“A deceptively simple dining concept” is the tagline restaurant industry veteran Michael Thomas has been using to describe his new Avondale venture, Terra. The restaurant takes over the old Patio at Pastiche space, which provides an intimate yet casual atmosphere that complements the new American menu well.
Dishes are indeed deceptively simple, but some ended up being a little too simple for my tastes. The Cheese and Charcuterie plates ($12 each) from the small plates menu would be great to order for the table during happy hour. Pork Belly Skewers ($6; with sautéed apples and a balsamic reduction) particularly peaked my interest. But even though the chunks of meat were tender and rich, I found them mostly bland in flavor. The French Fries ($6; with parmesan, truffle oil, and garlic aioli) completely lived up to the deceptively simple line — hand-cut, nicely seasoned, and not greasy. We couldn’t stop reaching for the plate.

Truffled Parmesan Fries with Garlic Aioli

Grilled Pork Chop

The Wilted Frisée Salad ($10 for entree size), clearly a re-creation of the classic salade Lyonnaise, was for me a bit unwieldy to eat because of the curly, slightly bitter frisée fronds. However, the other components (shallots, bacon, tomatoes, warm bacon vinaigrette, Black Hog Farms poached egg; add protein for $4-$6) complemented each other well, and who am I to question a classic? The fresh poached egg was a particular treat; I always enjoy the richness a warm broken yolk brings to a dish.

Wilted Frisée Salad (with shrimp)

The newly formulated brunch menu includes mostly standard fare with a few interesting twists, like the Mahi Benedict ($14; blackened mahi, poached eggs and hollandaise) and Cristal’s “Soon-to-be Famous” Stuffed French Toast ($12; peanut butter and banana stuffed, topped with chocolate ganache syrup and candied bacon).

Service from the knowledgeable and attentive wait staff was excellent. During our leisurely paced meal, I snuck a peek at a neighbor’s catch of the day, and am looking forward to my next visit to try one of the fish items.

The management has been making small changes to the menu based on customer feedback since opening and, with a few more, Terra could become a worthy Avondale destination.

www.terrajax.com

It is generally hard to get me to go try a new barbecue restaurant. Barbecue is very subjective (let’s not even get into the Texas vs. Kansas City vs. Memphis vs. Carolinas battle) and can even vary from day to day at a particular restaurant. To try and mitigate these factors, I made a few visits to new restaurant 4 Bones Barbecue and convinced some coworkers to accompany me to lunch to get a range of opinions. For the most part, they were positive.

Upon our arrival to the strip mall on the corner of Beach Boulevard and San Pablo Road (anchored by Hobby Lobby), we noticed a long line inside (due to lunch counter-style ordering), which included a group of police officers — a good sign — and a tantalizing smoky aroma wafting around outside.

Ordering is a la carte: pick your meat and amount (¼ pound to 1 pound); bread type (two slices of Texas toast, which we found delightfully buttery, or two cornbread muffins, which were a little dry; the breads are included in the price) and then add as many or as few sides as you’d like for $2.49 each. I liked this better than the typical barbecue “meal” of meat with two sides included, as I will eat whatever starches are placed in front of me, but can easily limit myself to ordering just one. “What a silly complaint, just order the vegetable,” you say? For this reviewer, if it comes down to mac and cheese vs. green beans, the Jolly Green Giant will lose every time.

I went with the brisket cheese steak ($9.99: brisket, roasted onions and bell peppers, provolone) from the “Specialty Sandwiches” section of the menu, and chose corn nuggets as my side. Pick brisket as your a la carte meat (starting at $4.99) and 4 Bones allows you to select the cut: lean, fatty, or a mix. I thought the brisket might have been sliced too thick (making the fatty cuts a little too fatty) and only average-tasting but, honestly, I have yet to find really great brisket in Jacksonville (any one have any suggestions on this?).

Brisket Cheese Steak

Brisket + Texas Toast

The corn nuggets, basically fried creamed corn, were a hit around the table. Other enjoyable sides included the hand-cut fries and the mac and cheese, the cheese and seasoning blend making it not just cheesy but flavorful.

Pulled Pork + Corn Nuggets

Mac & Cheese

Servers would definitely benefit from handing out numbered table cards when an order is placed, or at the very least, yelling out order numbers to the crowd. We had at least three “is this yours?” stops at our table during lunch.

Housemade barbecue sauces include sweet, hot, vinegar-based and mustard, which we found watery on our first visit but seemed much improved on subsequent tries. I liked mixing the sweet and hot sauces to top off tender ribs (starting at $5.99) and pulled pork (starting at $4.99).

New curbside service makes it easy to swing by to pick up dinner, and 4 Bones has a selection of “family meals” ranging from Dinner for Two ($19.99) to The Party Pack ($119.95) to feed 10-12.

www.4bonesbbq.com

A Taste of THE PLAYERS 

Healthy Options

One of Jacksonville’s premier events, THE PLAYERS Championship golf tournament is held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra. This year’s event starts next week, May 9, and runs through May 12.  This was my first visit to TPC Sawgrass, and I was awed by how gorgeous the course was.  Organizers have been working to make the event feel more accessible for all attendees, and new food options open to all ticket holders are part of the plan. Gluten-free, vegetarian, and low calorie items such as the BLT with turkey bacon (gluten free), Avocado Power lunch (gluten free), and Chick’n Salad (made with chickpeas) will be available at THE PLAYERS Cafe.  The BLT was the standout of this group (I loved the raspberry mustard with the crisp turkey bacon), but we also enjoyed the grilled steak sandwich and the 2013 “signature item,” Mayport Shrimp & Grits with Fried Green Tomato:

 

Steak Sandwich

Shrimp & Grits with Fried Green Tomato

Additionally, THE PLAYERS is adding some local flavor to on-course dining.  The more “upscale” options include the Taste of Jax showcase, where Indochine, Metro Diner, and Pele’s Wood Fire will be serving, and Wine & Dine on 9, hosted by Restaurant Medure.  Brucci’s, MShack, Bono’s BBQ, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, and Firehouse Subs are also available in the Food Court.  I’m not really into golf, but after hearing how much fun THE PLAYERS is from my fellow blogger attendees (apparently the people-watching alone is worth the trip) I’m thinking about visiting at least one day!

More information on THE PLAYERS: www.pgatour.com/theplayers

Chef Tolxdorf and the Farmers

Meet the Farmers Dinner

The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island recently hosted their 4th Meet the Farmers Dinner.  I was somehow lucky enough to score an invite to sample local seafood, meats, vegetables, and more.  Because of a nice perk of Mario’s job, I’ve stayed at 3 different Ritz properties around the country and have always had an exceptional experience–and this event was no different.  We started with an outdoor reception featuring local clams casino,  honey-glazed pork belly sliders, vichyssoise shooters, cheeses from 3 local dairies, and honey made with the Ritz-Carlton’s own bees.

Entrees came from a few action stations which included Mayport cocktail shrimp, oysters on the half shell (YUM), local clams steamed with local Bold City Brewery beer, a build-a-salad station with items from Bacon Farms, Tanglewood organic chicken & ratatouille, and a duo of local fish over Logan Mill’s grits.  Phew!  Random note: The folks at Bacon Farms can typically be found vending at the Riverside Arts Market on Saturdays (among other farmers’ markets in the area).  I am always momentarily thrown off by a vendor with “bacon” in the name that sells lettuce!  My favorites from the meal were the raw oysters and the shrimp & grits dish.  This event is open to the public for $75/person, and is a great excuse for a weekend staycation on Amelia Island. See a list of the local purveyors below.

Vichyssoise Shooter

Honey-glazed Pork Belly Slider

Steamed Clams

Fish & Grits

Shellfish Spread

Dessert Spread

Blue Sky Farms
Bacon’s Select Produce
Flat Creek Lodge
Gary’s Seafood & Specialties
Cedar Creek Shellfish Farms
American Bee Company

Bon Ami Confections

At our late afternoon stop-in time, much of Bon Ami’s treat supply–which includes a rotating supply cookies, brownies, and flavored marshmallows–was already depleted. Sign of a good product, I’d say. I got one of each of the remaining macaron flavors: key lime, lemon, rose, white chocolate, lavender, pistachio, and dark chocolate cocount:

Macarons

Macarons minus 1, plus fillings

Ahh, macaron perfection. They had great texture and a good filling-to-cookie ratio–so they weren’t soggy but you got great flavor. My favorites of the bunch were the white chocolate and pistachio, while I could have done without the rose and lavender flavors (no knock on Bon Ami, I just find those flowery flavors very perfume-tasting).

I wish Bon Ami sold their wares closer to Jax so I could pick up macarons more often (but maybe that’s for the best). I’m also totally open to an apprenticeship to learn to make them myself

www.bonamiconfections.com

The Happy Grilled Cheese Truck

The truck features a rotating variety of it’s grilled cheeses, and on this day the offerings ranged from plain to with bacon to with LOTS of bacon. I chose the latter, obviously, Porky the Melt (American cheese, cheddar, bacon, ham, pulled pork, caramelized onion, and tomato):

Porky the Melt

With all this meat, Porky the Melt was really more of a grilled sandwich than a grilled cheese. It was a good sandwich, just not what I was looking for from a grilled cheese vendor. My second visit yielded a brisket and blue melt (Mozzarella, blue cheese crumbles, smoked brisket, arugula and red onion), along with some chips and beer cheese soup/dip:

Brisket & Blue Melt

This sandwich still had a good portion of meat so it was filling, but it was also much cheesier and effectively scratched my grilled cheese itch. The chips were standard fare but possibly overcooked, and I wasn’t too impressed with the beer cheese soup–too thin for my liking (although it looks like this might change depending on the day–Stacey’s looked quite thick on her trip!).

The Happy Grilled Cheese still has room for improvement on their sides, but their eponymous sandwiches seem to be making people happy as promised. Track The Happy Grilled Cheese on Twitter or Facebook, and let me know when specialties the Lebanese Melt, Mayport Melt, or Sweet Brie Melt pop up on the menu!

thehappygrilledchees.wix.com/grilledcheese

We’ve been stuck in a bit of a dining rut lately, which is not necessarily a bad place to be. It’s a good rut, filled with a lot of our favorites–Picasso’s (new menu!), Nippers, Gumbo Ya-Ya’s, even a couple trips to French Pantry–so no complaints! I recently took a jaunt away from the Southside for lunch to Tres Leches’ recently relocated (from Springfield) bakery in Riverside. I’ve tried their namesake cake at the Riverside Arts Market on a number of occasions (which I reviewed here for the Florida Times-Union!), but had yet to try their lunch menu.

As the name implies, the menu is mainly Spanish-inspired with other Euro influences (for instance, French omelette on baguette). I tried the Bocadillo Manolo (Jamon Serrano, Manchego Cheese, fresh chopped marinated tomatoes on baguette):

Bocadillo Manolo

I have shared my love for sandwiches (my favorite food) many times before, and this, y’all, is an awesome sandwich. It’s super simple: great ham, great cheese, on great bread. Add tomato for a little acidity and you have sandwich perfection. My coworker built his own sandwich on Tres Leches’ spinach artisan bread and got a cup of soup (something involving pumpkin) and raved over the velvety texture and flavor of the soup. I of course couldn’t leave without taking a hunk of tres leches cake with me, but it doesn’t photograph very well in its plastic container. Just know it is delicious and somehow feels both light and rich at the same time. My mouth is watering now…

Tres Leches’ new Riverside shop is located on College St in the same shopping strip as Bold Bean Coffee and 13 Gypsies. The couple that owns the shop does a great job of putting out simple but delicious dishes in a friendly environment. They’re open for breakfast, lunch, and “casual dinner” and do occasional Saturday brunches.

www.treslechesdesserts.com

There can’t be many foods more perfect than a biscuit sandwich. Especially when what lies between those two biscuit halves is fried chicken. Maple Street Biscuit Company in San Marco has been putting out some pretty delicious biscuit sandwiches (with and without chicken) since opening a few short months ago. My first visit was on opening day, when I split a Loaded Goat (all natural fried chicken breast, and fried goat cheese medallion), Sticky Maple (all natural fried chicken breast, pecan wood smoked bacon all topped with Bissell Family Farm real maple syrup), grits, and mac and cheese with Folio Weekly’s Bite Club writer Caron:

Loaded Goat + Mac & Cheese

Sticky Maple + grits

I fell in love with a biscuit sandwich at Noon Midtown in Atlanta (which is sadly no more), which I basically use as my gold standard for the genre. Based on that, I was not wowed with my first visit. The chicken was good, the toppings were good, but the biscuit was a little dense and not flaky. I didn’t like that the Sticky Maple was just doused in syrup. The mac & cheese was ok and we discovered some yummy cream cheese chunks in the grits–but after we were halfway through the dish (improper mixing). I am forgiving on first-day-first-visits though, so I gave them another try a few weeks later. This time, I had the Loaded Goat again (I’m a sucker for goat cheese!), with the addition of Maple St’s pepper jelly (on the recommendation of Natalie of Jacksonville Magazine) and Mario had the Sticky Maple AND the Five and Dime (all natural fried chicken, pecan wood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese topped with sausage gravy and a fried egg–no photo ):

Loaded Goat (again)

Better biscuit…better goat cheese medallion…yum!! This was a solid improvement over the first visit. Mario’s Five and Dime, while not quite up to Noon’s gold standard (“Noon wins because they use Benton’s bacon”–consider it, Maple St!) was really good. The sausage gravy has a little spice to it and is hearty and rich. The Sticky Maple was also improved, as it wasn’t swimming in maple syrup but was still plenty maple-y. Dining companions raved over the grits and mac-and-cheese, so my guess is those kinks have been worked out as well. Love to see a place improving their product!

Maple Street Biscuit Company is open for breakfast and lunch 6 days a week and dinner on Friday and Saturday. Personal opinion: perfection would be a biscuit sandwich truck/stand near the bars for late night noms

www.maplestreetbiscuits.com

Another giveaway? So soon? Well it IS the holidays! The folks at Chick-fil-A have supplied me with a few 2013 Cow Calendars to raffle off. This is great because Cow Calendars come with a digital offer card that entitles you to a free menu item every month next year. The theme of this year’s calendar is the 12 “Royal-T-Bones” or royal cows, including Queen Elizabrisket, Queen Marie Ancutlette and Emperor Napoloin Bovinapart (oh, those hilarious Chick-fil-A cows).

Cow Calendar

But wait, there’s more! Chick-fil-A’s seasonal peppermint chocolate chip milkshake is back!

Along with the calendar, winners will get a gift card good for one free milkshake.

As with the previous giveaway, enter below by commenting with your favorite Chick-fil-A menu item–I’m partial to their classic, no frills chicken sandwich. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’ve visited three times now, and beyond a few minor gripes have thoroughly enjoyed it. I will say though, that Mario has not been particularly impressed with his meals thus far–and I can understand why. So your ordering preferences can have a big impact on your experience, as with any place. I’ll start with our last–and I think best–visit, where I had the Braised Beef Shortribs (creamy leek and rosemary soubise, wild mushroom and blue cheese bread pudding) and Mario had the Marinated Flatiron Steak (smokey onion-tomato timbale, fingerling potatoes, chimichurri)

Braised Beef Shortrib

Wild Mushroom and Blue Cheese Bread Pudding

Flatiron Steak

This. shortrib. Omg. I loved every single thing about this dish. The shortrib was crazy-tender but not too fatty, the soubise was rich and flavorful, and the side of bread pudding–omg again. I can’t get enough mushrooms and blue cheese in my life, so this was like a flavor home run for me. This might make its way onto the list of things I want to eat before I die. Omg (x3). Mario’s steak was less stellar–just good, not great. The spinach on the side, however, was fabulous (and full of butter/cream, I’m sure). Count this as Mario’s first time trying spinach–and he liked it!! I’m lobbying Black Sheep for some hints on their recipe so I can try replicating it at home

Now I’ll back up a bit to our two previous visits: one lunch and one dinner. Lunch was sandwiches, the Grilled Chicken (thick cut bacon, tomato, market greens, house pimento cheese) for me and the Black Sheep Club (black forest ham, roast turkey, swiss cheese, thick cut bacon, tomato, garlic aioli) for Mario.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Black Sheep Club

Again, I liked my sandwich well enough, but understood why Mario was severely underwhelmed–cold sandwiches are SUCH a no-no. Simply heating the meat and toasting the bread on the club would have made a huge difference. I found the bacon on both sandwiches to be a little tough (overcooked? too thick?) and found it served as more of a salt additive than a flavor additive. For now, we’ll call Black Sheep’s lunch service (“service” used loosely–for lunch, you order at a counter and find your own table) middling.

Completing the reverse review, our first dinner visit started with the Bar-B-Q Pork Belly appetizer (wainwright cheddar grits, pickled mustard seeds).

BBQ Pork Belly

We both LOVED this appetizer. The grits were creamy but had enough “grit” to be of a satisfying texture. The pork belly just melts in your mouth. We may have been fighting over bites of it. Now to one of my personal gripes–we were here fairly early on a weeknight and I really wanted to order that shortrib. However, they had run out! I am willing to accept that it may have been due to their recent opening–maybe they just hadn’t effectively gauged customer ordering habits yet. Still, very frustrating. Instead, I had the Duck Confit Panini (red onion marmalade, Camembert, shoestring potatoes) and Mario went for the Grass Fed Hamburger (plus cheddar and bacon). Unfortunately, I have photos of neither. I enjoyed the duck panini, which was generous on both filling and flavor. I usually find Camembert a little boring, but with the duck and marmalade it was a nice creamy complement. Mario’s burger had a too-perfect, possibly previously frozen look to it, but looks can be deceiving–he said it was one of the better grass-fed burgers he’s had.

I’m so excited for Black Sheep’s creative space and food. Their rooftop bar, while a little cramped, is unique to Jacksonville and will no doubt make the place a destination. I noticed some complaints from other diners on restaurant review sites and to that I say: COME ON! Is Black Sheep a little pricey for Jacksonville? Maybe, but it is hardly on its own in this range. Is the food worth the price? Yes. Take this place and plop it in a bigger city, and these menu prices are the norm. To compete on a higher level, you have to move up to a higher level, and restaurants like this are helping Jacksonville make that move.

www.blacksheep5points.com