I love a good restaurant week. I used to look forward to the release of Atlanta’s various restaurant week menus (Downtown, Midtown, Inman Park, Buckhead…) with excitement. The approach of Jacksonville’s Eat Up Downtown (sort of an extended restaurant week) was no exception. Last year I visited the [now closed--but soon to reopen!] Chew with coworkers. I always try to pick places whose entree choices are more creative than chicken/beef or pork/fish, and Cafe Nola, located in the Museum of Contemporary Art, fit the bill.

I’ll start at the end with this: after finishing our meal, I was SHOCKED that Cafe Nola wasn’t filled to capacity during Eat Up Downtown. The meal progressively improved (maybe just because I love dessert…) and I can’t wait to visit during their typical lunch hours or on a Thursday, when they’re open for dinner. The small but open and airy space is separated from the rest of the museum by glass walls, which still allow you to see the current main installation (always large and impressive) in the gallery.

We started our three-course meal with the grilled peach gazpacho (topped with prosciutto and fried basil) for Mario and Scotch egg (boiled egg encased in housemade chorizo, with smoked almond romesco, lemon zest) for me:

Grilled Peach Gazpacho

Scotch Egg

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When I can spare the time for lunch, one of my favorite downtown spots is Olio Market. They have an impressive list of creative sandwiches (my favorite food) with fresh ingredients that aren’t hard on the wallet. I’ve visited a number of times in an attempt to eat my way around the menu–I find it a good sign that there are still things I want to try.

Olio is usually only open for breakfast and lunch, but I got to try them for the first time during their special extended hours for Jacksonville’s Downtown Art Walk.

I opted for the pork Cuban (smoked pork, ham, dijonaise, swiss, house pickles, Cuban bread), and Mario decided to try the burger + cheese, bacon, and fried egg:

Cuban

Burger

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I thought it wise to finally get around to writing this post before Chew Restaurant closes its [downtown] doors permanently. Following their New Year’s Eve celebration, the Urban Core fixture will be moving a few miles southwest over to Five Points.

I first visited Chew during Jacksonville’s Downtown Restaurant Week with some co-workers. On that visit, I thought that conceptually everything was good–fresh, local ingredients in creative dishes–but that it just didn’t all pan out (for example: tough, dried-out pork belly chicharrones). I chalked this up to it being restaurant week, during which time the place was churning out the same dishes over & over and maybe not paying as much attention to detail. Since I was still convinced that those details could make something good, Mario and I gave it another try more recently. This visit made for much more exciting dining.

We happened to be famished the evening we stopped in, so I decided an appetizer was in order. Plus, I really wanted to try poutine, a dish I’ve heard much about but never tried. What a great introduction:

Short Rib Poutine