Jacksonville-area Dining & Restaurants - Jacksonville.com and The Florida Times-Union

Dreamette opens second Jacksonville ice cream shop

Gary Mills — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:41:22 +0000

Where’s the best place to get ice cream in Jacksonville?

For many, especially Jacksonville natives, there’s only one answer: Dreamette.

The Murray Hill icon has been serving its cool, creamy confections to generations of Jacksonville families dating back more than 60 years.

But with the opening of a new ice cream shop in Mandarin, some Dreamette fans may rethink their driving routes, if not their answers to the question above.

French Fry Heaven opens second location in St. Augustine

Gary Mills — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:40:50 +0000

French Fry Heaven celebrates the opening of its second location today in St. Augustine.

Offering more than 30 flavor combinations of classic french fries and sweet potato fries, French Fry Heaven is now open at 100 St. George St. near Columbia Restaurant.

The french fry-only dining concept is the creation of Jacksonville’s Scott Nelowet. His first French Fry Heaven kiosk opened in October at the St. Johns Town Center. A third is planned for The Avenues mall.

Dining Notes: Pele's Wood Fire introduces expanded menu

Gary T. Mills — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:14:59 +0000

After five months of introducing its modern Italian-American concept to Jacksonville with a limited menu, Pele’s Wood Fire debuted this month its first complete dinner menu, offering guests a more complete picture of the restaurant’s vision — and simply, a wider range of options.

Chef Micah Windham, managing partner/pizzaiolo Matt Tierney and partner/co-founder Mark Frisch recently sat down to talk about the new menu and other changes.

'For Lease' sign at Orange Park dining institution not a welcome sign for fans

Gary Mills — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:03:55 +0000

Though the restaurant closed months ago, it wasn’t until last week – when “For Lease” signs went up – that locals realized that Orange Park dining landmark Ristorante Sarnelli had indeed closed. And for good.

A handful of the restaurant's fans and neighbors recently shared emails and tweets about the telltale signs.

The restaurant, open for a quarter century at 2023 Park Ave., was considered by many to be one of greater Jacksonville’s finest Italian restaurants for years.

Jacksonville restaurants unaffected by O'Charley's closings

Gary Mills — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:27:49 +0000

Less than two months after Jacksonville-based Fidelity National Financial, Inc. acquired O’Charley’s Inc., the casual-dining chain has closed at least 14 of its restaurants.

According to published reports, underperforming O’Charley’s locations in Alabama, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Indiana were closed over the last several days. Two Jacksonville-area restaurants – at Regency and Fleming Island – remain open.

Jimmy John's opens Riverside restaurant

Gary Mills — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:18:50 +0000

Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches opens its sixth Jacksonville-area restaurant today in Riverside.

The 2,100-square-foot restaurant is located at 630 Park St., in the former AJ’s on Park that closed last fall. Work began in February to renovate the 28-year-old building that opened in 1984 as a Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits.

Dining Notes: Hamburger Mary's brings dinner, drag to Jacksonville

Gary T. Mills — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:19:50 +0000

When it comes to Jacksonville’s newest entry in “better burger” dining cuisine, Hamburger Mary’s is just like any of the (five) guys. (And if I tried hard enough, I might be able to work in some clever puns on Smashburger, M Shack, Cruisers Grill — even Bubba Burger Grill. Fortunately for all of us, I have a limited amount of space.)

But Hamburger Mary’s has something the other guys don’t.

Restaurant Review: The Original Pancake House has variety, but ultimately underperforms

Erica Burks — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:10:24 +0000

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while, I end up on the opposite side of family and friends when it comes to a particular restaurant. They hate it; I love it. They love it; I could do without. Such was the case on a recent weekend trip to The Original Pancake House at the St. Johns Towns Center. The entire crew — all four of them — thought everything was delicious. I found something to dislike in almost every meal.

Bold City still serves up solid beers in a friendly atmosphere

Roger Bull — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:07:04 +0000

Bold City Brewery was Jacksonville’s first craft brewery when it opened almost four years ago.

So it’s appropriate for the official Amber Waves tasting panel (motto: Boldly going where many other beer lovers have gone before) to end its tour of local breweries at the one that started it all.

Explore a world of grains

Lisa Waas — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:02:34 +0000

Facebook has a new popular game called “The Food List Challenge” and the premise is to prove you are a foodie by checking off as many of the 100 foods listed that you have eaten.

Even though I scored a 78 (one more than my husband), frankly the list is strange, I mean s’mores and squirrel are on the list together. Trying new foods is not a sport or a race. You need to be inspired to eat something different, not motivated to get past the grossness of it.

Jacksonville Food Truck Rally set for June 9 at Burrito Gallery

Gary Mills — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:52:26 +0000

For those who missed the inaugural Jax Truckies food truck event in late March, some good news.

According to organizer Mike Field, about 10 Northeast Florida food trucks are expected to participate in the Food Truck Rally to Stamp Out Hunger, scheduled for Saturday, June 9 at downtown’s Burrito Gallery.

Summer Fun and Wellness Fest comes June 2 to the Jacksonville Farmers Market

Dan Scanlan — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:03:07 +0000

A Summer Fun and Wellness Fest will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 2, at the Jacksonville Farmers Market at 1810 W. Beaver St.

Partnering with St. Vincent's HealthCare, the free event will feature live cooking demonstrations with healthy foods, health screenings by St. Vincent's Mobile Health Outreach Unit, exhibits about nutrition and wellness, fresh produce for sale, children's activities including story time by Clifford the Big Red Dog and a small classic car show.

Shiny Spoon Awards: Southside mobile food vendor makes our cleanest list

Gary Mills — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:45:04 +0000

This week’s “Shiny Spoon” awards honor a Southside mobile food vendor.

Each week, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants releases a list of restaurants, caterers and mobile food vendors that have received zero safety or sanitation violations during inspections within the last 12 months.

Following inspections last week, the following has achieved that honor and is awarded a Shiny Spoon:

Skippy’s Snack Shack (mobile food vendor), 9865 Beach Blvd. (2 inspections, dating to June 13, 2011)

Pele's Wood Fire introduces full menu, daily happy hour

Gary Mills — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:57:55 +0000

Can't wait for Oktoberfest? Engine 15 plans Maifest celebration Saturday

Ed Stansel — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Because it's just too long a wait for Oktoberfest, the folks at Engine 15 Brewing Co. will throw a Maifest bash on Saturday.

The local spin on the traditional German spring celebration will run all day Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. at the Jacksonville Beach brewpub.

Engine 15 will tap its new Maibock beer, brewed especially for the occasion. They'll also have roasted lamb, live music and dunking booths.

The Mai Queen also will be crowned — every beer you purchase through Friday gets you a ticket you can use to vote for your favorite candidate (there are four).