Hunter B.'s Profile

Two words: Go now.

A few more words ... 13Gypsies is a special place. One random and totally impromptu visit for a simple lunch and it's already among our local favorites. In fact, it's not very local for us, but you can bet that when we're west of the river, we'll be back here. For many reasons.

What's so great about it?

First, it's a small bistro with its own unique and friendly character. Decorated with an eclectic mix of real funky art, old black-and-white family photos (the chef's parents own and run Sangria House, where he cut his teeth), and lots of prayer candles, 13Gypsies only seats 14-16 people. It's cozy and friendly. KiKi, the manager, partner and wife of the chef, does an excellent job.

The food? They call this peasant food. Sure. Peasants should have it this good. The tapas menu is not typically served for lunch on the weekends, in favor of the salads and sandwiches. Fortunately, the honey garlic humus was not a problem to prepare. Best humus we've ever had, hands down, served with warm, tasty North African flatbread (not a pita). Skeptical? Try it for yourself. It's a perfect size for two and I can't believe that, in a world of overpriced appetizers, this little dish is packing so much flavor for only six bucks.

LDC loved her Codoba salad. I loved my chorizo burger (actually a beef patty with chorizo spices, pepperjack cheese, pressed like a panini in thick, hearty peasant bread). Here's how good it was: Can't recall the last burger I had that I didn't want or need ketchup on it. In this case, ketchup would've ruined it. Once again, all the ingredients were noticeably fresh and fit together deliciously; the burger came with a small, simply dressed field greens salad. Perfect. Fries, like the ketchup, just wouldn't have fit this picture quite right.  

[A bit of burger background: I've had quite a few $8 burgers. Most of the chains like Five Guys and Cheeburger Cheeburger have really disappointed me. In fact, I've been to each one once because what I got was not worth it at all. If you're charging $8, you'd better *bring it* my friend. I'm talking like Burger Joint (San Francisco), or the Penn Valley Pub (Philly). The chorizo burger at 13Gypsies has carved out a place alongside these treasured favorite burgers of mine.]

Extra points: They use Twitter to announce the day's specials. I don't use Twitter, but think that's a fine idea. They play music like Mazzy Star and New Order instead of the ubiquitous, adult-contemporary lite rock soundtracks of most places -- and thankfully there's no damn TV in the dining room streaming Fox News.

No, I'm not getting paid to write all this. I'm still pretty new to Jax -- like 13Gypsies (just opened in July) -- so when I stumble upon this kind of place, one that reminds me so much of my favorite urban eateries in cities like SF, Philly, NYC, Boston, etc., in the land of chains and strip-mall hole-in-the-walls, I have to rave pretty heavily.    

Obviously, this place has sparked my urban side, even though it's in a suburban area. You get the picture. If you like this sort of place, I'll repeat: go now. Highly recommended.

The previous reviewer did a great job, and I concur with the points about the modern interior, the unusual menu, and satisfactory service.

I went with a couple friends a few months ago because I wanted sushi. Can't say with 100% certainty which pieces I had -- I know, I know, I didn't yelp right away -- but I'm pretty sure it included the dragon roll and unagi (my favorites and standard sushi "tests"), plus another roll or two.

The point is, at the time it was the best sushi I'd had in this area. I've since found some other very good places around Jax, but still feel like the rolls I had at Bonito were right up there with the best. Prices were what you'd expect for very good sushi and a marked-up bottle of wine.

Side note: My friends were Fernandina locals who knew a good meal. I can't recall what they had, but they also enjoyed their food and there was no hesitation on their part when I suggested eating at Bonito. They had been before, so for what it's worth, there are two more thumbs-up votes.

If I got up to Fernandina more often, and wasn't so tempted by the fine food around the corner at La Bodega Cafe, I'd have been back to Bonito by now for a sushi sequel. When I do, I'll update this review. Meanwhile, for the sushi, I'm going with: Highly recommended.

P.S. The other sushi places in Jax I've reviewed are all strip-mall style joints with average (or below) interiors. Obviously the quality of sushi is the most important thing, but it was nice to eat great sushi in a stylish dining area for a change. Seriously, it makes a difference.

I've got four strong stars for La Bodega Cafe. I'm not even sure why it's not five stars, but a four-plus just seems right.

We've been here twice, and brought friends the second time, and we've all left with big smiles.

Some of the highlights: One of the best swordfish steaks I've ever had, thanks to the blackened prep with roasted red pepper coulis. So good I couldn't help but get it on the second trip ... when it wasn't quite as exciting as before (a little smaller in size and flavor), but still enjoyable.

The sides -- who raves about sides? When it's the jalapeno greens, cheese grits, and their homemade ginger-thyme biscuits with honey-ginger butter, I'll rave. This was also unanimous.

You may know that I'm attached to a vegetarian. I don't go bananas over salads very often. But again, this place has some special kitchen juju. Both the Anna's Salad and Shakespeare Salad were unexpectedly flavorful and fresh. I got lucky on the second trip: our friends eat meat, so I also got to try the grilled Mayport shrimp starter (good) and crab cake (much better). Pesto pasta was a hit with LDC, and the version with chicken was well received by friend number two.

The wine list isn't bad and they've got a nice little beer selection. But it's the courtyard dining area that's the real draw, besides the food. Tucked away off the main strip, the garden setting with a large stone fountain is the kind of ambiance that's not easy to find. The servers are also very friendly and efficient, making this an all-around excellent choice for a romantic dinner as well as a nice meal with friends and/or family.

There is also seating inside, but it's too hot in there with the open kitchen if you go in the summer. (Or maybe the AC wasn't working on our second trip.) Put your name down with the host/ess at the gate if it's after 6 p.m., as the garden seems to fill up by 7 or so. And use a little bug spray at dusk.

We're not experts on Fernandina/Amelia, but so far, La Bodega Cafe is at the top of our list for dinner. Highly recommended.

For me, this is a special occasion place. It has to be, because if you're eating at Tento regularly, you'd better be a Lipitor/Crestor/Plavix stockholder as well as a patient. These delicious meats have a dark side!

Here I find yet another parallel between my reviews and Jay's reviews: the vegetarian girlfriend. This is another reason a trip to Tento for me is as rare as their flank steak. Fortunately, for my birthday, I was allowed to drag along my LDC (lovely dining companion) to this carnivores' paradise at the beach. It makes no sense to bring a vegetarian here, even if the salad bar offers a variety of food options, because of the fixed price. But I'm older now and I do strange things.

Yes, I "fasted" during the day to prepare -- just an omelet for breakfast and an egg roll for lunch. With the benefit of a previous visit, I was able to zero in on what I knew was good and actually turn away some of the selections I didn't care for before. That meant extra servings of the delicious leg of lamb, top sirloin, and pork tenderloin, and no time or belly space wasted on the sausages, flank steak or beef ribs. I also loved the lobster bisque as much as the first visit, and couldn't find fault with the chicken drumstick or pork rib, or the strong caipirinhas.

If you go, I'd recommend getting there around 7:00, because it started filling up quickly soon after we arrived. I don't think you could complain about the service because it's a constant meat parade plus a salad bar. And the price? Tento ain't cheap, but I think it's worth it for an occasion that calls for guilt-free gluttony. Still highly recommended.

This was the first place in Jax I went for sushi, back in early spring. (Tip of the hat to Jay L.) Went there for lunch one day with the LDC and we were very pleased with the sushi lunch special. There weren't many folks in there, as it was around 1:30 on a weekday, but our server was very attentive as well as fast.  

The miso soup, salad, and sushi lunch combo were not only tasty, but it was the perfect size meal -- filling but not heavy -- and a major bargain at around $7 or so.

We liked Yo Sushi enough to make a return trip for lunch not long after, and found it was consistent with our first trip. So basically, two trips for lunch and two successful sushi adventures ... why only 3 stars?

Since that second visit, we've embarked on a quest to find the best of the best local sushi, so we've been trying different places while we keep the aces (Koja II, Sushi House) in our pocket. We still haven't found a 5-star sushi place here yet, and may not, but we keep trying.

We're sure Yo Suhi deserves another visit and a sampling of flavors beyond the lunch special, so we'll probably return there soon and give this an update. In the meantime, if you're in that area, you might skip Crazy Sushi and head over here. Recommended.

I thought Crazy Sushi was OK, but it's not my favorite and I'm not in a hurry to go back. This place has a few things going for it ... just not enough to topple Koja Sushi II and Sushi House in the Baymeadows area, at least for me.

The upside: Interior is a little nicer than some hole-in-the-wall sushi places. (I don't know what it is about all these restaurants with TVs in the dining area, but that's a different story.) Service was just fine. It's a small place, but not Sushi House small. They have some outdoor tables as well if you're into dining al fresco looking at a parking lot. The prices were reasonable.

As for the food: We liked the complimentary miso soup, and I really enjoyed the fried gyoza. Salad with ginger was fine. LDC had the usual rolls -- veggie combo and oshinko -- and liked them.

The downside for me was ordering the sushi regular combo. Now 10 pieces and California roll for $17 is a fair deal. And I know that it's chef choice. But the selection was really uninspired, especially two pieces each of tuna, salmon and yellowtail. No eel or shrimp, basically not any really exciting pieces. Compared to the chef's choice I got at Koja II, which had a variety of pieces and no repeats, and all tasted better, this chef's choice was a huge letdown.

Maybe the special rolls are a better bet? Maybe there's a better sushi cef working a different shift and this was a trainee? I don't know, but the first impression is the big one with restaurants, especially sushi.

I've found my man Jay L's reviews to be pretty dead on. And I just caught him slamming Crazy Sushi in a review of another place -- wish I'd seen that sooner. I wouldn't call Crazy Sushi the worst I've had here (Chizu and Wasabi rank lower; Ginza is about the same), but with a few better places for sushi, it's hard to recommend this one.

Not much to report with Wok House. It's not like we had really high hopes. Take-out Chinese is never very exciting, even in major foodie cities, so a place like Wok House in the Jax 'burbs is already facing an uphill climb.

But every now and then that urge hits. I've fended it off for months now. Then, I caved. We tried Wok House. I'd already lowered my expectations before calling in the order, and lowered them again as the delivery time went beyond the reasonable delay period.

The General Tso's chicken combo and chow mei fun were edible. But you know that feeling you get sometimes from Chinese take-out, where you think it's pretty good or OK while you're eating it, then a little later on your stomach feels like you ate a box of rocks and you decide that, no, it wasn't that good after all. Then you decide the leftovers aren't worth reheating. Even your egg roll disappoints the next day (and let's just say you think that, like lasagna, egg rolls are as good or better the second day). That's what take-out from Wok House was like.

In contrast, we liked China Garden better. Their food had more flavor, didn't bog down in your belly, and arrived much faster. Try them if you're looking for Chinese take-out in this area. As for Wok House, we can't really recommend them.

Don't let the stars fool you. China Garden is probably closer to 3.5 stars for what it is, but it's hard for me to give top ratings for Chinese take-out. We're not talking gourmet Chinese food here.

Anyway, I've been happy with both my China Garden experiences. The first was eat-in, late lunch on a weekend a while back, and I think I got the lo mein. Fast, good price and taste. Hit the spot.

More recently, we tried them for delivery and they did a fine job with the spare ribs combo, and bean curd w/ broccoli. Egg roll seemed smaller, but also tastier, then some local joints (Wok House), and it all got here pretty quickly.

What I'm saying is, if you're in this area and you get that urge for good Chinese food, delivered fast and reasonably priced, look no further than China Garden. (Sorry, Wok House. You lose.) We'll stick with them unless or until we find something better. Recommended.

Finally tried this place after a friend's recommendation, and have to give him props on this one. I'll put Sushi House in second place behind Koja Sushi II (which is literally right across the street) for now. This is more of a 3.5 star than a full 4 ... I hate splitting hairs with Yelp, but with sushi I can't help it sometimes.

Much like Koja II, the place isn't much to look at, and there aren't very many tables. That's OK though. The selection is good, prices are reasonable and service was attentive and quick.

Obviously the most important thing was the food. I really enjoyed the eel, sweet shrimp and octopus sushi ... again, a close second to Koja. But I loved their king dragon roll (eel, avocado, crunch). LDC liked the veggie and oshinko rolls. Presentation was nice as well, and you can't say that about every place.

For us, Sushi House is better than Crazy Sushi, Ginza, Yo Sushi, Wasabi, and probably a few others we haven't gotten to yet. So if you're in the Baymeadows culinary hotspot, you've got another casual option that hits the mark with sushi. Highly recommended.

Not sure how helpful this review will be for fellow Vietnamese food fans, but there are a few reasons I wanted to post more than just the plain-old business listing ...

1. If you're vegetarian, you won't need to bother with PK Noodles. My LDC couldn't find one thing on the menu that she could eat. That's why we left -- and why I now have to go back with someone else.

2. The place was packed for lunch on a Saturday, and this is in a tiny strip mall in a nowhere stretch of Beach Blvd. It isn't exactly a bustling area, so some folks already got the memo. There's another location further east on Beach, too. I figured it needed to at least be listed on Yelp, even if I didn't get to actually eat on this first trip there.

3. Didn't want to leave the place 100% empty handed, so we grabbed a boba tea (a.k.a. bubble tea) to go. Delicious. OK, this is one thing vegetarians can get at this place.

4. I know seeing/smelling doesn't count for much, but the food I saw on the way in and out, and the reactions to it, plus the full house, lead me to believe this is probably a fine choice for Vietnamese.

So I'm giving it a 3 as a placeholder, pending an update, because this is a new situation for me on Yelp. I'm looking forward to a return trip and real, first-hand review of the food, with an update here. In the meantime, if you like Vietnamese, you eat meat/seafood, and haven't tried this place yet, check it out and please share your experience.