Poppy Love Smoke Cigar Bar comes to Downtown!

Poppy Love Smoke doesn't have a website right now, but they are on Facebook - do a search for "Poppy Lovesmoke" and they'll pop right up. Scroll down for photos.

Here are their hours:
Mon - Thur >> 3 pm to midnight
Fri - Sat >> 3 pm to 2 am

A friend and myself went to check out this new spot this past Wednesday for Art Walk from about 5:30 - 7:00. There was a steady stream of people coming in and the guy taking care of us (which I am assuming was the owner or manager) was really nice. He had a genuine interest in what we thought of the place and what side of town we lived on, etc.

The interior of the space has a nice urban, modern feel while still being comfortable and casual. While we were there, a lady passed out home-made mini cheesecakes with fresh fruit on top - tasty!

They offer domestic beers starting at $3.25 and wine starting at $7/glass. My wine was rung up at $6, so I am thinking they must have happy hour pricing. For just opening, they had a decent selection, although it would be nice to see them expand upon it in the future.

I didn't have a cigar this time around, but plan on it during my next trip when I'm not as pressed for time. Great new addition to the downtown area and I can't wait to go back!




Board we got to sign.


Art above Bar Area.




Who ever made these treats - thank you!

The Blue Crab Crabhouse Restaurant & Bar

The Blue Crab Crabhouse Restaurant & Bar

3057 Julington Creek Rd.
Jacksonville, FL 32223

904-260-CRAB

Hours:
Tue - Sat 5-10 pm
Sun 12:30-9 pm

Menu

On Friday, June 26, 2009, Brett and I headed out to try a seafood place in Mandarin. Not sure how long it’s been there, but it’s new to us – The Blue Crab! It was exactly what I was hoping for – a seafood place kind of like Sliders out at the beach but closer to us (we live in Mandarin now).

We opted to sit on their outside deck since it was below 90 degrees. All of their tables are covered in craft paper – ready for people wanting a pound of blue crabs. Our server was friendly and helpful. We were surprised it wasn’t busier for a Friday, but he said since it was the weekend after Father’s Day, they anticipated being slower.

For appetizers, we got the Crabmeat Martini ($5.95), Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail ($6.95) and Steamed Mussels in Garlic Butter ($5.25). All were tasty and for the prices, the portions were on target. At a lot of places, shrimp cocktail and mussels can run $9 and $10. For the Crabmeat Martini, I think Brett was expecting something more citrus-y vs. a dip or a tuna salad with mayonnaise, but it was tasty, had a nice kick to it and went great on club crackers.


Crabmeat Martini


Shrimp Cocktail and Mussels - after already eating some (I always forget to take pics!)

For dinner, I couldn’t decide between 1lb of Snow Crab or Dungeness Crab – both entrees are $19.95 and come with 2 sides and hush puppies. I asked the server the difference and he said they are about the same but he prefers the Dungeness. You can get either with Old Bay Seasoning, but I opted for plain Dungeness since I enjoy the taste of the meat solo. I thoroughly enjoyed the Dungeness, but now having both that and Snow Crab, I think I will stick with Snow Crab. The bodies on the Dungeness were delicious and stuffed with tons of flakey white crab meat. The legs are where the difference is; Dungeness to me is a bit less sweet and a little drier. The broccoli, cole slaw and hush puppies all accompanying my meal were great too.
























Crabs - there were 2 clusters, I just already ate them. That and most of my broccoli and cole slaw haha

Brett got the Mandarin Shrimp for $11.95 with broccoli, red beans and rice, and hush puppies. The Mandarin Shrimp is two skewers of medium-sized shrimp glazed in a pleasing teriyaki sauce. I sampled the shrimp and would have been just as happy ordering that.

Overall, the prices are reasonable for a seafood place, the portions are good and the environment is casual and comfortable. We’ll be back!

* Full bar, beer, wine and Kid’s Menu available.

Safe Harbor Seafood Market & Cafe

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.

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.

Riverside Arts Market - Opening Day

Riverside Arts Market

Saturday, April 4, 2009 from 9 AM - 4 PM was the grand opening of the Riverside Arts Market. We rode our bikes up their from a friend's house on Post and were able to lock our bikes up to a nearby tree. We were going to use the free bike valet service but the line was a bit long and we already had locks on us.

I was really impressed by the turnout for this event and happy to see one of my favorite sides of town bustling with all sorts of people and TONS of dogs. As a dog lover, I could have sat by the water for a good hour watching people go by.

It was a gorgeous warm sunny day - perfect for the opening. I wasn't there as long as I liked, as a few people were anxious to head over to European Street for lunch and brews... I definitely plan on going back next Saturday to walk around, even if it's by myself! I did get a chance to stop by a friend's booth Pinstripe Paws and placed an order for a pink bandanna for my boxer Izzi.

I did see they had a play area / crafts table set-up for kids and a huge variety of food vendors from Pizza and Ribs to Seafood Bisque and Shaved Ice. Food prices were reasonable too which was nice to see - it wasn't like a sporting event in that regard.

Here's a few pics:

Walkers Wine Bar coming to Riverside

Friday night a few friends and myself went to the soft opening of Walkers Wine Bar in Riverside. They are on Post Street directly across from Park Place, and around the corner from Kickbacks. Their official opening is Saturday, April 18, 2009.

While the inside is not quite as casual as Bold City Brewery, the staff is just as friendly and helpful. For the soft opening they had bowls of Wasabi peas and spicy corn chips around the bar, but do have a Tapas menu "coming soon". The prices were reasonable and the owner said he plans on having a 100+ bottle selection available and frequently bringing new wines into the rotation. And by reasonable I mean their glasses start at $5 (not $9+ like some places) and they have a nice dry bottle of champagne for $20 that they kept on ice for us.

They are going to have live music on the weekends, definitely some Jazz. The space really is perfect for this type of venue. The exposed brick walls, ceiling beams and abundance of lit candles is just the sort of ambiance I love.

Unfortunately, I could not find a website or official address for them right now.

Below are some pics for your viewing pleasure:

The Bungalow on Park

The Bungalow on Park

Last night I went there for a friend’s 30th Birthday Celebration. I think the inside of the place is charming. We had a back room all to ourselves that was full of black and white photos, some from France, and a few large-scale paintings. We could see from the room that there was a nice outdoor patio with space heaters for chilly nights. One thing, that we found hilarious, was a realistically painted headless mannequin in the Ladies Restroom of a woman breast-feeding. Completely creepy, unexpected and bizarre, but with my circle of friends, made for a great laugh.

Our server, Kyle, was great – but I have to admit, we know him from a previous establishment he worked at, where we are regulars. Either way, he always provides quick, friendly service and it was nice to see a familiar face.

It’s my understanding that the Bungalow has a bit of a before and after existence - that they had a rough patch and then revamped their menu and pricing. I was never there “before”, but my friends tell me they did lower their prices substantially (maybe by $2 -$3 an appetizer and $4 - $5 an entrée).

Ok, on to the food.

My husband and I shared the following to start:

Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad – Marinated Roma tomatoes with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil over mixed field greens with our house balsamic vinaigrette and our port and balsamic syrup.
$9

This was tasty and a good portion. Enough to share.

He had the:
Stuffed Chicken Marsala – Pan-seared chicken breast stuffed with black forest ham and Swiss cheese topped with our rich Marsala wine and mushroom sauce.
$16

They have 6 sides to choose from, he got the Sweet Potato Fries and Tator Tots. This was also a big portion. I wasn’t blown away by it, but I am pretty picky about Marsala sauce because I make it at home fairly often. He enjoyed it.

I had the:
Captain Crunch Chicken Strip Platter – By popular demand these juicy chicken tenders breaded in captain crunch cereal are now no longer just on the kids menu! Sorta silly… but really tasty… Served with your choice of sauce.
$11

I had mine with Sweet Potato Fries and Asparagus (and Honey Mustard Sauce for the chicken). The Sweet Potato Fries are AMAZING. I have had them before but these were perfect. Right size, salted well and not over-cooked. The asparagus were good too, but there were only 3 tiny ones. The chicken was good, and tasted slightly different than most chicken strips, but I didn’t taste a trace of Captain Crunch, which made me a little sad.

At first I felt it was a bit over-priced. But now that I have had time to mull it over, for the amount of food you get it actually isn’t bad. It may not be as unique and flavorful as Biscotti’s or Orsay but the food quality is good and you get a lot of it. Let me mention that I am not the type of person who expects hoards of food on my plate when I order, but it is nice to have leftovers for work the next day.

A few friends had the Cajun Meatloaf and they all liked it. Unfortunately, a lot of people ordered the Fettuccini and all mentioned it came out cold. I’m sure if they commented, the situation would have been remedied, but I think at that point everyone just wanted to eat.

The birthday girl ordered the Fried Gouda appetizer and one was an empty pocket with no cheese, so they brought out a second full order of it, which was really nice. Someone else ordered the Cheese Tray appetizer and for $7 you get SIX different cheese, crackers and apricot sauce - this was truly a bargain and delicious.

My husband had 2 beers and I had 2 house chardonnays ($5.5 a glass).
Without drinks our bill was $39 plus tip. Not terrible for a nice dinner out and enough leftovers for 2 full lunches.

One thing I think they could do to attract more business is to offer some sandwiches on their dinner menu. The Brick for example, has some great options, like a French Dip, that fall into the $10 - $14 range. Other than a salad, the dinner options are all pretty hearty and some people don’t want to eat that much (especially on a week night).

I can definitely see myself coming back here, especially on a nice day to sit outside on the patio, either for happy hour or brunch. The service and atmosphere were nice and that alone will have me going back for more. Eating out isn’t just about the food, it’s about the experience and environment with friends and family.

B+

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