Turkey Burger with Peaches & Blueberries

It sounds like an odd combination–but it worked really well with the mildly seasoned turkey burger (there are even peaches in the patty!) and thick garlic toast I used for a bottom bun. Recipe after the jump.

This is a very easy burger to throw together. I used Bubba Burger turkey burgers (frozen pre-formed patties), since that’s what we had at the house, which I let thaw before mixing with the diced peaches and seasonings. To avoid firing up the grill for 2 burger patties, I pulled out my grill pan and cooked them on the stovetop. Fast and delicious!

Turkey Burger with Peaches and Blueberries

Ingredients
4 small peaches
1 pound ground turkey
Salt
Ground black pepper
4 slices Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
4 thick slices roasted garlic country bread or garlic bread, toasted if desired
Fresh mint (optional)

Directions
1. Finely chop one of the peaches; add ground turkey, salt, and pepper. Shape turkey mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties (if necessary, dampen hands first). Grill on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until no pink remains (165 degrees F). Add cheese; cover and cook 1 minute more.

2. Meanwhile, coarsely chop remaining peaches. In a large skillet combine peaches, blueberries, and chili powder. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes or until heated through and juices are beginning to form.

3. Top each piece of garlic bread with one turkey burger and some of the peach mixture. If desired, top with mint and additional chili powder.

Olio is usually only open for breakfast and lunch, but I got to try them for the first time during their special extended hours for Jacksonville’s Downtown Art Walk.

I opted for the pork Cuban (smoked pork, ham, dijonaise, swiss, house pickles, Cuban bread), and Mario decided to try the burger + cheese, bacon, and fried egg:

Cuban

Burger

I found the bite of Mario’s burger that I tried a tad greasy (as I have felt about a sandwich or two since), but he loved it. My Cuban was delicious, and had the multiple flavors and textures I love in these sandwiches. Olio’s fries and basil aioli are quite unique. I wish the fries were a thinner cut (they’re kind of a waffled steak fry, but–personal preference) but they are freshly cut and fried to order. I didn’t think I would like what is basically a basil-flavored mayo as a dipping sauce for fries, but it has a great fresh taste and is good match for the fries.

On my visits since the first, I’ve tried Olio’s steak & cheese sandwich (mushrooms, aged Gouda cheese sauce, mayo) lamb gyro (arugula, onion, tomato, cucumber, yogurt, and mint on naan, not pictured), and fried oyster sandwich (lemon Tabasco aioli, fried shoestring onions):

Steak & Cheese

Oyster Sandwich

I really, really liked both the steak & cheese and lamb gyro (craveable!). The oyster sandwich was a little perplexing to me though. While I wanted some crunchy, poppable oysters like you’d find on a po’boy, these were thickly breaded into a rectangular fish stick-like form. I wish they’d change this.

Olio serves bottled beers and wine by the glass at lunch (and dinner on Art Walk evenings), cooks up daily specials (pot pies in winter, now quiches for spring), and serves breakfast daily. Lastly, some great news for Olio–their Duck Grilled Cheese (which I have yet to try) is a finalist for America’s Best Sandwich on Travel Channel! If you’ve tried it and loved it, you can vote for them here.

www.oliomarket.com

PHiNS Club of Jacksonville Gumbo Festival:

Gumbo Guys (our favorite)

Gumbo

Jax Truckies Food Truck Competition:

Sliders from Monroe's on the Go

Sonny’s BBQ Blogger Dinner:

Riiiibs

And finally…ITALY!! Mario and I took a “we’ve got no kids, let’s do what we want” trip to Rome and Florence (my most favorite city I’ve ever visited). On my last trip to Italy during a semester abroad, my travel buddies and I were pounding 2-a-day gelatos (no change there) and lots of cafe sandwiches for the cheap. I got to eat a little better this time around. So if you need to know where the best gelato is in Rome or Florence, or where Fiorentini stop for wine and crostini on a warm evening, I’m your girl.

Gelato in Rome

Carbonara Pizza in Rome

Potato Souffle we made in Tuscan cooking class

Mario and I tracked down Corner Taco’s Airstream trailer today for lunch:

Corner Taco

Mario’s order was easy–1 of each type of chicken on the menu (marinated and dijon buttermilk fried). I went back and forth over my order (disappointed the shrimp tacos weren’t being offered )and finally settled on the carnitas and espresso-blackened mahi-mahi:

Taco Arrangement

Mario was a little worried about his fried chicken taco, since he is not a fan of mustard (though how anyone doesn’t like Dijon is beyond me). However, he found the mustard taste sufficiently understated while still adding good flavor. The other chicken taco, which like most other items is marinated in Corner Taco’s housemade Fresh Thyme Vinaigrette (which is also apparently good enough for them to bottle and sell ) also earned a thumbs-up from Mario. My mahi taco was decent, but I have to qualify this by saying that I tried the carnitas taco first. Oh. My. Goodness. The pork was tender and juicy (but not messy) and super flavorful. All the tacos were topped with red cabbage and a sweet chili + lemon sauce. Mario surprised me again by saying he actually liked the cabbage crunch; he usually picks off anything even remotely vegetable-like. The best part was that they were quite generous with the protein portions (never change!). AND their tortillas are made fresh daily–you can tell!

Support local food! Track down Corner Taco via their Twitter or Facebook page. They also apparently have a semi-permanent location at the beach next to Lemon Bar, if you’re not one to hunt for your food

www.cornertaco.com

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

The recipe I used is here (see pin here). I modified it based on some hard-to-find ingredients–for example, lemongrass required a trip to the Asian market, and did you know lime leaves cannot be sold in the state of Florida (something about a plant disease that affects citrus trees)? I also subbed some of the chicken breast with some mushrooms I had that needed to be used. Finally, the recipe calls for Thai Curry Paste, but I used Thai Chili Garlic Paste because I like the taste and I keep a bunch in the fridge. So my version may not technically have been a “curry” soup–but it sure was delicious! Recipe after the jump.

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

Ingredients
1-14 oz can premium coconut milk
1 heaping tablespoon Thai chili garlic sauce
Roots of 1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed well
1/2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
1/2 lb cremini or button mushrooms, quartered
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 carrot, shredded
1/2 stalk lemon grass, halved lengthwise, woody leaves removed (or zest of 1 lemon)
1 tablespoons fish sauce
Zest and juice of 1 lime
A small knob of frozen ginger
~4oz rice noodles
Leaves of 1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed well
2 green onions, thinly sliced
A sprinkle or two of salt or soy sauce

Directions
1. Scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of the can of coconut milk into a large stockpot set over a medium-high heat. Melt the cream, add the Thai chili sauce and stir for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle.

2. Add the cilantro roots, chicken, and mushrooms, and sauté until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the remaining coconut juice along with the chicken broth, carrot, lemon grass (or lemon zest), fish sauce and lime zest and juice. Grate the frozen ginger into the broth with a Microplane grater or standard box grater. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.

4. Add the rice noodles, gently pushing them beneath the surface of the broth. Turn off the heat and let stand until the noodles soften, about 5 minutes. Rice noodles don’t need to simmer like pasta to cook; they simply need to rehydrate in the hot liquid.

5. Stir in most of the cilantro leaves. Remove the lemon grass stalks. Taste and season with a touch more salt (or soy sauce) as needed. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and remaining cilantro leaves.

Serves 2

Pele's Logo

Margherita ingredients at the ready

Pele’s pizzaiolo makes certified Neapolitan pizzas, which is kind of a big deal when you consider that the certification requires special flour, bufala mozzarella, San Gennaro tomatoes from Italy, and wood fired pizzas cooked in a 1400 degree oven–which means they’re done in only 90 seconds.

My first visit for the media dinner was a fantastic 7-course feast; I practically waddled out afterward. And of course, the battery on my camera died after the second course You can, however, see some great photos and reviews on some other local blogs. We started with some wood oven-baked bread, and you could really taste the smokiness in it. The two dishes I did get shots of were the seafood platter and Limoncello wings (also fired in the ovens):

Seafood Platter

Limoncello Wings

The chilled seafood platter was excellent and came with local huge shrimp and some plump, briny oysters (I wish I’d had a whole plate of those!). I’ve never been a big fan of lemon-pepper wings, which is the closest thing I can compare these to, but these were great. They are marinated in limoncello so you can taste the tangy liqueur all the way to the bone.

The courses I didn’t get photos of are as follows:
3rd: Chicken Caesar Salad, Arugula & Brie salad – The Caesar had a slight twist–the anchovies were left out of the dressing & distributed throughout the salad so you could adjust the saltiness to your taste. Yum! The arugula & brie salad was something special: Sweetgrass Dairy brie, red pepper, roasted onion vinaigrette, truffle honey, and pistachios. Truffle honey?! Word.
4th: Margherita Pizza, Mushroom Formaggi Pizza – I felt the margherita could have used a little more cheese and a slightly thicker sauce. The crust on both was great–both crisp and chewy with a few spots of char, but I prefer my crust a little thicker (Atlantans, think Varasano’s and not Antico). The mushroom pizza was just…wow. Great flavors in great proportions. I ordered it again on my next visit (see photo below).
5th: Black Pepper Spaghetti Carbonara – Getting full yet? Pele’s housemade pasta was generouslymixed with smoked pork belly, Parmesan, tomato, and an egg yolk cream. The black pepper was actually in the pasta–very cool! I could see the sauce potentially getting gummy as the bowl cools, but we ate it so quickly it didn’t happen.
6th: Coal-fired Manhattan Ribeye – By this time, even though I had been meting out my bites, I could barely manage more than a slice or two of my ribeye. Those who could still eat enjoyed theirs.
7th: Tiramisu, Zeppole, White Chocolate Cheesecake – Dessert! Always more room in the tummy for sweets My hands-down favorite was the white chocolate cheesecake. It was super thick and rich and just plain delicious. I can’t recommend it enough. The tiramisu was a tiramisu; it stayed true to the classic. The zeppole (Italian doughnut holes) were HUGE, and came with an interesting variety of dipping sauces–hazelnut-chocolate, orange sea salt caramel (favorite!), and lemon custard.

Phew! As previously stated, following this huge meal I rolled out the door and immediately went to sleep upon returning home

My next two visits were for dinner and lunch; during the former we tried pizzas (pepperoni and mushroom formaggi), and at the latter Mario had the previously pictured limoncello wings while I tried a half-order of the roast prime rib sandwich & Tuscan tomato soup:

Pepperoni pizza

Mushroom Formaggi pizza

Roasted Prime Rib Sandwich

My sandwich had its highs and lows. The bread was good and I LOVE peppadews (the contents of that cute glass jar) and the spicy/sweet crunch they gave the sandwich. However, I thought that it was a little too saucy and that they skimped on the meat (or it was all piled in one place, which is still a no-no). Mario happens to try to convince me to let him grill chicken wings at least once a week, so the limoncello wings were a hit with him.

Overall, I like Pele’s Wood Fire. They have both an impressive selection of local beers on tap and an impressive espresso machine for their morning coffee and pastry service (or after-dinner coffee). The pizza prices are really no higher than, say, local chain Al’s or Mellow Mushroom, and Pele’s is far better. The space can get loud at night, and I think they need to find some balance in the communal bar/high-top table area–diners don’t necessarily want loud bar patrons at their backs. Pele’s is a great unique addition to Jacksonville.

www.peleswoodfire.com

'town

Our first experience there was for brunch one unseasonably warm & sunny December morning. Mario decided to try the buttermilk pancakes (with raspberry sauce & orange-scented whipped cream), and I couldn’t pass up the lobster benedict (jumbo lobster meat, grit cakes, lemon hollandaise):

Buttermilk Pancakes

Lobster Benedict

Mario thought the pancakes were the best he’d ever tasted. This is a bold statement from him–pancakes are arguably his favorite breakfast food, and he LOVES breakfast. They were good–fluffy with a light crunch around the edges, and almost cake-like. I ordered them myself on our next brunch visit. The lobster benedict was heavenly. I liked the textural contrast of the creamy/crunchy grit cakes since everything else on the plate was fairly soft. And really, how could you be mad at that much lobster?

After 2 brunches, we decided we needed to get back to ‘town for dinner. The bread at ‘town is worth a mention–the small roll topped with coarse salt and rosemary came a with cranberry/Marcona Almond butter accompaniment. Both were fantastic. I was jonesing for some oysters, so we ordered the fried oyster appetizer (black pepper aioli and seasonal pickles) and for entrees, settled on the steak frites (not pictured) for Mario, and the seasonal fish (tilefish) for me (asparagus, mushrooms, golden potato, shallot confit, Verjus sauce):

Bread & 'town Butter

Fried Oysters

Roasted Tilefish

The fried oysters were great, and the black pepper aioli was an interesting accompaniment. I liked the addition of the pickles, which added a welcome bit of acid to the oyster and creamy sauce. I absolutely loved my entree, though more for the sides than for the fish. The fish was touted as having “a taste likened to crab or lobster, since it feeds on crustaceans,” and it was buttery, but nothing special. The mushrooms and potatoes in Verjus sauce, however, were outstanding. The salty/sour Verjus sauce was SO good and I worked to sop up every bit of it with the veggies. I also liked that the asparagus was crisp, not limp. Yum! Mario quickly demolished his steak frites and particularly enjoyed the obviously fresh-made fries.

We’ve experienced nothing but friendly service on our visits to ‘town, and I only wish it were closer so we could dine there more often.

www.town3611.com

We started with a special scallop ceviche amuse, PEI Mussels (steamed in a zesty marinara sauce and served with grilled ciabatta), and Tandoori Chicken Skewers (with mango chutney and cucumber herb raita):

Scallop Ceviche

PEI Mussels

Tandoori Chicken Skewers

We also tried the Maple Leaf Farms sesame duck chop salad (not pictured, apples, mint, cranberries, butternut squash and toasted pecans) and the organic tomato stack salad (blue cheese, crispy chopped bacon, arugula and balsamic glaze), an impressive-looking (and tasty) spin on a caprese salad:

Tomato Stack Salad

For dinner, I unknowingly chose basically the same thing I had on my first visit–stuffed shrimp–though this time with a roasted artichoke stuffing and a different selection of veggies, along with a side of spinach & Parmesan-stuffed mushrooms:

Roasted Artichoke-Stuffed Shrimp

Stuffed Mushrooms

The finale was a selection of mini indulgences. It was hard to pick a favorite, but I have to go with their lighter version of red velvet cake:

Mini Indulgences

Red Velvet Mini

Seasons 52 at the Town Center already seems to be a popular destination. Not surprising–Jax residents have to be beach-ready all year long!

www.seasons52.com

M Shack

M Shack interior

With promises of competitively-priced, high quality burgers, I had to go see what they had to offer. And once I caught wind of their menu a few weeks before opening, I knew what I’d be ordering: The Medurable, an M burger (fairly standard cheeseburger) topped with foie gras and bacon onion compote, $18. Mario had the much more affordably priced The Sunrise Burger (bacon, farm egg, American cheese and Shack Sauce):

The Medurable

The Sunrise Burger

I was shocked to see such a HUGE slice of foie gras on the burger. Though there’s little to complain about when foie gras is involved in any dish, my only hang-up was the lack of a nice sear on the outside of the slice. However, judging from other photos of the gourmet burger I’ve seen popping up around the web, M Shack has rectified that issue. If you’re wondering about the taste, the foie is thick enough to get the earthy, buttery texture and flavor, but still acts much as a “sauce” for the burger with its rich fattiness. I know that was not at all confusing.

I thought the house-ground “Black Angus blend” patty was delicious. Cooked to medium (unless otherwise specified–but you really shouldn’t get much more cooked than that), the juicy burger is a tad small, but its freshness makes it one of the better burgers I’ve had in Jax. Mario was satisfied with his burger, but not overly impressed. I think it was missing foie gras

The fries were a major disappointment. Though M Shack says everything is made in-house, the fries tasted no better than frozen. We didn’t go for any of the gourmet options (truffle parm, queso cheddar, “Ultimate” [Queso, Prosciutto, Cheddar, White Truffle Oil and Fried Farm Egg]), but with the fries we had as a base, we felt any of the dressings would be wasted. I hear nearly unanimous praise about M Shack’s milk shakes, but didn’t try one on our visit.

I enjoyed the food (aside from the fries, which need improving) and community atmosphere at M Shack, and look forward to more visits. The majority of the menu is quite reasonably priced for such a quality burger.

www.mshackburgers.com

I first visited Chew during Jacksonville’s Downtown Restaurant Week with some co-workers. On that visit, I thought that conceptually everything was good–fresh, local ingredients in creative dishes–but that it just didn’t all pan out (for example: tough, dried-out pork belly chicharrones). I chalked this up to it being restaurant week, during which time the place was churning out the same dishes over & over and maybe not paying as much attention to detail. Since I was still convinced that those details could make something good, Mario and I gave it another try more recently. This visit made for much more exciting dining.

We happened to be famished the evening we stopped in, so I decided an appetizer was in order. Plus, I really wanted to try poutine, a dish I’ve heard much about but never tried. What a great introduction:

Short Rib Poutine

Potato Gnocchi

Seared Chicken Breast

Mac & Cheese

I loved the pillowy gnocchi and was surprisingly pleased by the lemon/olive flavor combination. Mario devoured his chicken breast (which was really nearly half a chicken) and somehow even got through nearly all of that mac & cheese. Maybe we should get him into a treatment program?

After that dinner, I was itching to try some of Chew’s lunch menu, but it’s a bit far for a regular workday trip. So before we left town for Christmas, we decided it would be a perfect lunch before hitting the road. I went for the duck bahn mi (pickled vegetables, jalapenos, cilantro, spicy mayonnaise), while Mario had the grilled chicken sandwich (smoked bacon, tomato, butter lettuce, house made pimento cheese on ciabatta). And we got a bowl of Chew’s housemade chips as a complimentary starter:

Potato Chips

Duck Bahn Mi

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

This was a pretty good bahn mi interpretation. The duck meatballs played well with the spicy mayo, and the pickled veggies (+ lots of cilantro–FYI for you cilantro haters) added a nice crunch and all the right flavor notes. Mario liked his chicken sandwich as well, but thought the cheese flavor was too light (more pimento!).

I’m hoping that Chew’s new location comes with a liquor license, because a hip mixologist is all it needs to become a great Atlanta-like (yep, still doing that) spot. But I’m finding there are more than a few restaurants with excellent chefs using local ingredients in Jax. More to come!

www.chewrestaurant.com