Ok, Jacksonville, it’s been a month. I can handle your blazing hot summer temps because of the coastal breeze, and I love being able to go sit on the beach pretty much whenever I want. However, the sprawl here is headache-inducing and gas-guzzling (it’s the largest city by landmass in the U.S.), which makes it tougher to find locally-owned restaurants, especially in my area–near a large mall. But happily, I’m 4 for 4 on identifying pretty good ones. This ain’t Atlanta fine dining, but I’m optimistic about the [smaller] food scene here. P.S. Expect me to compare Jax to ATL for the next 6-8 months. Sorry.

The first restaurant I visited while Mario was still in town helping me move in was Picasso’s Pizzeria in Southside. I’ve spoken before about my aversion to strip mall eateries, but it seems I’ll have to get over it in my new residence, as many restaurants seem to be located in them. I feel like Picasso’s name is a bit of a misnomer–while about half of the menu is occupied by pizza options, the other half contains a wide variety of dishes: from shrimp & grits to shepard’s pie to oysters Rockerfeller. Often such a menu inspires wariness (“Never order a burger from a taco stand!”), but we have been pleasantly surprised by everything we’ve tasted. Oh, and there’s a burger. One that rivals the best in Atlanta. But I’ll get to that later. On our first visit, I decided to try the shrimp & grits (Mayport shrimp sautéed with applewood-smoked bacon cubes, fresh tomato, shallots, and garlic), while Mario went with their signature steak (“Da” Steak: seared premium aged Black Angus rib-eye with fries and Mama Sauce).

Shrimp & Grits

"Da" Steak

One of the best lunches–really, one of the best of any meal–I’ve had recently was packed in one of Empire State South‘s to-go tiffin lunchboxes. ESS, headed by chef Hugh Acheson of Athens, GA (and now Top Chef Masters) fame, has been discussed nonstop since opening. Keeping with the pack, I have nothing negative to say about my experience. The tiffin lunch menus are posted on ESS’s website every week (though they seem to have made some changes recently) and must be ordered before 10:30am M-F for pickup at noon. My box consisted of:

Snacks: Pork rillette w/ cucumber, pickled mustard and grilled sourdough
1st Course: Roasted turnips and pickled cauliflower salad, pistachios and red chili vingaigrette
2nd Course: Crispy pork belly, buttermilk biscuit, Louisiana jelly, arugula and pickled onions
Dessert: Blueberry cupcake

Snack + 1st Course