So what is Jax's BEST Restaurant?

[stephElf]

When we have guests in town, we always take them to Cap's and possibly the Casa Marina brunch. Cilantro was our favorite until it got shut down, but there is other great Indian food on Baymeadows.

Taco Lu is our new favorite: the only good Mexican in all Jax. We quickly tired of hearing Mexican restaurant recommendations and checking them out, only to be served tortillas stuffed with greasy ground beef. Horrors! But Taco Lu is a real ray of light.

cilantro is definitely closed?

[pwhitford]

'fraid so:

Owner of Mandarin restaurant to be deported after jail.

He employed illegal immigrants at Cilantro, a popular Jacksonville restaurant.

By Paul Pinkham Story updated at 7:35 AM on Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2009

The co-owner of a popular Jacksonville restaurant received a three-month sentence Monday for harboring illegal aliens and faces certain deportation to his native India.

Sanjit Kumar Rajak, who was head chef and manager of Cilantro Indian Cuisine in Mandarin, will complete his prison sentence in about a week because he has been behind bars since his January arrest. He agreed to a $5,000 fine.

His lawyer, Shawn Arnold, said he expects deportation proceedings to begin immediately, a bitter end for a successful businessman who lived a rags-to-riches story. Arnold said Rajak won't be allowed to re-enter the United States for five to 10 years.

Rajak admitted hiring four illegal workers and leasing their Sunbeam Road apartment. He has no other criminal record.

"We don't see very many employers, as opposed to employees, prosecuted under the immigration laws," U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan said.

During the investigation, immigration authorities learned Rajak had entered the United States in 2002 with fraudulent documentation that he was a religious worker, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dale Campion said. That documentation allowed Rajak to remain in the country longer than the three days allowed by his foreign crew visa and made it easier to become a permanent resident, Campion said.

But Campion also noted Rajak has been "quite helpful" with investigations in at least two other jurisdictions, meriting a shorter sentence.

As his American fiancee wept in the back of the courtroom, Rajak told Corrigan about growing up in poverty and about finding cooking jobs in Bombay and then a cruise ship to support his family in India.

"A generation or two ago, he would have been celebrated, not in shackles," Arnold said.

Rajak testified that his father couldn't work after donating a kidney to Rajak's brother, who had cancer. So when his ship docked in Port Canaveral, he left and found higher-paying work at a Melbourne restaurant. He said he falsified the documents after a lawyer advised him his immigration chances would improve if he declared himself a religious worker.

"At that moment, I was thinking ... I had no other option," he told Corrigan. "My only intention was to work hard and support my family."

Within a year he was head chef, and when a colleague suggested opening a restaurant in Jacksonville, he went along. Cilantro opened to rave reviews in 2006, and a sister restaurant followed in Tampa. Arnold said Rajak earned about $72,000 last year and paid his taxes since opening the restaurant.

Rajak told Corrigan he hired aliens after poor response to advertisements for American workers. He said he leased the apartment because he didn't want them living on the streets. But Campion said Rajak gained an unfair advantage over competitors by hiring illegal workers.

paul.pinkham@jacksonville.com,

[duvalbill]

Best Breakfast in town: Metro diner

Best Lunch in Town: The French Pantry

Best Dinner in Town: Matthew's, Orsay, Morton's, Pastiche, Giovanni's, Dwight's.

I know I listed a few more than needed, but each provide something the others don't.  Jacksonville has a ton of great food, and I think it stacks up to many bigger cities.

[Doctor_K]

Did Metro Diner used to be on University just north of the Expressway, then moved somewhere else?  Am I thinking of the right place?

[gmpalmer]

Shwaz -- can you really say that Sonny's is a better option than Bono's?  Have you ever been to Bono's?  Or have you been to Cotton's or Jerome Brown?

'Cause right now you sound like someone whose only experience with hamburgers has been McDonald's

[Deuce]

'Cause right now you sound like someone whose only experience with hamburgers has been McDonald's

Food Fight!

[gmpalmer]

:: would throw a rack of Jerome Brown ribs but realizes they are delicious -- instead throws Crapplebees "riblets"::

[Bewler]

:: goes to subway in san marco to gather food fight ammo ::

Rancid meat and bread so hard and stale you could crush diamonds with it = victory!

[kirakira]

Taco Lu is fantastic.

How's the dinner at Casa Marina?

I don't know about dinner. The Sunday brunch is pretty good; lots of seafood for my Mr. and big fluffy/crispy waffles for our son. I like the fried green tomato eggs Benedict thing and the other Southern-breakfasty treats.

Their bar is cool too.

[gmpalmer]

About Mexican -- what's wrong with La Nopalera?  Uber-authentic mexican + some texicano for those afraid of messy messy food & $15 pitchers of margaritas!

La Nop FTW!

[TREE4309]

Shwaz -- can you really say that Sonny's is a better option than Bono's?  Have you ever been to Bono's?  Or have you been to Cotton's or Jerome Brown?

'Cause right now you sound like someone whose only experience with hamburgers has been McDonald's

I prefer Sonny's to Bono's any day of the week. 

[Doctor_K]

I like them equally.  Sonny's baby backs are better, but Bono's turkey and chicken is supreme.

Cotten's beats all, though

[Shwaz]

Shwaz -- can you really say that Sonny's is a better option than Bono's?  Have you ever been to Bono's?  Or have you been to Cotton's or Jerome Brown?

'Cause right now you sound like someone whose only experience with hamburgers has been McDonald's

I've eaten at all of those in town... eaten ribs in Kansas City and at the Webber Grill in Chicago.

I've even listed why I prefer Sonny's and you're just saying you like Bonos more (but not why) - you sound like some comparing Burger King to Mc Donalds and BK wins 'just because'.

[David]

I prefer Sonny's to Bono's any day of the week. 

Tree, I thought I knew you man. You can't deny Bono's hawg sandwich, doubled stacked with pulled pork.

Hah just as predicted earlier, this is turning into the "what's the best bbq  in town" thread. I haven't had cottons in forever. I tried Jenkins 2-3 times and I’m not feeling the ribs everyone raves about.

Oh I just tried Sala Thai on Beach blvd for the first time today, that's a pretty tasty joint! Plus, my lunch was under 10 bucks which is hard to find at some of the thai places around here. *coughbasilcough*

[ChriswUfGator]

When we have guests in town, we always take them to Cap's and possibly the Casa Marina brunch. Cilantro was our favorite until it got shut down, but there is other great Indian food on Baymeadows.

Taco Lu is our new favorite: the only good Mexican in all Jax. We quickly tired of hearing Mexican restaurant recommendations and checking them out, only to be served tortillas stuffed with greasy ground beef. Horrors! But Taco Lu is a real ray of light.

Have you eaten mexican food in mexico (e.g., not at your hotel, but at a street vendor or a restaurant)?

A tortilla stuffed with greasy meat is as authentic as it gets. LaNop, while greasy if you're not in the particular mood for that, is fantastic and uber-authentic.