Looking for places owned by actual Italians. Not Americanized.
Also Thai and German...
Any other restaurants that have owners that come from the country the cuisine represents.
How about pizza places owned by Greeks or Turks? There's certainly a strong showing around town & they seem to do a pretty good job. Best way to tell: Gyros on the menu & fresh Baklava by the register.....I really wish that there were more prominent Eastern European places (specifically Balkan) given the strong presence in JAX - I read somewhere that Jacksonville has like a top 5 immigration ranking per capita from countries like Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, & Croatia - I'm not sure why - Bos?
It's been stated on here before - good luck finding sushi in town prepared by Japanese. I'm not sure if there are any German places left (I used to love Uli's).
Sala Thai on beach Blvd near St. Johns Bluff has very authentic thai. Plus they have amazing service.
Taste of Thai on University is also fantastic. Sake House is my favorite for sushi. I used to love going to Yoshi's on Baymeadows, but sadly they are no more. I believe there is a Balkan place at Bowden and Spring Park - Doner House is the name, but I've never heard anything about it. PK Noodles on Beach is amazing for Vietnamese fare, and was a favorite place of a former coworker from Vietnam. The Englewood area is quite a melting pot and you are likely to find many authentically ethnic restaurants there.
Yea, a good German restaurant is considered quaint and ethnic in the South. most Southerners consider German and Euro food to be rich..(Go Figure).
I miss all the cold cuts and sausage delicacies of the Germans and Alp folks...anyone heard of our American Lebanon Bologna? Its like a dessert sweet salami..but softer...cut paper thin.(Lebanon Pennsylvania.)
I wish there WAS a Bosnian/Croation resturant nearby....
I hope "Let's Nosh" is doing OK... (Jewish) they have to price their menu to what looks like high to us, but they get killed in the shipping costs..not to mention NEW costs. (Vienna Meats)
I as a "getting older" guy have to remember prices change every 10 years.. :D
Quote from: Ernest Street on June 07, 2010, 08:41:00 PM
Yea, a good German restaurant is considered quaint and ethnic in the South. most Southerners consider German and Euro food to be rich..(Go Figure).
I miss all the cold cuts and sausage delicacies of the Germans and Alp folks...anyone heard of our American Lebanon Bologna? Its like a dessert sweet salami..but softer...cut paper thin.(Lebanon Pennsylvania.)
I wish there WAS a Bosnian/Croation resturant nearby....
Ernest, the Southrons don't think it's rich in calorie content, they're talking about PRICE!! Way more then a Krystal, or RC Cola and a Moon Pie.
We once had a Bosnian Restaurant but a group of Serbs working with the CIA shut it down.
Finally, C O L O M B I A N ...
El Ranchito - "Mexican - Colombian" at Beach and San Pablo, next to Big Lots. "Mexican" is served but it's more as insurance against ignorant customers that might not know, or be to try COLOMBIAN, thus the places stay solvent. "Bandeja paisa," which translates roughly "Platter-Country" (Country as in Folk Songs, Hillbilly's, and plain old down home - on the farm cooking). It is really a remarkable dish, which should include some thin steak, rice, salad, beans cooked down, pork strip, plantain, corn cake, egg, and anything else the chef has laying around the kitchen. If you order the dinner, you better be hungry, otherwise stay with the lunch size plate. It is as good as many places in Colombia, so that's pretty darn authentic.
A word to the wise: If you love hot spiced foods, pepper that will light your innards, and blast furnace sauces, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! Colombian food is anything but hot or spicy, so if your thinking a variation of Mexican, NOT! NOT! NOT! Not even close. The only similarities being your cook for either style probably speaks Spanish.
Second - "C O L U M B I A" Restaurant in St. Augustine and the Tampa area is MEXICAN (sort of) but no self respecting Spaniard would spell Col u mbia like us Gringos. Col O mbia is the proper spelling of the Country and Colombian food, which is NOT served at Columbia Restaurant. Think of it as a poorly spelled high price version of Taco Bell, but at least the later can spell Taco.
Third - So you "look like a world traveler" you might want to follow these suggestions: When eating Arepa's bury the little buggers in butter, margarine, cream cheese, salt and pepper... don't tell your dietitian. Empanada's are little meat pies, just ground steak, rice, potato, and a dash of onion, tomato and some sasson (a mild Spanish seasoning). The proper way to eat one is to bite off one end, actually just a small corner, then fill it with Lime Juice (LEMON in Spanish). ASK FOR THE LEMON, you might also ask for hot sauce or a typical Colombian sauce of olive oil, and herbs, which can be spooned in. WOW!
Cali Caliente - At Beach and Southside in the old plaza NE of the intersection, same building as Harbor Freight toward the north end. This smallish place is something of a bakery and a small restaurant, The baked goods empanada's and bunuelo's are excellent.
Antojitos Colombianos, Panaderia/Bakery @ 5111 Baymeadows Rd. The pan de queso is fantastic, so is the yucca bread. The guava rolls are called "pastel de gloria", hell they even knocked off the Little Debbie Cakes on my diet! Colombian sweets are much lower in fat and sugars then the US counterparts. pan de Yuca is also one of my favorites. The pan de queso is fantastic, so is the yucca bread. The guava rolls are called "pastel de gloria". Colombian sweets are much lower in fat and sugars then the US counterparts but you wouldn't know it when digging into a sweet pastel. For a good selection hit this place in the morning, after noon they're out of just about everything. Empanada's run out here and everywhere else, the world doesn't have enough Empanadas.
El Rinconcito, 7159 Phillips Hwy, Been to this place a few times too, I checked it out on the Jacksonville Restaurant Database and found a couple of reviews of this food besides mine:
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MsClark
May 19, 2009
1 of 1 users found the following review helpful:
Excelent food and good service
* Your Rating: 0/5 Stars
* Overall Rating: 5.0/5 Stars
5.0
Not to say much. The service is great and the food quality and flavor even super pass some of the best Latino restaurant in Miami. This is a lot to say for a small restaurant in the middle of a huge slowed down city like Jacksonville. Congratulations to The Latin Cuisine. You have a great future. I will see you on my next trip thru I95
Ms. Clark
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angelic3432
angelic3432
Sep 28, 2007
1 of 1 users found the following review helpful:
Authentic Colombian Food at Reasonable Price
* Your Rating: 0/5 Stars
* Overall Rating: 5.0/5 Stars
5.0
I have been going to this restaurant for the past few years and they are now under new management which has revamped the menu. Their empanadas are to die for and the typical Colombian dish "Bandeja Paisa" is awesome! I would definitely recommend it. The manager/owner is sometimes there and he is very nice and comes to your table and talks to you.
Enjoy Team!OCKLAWAHAVIVA LA REPUBLICA DE COLOMBIA
The Columbia is Cuban. Not Mexican.
Thanks for the tips otherwise!
Yeah Ock, The Columbia would be insulted if they heard you called them Mexican. They are Cuban or Spanish, not Mexican. Although, I wish La Nop or someone else would make a good Ropa Vieja around here.
Most "Balkan" food is actually bosnian or albanian(usually they copy bosnians specialites).
Croatians dont have any kind of food except Dalmatia which is sea food heaven,Serbs have hit and miss food,Slovenian food is simillar to German,Macedonians make some stuff too but their food is on weaker side too.
There are not good bosnians places in Jax,most are average if that.Usually people who know how to cook good are not interested into opening returants,but NYC,Salt Lake city,St Louis,Huston have good resturants...actually Cafe pita in Huston made it to Dinners,Drive-ins and dives recently.
Top specialities are bosnian kebabs,my hometown and Sarajevo are famous for best(there are family tradition who makes best one),bosnian pita-even that name is pita its nothing like arab pita but more like pie....there is meat pie,potato pie,cheese pie,spinach pie..also not everyone makes them good,you got deserts like baklava but much tastier then greek (their is too dry),then you got dishes like sarma etc...
Like I said most resturants are average and they are not as tasty as original,but you can buy some stuff in bosnian stores (on University,Beach blvd,Atlantic,Old kings) for example bosnian kebabs from my city Banjaluka,taste very original,then you got cheeses,dried meat,all sort of chocolates and sweets...you will be putting pounds like crazy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_cuisine
Okay. So what are the NAMES of these Bosnian "average" places here in Jax?
Karam's -- amazing family-owned Lebanese, with other Middle East regional specialities. Everything is handmade in-house, even the shawarma.
Waafa and Mike's -- Syrian owners. Pan-middle eastern. Very good gyro, but the best stuff in the house is whatever Waafa is cooking off-menu.
Bowl of Pho-- Vietnamese. Best pho in town, but only the pho is remarkable. (The above mentioned PK noodles has good pho and the best thai and boba tea in town bcause its not the fake syrup stuff, multi-colored confection stuff.)
Italian -- real Italian (not Sicilian-American) is pretty hopeless here. Even the supposed best "real Italian" place in town doesn't even pretend to have a specific regional focus and oversauces (the two trademarks marks of very Americanized Italian). If you're in for the Sicilian-American/ New York stuff done well-- especially thin crust pizza--then try Tommy's Pizza.
Turkish -- love Turkish food, so I tried Istanbul Mediterranean & Italian Cuisine a couple of weeks ago. Seemed family owned. It's always a red flag with me when places try to be pan-Mediterranean, and I stuck to the Turkish fare. Turkish dishes were ok--lamb was moist, eggplant was not cooked to pasty death--but no real lavash.
I've pretty much given up on Mexican and Indian food here. I cook it at home or wait until I travel out of town so as to avoid the reheated, packaged stuff.