Deco

A name can do a restaurant a great disservice. Give patrons the wrong impression and they may never stop by to make judgement calls on the things that really matter in the food industry. The name Deco doesn't seem too frightening itself but the "Fine Dining" subtitle, regardless of its veracity, may be enough to drive people away in these unsure economic times.

Thumbing our noses at the economic apocalypse, and being in the neighborhood one day, we decided to venture over to St. Augustine's Deco for what we hoped to be a nice lunch despite fears that we would be confronted by tiny portions garnished with high prices.

The purple and pale green building isn't hard to miss even though its set back a bit from the US 1 in the south of St. Augustine. The lack of windows contributed to my apprehension as I approached and stepping into the dim interior from the harsh Florida sun left me temporarily blind as my eyes adjusted.

The atmosphere is nice and calm. The light trickling in through the end windows, invisible from the outside is just enough to provide a soothing ambiance without making you feel too claustrophobic. I let the menu sit on the table for a few seconds, worried about what I may find inside. And then, the shock...

Everything was more than reasonably priced. No more expensive than your typical restaurant even though there was plenty of atypical food.

I rarely order appetizers but I couldn't resist trying the blackened gator tail and, for those not prepared to eat reptile, we got some hummus. The gator tail, while not something I'd choose to eat often, was surprisingly good. Lean, tough, and tasting not entirely unlike chicken. Being my first foray into reptilian flesh, I had no idea what to expect but, all in all, it was fairly indistinguishable from its feathered cousins.

For my main course I ordered a crab, spinach, onion, mushroom, and swiss cheese omelet. Being a lucky chap, both the gator tail and my omelet came with jalapeno grits. Since I'm from the Southern Hemisphere and not the Southern US, I haven't had a long relationship with grits and avoided them for years based on visual prejudice. A few good restaurants have been offering cheddar and or jalapeno grits as of late and, even as a carbophobe, I find them irresistibly delicious. These were no exception. The saltiness of the wild crab in the omelet made for a strange juxtaposition with eggs but it too was delicious and quite large, again breaking the preconceived notion that "fine dining" meant small portions.

We all left satisfied, stuffed, and carrying left overs. I felt the total price was reasonable and justified, even after the gluttony induced disorientation had worn off. So don't pay attention to the "Fine Dining" subtitle when deciding whether or not to venture into that strange green and purple building. While it may actually be fine dining, you won't find yourself paying exorbitant prices.


Deco
980 Santa Maria Blvd.
St. Augustine, FL 32086
(904) 797-5505

Yummy Sushi

The latest sushi house to arrive on the Southside scene, the Tinseltown region in particular, is Yummy Sushi. This now brings the total number of sushi restaurants in that quarter-mile radius to a whopping four. This would seem like overkill until you compare it to the number of hot wing and Budweiser restaurants in the same area and you quickly discover that they're still greatly outnumbered.

Yummy Sushi, like Crazy Sushi and Yo Sushi, are hoping that their clever name will serve as the initial force to pull you in and then, once they have you in their clutches, they intend to earn your allegiance through their food and atmosphere. Yummy's got an edge on the atmosphere if you're looking to impress. It's fairly sleek inside and would be a good place to bring a date or prospective client. There's a full bar and many large TV screens to help entertain your partner once your charm has worn off so you won't have to spend that period between sipping miso soup and fumbling sushi rolls in a terribly awkward silence.

The sushi is indeed yummy and, depending on the roll, quite attractive to boot. Many of the rolls are arranged in a creative fashion, some are even sculpted into dragons. I got the fancy roll, a tasty analog of Crazy Sushi's cold roll which uses thin slices of cucumber to hold everything together instead of rice, and the signature yummy roll which contained tempura shrimp and some other goodies. There's no menu online so I can't tell you exactly what was in either of the two but I can confidently assert that they were both delicious (especially the fancy roll, I could eat that everyday and not grow tired of it) and sufficiently satiated my immense appetite. Full on two rolls which didn't cost a lot of money, Yummy Sushi delivered.

There's no website but, in my vain attempts to find one, I discovered that they are very alike Yummy Sushi in New York. Strikingly similar logo, similar roll presentation; are they perhaps a chain in disguise? Have we been had? Regardless, I was satisfied and will now find it even more difficult to decide which sushi restaurant to visit in this area of town.

Yummy Sushi
4372 Southside Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32216
(904) 998-8380

Jaxma

Cut flowers disturb me in a way. Beautiful indeed but must we sever them from the plant, thereby destroying the process of reproduction, in order to appreciate them? Perhaps for this reason I am far more enamored with orchids as household floral decorations as the entire plant is displayed.

During a visit to the Beaches Green Market I noticed a booth packed with an amazing variety of orchids, all in superb condition. Later we discovered that these orchids are grown in Green Cove Springs at Jaxma, a family owned and operated commercial orchid greenhouse on US 17.

Jaxma was established through the sister city program initially put in place by President Dwight Eisenhower as a post-war initiative to promote cultural understanding and to stimulate private business and economic development. The family who owns Jaxma came from Masan, South Korea, hence the hybrid name Jaxma. The greenhouse is quite impressive as everything, including the amount of sunlight allowed to reach the growing orchids, the temperature, and the moisture, is controlled via computers. One can't fully appreciate the mammoth effort involved until they understand just how difficult it is to raise orchids nor until they have witnessed the spectacle contained within the 110,000sqft greenhouse: thousands upon thousands of orchids appearing to stare back at you.

Jaxma doesn't germinate orchids or make cuttings to produce new plants, that in itself is a nigh impossible task and is typically done in sterile laboratories. But even raising them from a young plant into the great spectacle ready for sale can be a delicate process which requires establishing a fine balance between dedicated care and intentional negligence.

Most orchids are perennial epiphytes. Epiphytes are organisms that grow upon or attach to a living plant in a non-parasitic fashion, usually deriving only physical support, not nutrition from their host. A local example of an epiphyte would be the air plants often seen living on the trees and occasionally the power lines.

As such, orchids derive most of their nutrients from the air and the surface of their host. Being particular to certain climates, orchids require certain temperature gradients and moisture levels to stimulate their growth and blooming. I won't delve any further into the craft of raising these strange life forms but I will say that, being a perennial plant, you can keep reaping the beautiful rewards of a decently maintained orchid plant for years. Even if discarded after all the blooms have vanished, they turn out to be far more cost effective than cut flowers but I heartily recommend keeping them around and establishing a growing colony of these plants in your house.

If you'd like to learn more about Jaxma and orchids in general, you can stop by for a scheduled tour (as we did). The next is being held on June 27th at 11am and you can sign up online. They sell wholesale to many stores spanning from Miami to Atlanta and also sell directly to individuals either at the greenhouse (hours posted below) or at a few of the local markets.

It was nice learning about Jaxma, the sister city program, and orchids on the tour and we'd love to hear about any similar offerings in the area.


Jaxma
6440 US Highway 17 S,
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
(904)284-4442
M-F 8am ~ 5pm
Sat 10am ~ 3pm