1500 W. International Speedway Boulevard

Daytona Beach, Florida 32114

(386) 254-2867

www.gatorsbarbqandwings.com

Gator's Storefront

In earshot but not quite sight of the Daytona International Speedway was the sight of a favorite restaurant of mine. In early 2009 I was so sadden to see that they had closed down. The location was soon replaced with Gator’s Bar-B-Q and Wings. It took me almost a full year to decide to stop in and give them a try, and man am I glad I did. When you step into ‘Gator’s’ you can see the set up is like any other sports bar. There is a full liquor bar to the right, dozens of televisions, an outdoor sitting area with high-top tables, and the usual banners of either your favorite team or the beer specials of the day. But this is not just another ordinary sports bar; they have a little something extra.

Bar Area

Sitting there in the dining area adjacent to the bar area, I was a little anxious to have our server finally help us. But, I did give her a little slack as to the fact that she was the only server and had a table that was demanding a lot of her time. She was kind and introduced herself in passing by our table as Melissa. She did stop long enough to take our drink order, and took off to get those while we looked at the menu. Looking at the menu we saw that Gator’s had several appetizers we wanted to try, good thing they have a ‘create your own sampler’. You have the option of any three for $12.99 or any four for $14.99. We settled on the any three, and chose the fried mac n cheese, the corn nuggets, and the fried mushrooms. It did not take long for this huge platter of starters to come out. With the corn nuggets and the fried mac n cheese, we got the usual. If you have had either one of these items anywhere, then you will have the exact item here, nothing special. But the fried mushrooms were fantastic, they were fresh and homemade. When Melissa was near the table again I asked her about the mushrooms and she did confirm that they are homemade and fresh. They use their own batter and never freeze them, thus creating a great fried mushroom.

Sampler Platter

We took a bit of time looking into what our main course would be, and I was torn between the wings and the one pound cheeseburger. After looking deeper into the menu I saw the pulled pork sandwich that is served on a pretzel roll for $7.99. I order this with the thought in mind, if you have Bar-B-Q or Wings in your restaurant name and on the sign outside, go with what they know. For the fact that the place was now virtually empty, I thought it took a little long for the food to come out. Not to sound like it took a long time, but it just took a little bit long than I thought it would. BUT, it was very much worth the wait. While we started to eat the server was cleaning tables from the lunch rush and letting us know about the poker nights, wing and beer specials, and the ladies night that Gator’s has. Back to the Bar-B-Q sandwich, it was moist but not sloppy. Thick and juicy, with a hint of a smokey flavor. The fries that came with it were not to my liking, but my friend said he thought they were great. The fries were not bad, and did seem to be fresh, just not my kind of fry.

Sandwich & Fries

If you are either vacationing at Daytona Beach or there for the races, you should definitely stop by Gator’s Bar-B-Q and Wings. If you use a GPS with this address you will get a Sonny’s B-B-Q instead of Gator’s. The menu is very extensive, with items from pizza, bar-b-q, wings, burgers, gyros, steak, ribs, several different salads and also different sandwiches. Overall the items are a little bit more than other restaurants, however you will not leave hungry and will probably take food home with you…. I did. The menu that I looked at does not have a specific kids section but this is not a place I would recommend to bring a child after lunchtime. For a couple of people you should expect to spend over $25 including tip, this is not with either liquor or beer, but with soda. Hmmm, the race is coming up…. I may be back there sooner than I thought. 

Gator's Porch

Review by Pie, email:  pie@piesplate.com

7119-1 Bonneval Road

Jacksonville, Florida 32256

(904) 332-0891

Midtown Deli

If you are driving through and looking for a restaurant in the area of I-95 and Butler Boulevard you could easily drive passed Midtown Deli. This is not what I would recommend though. This is a good size restaurant at this very busy corner of Jacksonville. In this area of town you will find all of the chain burger places, but it is worth the time to drive around the corner from the arches. At Midtown Deli you will enjoy a much better meal than you would ever get from the clown. To let you know, most of the reviews that we do at www.piesplate.com are not from the chains. The only reason I mention this is that Midtown Deli is a small chain that is based in South Carolina with only three locations, and the only one outside of S.C. is the one in Jacksonville, Florida.

Midtown Dining Room

On this particular visit to Midtown Deli I was craving a sandwich. After looking at the menu I now was craving a pot roast potato. Even thought they offer Paninis, Roll Ups (wraps), Salads, and many varieties of sandwiches the baked potatoes really caught my eye. The potato choices were either the classic with butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon for $5.49 or the big chili filled with chili, cheese, onions, and sour cream for $5.79 or the pot roast potato loaded with tender pot roast and gravy for $5.99. There was something about the day that made it feel like a good day for pot roast, of course I asked if I could add sour cream on it and that would not be a problem the guy said. When he was completing our order I saw that they had Pepsi and as in some of my past reviews, you may remember that I am a Coke person. So I ordered an Arnold Palmer. ‘IF’ you still do not know what an A.P. is, it is a half tea and half lemonade. The guy told me that the lemonade was really good here, so I thought that would be a nice and refreshing drink.

Pot Roast Potato

We find a table in the corner, next to a window looking at some of the last of undeveloped land in the Butler Blvd/95 area. I take a sip of my Arnold Palmer and was not impressed with the tea or the lemonade. This concoction can really be a matter of taste, so I will not criticize Midtown Deli for a drink that can go either way depending of preference. But, now I am really wanting a Diet Coke *sigh*. After a 5 or 6 minute wait the guy that took our order comes to our table with my potato and Rhonette’s salad. He takes off as quickly as he showed up and brought me more pot roast in a cup telling me that he thought that there should have been more pot roast on the potato. Asking us if we need anything else and us telling him no, he lets us be alone to enjoy our food.

Chicken Salad

For the cost I have got to say that I feel like I got the steal of the day. In case you are not aware of my eating habits, well, I can eat, and I did not finish my potato. If the pot roast is not made in house I would be absolutely surprised. It had the flavor of homemade in it, not that of frozen. If in case it is frozen or from a refrigerated bag then someone at a food company got it right. It was delicious and stuffed this good sized potato that was dusted on the out side with course salt. My adding the sour cream to it gave it the little extra something to it that I was looking for; of course sour cream is good on so many things (personal commentary).

If you passing through the Jacksonville, Florida area and are looking for a good, quick, and not a chain place to eat then exit off of I-95 and J. Butler Blvd, go west and then look to the left. When you see the retention pond and the golf store, Midtown Deli is in that plaza. If you live in Jacksonville you should make it a point to stop by and see for yourself. They will serve really good food and serve it very fast, without the hassle of eating another processed burger from a drive thru. If you want to eat healthy then you have the option of 10 different salads on the menu at a good price (as low as $3.29 and none over $7). Of course being a deli they offer an almost endless sandwich menu, even the chance to ‘create your own’ sandwich for as low as $6.79. There is a very limited kids menu with chicken fingers, grilled cheese and a ‘PBJ’. You can even get a cookie or a brownie for your sweet tooth. Stop in and enjoy Midtown Deli and don’t be surprised if you see me there.

Review by Pie, email:  pie@piesplate.com

7895 Normandy Blvd

Jacksonville, FL

(904) 783-0987

Store Front

My first visit to Mr. Sandwich was in 2007, and the beginning of many, many breakfast stops. Even though Mr. Sandwich is open for lunch and occasionally dinner my personal history is only during breakfast. Tucked away in the corner of a Winn Dixie shopping center just west of I 295 Mr. Sandwich is a bit more than your typical sandwich shop. The location on Normandy Blvd has been the home of Mr. Sandwich for over 25 years, and has recently attempted in a name change to Corner American Grill. Understanding that tradition is going to prevail they have decided to keep the name Mr. Sandwich..

My friend and I first found Mr. Sandwich while looking for breakfast one Saturday morning after going to a weight loss meeting. Since then my breakfast of choice has almost always been the same and no, it is not weight loss friendly. The shop serves breakfast till 11:00 am and is a short menu but they are willing to be as creative you would like with the items they have. My personal favorite breakfast items are the scrambled eggs, sausage and toast, but I like to add a side of 2 cinnamon pancakes. When you place the order at the counter and take your seat beware that in just a few minutes you will need to go back to the counter to pick up your food. 

Menu

On the day that I made my last stop to Mr. Sandwich I sat there watching Rachel Ray on the HDTV set up behind the counter. The T.V. has been set up and they encourage people to stop in to watch football games on Saturdays. According to the menu they are closed on Sundays, so the NFL games would be out of the question. But when you stop by for breakfast you get to watch things like, Rachel Ray. In another corner they have a couple of video games that you can play. 

Breakfast

The gentleman behind the counter lets me know that my food is ready, I grab it and sit back down. Assuming that my pancakes were either ready or soon to be ready I decide to wait for them before I begin to eat. This was a mistake though; it took another 6-7 minutes for them to be ready. I say 6 to 7 because I knew that it was more than 5 but less than 10. By the time that they were ready my eggs were cold, maybe I am being picky but my personal preference is to have all of my food at the same time. The gentleman that took my order and prepared my food noticed that I was not totally happy and re-cooked my eggs and sausage. Thank You sir for that.

Cinnamon Pancakes

One of the best breakfast items in the city of Jacksonville is the cinnamon pancakes that are offered at Mr. Sandwich. The eggs are eggs and same with the sausage. Basically nothing special with most of the breakfast but it is worth going out of the way for just the pancakes. For the pancakes you will spend under $3.25 for two and under $4.00 for three. You can’t find an item for breakfast over five bucks, with the sandwiches as low as $2.19. If you are hungry for lunch you should know that the burgers are all under five dollars and same goes for the salads. They offer wings as well and even have beer on tap. Soon I will make stop for the lunch just so I can give you the reader a different option than just breakfast. 

Review by Pie, email:  pie@piesplate.com

10206 River Coast Dr
Jacksonville, FL 32246

(904) 997-6528

www.wasabi-steakhouse.com 

Wasabi

There are so many Japanese steakhouses in Jacksonville that are named Wasabi; it’s hard to keep straight who is who.  It turns out that most of the Wasabi restaurants are not related.  This was my first time at this Wasabi restaurant on the outskirts of the St. John’s Town Center.  We arrived at 5pm on a Friday night.  The restaurant didn’t open until 5 according to their signs, so the place wasn’t crowded at all and we had great parking.  We were seated in a dining room around the sushi bar.  There were 2 other parties seated in our area when we arrived.   

Salad

Our waiter quickly took our drink order and gave us our menus.  Looking around, we saw that they had a “Specials” board and ESPN was on the flat screen tv in the corner.  I ordered a hot tea and started to look at the menu.  Most of the dinner entrees I was interested in were close to $20 and above.  I like to order the hibachi meal, but I usually get a sushi roll too.  Pie pointed out that there was an “Early Bird Special” for the hibachi meal that just happened to apply to the time of our visit.  Instead of $20 for the steak & shrimp hibachi, it was $14.50 and came with clear soup, salad, grilled veggies and fried rice.  Perfect!  The sushi was moderately priced, about $6 for your average roll.  There were some definitions missing for some of the sushi rolls and when I asked the waiter what some of them where, he gave me a list of rolls and definitions that was in his pocket.  I would have liked to have seen these attached to the menu, not in his pocket.  I also noticed that our waiter didn’t mention the specials that were on the board and failed to tell us his name.  Anyhoo, I ordered the Early Bird Steak & Shrimp Hibachi and a caterpillar roll. 

Clear Soup

Our salad’s came right away.  Nothing fantastic, just some iceberg lettuce and carrots with ranch dressing.  Then our clear soup came out.  I had one mushroom slice in mine, kinda skimpy I thought.  The broth…I’ve had better; this tasted like it came out of a packet.  Then they brought out my caterpillar roll.  I thought this would be an interesting choice.  It has eel, which I love, cream cheese and avocado.  The avocado was on the outside of the sushi roll.  You can see from the picture below how it resembles a caterpillar, Aha! we will name it caterpillar roll.  Anyone who likes avocado knows that it is, well…a little slippery, which made it very difficult to pick up if not hold on to long enough to dunk it into the shrimp sauce and into my mouth.  So I picked off the avocado and ate what was left. 

Caterpillar Roll

Our meals started to come out of the kitchen, mine came first.  The steak was done perfectly and so were the shrimp.  I find that so many times the shrimp is overcooked.  Dear Restaurants:  If the shrimp is shaped like an ‘O’ it is overcooked, if the shrimp is shaped like a ‘C’ it is cooked to perfection.  Pie’s came out next and he asked for some more shrimp sauce.  They came out with a couple of bowls and filled them right up.  Now that is what I’m talking about!  Don’t skimp on the shrimp (sauce)!  We finished our dinners and there was absolutely no room for dessert.  They promptly brought us our check, we paid our bill and out the door we went.  Hey, wait a minute; I just realized they didn’t give us a mint with our bill!  Japanese restaurants always give you a mint, right?

Steak & Shrimp Hibachi

The restaurant and the parking lot were starting to fill up with the Friday night crowd.  Wasabi also has the Japanese chefs that slice and dice at the table.  I think I want to go see that on my next visit.  If you are looking for a great Japanese meal, check out Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse in the St. John’s Town Center.  However, go early so you can take advantage of the “Early Bird Specials”. 

Review by Rhonette, email:  rhonette@piesplate.com

3rd Street (A1A) & 9th Street South

Jacksonville Beach, Florida

(904)270-0080

www.thirdstreetdiner.com

3rd Street Diner

OPA! OPA! OPA!  Yeah! Sorry, I had just got into the Greek spirit. The 3rd Street Diner is a Greek influenced restaurant in the beaches area of Jacksonville, Florida. For years there has been a restaurant in this location either a Chinese place or as in the last few years the 3rd Street Diner. When these guys opened, they were a 24 hour diner, but now they are known as a late night diner. Now instead of around the clock they are opened till 2 am. They also offer a large menu of both American and Greek food, either for dine in or delivery.

Dining Room

On the day that we stopped in, neither one of us had been to the 3rd Street Diner before. This would be a new experience for the both of us. As we were seated we noticed the table was extremely uneven and would wobble back and forth to the point that drinks would spill. Rhonette had to take a small stack of napkins to wipe the old food off of her chair, and we needed the server to wipe down the table that had dried food on it. So the beginning of this visit is taking its toll and we are on very edge of getting up to leave and go to get tacos down the street. We really wanted to give another place a try and so we allowed this beginning flaw to slide for now.

After looking at this menu of 5 full pages and watching other’s food come out we are still at a bit of a loss of what to order. When our server comes we both just go with the first thing that we see on the menu at that time and hope for the best. My order was for the Chicken Rueben but instead of the French fries I asked if they would substitute the roasted Greek potato wedges, to which they were glad to accommodate. Our server took off to put in our order and we were still talking about the place in a manner of negativity. This will always happen to either someone who is writing a review or anyone who has an opinion. Notice it for yourself, the next time that you are with friends at a restaurant, if you start off with a bad experience you will look for every negative aspect of the rest of the time that you are at that place. 

Chicken Rueben

With this in mind we are hoping that we have not made a mistake by not going to the taco place down the street. We are glad we stayed; the 3rd Street Diner hit a home run with our meals. Typically I only talk about my meals in these reviews, but in this case I will mention that both my meal and the potato salad that Rhonette ordered was great. Let me start with the Chicken Ruben, the server gave me a small dish with the Russian dressing to put on the sandwich. This dressing was amazing, so amazing that I asked the waitress to tell me about the recipe that is a specialty of the chef on duty. It was the must have on the Chicken Ruben, and the flavor was so full and not overbearing. The roasted potatoes were in the Greek style, drenched in olive oil and spices on top. These potatoes are not listed on the main menu but on the Greek section near the back. Not having had the French fries at 3rd Street Diner I cannot tell you that you must get the roasted potatoes, but I will tell you that the next time that I am there that I will get the roasted potatoes. 

Rhonette's Potato Salad

If the Chicken Ruben for $8.95 is not your style then you can get a hot dog for $3.95, a club sandwich for under 9 bucks, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, salads, or if you want a seafood dinner they have the option of fried seafood dishes in the $15 range or even broiled selections for just a bit more. For those of you that have little ones, the 3rd Street Diner has several items on the kids menu including pancakes, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti with meatball and more. All the kids’ items include a soda or iced tea and they are willing to substitute fresh veggies for the French fries all for under five dollars.

Desserts

I will let you know that on the way out of the 3rd Street Diner I looked at the desserts that are almost all made on location. The items that are not made there are ordered directly from a bakery in New York. Also, I got a cannoli, typically I do not like a cannoli, however this one was calling my name and boy was it good. 

If you find yourself at the beaches of Jacksonville and are hungry I highly recommend 3rd Street Diner, it is worth the wait and the dirty tables.

Review by Pie, email:  pie@piesplate.com

1061 Mason Avenue

Daytona Beach, Florida 32117

(386)255-2256

Store Front

In my many visits to the Daytona Beach area it is easy to overlook certain shopping centers and various restaurants if they are not on one of the main drags. You see Daytona has a few sections that people go to, such as International Speedway Blvd, or A1A or maybe even US 1. But Mason Avenue is down the street and around the corner from any of the main sites that might bring you to the center of racing (or) the world’s most famous beach. Off of Mason Ave is a restaurant known as Tropical Gourmet and they are tucked away in the corner of the MasoNova Park plaza. This area is depressed and filled with bingo halls and rent you appliance stores. But with having almost 20 years of food service in Daytona Beach, Daniel and the other owners/managers deserve some recognition as having an authentic Caribbean restaurant that will delight your taste buds.

When I stepped into the restaurant/Caribbean market I was overwhelmed but the fact the a/c was not on. Then in consideration I thought to myself, they are Jamaican, and the warmth is not unbearable, so deal with it. Soon after I came in a gentleman named Daniel came out from the kitchen area to greet me. He stood at a counter that was adorned with pictures of Bob Marley, Obama, and various scenes from Jamaica. On the counter was a display case with beef patties in it. Having fallen in love with beef patties years ago, I decided to get one as a starter for me. Daniel notified me of the lunch specials that were still available for the day. Including curried goat, ox tail, and jerk chicken all served with either a salad or steamed cabbage with rice and beans. Not familiar with curried goat I need to stick with what I know, I got the jerk chicken.

While I was sitting there customers were coming in and going straight to the counter to get beef patties to go, the whole time I was there I was the only customer that sat in the dining area. Daniel soon brought me my bowl of steamed cabbage filled with carrots and green beans to my table. So there I sit with my cabbage steaming, a roll that looks like a biscuit, my beef patty, and a Jamaican drink simply known as cola champagne. Daniel tells me that the drink is very refreshing and that he thinks I will like it, well he was right. The cabbage was great; it was so hot that it continued to steam the whole time that I was eating it. He told me that the beef patty was authentic and not frozen; this is one of the signature items that the Tropical Gourmet is known for. Having discovered the Jamaican beef patty over twenty years ago I am a fan of them, but this one was rich with flavor with a not too flaky crust.

While still eating my beef patty and steamed cabbage, Daniel brings me a very large plate of jerk chicken with a side of rice and beans. If you are not familiar with jerk flavoring, you should know that it is typically hot in spice. Some people will just make an item spicy and call it jerk, however if you are looking for a real jerk flavor find a real authentic Jamaican restaurant or chef to serve it. Not only is jerk a spicy hot item it is a fantastic blend of spices that the islands are known for. The Tropical Gourmet not only knows the art of making a good jerk chicken item they also sell various spices on the wall along with certain sweet breads and authentic sodas to take home with you.

In conversation with Daniel I was inquiring about the history of Tropical Gourmet. He let me know that they have been opened in Daytona for almost 20 years and in the current location for almost 10 of those. I asked about the desserts available and on this particular day they had none available. He let me know (only after my asking questions about it) that the economy has hurt them in many ways. For now they are open and operating as a full functioning restaurant, but as he let me know, things have to get better to keep them open. I for one will say that if Tropical Gourmet becomes a casualty of the current recession then Daytona will lose out on one of the best Jamaican restaurants available. If you are in Daytona I highly encourage you to swing into Tropical Gourmet for at least a beef patty to go. The food is very good, very fresh and worth every penny you will spend.

My meal was huge and I got a soda and a beef patty to start with. I only paid 11 bucks. You can easily get in and out of there for under ten dollars, or if you go with the various Jamaican soups with a beef or chicken patty as a side you will spend less than $6 for the soup and about a buck fifty for the patty. As I could see there were customers who stopped in and would by 2 or 3 patties and take them to go for less than $5. They are opened from 10 am till 10 pm Monday through Saturday taking Sunday off. You should give them a try, tell them Moonpie sent you.

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com

We regret to inform our readers that the Yucatan Taco Stand in Jax Beach has closed over the Holidays.  We heard rumors about it being closed and decided to visit and check it out for ourselves.  The restaurant and the courtyard are empty, even all the fixtures inside are gone.  There is a sign on the door stating that they are closed for the season due to economic times.  We’ll keep you updated if we hear anything new, but it looks like this Jax Beach hot spot is gone for now.

4372 Southside Blvd

 Suites 207-208

Jacksonville, Florida 32216

(904)998-8806

www.yummysushijax.com

Yummy Sushi

The caption on the take out menu is the Yummy Sushi is the “BEST JAPANESE CUISINE IN TOWN”. Well, I might have to disagree with such a bold statement here. I know it seems like I am starting the hate game early on this review. Yummy Sushi is not bad, so don’t think that I hate this place. But to be so bold as to say that you are the best is too presumptuous to say the least. Our visit was in the middle of dinner time and the place was empty except for 2 or 3 tables being used. This particular night had a staff of 5 servers and 2 sushi makers. The wait staff was literally standing there watching us the whole time. So, if this is the best Japanese in town then no one knows about it.

Dining Room

After we sat down I had ordered a water and started to look at the menu. The first thing that I noticed is that they were quite a bit more expensive than the other sushi mills in town. Sorry if that term is obnoxious to you, but from the front steps of Yummy Sushi you can visibly see 2 other sushi places and from the back entrance you are able to see the parking for another sushi restaurant. At this rate I would have to say that these are sushi mills. The staff returned to our table twice and seemed a little over anxious to take our order; it took a third visit before we were ready. My original plan was to get a couple of pieces of sushi and maybe something from the grill. When I looked at the grill menu and saw that an item that I usually order at other places was almost $5 more here, I decided to stick with the sushi rolls, a salad, soup and a side of fried rice.

Soup and Salad

The soup and the salad with ginger dressing came out first. Call it a quirk of mine but I prefer to eat my salad first, I had made a point to the waitress that I have an allergy. If I have cucumbers I get nauseously ill and it causes a reaction that will include but not short of vomiting. (Sorry if this is too descriptive for you but it is true). Well the very first bite of my salad had a cucumber in it, underneath the mound of ginger sauce. In this case I did not get sick, but I did not finish my salad. Actually I was now very alert and a little angry. If it had not been for the fact that I was very clear about the allergy I would allow a mistake but this was just clearly someone who does not pay attention, or does not care. The miso soup was good, tasty, and the temperature was hot.

Sushi

As the main course arrived I now was inspecting the rolls to see if by chance there was any cucumbers in these, there were not. My order was of a Dynamite Roll, Smoked Salmon, Egg, and a special roll that was on a second sheet of paper and not yet on the sushi menu. The special roll was called The Southside and consisted of smoked salmon, cream cheese, crab, then deep fried with fish egg, scallion and spicy shrimp sauce on it. This was almost my favorite roll but the Dynamite Roll was just fantastic. It had a perfect amount of spicy kick/heat to it. After I was almost completely done with my rolls was when the server brought out my fried rice. Personally I have an issue when your meal is brought out in stages. Now I understand if it is a dinner at a five star restaurant but when your neighbors consist of fast food places, you are not five star.

Front Door

Yummy Sushi may claim to be the best Japanese cuisine in town and there might actually be people who love it. Personally I did not love it, I did not hate it, but I will not go back again. If asked about Asian eats in Jacksonville, Florida I would list it as above average but that there are still many others much better than them. Remember we have so many sushi places here to choose from that you can be picky. Being picky in this economy is what I would advise, and since Yummy Sushi cost us nearly 60 bucks for the both of us (no alcohol was ordered) then you can tell that you have options.

Store Front

Any of the items from the hibachi/grill are going to run you over ten bucks just for the vegetable. If you want shrimp or chicken you should expect to be in the $15 range and for those of you who want the lobster or filet mignon you will pay between 20 to as high as 28 bucks. If looking to the sushi bar then you have the famous Love Boat for two that is near 40 dollars for the rolls. The teriyaki items are no less than $10.95 and as high as $15.95. On the plus side they do offer a lunch special before 3pm that is in the eight dollar range. The same items are available elsewhere for a couple of bucks less, but if you like Yummy Sushi then that would be the best deal for you. Take them for a try and let me know what you think, maybe I am just cheap (lol) I have been called worse.

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com

5310 Lenox Avenue Suite 1 (in the Kingdom Plaza)

Jacksonville, Florida 32205

(904)394-0860

Soul Food Bistro

A few years ago I was a member of a national program to help me lose weight. It was one of those programs that you would go to in a large meeting once a week, weigh in, share recipes, and make friends with others that were looking to lose weight. What I found most comical about the group was the topic of discussion with many in the group. Sure we shared recipes and talked about places to go, but usually these were not foods that were on our ‘plan’. We would compare the stories of which restaurant had the best fried chicken and how to make the best pecan pie. It was here that a friend of mine told me about The Soul Food Bistro. The actual name is The Potter’s House Soul Food Bistro, but since that name is so long I will refer to it as The Bistro for the rest of this review.

Located on Jacksonville’s Westside in what once was the Normandy Mall, The Bistro is a part of one of the largest churches in the city. You don’t have to be a member of the church or even a member of any church to visit. As a matter of fact you should know that other than the ownership on the sign, you would have no idea that they have a church affiliation. I only mention this for those who may shy away thinking that they are gonna be preached to while there. You won’t. But, the food is so good; I might even still go there if they did. After my first visit to The Bistro a few years ago I knew this was a place I would come back to. Ironically The Bistro is located literally feet away from a very busy gym. Both the gym and The Bistro have large windows that almost seem to have a stare off with each other on a daily basis.

When we walked in and went towards the cafeteria style line, there was a large sign telling us that the special of the day was the meatloaf. Having sampled the shrimp, chicken, and the smothered pork chops here in the past I decided to try the special. First in the line I bypassed the salads (I know I should have got something, but oh well). Next in the line were the ox tails, pork chops, tilapia, and shrimp. But there was that meatloaf that I now was wanting so badly. Ok, sorry to sound so dramatic, BUT I love meatloaf! And the fact that it was made at The Bistro would have to be a plus. With the ladies behind the counter serving the other customers in line, I waited patiently. Now it was my turn, I had it all planned out, meatloaf, yellow rice, broccoli and some of their cornbread. Almost to the end of the line I see the desserts and decided on the lemon cake as well.

Meatloaf Special

We get to the table to set everything down when a young man asks if there is anything he can get for us, we decline. We now stand in line for our drinks, of which they serve Coke products (which makes me happy). This is one area that The Bistro could improve, is to either get another machine or to add a second station for more ice and (or) tea. This area was rather congested. The dining room is split up into two separate rooms. There is one as soon as you walk in that is in plain view of the food line. Then there is another that is a little bit more secluded, that one is only open during the busiest of hours. At the time that we came to The Bistro we sat very close to the drink machines. As we sat there to eat you could see the other families there enjoying their meals as well.

As I dig in on my meatloaf, I needed to add a little bit of ketchup to suit my taste. This is not to say that the meatloaf was not good, or dry, just not enough ketchup to my liking. When it comes to my meal the only complaint that I really have is that the yellow rice was rather bland. Usually yellow rice has either a spice or saffron in it and this particular dish did not. My broccoli was steamed and perfect and the cornbread was good. The cornbread that they serve at The Bistro is moist and a little sweet. The serving size is very, very good. In a time where some restaurants are cutting back on portions The Bistro does not. The meal that I had just enjoyed was so much food that I took my lemon cake home, and oh was that good as a midnight snack.

The Bistro is a pure soul food kitchen and even offer t-shirts for sale that state “GOT SOUL?”. The staff is always kind and very helpful. For the both of us we spent just over $15. That is a deal for any family looking for a great meal at a great price. My understanding (and I might be incorrect here) is that the origin of The Bistro came from The Potter’s House offering catering at first. If they did or didn’t does not really matter to me, BUT, so you know they do offer catering now. They have chicken, pork chops, and the major sides that are on the hot bar daily, Such as collard greens, candied yams, yellow rice, mac and cheese and actually about 5 more veggies. They also offer the cakes and pies, even peach cobbler. The catering is offered at various pricing and you can call them for the details.

If you have any difficulty finding The Bistro, you should know that if you see the Winn-Dixie on Normandy near Cassat and The Kingdom Plaza is right behind that. If you see me there one afternoon be sure and say hi. Hey if you wanna go (and you have my number) then give me a call, I am always up for The Bistro. Give them a try if you haven’t already and enjoy.

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com