Cool Moose Cafe

Let's dispense with the overindulgent introduction and cut straight to the chase. What's the number one quality that the Cool Moose Cafe possesses that sets it apart from all of the other diners around? The coffee.

I'll try to avoid going on yet another diatribe about the paltry quality of typical diner coffee because we all know it's garbage and we all know I'm a whiney coffee snob. The Cool Moose Cafe has a self-serve coffee bar with, if I remember correctly, around five different types on offer. True to my coffee snob nature, I don't indulge in the flavored varieties, so I'll only drink two of those five or six varities, but if flavored coffee is your thing then I'm sure you'll find them quite enjoyable. The regular coffee flavored coffee, particularly the house roast, is smooth in flavor, low in acidity, and doesn't taste like the beans were chargrilled.

For those of you out there that don't get all bent out of shape about coffee, you'll be pleased to hear that the food is also quite delicious; again, some of the best you can find on our diner scene. I definitely recommend the build-your-own omelette option for a superb tailor-made breakfast.

The huevos rancheros, though not quite traditional and more of a breakfast burrito, is also really good; one of the better breakfast burritos I've ever had. Make sure to check out the specials board for some interesting creations in lieu of the standard fare.

Above and beyond the coffee and food, the real reason I keep going back to the Cool Moose cafe is it's unparalleled atmosphere. Based on ambiance alone, Cool Moose is number one on my list for local diners and breakfast joints. So, if you're like I was and have resisted going for a long time due to some preconceived notion that it's just another diner then it's time to rectify that problem. Then again, I might need that table. Forget I said anything.



Cool Moose Cafe
2708 Park St
Jacksonville, FL 32205
(904) 381-4242

The Fox

I can't tell you how many times we've tried to go to The Fox only to get the dreaded phone call with the bad news: "It's full, let's go to the other place." Now, when the other place is the ever-so-awesome Metro Diner, this is not a terrible position to be in but still disappointing nonetheless. After all, The Fox comes in at #21 on Urbanspoon's Best Jacksonville Restaurants list while the Metro Diner is down at #68.

So we were pretty happy to be the first people to show up to the Fox one cold morning. They weren't even open when we arrived so we had to mill about in the street for a bit until the door was unlocked. This, of course, prompted the consumption of copious amounts of coffee. I will not comment on the quality of diner coffee, ever. I'm an unrepentant coffee snob so this is really an area where we should not go. I will say, however, that endless refills are great when you a) need warming up and b) want to run spastically throughout the rest of the day, twitching uncontrollably all the while.

The menu is slightly different than that found at the Metro Diner. While there are still the staple "breakfast foods" at both places, the Fox has a more traditional American fare while the Metro Diner has a bit of posh, modern flair to theirs. Still, good food is good food regardless of the culinary creativity.

I had a bite or two of my wife's Philly Cheesesteak and, while I thought it was decent, it didn't quite meet her insanely high, I'm-from-the-North-and-know-a-good-Philly-Cheesesteak standards. As mentioned before, I'm the same way with coffee; we all have our particular particularities.

My turkey sandwich, on the other hand, was quite enjoyable. Toasted bread, roasted red peppers, and melted swiss cheese with succulent deli turkey all made for a flavorful sandwich.

But apart from the good food, the real appeal of a diner is often the iconic decor and ambiance, an area where the Fox delivers in full. A meal and a moment, both can be enjoyed here. But if the place happens to be full, you know where else you can go.


The Fox
3580 Saint Johns Ave
Jacksonville, FL 32205
(904) 387-2669

Johnny Angel's Diner

Our streets are lined with repeating sequences of fast food peddlers and big chain restaurants. Like them or not, they are the very models of American capitalism and have become one of our nation's largest exports, pioneers of the Western cultural empire. But despite the omnipresence and nigh omnipotence of these multinational giants, the true cultural icon of American restaurants is the humble, family owned and operated diner. Variety, simplicity, endless coffee, and all-day-breakfast are but a few of the qualities that make the American diner the perfect place to relax, converse, and have a meal or, as Hollywood has shown time and time again, shoot a candid scene.

Diners exploded across the US during the early 20th century and many would say that they had their heyday during the 1950's. Jacksonville's own Johnny Angel's Diner attempts to capture the essence and vibrant optimism of this monumental decade when the world's civilizations were undergoing radical changes and the US, in the midst of a post-war economic boom, began its decades long youth-based cultural revolution. Located near the intersection of Saint Johns Bluff and Beach Boulevard and not to be confused with Angel's Diner in Palatka, another fantastic hole in the wall, this place merely recalls the heyday of diners rather than harkening from that bygone era. Pictures of 50's and 60's celebrities line the walls and the televisions play classic shows like "I Love Lucy" and "The 3 Stooges".

Glancing at the expansive menu, the food appears fairly typical despite many of the items being named after celebrities, songs, and shows from the mid 20th century (Blueberry Hill Pancakes, Big Bopper Steak and Eggs, The Richie Cunningham). There are a few modern creations like the Baja Burrito (blackened fish, fresh salsa, lettuce, cilantro, and Monterey Jack cheese on a sun-dried tomato wrap) but the choices, by large, are standard diner fare. The quality, on the other hand, isn't so typical.

The siren's call of the fish burrito was strong but in the end the Ozzie and Harriet won out. A three egg omelette packed with fresh mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, broccoli, and zucchini; this has to be the best and biggest veggie omelette in at least all of North Florida. The eggs were light and fluffy while the vegetables still retained much of their crispness. Served with some salad greens, a biscuit, and grits (because this is the South), this enormous meal will leave you full of food, not full of regret.

But if you want some more traditional diner fare, don't hesitate to order a burger. Succulent, fresh, and bordering on the excessively large, it puts many of the top rated burger joints around town to shame.

The shakes have a reputation for being quite sublime. Sadly, I cannot give any first-hand evidence of their excellence but they're definitely on the to-do list. Those looking for a more decadent dessert can choose from a selection of sundaes, pies, cake, or grab one of the brick-sized brownies sitting on the counter.

Whether you're looking to celebrate American culture, indulge in a little bit of 50's nostalgia, or just grab a good meal, Johnny Angel's Diner is one of the best options you probably never knew you had.

Johnny Angel's Diner
3546 Saint Johns Bluff Rd S
Jacksonville, FL 32224-2713
(904) 997-9850

Beachcomber

There are a lot of little restaurants hidden in St. Augustine Beach. Having lived in St. Augustine for a good while, I ought to be ashamed of myself for knowing about a very limited number of them but my penchant for discovering new eateries (and my ability to afford the habit) has only developed over the years since migrating further North. Now that they're so far away, it's a matter of finding an excuse for the trip.

Search for St. Augustine Beach restaurants on Google and the first result is Beachcomber. Strange, considering there are some more well known restaurants on the same list and, prior to our visit, I hadn't even heard of the place. But if any one restaurant embodies the St. Augustine Beach area, it might just be this one.

Beachcomber is a small wooden shack on the beach. Right on the beach… with half of the beach's sand on the floor of the restaurant. Salty water vapor blows in through the wide-open doors and the sunlight reflecting off the sand bathes the interior in a warm, desert glow. And then there's the heat, oppressive and unrelenting. The ceiling fans spin in a vain attempt to provide an illusion of a cool breeze.

Reading some online reviews, a few people said they have good burgers but, having turned up for breakfast, we decided (or perhaps the decision was made for us) to go with the traditional morning fare.

Breakfast burrito, a measuring stick of sorts. I'll admit, it didn't look like much and I was a little disappointed on first glance. But it actually tasted pretty good, far better than its drab appearance implied, perhaps an apt analogy for the place as a whole.

And what breakfast out is complete without coffee? Lots of coffee. Endless coffee.

Nice atmosphere, nice warm light, full bar. Were I actually a journalist and writing about something worthwhile, I could imagine myself stumbling into the place in a Hunter S. Thompson inspired haze with a typewriter tucked under my arm or a dictaphone in hand, filling up on alternating cups of coffee and rum and letting loose a barely coherent stream of consciousness rant about all things insane and unjust in this crazy world of ours. For now I'll just grab a breakfast burrito and relax in the warm, hazy glow.

Beachcomber
2 A St
St Augustine, FL 32080-6902
(904) 471-3744

Angel's Diner

The sign says "Florida's Oldest Diner" and a quick Google search corroborates this claim. But whether or not the claim is factual, this old fashioned diner housed in a converted train car with drive-in service is impossible to resist should you find yourself cruising towards the big bridge on Reid Street / US-17 in Palatka. We had less than two seconds tops to make our decision and our deranged impulses had us swerving off the road with enough force to topple even the sturdiest SUV. Fortunately we weren't in an SUV and, more importantly, we soon discovered that we had made the right choice.

I have a vibrant imagination, not really a skill that will get you anywhere in life unless your dad/uncle/sibling works in Hollywood. In my mind's eye I can see Angel's Diner enshrouded in the desaturated-blue tone of a 1950s night, packed to the brim with the leather clad young men and skirted girls from the surrounding enclaves, the nexus of youth culture in a remote Southern town. And perhaps the nights are still like this, despite the shift in styles over the past 50+ years, but we crashed the party during the daylight hours and the patrons were a split between the aged former-youth and the leather clad bikers of the present.

This place is the real deal. Perhaps a few fresh coats of paint have been applied since its ancient inception but I doubt there's been any drastic changes. Perusing the menu, one is even inclined to believe that the prices have remained stagnant. Seriously, you can scarcely feed yourself at McDonald's for as little as it cost us at Angel's Diner.

I ordered one of their specialty items, the Black Bottom, which involves scrambling eggs, some hamburger meat, and some bacon up into a patty and slapping it on a sandwich. I successfully maintain a rather healthy diet but decadent foods like the Black Bottom could ruin it all for me. It was delicious. The lovely lady got the chili fries but that's only because Angel's, being an old Southern establishment, doesn't serve creamed chipped beef. All you Northerners will have to go to the Metro Diner for that.

Looking around at some of the other patron's choices, I notice that the hamburgers are entirely too big for the price. I mean, as a person who has been raised to think that McDonald's meat to dollar ratio is the market minimum, I was surprised to see how big the burgers were when thinking back to the meager prices listed in the menu.

And the service? What we got was super nice, as if the 50s "happy to be here and glad to see you" attitude perfumed the walls and permeated the atmosphere.

Open 24/7, I can't think of any other place I'd rather stop when cruising through Palatka... I can't think of any other place I could stop at all hours (we're going to pretend that Waffle House and Huddle House don't exist for a moment, maybe longer). Whether it be for the food or the atmosphere, Angel's Diner is a must-see for anybody exploring the Northeast Florida region.

Angel's Diner
209 Reid Street,
Palatka, FL 32177,
386-325-3927

The Metro Diner

Although Florida hosts great migratory flocks of geriatrics from the Northern territories, they seldom bring their eateries along with them and thus, while the Northeastern USA is saturated with diners and all-night cafes, these low lands have but a handful scattered throughout. And no, I'm not counting the likes of Waffle House, Huddle House, Denny's, and IHOP because apart from the Waffle House, reigning Southern king of filth and convenient biofuel, these places lack character. After all, you wouldn't consider McDonald's when discussing the best place to get a burger in your locality.

The Metro Diner in San Marco gets my Northeastern counterpart's seal of approval when it comes to diners and, being a Jersey girl, she has a lot of standards with which to measure it. Being situated just outside of San Marco Square gains it a few points and adds a slight air of poshness that wouldn't be present if it were located anywhere else within Jacksonville's immense borders. Be fully prepared to wait ten or fifteen minutes before being seated as there is usually a small crowd waiting outside but there is plenty of complimentary coffee to help you jitter through the wait.

Inside they've managed to capture the antique dinginess of Northern diners which, whether intentional or not, adds a bit of authenticity and ensures that your stay will be comfortable but that you won't mull around too long and hold up the crowd outside. The food is also rather tasty. The breakfast burrito and eggs benedict I've sampled on my two visits there were very good, filling, but not overly greasy. The chipped beef is apparently up to the Northern standards as the wife refuses to eat anything else there, being endlessly thrilled with having found somewhere below the Mason-Dixon line that serves chipped beef.

The only downside to the Metro Diner are the hours. Open everyday between 7am and 2:30pm, you won't be stumbling in here after waking up at 4pm or coming back from the bar at 4am but if you're looking for great breakfast food at hours befitting a respectable human being then you'll be just fine.

Metro Diner
3302 Hendricks Avenue
Jacksonville, Florida 32207
904-398-3701