Safe Harbor Seafood Market
4378 Ocean St # 3,
Atlantic Beach, FL
(904) 246-4911
Unfortunately, they do not have a website with their menu posted, but here are their hours of operation:
9:00am to 5:30pm Monday to Thursday
9:00am to 6:00pm Friday and Saturday
Closed Sunday
Checked this place out at about 5 pm on Saturday, May 2, 2009. I have been wanting to go here a while and was excited to finally have the chance to check it out. It's right down the road from Singleton's Seafood Shack (also a great spot) in Mayport. I thought it was a sit-down restaurant, but was pleasantly surprised to find out it is a seafood market and a cafe/counter-order food spot.
We ordered shrimp and octopus ceviche $8 (basically means served cold in a light citrus dressing/marinade) which was mixed with a little cilantro and other spices and served with hot delicious tortilla chips. You get a nice portion and this was super tasty. We also ordered a side of hush puppies 5 for 99 cents and broiled sea scallops $8. All were awesome. For the sea scallops I was expecting just 4 or 5 by themselves but they came on top of a large bed of sauteed string beans and onions.
This place has a lot of charm... being able to walk around the expansive market side while waiting for your number to be called was enjoyable - you can see dozens of large fish on ice spread out. They had several varieties I have never even heard of before like Milk fish and Pompano. There is seating outside and inside to enjoy your food. Outside you can see some people's fresh catch of the day being cleaned and chopped up (the scraps being tossed to patiently waiting pelicans) and gaze at some of the old fishing boats.
They also serve buckets of beer, single beers, wine and wine by the bottle starting at just $11. Some of their other food offerings are fish sandwiches, fried shrimp and french fry platters, fish tacos and crab cakes. Great spot to head to after a day in the sun.
I would definitely go back here again to eat or to bring something fresh home to cook up myself.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Chew Restaurant - Downtown Jacksonville
Chew Restaurant
So I have wanted to try Chew for at least a year, maybe longer. I’ve always heard good things about it. We went last night for dinner around 6:30. The place was steady but not packed. Overall, I like the décor; it’s clean and modern. Not quite as warm as some of my favorite spots, but seeing something different was nice. It is downtown after all and feels more like Manhattan on the inside than Jacksonville.
My husband ordered a cup of the Lobster Bisque ($6) to start that was tasty and I had the Ricotta Gnocchi. On the menu, it states that it comes with seasonal mushrooms. I love, love, love gnocchi and had high expectations of the dish. The fact that it is called Ricotta Gnocchi ($13), had me expecting something cheesy and rich with a mushroom sauce. What I received was mushroom everything. There was no balance of flavors. The gnocchi was brown and tasted like mushrooms and the sauce was much like a salty Marsala. The flavor was ok, just not what I was expecting. I could get past that except that every other bite was gritty – the same texture and feeling as oysters that haven’t been cleaned well. When the waiter came by, I told him I enjoyed the dish but wondered what the grittiness was. I figured maybe the mushrooms because I know mushrooms aren’t supposed to be cleaned rigorously. Sure enough, that’s what it was and they took it off the bill. Although I didn’t care either way, I ate most of it and wasn’t expecting it for free.
Our server was polite and attentive the whole meal, so I don’t have anything bad to say about their service.
Next, our entrees came. Brett had the Braised Duck Leg salad ($14) and I had the Vanilla-Peppercorn Lobster salad ($18). Brett’s again was awesome. The duck was tender, delicious and not greasy. My salad however was a disaster, I only ate it because I was starving and I don’t really like to complain – I took the chance ordering it. It says the salad comes with vanilla pouched lobster, red peppers, Romano cheese, mixed greens and lemon-Dijon vinaigrette. With Peppercorn being in the name, you would expect some pepper somewhere. The lobster was flavorless and horribly over-cooked. Gum that has been chewed for an hour would be more tender. The red peppers were missing. The best thing about the dish was the mixed field greens and light dressing.
I’ll give Chew a C+ and a second chance. I’m sorry though, for the prices, I expect everything to be spot-on like Orsay, Biscotti’s and Bistro AIX. Consistently good, every time.
So I have wanted to try Chew for at least a year, maybe longer. I’ve always heard good things about it. We went last night for dinner around 6:30. The place was steady but not packed. Overall, I like the décor; it’s clean and modern. Not quite as warm as some of my favorite spots, but seeing something different was nice. It is downtown after all and feels more like Manhattan on the inside than Jacksonville.
My husband ordered a cup of the Lobster Bisque ($6) to start that was tasty and I had the Ricotta Gnocchi. On the menu, it states that it comes with seasonal mushrooms. I love, love, love gnocchi and had high expectations of the dish. The fact that it is called Ricotta Gnocchi ($13), had me expecting something cheesy and rich with a mushroom sauce. What I received was mushroom everything. There was no balance of flavors. The gnocchi was brown and tasted like mushrooms and the sauce was much like a salty Marsala. The flavor was ok, just not what I was expecting. I could get past that except that every other bite was gritty – the same texture and feeling as oysters that haven’t been cleaned well. When the waiter came by, I told him I enjoyed the dish but wondered what the grittiness was. I figured maybe the mushrooms because I know mushrooms aren’t supposed to be cleaned rigorously. Sure enough, that’s what it was and they took it off the bill. Although I didn’t care either way, I ate most of it and wasn’t expecting it for free.
Our server was polite and attentive the whole meal, so I don’t have anything bad to say about their service.
Next, our entrees came. Brett had the Braised Duck Leg salad ($14) and I had the Vanilla-Peppercorn Lobster salad ($18). Brett’s again was awesome. The duck was tender, delicious and not greasy. My salad however was a disaster, I only ate it because I was starving and I don’t really like to complain – I took the chance ordering it. It says the salad comes with vanilla pouched lobster, red peppers, Romano cheese, mixed greens and lemon-Dijon vinaigrette. With Peppercorn being in the name, you would expect some pepper somewhere. The lobster was flavorless and horribly over-cooked. Gum that has been chewed for an hour would be more tender. The red peppers were missing. The best thing about the dish was the mixed field greens and light dressing.
I’ll give Chew a C+ and a second chance. I’m sorry though, for the prices, I expect everything to be spot-on like Orsay, Biscotti’s and Bistro AIX. Consistently good, every time.
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