Springfield Station Bar & Grill

[thelakelander]

Settling in at Springfield Station



By ERICA BURKS,
Special to the Times-Union

After my husband divorces me and leaves me for a much younger, nicer, prettier woman, I am going to move to Springfield. I am going to let my hair go completely gray, wear long flowing skirts - with bells on them - and possibly no bra at all.

I'll spend long days scraping paint off the walls of the house I am renovating and when I am tired, hot and sweaty, I'll wander over to The Springfield Station Bar & Grill for a beer and burger. They won't mind if I come in all grubby. In fact, they will probably have my beer waiting for me.

This old building on Main Street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, used to house a deli and a bakery, but owner Jim Huntress found it to be a heavy burden alongside his business of renovating houses. Enter Victor Antonio Pablo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has long been an advocate for downtown. At one time, he donned the orange shirt and pith helmet and actually worked as a downtown ambassador, but his first love is cooking. He and Huntress partnered and opened The Springfield Station Bar & Grill.

While any business in Springfield is an uphill battle, Rodriguez says lunch is picking up slowly. The menu is fairly limited, with several salads and sandwiches taking up most of the space. We went to lunch twice, and I found one thing to be true: Rodriguez makes it up as he goes along.

On our first visit, we enjoyed the freshly fried corn chips and salsa ($4.75). The salsa was loaded with garlic and was deliciously hot. My co-worker and I were afraid to go back to the office: Our garlic breath was lethal.

The Springfield Burger ($7) more than lived up to its reputation. It was truly a half pound of black angus beef, prepared as ordered (medium) and topped with fresh lettuce, tomatoes and onions. I found out later that grilled onions are free, by request, and this is good to know. I enjoyed every juicy bite and barely left any fries. The fries, by the way, are wonderfully fresh.

My dining companion loved The Pearl Street Salad ($6) but after eating for 30 minutes, her plate still looked full. It had all the basics, with tomatoes, romaine, croutons, onion, Cheddar cheese and freshly grilled chicken. Our only complaint was the salad dressing. It obviously came out of a jar and didn't do the salad any justice.

The decor certainly inspires. It is loaded with eye-popping giant canvases by artist Miquel Sanchez, who will also show more work at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Sanchez's work is colorful and modern, full of wonder and movement. In addition, the walls are covered with black chalkboard paint and beg for children with colored chalk to make their mark.

Rodriguez likes to spice up the menu with whatever he finds on his daily trips to the Beaver Street farmers' market, and on one recent visit, we enjoyed fresh tuna that had been made into a salad. While I loved the tuna, it saturated the bread a bit too much and made for a very runny sandwich.

Specials run the gamut from stuffed green peppers to an absolute smorgasbord of Mexican dishes. Still, the most popular item on the menu remains the Main Street ($7), a prime rib sandwich prepared Philadelphia style, complete with grilled onions, mushrooms, peppers and provolone cheese.

On this second visit, we opted for a repeat on the chips and salsa, but this time, the salsa was made with roasted tomatoes and habaneros - a completely different version than the garlicky one we had enjoyed the last time. While I enjoyed the unpredictability of it, others might quibble with the curveball.

Speaking of curveball, local Springfield residents are turning up on at 3:30 p.m. Sundays to enjoy the newly christened bocce ball court. There also seems to be a fairly lively mix of bands performing on most Friday and Saturday nights, and Rodriguez prepares meals to go with the music.

For example, on Friday, June 29, Lorelei performs alt-country music, and the fare will be fried chicken. The Jazz Journey with Von Barlow (Saturday, June 30) will feature specialty beers and some down-home barbecue prepared on the grill out back.

It's true that making a living on Main Street isn't that easy, but Rodriguez and Huntress have put a lot of time and effort into The Springfield Station Bar & Grill. Both times I was there, both men were working hard. Huntress' daughter waits tables, and Rodriguez was outside, weeding and planting in the vacant dirt lot next door. He plans to grow some of his own vegetables, and come fall, I hope we can all enjoy the fruits of his labors.


The Springfield Station Bar & Grill1544 N. Main St.(904) 356-8877Type of cuisine: Burgers, salads, daily specials and breakfast.Hour of operation: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday (bocce starts after closing time). Closed on Monday.Credit cards: Mastercard, American Express, Visa, Discover, Diners' Club.Bar service: Beer and wine.Reservations? No.Children's menu? Yes.Price: Inexpensive.cms_sidebox()

This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/062207/lif_178962393.shtml.

[Lunican]

The Springfield burger is good.

[downtownparks]

It usually is. My main complaint with the place, at least since Victor has been there has been more about service than quality. Victor can certainly cook his butt off.

Now if you can place your order quickly, and get the food in a timely manner, the place would be just fine.

[thelakelander]

Today, they were pretty quick at lunch.  I had a Springfield Burger and fries.