverside/ Avondale business to achieve the honor and now joins ranks with 13 Gypsies, Bakery Moderne, Bold City Brewery, and our very own Riverside Arts Market. We should all get out and patronize these businesses that are contributing so much to the sustainability, quality, and vibrancy of our neighborhood’s food culture.

Because the dinner was such a resounding success – there was a waiting list! – Orsay plans to organize another Slow Food dinner at the end of the season. Keep an eye on the restaurant’s Facebook page for further details. You don’t want to miss out.

Slow Food First Coast: http://slowfoodfirstcoast.com/

Restaurant Orsay: http://www.restaurantorsay.com/

Food photos courtesy of Cari Sanchez-Potter of www.cari-vicarious.com.

Restaurant spotlight: Ruan Thai

Ruan Thai is a new Avondale eatery that is serving Thai flavors in an upscale setting on St Johns Ave. Diners can choose to enjoy their meal in a serene indoor setting or outdoors in an atmospheric courtyard crawling with jasmine and other plants that shield the area from the busy street. The list of appetizers is extensive, offering Thai favorites such as spring rolls, salad rolls, satay, and a variety of soups like Tom Yum and Tom Kha. The spring rolls are crisp and not at all greasy, the Som Tum salad is a standout offering that includes shredded green papaya and grilled shrimp, and the grilled calamari is subtle and tender. The menu also offers well-priced classic noodle dishes and curries served with rice. The pad thai wasn’t the best I’ve ever tried, but it was tasty and the serving was large enough for two meals. The Panang curry was also filling, and was scented with coconut and aromatic spices. The standout entrees during my visit were the fried duck and the whole fried snapper. The snapper was beautifully crisp with a moist interior. The duck was tender and not plagued by grease and fat as is sometimes the case with this bird. My dining companion ordered it with honey ginger sauce, and the sweetness nicely complemented the richness of the duck. For entrees, diners choose their preferred level of spice on a scale of one to five. Ruan is open for dinner every day but Monday, and offers lunch on Sunday. The restaurant periodically offers complimentary wine tastings at the bar – call for dates and details.

Ruan Thai
3951 St. Johns Ave, Jacksonville, FL (904)384-6665

Photos courtesy of Cari Sanchez-Potter of www.cari-vicarious.com.

13 Gypsies featured on the Food Network

Last night, our very own 13 Gypsies was featured on the Globetrottin' episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives! Guy Fieri, the spiky-haired host of “Triple D,” visited the tiny eatery in February and hung out in Chef Howard Kirk’s kitchen, watching as Chef Howard prepared house-made fresh chorizo with sautéed dates and pears, house-cured tasso ham, and Roman gnocchi with mushroom sauce. You can recreate Chef’s Roman gnocchi at home by following his recipe on the Food Network’s website. Eatjax.com attended the taping – you can read about her experience and see behind-the-scenes photos here.

If you missed seeing 13 Gypsies last night, the episode will re-air on the Food Network on the following dates and times: May 21 @ 9:00PM; May 22 @ 12:00AM; May 30 @ 3:00PM

Photos courtesy of Cari Sanchez-Potter of www.cari-viCARIous.com

New Place a Treat for your Senses

I recently had the pleasure of stopping by Bakery Moderne on Stockton Street not once but twice. It is a relatively new place selling classic pastries and desserts baked fresh daily. I had heard good things about the shop and can now confirm that they are all true! One my first visit, I scored a chocolate croissant fresh and hot straight from the oven.

Less than a week later, my wife dropped in to pick up some soda bread for an Irish dinner. Unfortunately, they do not make that kind of bread on a regular basis – their regular artisanal breads are Cuban, ciabatta, French baguettes and challah, but owner/chef Nat took care of us and made two loaves just for us. For all of you looking for some good bread to go with your St. Patricks Day meal, they do plan to have some this week.

I haven't made it in for lunch yet but will soon. I hear that their menu changes often, so check their Facebook page or give them a call for the daily special. They are open every day except Monday at 7am, 9am on the weekends.

Party on the 4th

New Restaurant Coming to Avondale

The Times-Union recently reported that a new restaurant will open on St. Johns Avenue at the former location of Casablanca Beauty Center. will share that space with Emily Benhams. Details for the restauramt are still being worked out by partners Liz Grenamyer of Catering by Liz and Bella Sera and John Nagy and Karen Thomas of Eleven South. Read more>>

In other restaurant news, Restaurant Orsay is now serving Sunday brunch from 11am to 4pm.

Let us know what you know about the district!

Steamworks now Open in Five Points

Laura Capitano of the Times-Union reviews the new night spot in Riverside and talks to club manager Mike Kennedy.

The pub, basically a hybrid destination of a dance spot-British pub combo, was inspired by Jacksonville clubs of yesterday – The Milk Bar and Art Bar. While food is served there, what the club is basically serving up is a great place for the 18 and over crowd to dance, hear music and meet friends.

The spot has themed nights: Thursday and Friday nights feature an indie rock DJ and are the club's biggest dance nights; Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays feature "eclectic" music;
and Tuesday is the bar's rockabilly night. No mention of Mondays but the pub/club is open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily with $3 cover from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday and Friday. It is located at 822 Lomax Street across from Hair Peace.

New Restaurant to Open in Avondale this Summer

Jon Insetta, the owner of one of downtown Jacksonville's favorite restaurant, Chew, is planning to open a French-American eatery, dubbed Restaurant Orsay, at the old Crush location on Park Street. He is planning to renovate the location but will keep the "organic" decor of wood and brick. The restaurant will be divided into two rooms: The front will be an intimate area, while the back will have a more casual atmosphere. The front dining room will open first with seating for 60 following some cosmetic renovations. The hardwood pine framing and architecture will remain, but the bar will be reconfigured to allow for a full liquor menu instead of just beer and wine. The second phase will feature seating for another 60 to 90 patrons and will be a little more hip and up-to-date, but still rustic, warm and inviting.

Insetta said that the menu is still being finalized, but to expect French country-style meals with simple ingredients. In addition to traditional French dishes like steak tartar and old Crush favorites like the homemade fries and mussels, Restaurant Orsay will also feature a raw bar of oysters, shrimp, clams, lobster and crab. The renovations also include a remodeled wine cellar and tasting table for a 200-bottle wine list.