viCARIous: Breezy Dining at the Beaches

[Metro Jacksonville]

viCARIous:  Breezy Dining at the Beaches



This time of year is my favorite time of year to play -and eat -and drink at the beach.  Just when I start thinking, Hey! alright, it's Fall, then BAM! I leave the cool confines of my AC'd apartment and quickly remember that, in Jacksonville, summer lasts until November.  So.  I'm infinitely grateful for the ocean breezes that, like most of my friends who live at the beach, never seem to venture further inland than the intracoastal.  Lucky for me I'm not a geographic elitist.  I may not be one for sand and surf, but I do love the laid-back, no-worries vibe found at many restaurants and eateries near Jacksonville's coast.  Here's an overview of my favorite breezy, beachy restaurants and bars in Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Neptune Beach.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-oct-vicarious-breezy-dining-at-the-beaches

[Coolyfett]

What city in florida does the writer live?

[Captain Zissou]

Not to cramp JaxConfidential's style, but we should get a restaurant/bar database going.

We've reviewed just about every place worth visiting in Jax, so a database would make it easy to find old reviews or compare multiple venues.  Between the old bar crawls stephen used to do and Cari's restaurant reviews, we've already got a couple dozen.

[Dapperdan]

I need to head out to the beaches. Can you beleive I haven't been since last year? SOmetimes it feels like a an etireley different country to me, plus living in Orange Park, it is a monster drive, but I really should head out there.

[fieldafm]

Ate at Taco Lu three times last week.  One of my favorite places in the city.  And Don's just a phenomenal dude!

[cephus]

Please try Safe Harbor instead of Singletons.  I have to agree with Yelp and Urbanspoon and don't understand why anyone would go to Singleton's instead of Safe Harbor which is fresher, cheaper, and cleaner!  And, no, I am not affiliated with Safe Harbor.

[Ocklawaha]

Oh damn! SO THAT'S WHERE I PARKED OUR BUS!

OCKLAWAHA

[arb]

Everything looks so good

[Miss Fixit]

Please try Safe Harbor instead of Singletons.  I have to agree with Yelp and Urbanspoon and don't understand why anyone would go to Singleton's instead of Safe Harbor which is fresher, cheaper, and cleaner!  And, no, I am not affiliated with Safe Harbor.

I haven't tried Safe Harbor but will definitely check it out.  I grew up eating at coastal Georgia fish camps and have given Singleton's numerous chances, hoping for a similar experience, but can no longer tolerate the nastiness - the food is not good and the restaurant, inside and out, is filthy.

[thekillingwax]

Safe Harbor is fantastic- we used to go to Singleton's a lot but the prices have just gotten insane and the food just isn't very good (we've had 45 minute waits for fried fish and then it comes out cold). Safe Harbor is fresher, friendlier and half the price. The outdoor seating has fans and a better view.

[ChriswUfGator]

The final nail in singleton's coffin for me is the last time I went they hadn't changed the oil in the fryers for so long that everything we ordered, from the white fish, to the hush puppies, to clams and oysters tasted exactly the same. The nasty overdue oil was so overpowering they could have deep fried cardboard and it would have been indiscernible from the actual food. They just cut too many corners lately, I won't be back. Sad, been going there for a decade.  

[simms3]

Sad to hear about Singleton's...used to be one of my favorite places to go when I was much younger.  Are the model ships/trawlers still there at least?  Also there is an excellent seafood place on Atlantic in Atlantic Beach just down from Al's that gets all its seafood from Safe Harbor and is very good.  Took a date there once and there were a couple of Bentleys in that parking lot!   Not very expensive though.  And I would hate to start rumors, but back when I was in high school I heard rumors from beach kids that had worked or knew someone that worked at Sunny Caribee that they tampered with the food.  Of course the place was new then and you have to take it with a grain of salt, probably not true, but I haven't eaten there since I heard that.

The Beaches have great food places, though!  Another place with rumors and people who have gotten sick is Cruisers, but I love that place and I love their chicken bites   Definitely try that place some time (2 locations in Jax Beach behind some building and PVB in the shopping center just south of the office park with Pusser's).  Oh and try Pusser's and let us know how that is, supposedly it's good, but their letters always seem to be out of lightbulbs at night.

Thanks for all of this, though!

Oh wait, gotta add to the list to review just because there is so much out there:

Mezaluna's (Neptune Beach a block from Ragtime's near Pete's Bar)
Ocean 60 (Atlantic Beach right there near Ragtime's and Al's)
ANGIE'S SUBS, an absolute staple of beach life (Beach Blvd next to Adventure Landing)
Lynch's (Jax Beach on 1st St)
JJ's Bistro (in PVB on A1A)
Joseph's Italian (Atlantic Beach next to Ocean 60)
Restaurant Medure (PVB on A1A, Matthew Medure's brother's place)
Lulu's (Roscoe on the Intracoastal in PVB)
Tento Churrascuria (1st St, Jax Beach)
Either Chizu or Ichiban...both good (3rd St, Jax Beach, can't miss them)

[cline]

Sad to hear about Singleton's...used to be one of my favorite places to go when I was much younger.  Are the model ships/trawlers still there at least?  Also there is an excellent seafood place on Atlantic in Atlantic Beach just down from Al's that gets all its seafood from Safe Harbor and is very good.  Took a date there once and there were a couple of Bentleys in that parking lot!   Not very expensive though.  And I would hate to start rumors, but back when I was in high school I heard rumors from beach kids that had worked or knew someone that worked at Sunny Caribee that they tampered with the food.  Of course the place was new then and you have to take it with a grain of salt, probably not true, but I haven't eaten there since I heard that.

The Beaches have great food places, though!  Another place with rumors and people who have gotten sick is Cruisers, but I love that place and I love their chicken bites   Definitely try that place some time (2 locations in Jax Beach behind some building and PVB in the shopping center just south of the office park with Pusser's).  Oh and try Pusser's and let us know how that is, supposedly it's good, but their letters always seem to be out of lightbulbs at night.

Thanks for all of this, though!

Oh wait, gotta add to the list to review just because there is so much out there:

Mezaluna's (Neptune Beach a block from Ragtime's near Pete's Bar)
Ocean 60 (Atlantic Beach right there near Ragtime's and Al's)
ANGIE'S SUBS, an absolute staple of beach life (Beach Blvd next to Adventure Landing)
Lynch's (Jax Beach on 1st St)
JJ's Bistro (in PVB on A1A)
Joseph's Italian (Atlantic Beach next to Ocean 60)
Restaurant Medure (PVB on A1A, Matthew Medure's brother's place)
Lulu's (Roscoe on the Intracoastal in PVB)
Tento Churrascuria (1st St, Jax Beach)
Either Chizu or Ichiban...both good (3rd St, Jax Beach, can't miss them)

I believe Chizu has recently moved.  It is now located on Penman Road where the old Gene's Seafood used to be.  Also try Dwight's Bistro, on Penman.