GoLO Jacksonville

Photo courtesy of Jason Fisher, Content Design Group

For 15 years, Miss Marva has been serving up delicious food reminiscent of her native Guyana at Caribbean Stone Restaurant, 217 W. 8th Street. In 1996, Miss Marva took over the restaurant from her brother who, at the time, was only serving vegetarian dishes. Revamping the menu was the first order of business and we, the customers, are the beneficiaries of that change! As Miss Marva said, people want to eat meat, too.

Pepper steak and rice.

While the chicken curry is a customer favorite, on a recent visit, Miss Marva served pepper steak with pigeon peas and rice. The meat was fork tender and the sauce flavorful. Thank goodness for the rice which helped to soak up every last drop of the delicious sauce. Other customer favorites include the shrimp curry with cabbage and the stewed beef. She also makes goat curry, salt fish with spinach and other delicious entrees. There are also vegetarian dishes available upon request.

Just as if she were cooking for her family, the menu changes based on the ingredients available and the inspiration of Miss Marva. However, she has been known to make any dish on the menu if requested. So, it  is a good idea to call ahead (554-9033) to see what’s cooking or to request a favorite!

While Miss Marva has been making it happen in the kitchen, she has not been able to devote much time to renovating the restaurant itself. So, SAMBA (Springfield Area Merchants and Business Association) and Preservation SOS have gotten together to “Make It Happen” for the restaurant and Miss Marva. Preservation SOS is an organization dedicated to preserve and restoring the structures and fabric that make up the Historic District of Springfield, Jacksonville, Florida.

In a 3 phase project, SAMBA and Preservation SOS will beautify the restaurant’s exterior and interior, utilizing materials and labor largely donated or steeply discounted by area merchants and suppliers. The exterior design was created by Jason Fisher of Content Design Group*. Mr. Fisher, who is also First Vice President of SAMBA, wanted to use a color scheme to highlight Miss Marva’s Caribbean roots. The crimped metal awnings add to the Caribbean themed design. Mr. Fisher’s

Rendering courtesy of Jason Fisher, Content Design Group

design adds interest and dimension to an otherwise flat exterior through the use of color and the awnings. The exterior painting will be tackled by volunteers from Preservation SOS and SAMBA (and whomever else wants to lead a hand, hint, hint) in the second phase of the project.

The first phase, the landscaping will be tackled this weekend beginning at 8 a.m. Created by Laura Byres of Yard Chicks, Inc.*, the landscape design focused on xeriscaping or using plants which are low maintenance and reduce the need for irrigation. Ms. Byres also included a beautiful stone path feature to set Caribbean Stone apart from its neighbors. The plants have largely been donated by Williams Plant Nursery and Breaking Ground Contracting, Inc.* The stones have been supplied by Stone Plus, Inc. at an extremely reasonable cost. Florida Transom has donated new wheel stops for the parking lot as part of the exterior renovation. While the labor is mostly a volunteer force, Steve Johnson Home Repairs will be leading their skills to the project.

The interior renovation is being lead by Allison Behringer of Sweet Pete’s All Natural Sweets*and SAMBA board member.

Photo courtesy of Artscape Photography

This portion of the project will be tackled at a later date. But Sargent Upholstery* has already committed to re-cover Miss Marva’s chairs to get the interior renovation started.

Come and partake of Caribbean Stone Restaurant’s delicious food and watch the changes happen! You could even lend a hand for this extreme makeover-small business style. Rumor has it that Miss Marva will be serving up chicken and rice this weekend.

Miss Marva and Jason.

* denotes a SAMBA member

Jerome Brown’s barbecue sauces have gone from being handmade in his restaurant’s kitchen to being mass-produced for sale in 14 Sam’s Club stores.

Great story via Barbecue sauce gets ready to spread.

Every business needs a Katrina Brown. With a degree in business and finance, and huge personality, she pushed her father to patent and market his barbecue sauce.

“He always had a good attitude, and I’ve always wanted to be just like him,” she said. “So I said: ‘You know what? People should have your sauce on every table.’ I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool, Dad, to walk into the store and see your face on the bottle?’ ”
Read more at Jacksonville.com.

Though the Historic Springfield restaurant on Main St. is closed and currently being used for manufacturing, we’re hoping (and pleading) it’ll reopen when their new plant on Commonwealth is operational. The original location – Jerome Barbeque and Wings at 1551 Edgewood Ave. W is still open and getting rave reviews.  Be sure to support and share this local success story. And for business savvy – contact Katrina Brown. She really is the driving force to getting her dad’s face on the bottle and his great sauce in Sams and Walmart.

You may know about City Kidz Ice Cream Cafe’s many different flavors of hand dipped ice cream and wonderful sandwiches and salads but did you know that a new brand of premium ice cream is being developed right at the Cafe? This Friday, you will have the opportunity to get in on the action.

The City Kidz Food Science Educational Laboratory is designed to provide local middle and high school students’ access to an innovative food science program. The program, hosted by Pastor Clinton Bush of City Kidz, uses a Cornell University approved curriculum. http://foodscience.cornell.edu/ Using a hands-on approach, students are taught food science by professors and food industry executives from throughout the country.

The students have successfully completed the program and have created their own signature Vanilla flavor by combining natural Vanilla extracts from Vanilla Beans from  different origins around the world.  The students’ flavor, Viva Vanilla, will be incorporated into their own branded Ice Cream to be marketed to local supermarkets. A portion of the ice cream sales will go to the City Kidz Food Science Educational Lab Endowment Fund, managed by Community Foundation In Jacksonville Inc.  The Fund will be used to offset college cost by providing scholarships for students who go one to study food science. The program has been featured in the industry publication, Dairy Foods. http://www.dairyfoods.com/Articles/Departments/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000001064136

The sensory taste testing for the students’ Viva Vanilla Ice Cream will take place at City Kidz Ice Cream Cafe on Friday, June 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A donation of $5.00 is being requested to help offset the costs of package design. Come out and show your support for Jacksonville’s students!

Vegetarians are not in pursuit of the latest diet craze; many simply seek a well-balanced diet or choose to not eat meat for a variety of other personal reasons.  It’s a lifestyle that, if practiced properly, has the potential to decrease disease and increase strength and endurance.  Veggie lovers seem to be on to something!

You may not realize it but Downtown Jacksonville has an array of restaurants that cater to all your veggie needs.  Akel’s Delicatessen offers plenty of great meals.  Stop in to try the Veggie Log, a fresh Feta, lettuce, spinach and black olives wrap. Many claim it’s the best wrap Downtown.  The deli also offers two pitas named after the owner’s daughters, Leana’s Oasis and The Alexis Sandwich – both served with hummus.

For those who crave the taste of meat but don’t indulge, Jax City Café offers veggie dogs and burgers, made just the way you like it.

They also have other meat alternative meals available.  Jax City Café’s most popular meal is the meatball sub with organic marinara and a choice of mozzarella or American cheese.  Of course it’s vegetarian friendly, or it wouldn’t be a part of this blog post!   Jax City Café also offers fresh baked croissants, pastries, subs and a plethora of other great meals for both the non-vegetarian and vegetarian.

From the outside, Chamblin’s Uptown looks as though it’s only a bookstore but hidden inside is a charming café.  While reading a

book, try the Veggie #1 Wrap, made with homemade hummus, a variety of vegetables and roasted pumpkin seeds.  Who doesn’t love roasted pumpkin seeds?  A meal that could be eaten breakfast or lunch is their Big Bang Bagel loaded with melted cheddar, red bell peppers, sprouts, and spring mix.  If you’re not in the mood for a sandwich, Chamblin’s also makes vegan and vegetarian soups.

Vegetarian Prix Fixe Thursday at Chew is an enjoyable place to surround yourself with friends and delicious homemade food.  Chew serves food that is sourced locally and from around the world.  Each Thursday for $22 a person you can enjoy a 3-course-dinner veggie style.   The menu changes every Thursday so you’re able to spoil your taste buds with a different meal each time.

Vegetarian or not these are great local restaurants to chow down on some mouth watering meals.  Akel’s Delicatessen, Jax City Café, and Chamblin’s Uptown are not the only restaurants to offer vegetarian meals Downtown, so make sure to check out Downtown Vision’s Directory for the full list.

Chef Anthony Bourdain, of Kitchen Confidential fame, says you can tell a lot about a restaurant by the trucks that pull up outside its delivery entrance.

Hmmm - probably not hauling "fresh and local"

If the trucks are from reputable vendors of seafood or meat, or are emblazoned with the names of local farms, that’s a good sign. But if the restaurant’s food deliveries are offloaded from “sinister, unmarked vans,” or “those big tractor trailers from national outfits (the ones that say, “Servicing Restaurants and Institutions for Fifty Years”),” that should be a warning flag. “Remember what institutions they’re talking about,” Bourdain cautions, “Cafeterias, schools and prisons.”

It goes without saying that you don’t want your neighborhood chef to get his fish from the same folks that also deliver the restaurant’s cleaning supplies. But dedicated GoLO’ers know that the best chefs hold themselves to a higher standard. They work hard to incorporate fresh, locally sourced ingredients in their cooking–and not just because locally grown food is unquestionably fresher than meat, seafood and produce that has had to travel thousands of miles to reach your plate.

There’s the deeper question of environmental sustainability at work. If your produce or meat or seafood remains a generic, anonymous product that seems simply to come from a warehouse somewhere, it’s easier to overlook the damage that industrial farming, fishing and livestock production have inflicted on our landscapes and oceans. If instead you choose to enjoy food seasonally and with knowledge of its origin and harvest, you can support farmers, growers and fishermen who are acting responsibly, which in turn will help create more sustainable methods of food production.

Fortunately, our GoLO neighborhoods are blessed with standout restaurants like ‘town, Bistro Aix and Orsay that have taken local food sourcing to heart.

"Cooking in Season" class at 'town

Scott Ostrander, Executive Chef of Avondale’s ‘town restaurant, is a New York native who grew up on a farm. He believes in the importance of creating strong relationships with farmers, and has constructed ‘town’s menus around seasonal dishes with ingredients sourced only from local farms and specialty food purveyors. So how does he define local? As Chef Ostrander told the King’s Bay Periscope, “I try to keep it to no more than a two-hour drive. For poultry, pork and beef, you have to veer out a little farther, but for produce I try to stay within about 50 miles.”

Chef Tom Gray, of San Marco’s Bistro Aix, has been a proponent of local, sustainable sourcing since his early career in New York and the Napa Valley. He admits that sourcing products from multiple smaller vendors, many of them local, requires a lot of time and energy, but insists it’s worth it. “Relationships build trust for me with my purveyors and for my guests with me.”

Chef Brian Siebenschuh of Restaurant Orsay adds that there are also economic benefits to eating locally. “Obviously, it’s great to know where your food comes from and use fresh ingredients, but–beyond that–every dollar spent on local, responsibly produced food is a dollar that is not going to industrial food producers.”

So if locally raised and produced food is better tasting, better for the environment, better for local economies, and better for your health, how can the novice locavore find quality local food purveyors that support best practices for the planet?

We’ve asked our great GoLO chefs to share their secret sources and spill the beans about how to make sure you’re buying food that is simple, delicious and sustainable. Here are their recommendations. We urge you to share yours!

JACKSONVILLE LOCAVORE SHOPPING SOURCES

Produce:

Chef Tom Gray cooks up a dish for the Toyota Farm to Table Tour at RAM

According to Chef Gray, late spring/early summer is a “good season” for locally grown north Florida produce. Showing nicely at this time are field peas, eggplant, the start of good tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, pole beans and peaches. Gray advises that whether you are buying at

• local farmer’s markets like RAM, Beaches, Beaver Street
• or retail markets such as Lakewood Produce,

the most important thing a consumer needs to do is ask questions. “Ask the vendors, point blank, where their farm is located and if they grew the items they are selling. You must be specific and be willing to ask the questions, otherwise, you might not be getting what you presume to be locally-grown and farm-fresh.”

Chef Ostrander adds a special caution about tomatoes: Refrigerating tomatoes ruins their flavor and, unfortunately, state law requires that all tomatoes sold in Florida grocery stores be refrigerated while transported. He recommends smelling the tomato’s root end; if it smells of hay and the fields, then it’s fresh. No smell? It’s been refrigerated and won’t taste like a tomato should. Chef Ostrander gets his tomatoes from a trusted Jacksonville Farmers Market vendor, Pete Yarbrough (Pete’s Produce stand, 458-6145).

Local Farms:

• Twinn Bridges: Environmentally friendly, pesticide-free purveyor of fresh-cut herbs and heirloom vegetables.
• Down to Earth Farms. The owners of this small farm on Jacksonville’s Westside grow a variety of tasty vegetables and also write a charming blog about the challenges of sustainable farming. You can find them most Saturdays at the Riverside Arts Market.

Dairy:

• Sweet Grass Dairy: This sourthern Georgia dairy makes award-winning cheeses from goats and jersey cows. The Asher Bleu, chevre and Camembert-style Green Hill are particularly good.

Meats and Poultry:

• White Oak Pastures: Fifth-generation Georgia farm producing natural grass-fed beef and free range turkeys.
• Black Hog Farm: Located in East Palatka, the Watkins family farm raises Berkshire, Tamworth, and Large Black heritage pigs, as well as chickens and Bourbon Red turkeys. They also offer Farm to Door partnerships through their CSA program, which also includes free-range eggs; memberships are month to month and Fresh Harvest offers delivery right to your door.

Seafood:
When selecting seafood, Chef Gray advises, “Again, ask the questions to ensure you are purchasing local items as the vendors know their sourcing and should be willing to answer any questions you may have. The same goes for restaurants. “Being an inquisitive consumer will help ensure you are getting what you expect. For example, if the chef or server cannot tell you where that particular fish on the menu was sourced, don’t buy it.”

• Fisherman’s Dock: A favorite of both Chef Ostrander and Chef Gray, this local seafood purveyor has two stores, one at 11610 San Jose Blvd, and the other at 730 Park Avenue.
• Seafood Gourmet: Owner Didier Busnot is a former Executive Chef who knows the source of everything he sells; this is also a great place to score terrific homemade fish soups.
• The Shrimp Man: Daniel, who operates this stand next door to Pete’s Produce Stand at the Jacksonville Farmers Market, sells terrific locally caught shrimp that are flash-frozen on his shrimping vessel. The four local shrimp varieties (brown, white, pink and rock) are generally available.

Spices:

• Blue Budda Exotic Foods: Specialty purveyor of fresh and dried spices and herbs, as well as oils, vinegars and dry goods.
• Green Man Gourmet: This small Avondale shop is a foodie favorite, selling all manner of spices, salts and small-batch food rubs.

A note for Locavore novices: Not sure how to prepare the variety of produce that is sure to show up at your local farmer’s market or in your CSA basket? Sustainable Springfield has teamed up with local chefs who believe in local sourcing for their ingredients, and offers “Cooking in Season” classes at the start of each season to instruct home cooks in how to prepare seasonal offerings.