Can anyone tell me what's going on with the former Abernathy storefront on the corner?
It's painted PUCE :o and kind of an eyesore to drive by now.
I heard the Japanese restaurant pulled out of the lease there, so what's going in now?
Yeah that green is horrible not to mention the overall job was done poorly.
The Japanese steak house was definitely not needed as Riverside is the closest thing to a china town as far as Jacksonville goes.
I'm curious to see what those 2 buildings are going to be... new bar maybe?
Well, we're out of luck... it IS still going to be a Japanese restaurant.
:P
The signs on the door read "Fu Hao Bistro", which I hope is no relation to the "Foo Hau" on Timuquana.
Quite vivid.
Stings the optic nerves!
This is ridonkulous
You can't even throw a rock without hitting a ten different japanese restaurants all within 2 miles of this new one ALREADY...so did we REALLY need another one?
I disagree with most on this thread. I think it is great to have that concentration of sushi and japanese restaurants in the area. The competition has made each restaurant better and all of them are pretty full most nights. My favorite is sumo sushi.
Quote from: Captain Zissou on February 15, 2009, 08:52:09 PM
I disagree with most on this thread. I think it is great to have that concentration of sushi and japanese restaurants in the area. The competition has made each restaurant better and all of them are pretty full most nights. My favorite is sumo sushi.
This place may be a good restaurant, and if so then more power to them. I'm not knocking the place, obviously, since it's not even open yet. But I think what gets me down sometimes is just the lack of variety around here.
There are already too many italian/pizza type places in riverside, and then there are a too many sandwich/burger joints, and then there are waaaaaay too many japanese restaurants around here already. No exaggeration, I can think of 7 of them right off the top of my head, all within 3 or 4 miles of each other.
I personally would love to see some more variety, and would be very excited to see a spanish restuarant, a greek restaurant, a good indian restaurant, or a good thai restaurant that doesn't cost $100 for dinner. We already have a hundred burger joints, way too many japanese restaurants, and a million italian/pizza places in Riverside. And they're already all pretty good...I'm not complaining. I just don't think we need another one.
well if theres no need for another, don't worry it'll go out of business
Quoteor a good thai restaurant that doesn't cost $100 for dinner.
I love thai and it would continue the asian (majority) theme of the neighborhood.
Let's get spicy
Quote from: Shwaz on February 16, 2009, 10:51:04 AM
I love thai and it would continue the asian (majority) theme of the neighborhood.
Let's get spicy
Don't worry. I predict the same thing thats been happening with sushi will shift over to thai pretty soon.
We've heard rumors that there will be a Thai chef at the former Abernathy's building.
Also, be aware that the Cozy Tea House has started a fixed price Indian dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. I haven't been yet, but the curry pastries she made for the theatre were excellent.
Quote• The former Abernathy-Shortridge Opticians in 5 Points at the corner of Park and Post streets is being converted into Fu Hao Bistro. It’s bright neon green and scheduled to open March 1 with a Chinese and Thai menu.
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/citynotes.php
Wow! Ask and you shall receive!!
Something must've happened... I'm sure a majority of people in the neighborhood felt ill when driving through 5 points and maybe signed a petition or something. The green is out and a fresh coat of orange has been applied. Not great but better than the neon green you could see while orbiting the earth.
Thai for sure! We could do with a couple of Thai restaurants with different menus or at least different approaches to the same dish. There's also an Indian coming to Oral Explosion in San Marco so we at least will have that in the core now.
What's a really good Indian dish? I like just about everything but am absolutely in the dark when it comes to their food. I've already tried it once and to say that what I ordered looked and tasted gross would be a huge understatement. I know there has to be at least a decent Indian entrée somewhere in Jax.
Quote from: Bewler on March 06, 2009, 10:48:58 AM
What's a really good Indian dish? I like just about everything but am absolutely in the dark when it comes to their food. I've already tried it once and to say that what I ordered looked and tasted gross would be a huge understatement. I know there has to be at least a decent Indian entrée somewhere in Jax.
Where did you go? What did you have? I'd recommend Flavors, behind the Chilis on Baymeadows. There's also Red Chili, and India Restaurant, all on Baymeadows--which seems to be the Indian food central. Make sure you order naan with your meal--it makes it!
Quote from: Bewler on March 06, 2009, 10:48:58 AM
What's a really good Indian dish? I like just about everything but am absolutely in the dark when it comes to their food. I've already tried it once and to say that what I ordered looked and tasted gross would be a huge understatement. I know there has to be at least a decent Indian entrée somewhere in Jax.
hmm...curries and bread. I'll eat basically any Indian curry and any kind of bread. But the things I love most are papadam (the lentil chips) and tandoori chicken.
I went to Red Chilies on Baymeadows sort of across from the Red Lobster. I forget what it was called but what I ordered was basically lamb and spinach blended into mush. Seriously, it looked like it belonged in a disposed diaper not a dinner plate. I could only bring myself to eat a couple of bites (it didn't taste as bad as it looked but it was still average at best) before completely losing my appetite, and I've eaten baby octopus.
It was just a shame because some of the entrees I saw other people order when I first got there looked pretty appetizing, but at that point I was too grossed out to ask for anything else. Also it didn't help that pretty much everyone working there understood zero English otherwise I would have asked what they recommend.
My wife had curry which wasn't nearly as offensive looking but again only average in taste. Thai curry is exponentially better.
I think indian food is a lot like chinese food in that most folks over here find the americanized varieties more appetizing than the more authentic dishes. I've been to pretty much all the indian places on Baymeadows (Red Chilies, which I think is closed now, was the worst) and I honestly prefer the food from India's which is probably the most americanized of the the places over there and it also usually wins most of the awards. If you want a good sampler, go with a couple of people one night and get the two sampler platters they offer.
The food at the places where the indian community here actually frequent aren't bad but sometimes I find the flavors to be a bit too overwhelming and holy hell- it can get scary spicy.
killingwax - thanks for the suggestion of the sample platters
i've been scared to try Indian again...
Ahh . . . the power of MetroJax! Clearly, the owners have seen (read) the error of their ways. The green has been banished for, well, a crappy brownish color with maroon trim. Umm. Well. Sigh.
Quote from: wwanderlust on February 15, 2009, 09:48:11 AM
Is there some law requiring only Japanese restaurants to open in this area??
Or, for that matter, is there some law prohibiting Indian or Thai or Greek or anything else from opening in Five Points? One would certainly think so...
Uh? HELLO y'all... Just made a morning visit to "LATITUDES" which features light meals from around the globe...
BUT there is a secret....?Go in and ask for COLOMBIAN "arepa", "empanadas", "arepa de chocolo", or other high Andes delights and you'll experience some of the most unique flavors in town. BTW, Colombian is ANYTHING but hot or spicy, of course you could drown it in hot sauce if you must, but pure Colombian is more French or English, then Mexican. I would like us to do a review on these folks. My wife and I tried it for the first time as a surprise for her as she is a Colombian born, American Citizen. (What a funny thought - I'm an American born - Colombian citizen!) Anyway the food quality, atmosphere, conversation, gifts, internet, decor etc we're not only above average, but economical too. The interior is about as COLOMBIAN as it gets... and yes... this is how most Colombian businesses or apartments look inside. EXCELLENT!
OCKLAWAHA
Quote from: stephElf on March 09, 2009, 02:55:06 PM
killingwax - thanks for the suggestion of the sample platters
i've been scared to try Indian again...
Yes, do give it another shot. You're missing out!
I haven't had nearly as bad an experience at Red Chilies. Good service and I enjoyed the food. Is it really closed now? I haven't tried India but I here it's good. Flavors is good too but the service is lousy. There's a place in Mandarin that's excellent but it's way too far for regular visits.
Quote from: Ocklawaha on March 09, 2009, 11:50:57 PM
Quote from: wwanderlust on February 15, 2009, 09:48:11 AM
Is there some law requiring only Japanese restaurants to open in this area??
Or, for that matter, is there some law prohibiting Indian or Thai or Greek or anything else from opening in Five Points? One would certainly think so...
Uh? HELLO y'all... Just made a morning visit to "LATITUDES" which features light meals from around the globe...
BUT there is a secret....?
Go in and ask for COLOMBIAN "arepa", "empanadas", "arepa de chocolo", or other high Andes delights and you'll experience some of the most unique flavors in town. BTW, Colombian is ANYTHING but hot or spicy, of course you could drown it in hot sauce if you must, but pure Colombian is more French or English, then Mexican.
I would like us to do a review on these folks. My wife and I tried it for the first time as a surprise for her as she is a Colombian born, American Citizen. (What a funny thought - I'm an American born - Colombian citizen!) Anyway the food quality, atmosphere, conversation, gifts, internet, decor etc we're not only above average, but economical too. The interior is about as COLOMBIAN as it gets... and yes... this is how most Colombian businesses or apartments look inside.
EXCELLENT!
OCKLAWAHA
I wonder if City Cycle kept with the Columbian wall treatment when it relocated.
Quote from: Deuce on March 10, 2009, 09:55:58 AM
Flavors is good too but the service is lousy.
Hey...I was there during Christmas with the family and that was exactly our experience.
Passing through 5 points this afternoon I notice Fu Hao Bistro is now open.
Looks like Jason beats everyone to the door again. Waiting to see what JC says :)
I had lunch there yesterday and it was excellent, and a great deal - $7.50 got an entree, soup or salad, and an eggroll.
QuoteI had lunch there yesterday and it was excellent, and a great deal - $7.50 got an entree, soup or salad, and an eggroll.
Just gave it a try today for lunch. Reminded me very much of PF Cheng's but with a Sake House atmosphere.
Very nice renovation work inside, the bar looks spectacular.
I ordered the Cashew Shrimp which was $7.95 with clear soup and egg roll. Very tasty.
We split 1 order of the chicken lettuce wraps which were just as good as PF Cheng's and a large enough portion to make a meal.
Great addition to the neighborhood!
QuoteI'm sure a majority of people in the neighborhood felt ill when driving through 5 points and maybe signed a petition or something.
If we would have felt "ill" we would have petitioned to have Fuel thrown out of their space earlier. Residents did not do anything, perhaps the RAP nazis said something to Code Enforcement, who knows?
Quotef we would have felt "ill" we would have petitioned to have Fuel thrown out of their space earlier. Residents did not do anything, perhaps the RAP nazis said something to Code Enforcement, who knows?
Funny... thought you lived in Avondale.
Are you saying Fuel would've been thrown out for their sign up on the front of the building or because of the concerts they held?
Quote from: mtraininjax on April 17, 2009, 02:51:09 AM
If we would have felt "ill" we would have petitioned to have Fuel thrown out of their space earlier. Residents did not do anything, perhaps the RAP nazis said something to Code Enforcement, who knows?
With club five a faded memory and fuel thrown out, what business do you think will become the fall guy for what is wrong with five points? starlight? steamworks? wendys?
Wendy's.. "COMMERCIALISM MAAAANNN!!! WE NEED TO GET THEM OUT NEVERMINDTHEFACTTHATIALWAYSEATTHEREAT2AMWHENIAMDONEDRINKING!!1!1!ONE"
Startfight is always a scapegoat. Old regulars vilify it on a daily basis. I used to go there a lot myself. Yeah it's not the same place it used to be, but just go to a different bar. There's friggin 4 in the immediate area. Sure there's fights there more often than other bars, but that's the crowd they draw.
Does the Fu Hao Bistro have the hibachi tables or individual table seating or both?
Fuel got thrown out for not paying their rent.
Yes Jim owns Ragland's and it's apparently doing fine. The common gossip is that he just got sick of it, it wasn't making any money and kinda failed as a venue. In combination with some bartenders/doormen that just sorta "gave the house away" to everyone. (That's not my experience with ALL of the bartenders that worked there, but there's always some bad apples.) So he just let it go.
The a/c was notoriously bad in there and had a habit of breaking at the worst possible moment. I can't imagine the electric bill for keeping that much air cooled.
Not to trash it too badly, I do have some fond memories there. But it's not a bad thing that it went. Just a bad thing that it's sitting empty.
I wonder how bad it will be for the next owner to get an alcohol license.
The food items sucked, especially towards the end when I think they weren't as fresh as they probably should/could have been. And the beers/wines were overpriced.
But Loki hit the main problem right on the head. I can only remember maybe two or three times out of the 20 times I went there over the years that the A/C was actually working. Usually the doors were open, fans were on, and it was sickeningly hot inside. After awhile, the place also developed a downright funky smell.
I really think the A/C issues killed that business. A lot of people complained about it.
Quote from: exnewsman on April 22, 2009, 02:07:54 PM
Does the Fu Hao Bistro have the hibachi tables or individual table seating or both?
It is individual table and booth seating, and it also has a good size bar. They do not serve liquor though. It is set up like a PF Changs. They did a real good job gutting and redoing the inside of that building. Me and two friends went last night to dinner and it was excellent. I would definitely recommend it.
Just noticed this morning that Nicotine (in it's new location) is going out of business. Wonder if it was from the recent cigarette price hikes :-\
QuoteThey do not serve liquor though
From what our waiter told us last week, they are in the waiting process for a full liquor license. We were also told that the local church bought up some of the license’s to buy down the amount of drinking in the neighborhood. That's like buying up all the condoms at the Shell station to discourage promiscuous sex.
QuoteWe were also told that the local church bought up some of the license’s to buy down the amount of drinking in the neighborhood.
Is there a way to verify this? Are license owners listed anywhere? Of course they probably would not list the licensee as FBC of Jacksonville.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on April 23, 2009, 12:57:50 PM
Is there a way to verify this? Are license owners listed anywhere? Of course they probably would not list the licensee as FBC of Jacksonville.
Myfloridalicense.com has a searchable database (https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=0&SID=) that will list all of the liquor licenses in the city. But it's 536 pages long and not easy to sift through. I was able to find fuel's "1037 Park LLC" listed for both the Fuel building and Raglands. But nothing out of the order. Even if something was found, nothing could really be done about it.