NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita

[goldy21]

"THERE are subs. There are heroes. There are hoagies, po’ boys and grinders. And in this port city, which has the country’s 10th largest Arab population, there are camel riders.

Elsewhere, the term might be pejorative. But in Jacksonville, these sandwiches, also known as desert riders, are a totemic food. Often stacked with lunch meats, smeared with Italian dressing and tucked into pita bread, they are eaten with a side of tabbouleh and accompanied by a cherry limeade..."

Continued: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/dining/in-jacksonville-camel-rider-sandwiches-are-ubiquitous.html?_r=1&ref=dining

Another thread asked what Jacksonville's signature dish is.  Score one for the camel rider. 
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=3068.60

[Captain Zissou]

Cool article.  I wish there were more arab delis in the Southside.  It's not fair that riverside gets to have all the fun.

[ben says]

Really cool article.

[fieldafm]

"THERE are subs. There are heroes. There are hoagies, po’ boys and grinders. And in this port city, which has the country’s 10th largest Arab population, there are camel riders.

Elsewhere, the term might be pejorative. But in Jacksonville, these sandwiches, also known as desert riders, are a totemic food. Often stacked with lunch meats, smeared with Italian dressing and tucked into pita bread, they are eaten with a side of tabbouleh and accompanied by a cherry limeade..."

Continued: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/dining/in-jacksonville-camel-rider-sandwiches-are-ubiquitous.html?_r=1&ref=dining

Another thread asked what Jacksonville's signature dish is.  Score one for the camel rider. 
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=3068.60

The NY Times article was a direct result of Cari Sanchez-Potter's great work.  The reporter contacted Cari when he was down here recently.

[Tacachale]

Such a great article. A great testament to the Jacksonville Arab community.

[JFman00]

Any recommendations for other good ME/N African/Mediterranean places around here?

[BridgeTroll]

Love the article!  Great find!

[fieldafm]

Any recommendations for other good ME/N African/Mediterranean places around here?

Mandaloun and Taverna Yamas.

Zodiac has a fairly inexpensive lunch buffet.

I'm personally a big fan of Karams off Hodges (its in a former Chinese take out place in the Wal Mart strip mall, next to Bruccis) for cheap, no frills dining.

North african cuisine?  There's Queen of Sheba that specializes in Ethiopian food (be prepared to eat with your hands).

[Adam W]

Any recommendations for other good ME/N African/Mediterranean places around here?

Mandaloun and Taverna Yamas.

Zodiac has a fairly inexpensive lunch buffet.

I'm personally a big fan of Karams off Hodges (its in a former Chinese take out place in the Wal Mart strip mall, next to Bruccis) for cheap, no frills dining.

North african cuisine?  There's Queen of Sheba that specializes in Ethiopian food (be prepared to eat with your hands).

I always liked the place downtown near the Ed Ball building. Not sure if that was Zodiac.

I think this is all fairly close to North African cuisine, though I don't know of any North African restaurants in Jax (most of these seem to be Palestinian, Syrian or Lebanese... and Ethiopia is East African and it completely different).

[duvaldude08]

I love REAL journalisum. The NY times and Wall Street Journal are the best. I read the article about Khan on the WSJ a few months back and it was a great read.