Metro Jacksonville

Living in Jacksonville => Dining => Topic started by: goldy21 on August 01, 2012, 08:20:46 AM

Title: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: goldy21 on August 01, 2012, 08:20:46 AM
"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 (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 (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=3068.60)
Title: Re: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: Captain Zissou on August 01, 2012, 09:26:18 AM
Cool article.  I wish there were more arab delis in the Southside.  It's not fair that riverside gets to have all the fun.
Title: Re: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: ben says on August 01, 2012, 09:28:07 AM
Really cool article.
Title: Re: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: fieldafm on August 01, 2012, 09:41:40 AM
Quote from: goldy21 on August 01, 2012, 08:20:46 AM
"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 (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 (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.
Title: Re: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: Tacachale on August 01, 2012, 09:44:07 AM
Such a great article. A great testament to the Jacksonville Arab community.
Title: Re: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: JFman00 on August 01, 2012, 10:35:39 AM
Any recommendations for other good ME/N African/Mediterranean places around here?
Title: Re: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: BridgeTroll on August 01, 2012, 10:37:21 AM
Love the article!  Great find!
Title: Re: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: fieldafm on August 01, 2012, 10:53:26 AM
Quote from: JFman00 on August 01, 2012, 10:35:39 AM
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).
Title: Re: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: Adam W on August 01, 2012, 10:57:30 AM
Quote from: fieldafm on August 01, 2012, 10:53:26 AM
Quote from: JFman00 on August 01, 2012, 10:35:39 AM
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).
Title: Re: NY Times: A Taste of Jacksonville, Tucked Into a Pita
Post by: duvaldude08 on August 01, 2012, 11:19:48 AM
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.