Pie’s Review of AJ’s on Park Street in Jax, FL

AJ’s

630 Park Street

Jacksonville, FL

(904) 359-0035

Serving Lunch:

11 am – 2:30 pm, M-F

As a fan of food (or a ‘foodie’ as some would call me) I do not limit myself to only restaurants and cafes. There are festivals, banquets and many other opportunities to indulge in the tasty items available. In 2009 the community of Riverside in Jacksonville, Florida added a weekly open market called the Riverside Arts Market. This market features music, paintings, photos, crafts and of course…food. On this particular day we went to visit a local chef who was there featuring his coconut shrimp soup. The challenge with his booth was there were no drinks. So my girlfriend and I walked to a trailer that was set up by AJ’S at the Market.

There I waited as people ordered sandwiches and fries. When they got to me I told them I was craving an ‘Arnold Palmer’. Now if you are not aware of an ‘Arnold Palmer’ drink, it is quite simple…half tea and half lemonade make this drink. The guys at AJ’S call this drink a ‘flop’. As I watched them make this drink I was very thirsty. I do not know if it was my thirst or the drink but dad gum, that was one of the best drinks I have ever had. Over the next two hours I had three more ‘flops’. The food that was being served to the people in line was looking good as well. Thinking of how good the drink was and how good the food looked, I had to make AJ’S a stop for lunch that week.

Now it is a Monday and I am outside of AJ’S meeting some of my friends for lunch. We are in the parking lot of AJ’S on Park just underneath the Interstate exchange of I-95 and I-10 in the 5 Points area of Jacksonville, Florida. This is a very busy and industrial area of town. Nearby in 5 Points you can see churches and the quaint shops. Then when you look the other way you are staring at the beautiful skyline of Jacksonville. The actual location of AJ’S has only been on Park Street for a few months. Before they moved here, they were near the (kind of) skyscraper of Blue Cross & Blue Shield building.

As you step into AJ’S you find yourself right at the counter to order at. The special of the day is displayed proudly on a plate under cellophane wrap at the register. It was not the presentation of the pork tenderloin, rice and corn on the cob that sold me on it, but the smell of the fresh food right there. Of course I had to order a ‘flop’ even though they sell Coke products, which are a favorite of mine. Apparently you need to ask for the ’special’ recipe of the lemonade from the back. It was just as delicious this day as it was on that Saturday.

My friends and I were given our order numbers and took a seat in the dining area. The place was starting to fill up but it was never packed. We noticed after grabbing our seats that there is also the option to sit out on a gated patio as well. Now, one of my pet peeves is when meals are brought out to a table in a very staggered time frame. This was an issue at AJ’S. The guy that ordered after me got his Beef Brisket about 5 minutes before I got my Pork Tenderloin. Even worse than that, my other friend received his burger (known as the Outstanding Burger) just as the Beef Brisket was almost gone. One thing that does make-up for this was the quality of the food. Another thing that made this lunch enjoyable was the staff. One of the ladies there was willing to bring out a sample of Macaroni and Cheese and was very sweet to us.

As we were all sitting there enjoying our food we were visited by a gentleman that is known in the community as ‘Mr. Natural’. For those who do know ‘Mr. Natural’, he is a local chef and used to be a regular on local television cooking features. As he stood at our table he offered us some of his Chocolate Cake that he had made there that morning. The cake was good; I can not personally say it was great; mind you I am not a fan of chocolate. One of my friends joked around that he liked it but would rather sample some of the Peach Cobbler. ‘Mr. Natural’ took off to the back and returned with a sample of the Peach Cobbler for my friend.

If you are in the Riverside/5 Points area or even downtown Jacksonville, Florida, then you should stop by AJ’S on Park Street.  When you stop and ask for AJ…you should know that AJ is not a him but a them. Using the initials of two friends makes the name of AJ’S. These guys are established and well worth the stop. They offer mostly Bar-B-Q, but also have hamburgers, salads, wings and even roasted half chicken.

The exact location for AJ’S on Park Street is 630 Park Street Jacksonville, Florida 32204. If you need to call them the number is (904) 359-0035 and you should be aware that the scheduled hours are currently Monday – Friday 11am until 2:30pm. They do have future plans to open for special events with live music and outdoor dancing. Personally I am glad that I found AJ’S and look forward to many visits in the future.

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com