Ned's Southside Kitchen

St. Augustine has its fair share of restaurants but most are clustered around the downtown area or out at the beach; a shame if you really don't feel like braving the swarms of tourists for a quick bite to eat. Thus, upon seeing the location of Ned's Southside Kitchen on a map I was simultaneously suspicious that they had pinned it in the wrong place and compelled to go.

Ned's is located near the Wal-Mart on US1 in the building that was formerly Sharky's. Across the street is a McDonalds, to one side is a Krystal's and to the other a sports bar. This makes for one of the most unlikely locations for a good restaurant but the large crowd waiting to be seated in this seething mass of people, chairs, and food indicated that we were onto something.

Owned by Ned Pollack, the chef/owner behind the Gypsy Cab Company (one of St. Augustine's best restaurants), Ned's has some of the same gaudy ambiance and eclectic cuisine but with more of a down home, soul food flair. There's no pretense here, just great food at good prices with a little bit of dirty South character. Judging by the non-stop throng of patrons from all walks of life who came and went during our visit, I'd say they've hit upon a winning combination.

Remembering a few years back to an amazing meal I had at Gypsy Cab (a blackened salmon burrito that I still crave unto this day but have yet to see on the menu again), I ordered the fish wrap; not quite the same, but equally promising. The choice was a little hard as Ned's has a great variety of meals with some good vegetarian options in the mix (the sweet potato enchiladas were awfully tempting). The wrap was served with some tasty black beans and a delicious black-eyed pea salad/salsa hybrid, the likes of which I'd not previously encountered. And the wrap itself was gorgeous, as equally amazing as the blackened salmon burrito I had all those years ago. Although I didn't get to try anything else that our party ordered, I was assured that it was all fantastic; from the shrimp salad to the black bean enchiladas. It all looked good at the very least.

A strange but very welcome location, it's nice to see restaurants in St. Augustine pushing out beyond their usual confines. And with such glorious food, I may never be able to persuade myself to head downtown again.




Ned's Southside Kitchen

2450 U. S. Highway 1 South

St Augustine, FL 32086
(904) 794-2088

Jimmy John's

The praise I've heard heaped upon this place is unbelievable. With all the excitement I encountered about the opening of Jimmy John's a few months back, you'd have thought Jacksonville was getting its first In-N-Out Burger. So what's all the fuss and buzz about?

Subs and sandwiches.
Just plain old subs and sandwiches?
Well, not quite...
Extraordinary subs and sandwiches?
Again, not quite...

Jimmy John's has some particularly good subs and sandwiches. There's no one thing to point to. It's evident upon first bite that the quality of the ingredients used is higher than your typical sub shop; fresh veggies, good meat in great quantity, and nice, fresh bread. Hey, a lot of the subs and sandwiches have alfalfa sprouts on them which, despite their mild toxicity, take a sandwich to a whole new level of deliciousness.

I guess some of the excitement is warranted. If you've lived with and loved Jimmy John's elsewhere then the loss upon relocation to Jacksonville must have been profound. As for myself, the most exciting discovery I've made is that they deliver and, being just down the street from my office, this makes them the perfect choice for a lunch meeting when nobody can be sacrificed to go pick up the Chipotle order.



Jimmy John's
9823 Tapestry Park Circle,
Jacksonville, FL 32246
(904) 642-8188‎

The Bakery by OPUS 39

Where are all the good bakeries? Sure, there's the French Pantry but that's not open on the weekend so what's a person got to do to get a good loaf of bread on a Saturday morning? Well, one option is to head down to St Augustine's recently opened Opus 39 Bakery. Some of you more distinguished and wealthy readers out there may be familiar with the Opus 39 restaurant, one of St. Augustine's most notoriously posh dining establishments. Well, now some of us not-so-rich folk can head out back for a bite to eat at their fantastic little bakery.

I'm assuming that the bakery out back initially started to exclusively supply the restaurant with fresh bread. Be that the case or not, it still serves such a purpose as you can see the staff carrying basket loads of the fresh baked loaves across the courtyard. And what a courtyard it is. There are a very small number of places to sit inside which may prove difficult on a rainy day but on beautifully clear mornings like the one we encountered, the perfect place to be is out in the courtyard.

Beyond the loaves of bread and confections you would expect from a bakery, there is also a small variety of ready-made sandwiches to choose from. Considering the quality and size, the price is fairly reasonable with a half sandwich costing $3. Great coffee as well.

All in all, the Opus 39 Bakery is an amazing place to spend a peaceful morning. And there's always the option of grabbing a loaf or two of bread for the days you can't make it.






Update: Tragically, The Bakery is now closed and Opus 39 itself will be shutting its doors later this week. The strain of the economic downturn has proven too much for the owners and their investor, who recently backed out. The baker has vowed to stay on and bread will still be available for wholesale while they try to find someone else who might be interested in taking control of the Bakery and re-opening the cafe. So perhaps there is still a chance for this amazing, albeit short-lived, addition to downtown St. Augustine.

The loss of Opus 39 is a real blow to the city of St. Augustine. Here's hoping that the Bakery will find new ownership and that the sad news might stir up some new investors to save the restaurant before it's too late. You can read more about this misfortune at First Coast News, The Jacksonville Business Journal, Historic City News, and The St. Augustine Record.

The Bakery by Opus 39
39 Cordova St

St Augustine, FL 32084
(904) 824-0402