What I love about Jax

[simms3]

I have to make this thread as penitence for my ups and downs, extreme negativity and general blase attitude towards the city I don't even call home anymore.  I feel like I have done this a few times, haha.

1) I love the Casbah and all things Arabic about the city.  You really don't get that mish-moshed Arabic community integration in other places.  Where else are you going to find good ol' boy Arabs friends with good ol' white boys, all eating kibbie and jibneh together and puffing on actually authentic hookahs in real Arab restaurants run by old Arab families?  Not to mention Arab fast food places like the Sheik.

2) Love the ability to divide time between the river and the beach.  You can't do that anywhere else.  Can't beat Atlantic Beach for real beach towns in Florida.  It looks more like Cape May or Provincetown than FL!

3) Love the vibe in the Park & King district.  To see the most incredible transformation of anywhere in the city occur there is awesome.  Hoping Jim Love doesn't effectively kill all the momentum.

4) Love the hometown pride I sense in the core neighborhoods now.  This did not exist 4 years ago and is a recent phenomenon.  It's refreshing.  You can see it in the beer people drink and the fact that stores and restaurants and finally going local.

5) Love the history...it's a shame it can basically only be viewed in books now, but at least there is a story to tell!

6) Love St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, and other quaint places.

7) Love the Peninsula.  For some reason the architecture of that building has really grown on me.  It's really an attractive building...my favorite downtown amongst the taller ones.

Love Shahid Khan.  I'm sure I would have loved Audrey Moran, too, if she would have won the mayorship.

9) Love San Marco and Riverside and really hoping Springfield suddenly takes off.  Also hoping that infill starts occuring.  Would love to see a 1234 Oak on every vacant lot, and I would love to see some contemporary homes mixed in with the old.  I see the mixture every day of my life now and it's a good look.  Nobody should disagree, especially when there are vacant lots to fill!

9) Love this site.

[simms3]

Can't forget my beloved Restaurant Orsay.  Some may disagree, but I think it is a phenomenally run restaurant with maybe the best overall food and service in the city.  Jonathan Insetta knows what he is doing...of course...he is a partner in the 1234 Oak development!

Jacksonville just needs more people like him.  He truly knows what he's doing; definitely one of the best businessmen in the city.  I think Milwaukee is such a success because it is filled with Jonathan Insettas.  Really a model for Jax; same vibe to some degrees, too.

The city media should spotlight him more often...profile him and make him a local celebrity.  Jax needs local celebrities that people can follow, and often times these are restauranteurs and eccentric businessmen.  I doubt the average person in Jax could conjure up anyone beside Shahid Khan, new to the city.

[ben says]

Can't forget my beloved Restaurant Orsay.  Some may disagree, but I think it is a phenomenally run restaurant with maybe the best overall food and service in the city.  Jonathan Insetta knows what he is doing...of course...he is a partner in the 1234 Oak development!

Jacksonville just needs more people like him.  He truly knows what he's doing; definitely one of the best businessmen in the city.  I think Milwaukee is such a success because it is filled with Jonathan Insettas.  Really a model for Jax; same vibe to some degrees, too.

The city media should spotlight him more often...profile him and make him a local celebrity.  Jax needs local celebrities that people can follow, and often times these are restauranteurs and eccentric businessmen.  I doubt the average person in Jax could conjure up anyone beside Shahid Khan, new to the city.

I agree. I'd also throw in the owner of 13Gypsies, too. While he isn't booming on the business development front, he's definitely a foodie's foodie. What he's doing over there on Stockton St. is really something special.

[BrooklynSouth]

I love the St. Johns River. It is the perfect size. It is wide enough to allow big ships to pass and to give you a feeling of openness, but small enough that you can walk across the bridge and feel connected to the city on the other side. It is full of life! I see dolphins hunting almost every day. There are fishermen in the parks and on the bridges all over the city. Osprey fly over my head with fish in their talons.