Fuji Sushi: Five thumbs up.
Menu Highlights: Rainbow Roll, KC Roll, Sweet Potato Roll
Price Range: 5-15 dollars per roll, depending on complexity/ingredients.
Review: The best sushi in Gainesville isn't even in Gainesville. It's in Jonesville. If you had to call the space between Gainesville and Newberry something, you'd call it Jonesville. A perfectly boring name for a perfectly uninspiring piece of land. Regardless, it's the home of Fuji Sushi, my favorite sushi place of all time. This restaurant turned me on to sushi. It made me realize what GOOD sushi was. The rolls are ample, the fish fresh and beautiful, and the prices completely reasonable.
I think that great sushi is analogous to a swimming pool at the perfect temperature; you don't really notice getting into the water, it's simply refreshing. When the pool is too cold, it's hard to get in and when it's too warm, it's uncomfortable. Similarly, bad sushi is just wrong. You notice it. The fish tastes old, the seaweed is chewy, the rice is too dry. Am I making sense?
Anyway, there are plenty of fancy sushi places in town (Dragonfly, I'm looking in your direction) that appear upscale and hip, but fall short when delivering quality rolls. Fuji is the opposite. Housed in an unassuming storefront in a Publix shopping plaza, it's the last place you'd expect to find quality.
The KC roll is a wonderfully refreshing choice of salmon, fish roe, and cream cheese wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber and served swimming in ponzu sauce (citrus+soy). The sweet potato roll has crispy tempura fried sweet potatoes wrapped up in rice and seaweed. Again, unlike other sushi restaurants (Ichiban, I'm looking at you now), the sweet potato roll is never soggy and chewy. It's always just right.
In fact, that's how everything is at Fuji, just right. I always assume they choose not to use a piece of fish or avocado if it looks old or unsightly. This is because they never end up on your plate. Other cheaper places surely don't follow this practice, as it costs money. But all in all, it's decisions like these that keep me coming back to Fuji.
Bottom line: Freshest, tastiest sushi in town and worth the drive!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Manuel's Vintage Room
Manuel's Vintage Room: Five thumbs up (although I need to eat there more than once to confirm this initial rating).
Menu Highlights: Snails (if you have the guts), Pasta della casa, whatever wine Manuel recommends.
Price Range: $20 bucks per meal, appetizers and wine make this amount go up quickly.
Review: For years, I dismissed this little bungalow as Gainesville has THE worst Italian food across the board than anywhere else in the world. Yet, because a friend had a gift certificate, I figured I'd give it a try. This place is definitely a special occasion dinner, as the prices get up there.
No Italian meal is complete without wine, and Manuel knows his shit. Make sure to ask him for a recommendation, as the process is one of the most enjoyable parts of the meal. Also, don't hesitate to order that 45 dollar bottle of wine that he picks out. You won't regret it. We had a palette melting Pinot Noir that was out of this world. It was pricey, but like I said, worth it for a special occasion.
The menu is quite extensive with both safe and adventurous items. We decided to try the snails, as we'd never eaten them before. They were definitely interesting if you can get into that kind of thing. I'd say they were somewhere in between steak and portobello mushrooms in taste and consistency. They're certainly not for everyone. We also had a delicious baked pasta appetizer with some delicious cheese and pear. I played it safe for the main course, just sticking with the pasta della casa and a marinara sauce. It was really a solid sauce. Usually this choice can lead you down a very boring road, but I wasn't disappointed (Italian is a cuisine I'm most picky about).
Because we ended up spending so much money, Manuel gave us all complimentary glasses of Port for dessert. Delicious!
Bottom line: If it's your anniversary or someone is graduating, bring them to Manuel's!
Menu Highlights: Snails (if you have the guts), Pasta della casa, whatever wine Manuel recommends.
Price Range: $20 bucks per meal, appetizers and wine make this amount go up quickly.
Review: For years, I dismissed this little bungalow as Gainesville has THE worst Italian food across the board than anywhere else in the world. Yet, because a friend had a gift certificate, I figured I'd give it a try. This place is definitely a special occasion dinner, as the prices get up there.
No Italian meal is complete without wine, and Manuel knows his shit. Make sure to ask him for a recommendation, as the process is one of the most enjoyable parts of the meal. Also, don't hesitate to order that 45 dollar bottle of wine that he picks out. You won't regret it. We had a palette melting Pinot Noir that was out of this world. It was pricey, but like I said, worth it for a special occasion.
The menu is quite extensive with both safe and adventurous items. We decided to try the snails, as we'd never eaten them before. They were definitely interesting if you can get into that kind of thing. I'd say they were somewhere in between steak and portobello mushrooms in taste and consistency. They're certainly not for everyone. We also had a delicious baked pasta appetizer with some delicious cheese and pear. I played it safe for the main course, just sticking with the pasta della casa and a marinara sauce. It was really a solid sauce. Usually this choice can lead you down a very boring road, but I wasn't disappointed (Italian is a cuisine I'm most picky about).
Because we ended up spending so much money, Manuel gave us all complimentary glasses of Port for dessert. Delicious!
Bottom line: If it's your anniversary or someone is graduating, bring them to Manuel's!
The Jones
The Jones: 5 thumbs up.
Menu Highlights: Vegetarian biscuits and gravy, spinach omelet, blueberry pancakes, the veg out sandwich, mike's magic tofu sandwich, the stop light panini, mushroom spinach tortellini, any fish special.
Price Range: $7-10 for breakfast/lunch. 10-15 for dinner.
Review: From their website, "The Jones is a local and independently owned community restaurant commited to providing sustainable, local, and organic food. Oh and it's really yummy."
I couldn't have put it better myself, although, I would have spelled "committed" correctly. I've repeatedly touted the quality of the Jones in various forms over the years. They have top notch breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Few restaurants have multiple items on the menu that I'd be more than happy to eat at any given point in time, but the Jones has plenty. They can hardly do wrong.
Nearly everything on the menu is great. The vegetarian sausage and biscuits is a vegetarian's dream come true as you hardly notice that you're not eating a gooping pile of real sausage gravy. The veg out is as healthy as you can get for lunch with Lettuce, spinach, tomato, red onion, grated carrots, avocado, sprouts, & pesto veganaise served with provolone cheese on tomato-basil bread. Delicious! The stop light panini's menu entry begs the question: What do you get when you spread goat cheese on a wheat baguette and add roasted red peppers, spinach and squash? You get a bitchin sandwich.
Their menu is constantly evolving and the daily specials are superb. You can hardly go wrong with the daily fish special, always prepared in a new and interesting way. This is easily my favorite restaurant in town.
Bottom line: Go to The Jones today!
Menu Highlights: Vegetarian biscuits and gravy, spinach omelet, blueberry pancakes, the veg out sandwich, mike's magic tofu sandwich, the stop light panini, mushroom spinach tortellini, any fish special.
Price Range: $7-10 for breakfast/lunch. 10-15 for dinner.
Review: From their website, "The Jones is a local and independently owned community restaurant commited to providing sustainable, local, and organic food. Oh and it's really yummy."
I couldn't have put it better myself, although, I would have spelled "committed" correctly. I've repeatedly touted the quality of the Jones in various forms over the years. They have top notch breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Few restaurants have multiple items on the menu that I'd be more than happy to eat at any given point in time, but the Jones has plenty. They can hardly do wrong.
Nearly everything on the menu is great. The vegetarian sausage and biscuits is a vegetarian's dream come true as you hardly notice that you're not eating a gooping pile of real sausage gravy. The veg out is as healthy as you can get for lunch with Lettuce, spinach, tomato, red onion, grated carrots, avocado, sprouts, & pesto veganaise served with provolone cheese on tomato-basil bread. Delicious! The stop light panini's menu entry begs the question: What do you get when you spread goat cheese on a wheat baguette and add roasted red peppers, spinach and squash? You get a bitchin sandwich.
Their menu is constantly evolving and the daily specials are superb. You can hardly go wrong with the daily fish special, always prepared in a new and interesting way. This is easily my favorite restaurant in town.
Bottom line: Go to The Jones today!
Flaco's Cuban Bakery
Flaco’s: Five thumbs up.
Menu Highlights: Egg and Cheese sandwich, Sunshine Bowl, Guava Pastuelito, Cuban Coffee
Price Range: $5-8 bucks for a meal
Review: What can’t I say about Flaco’s? It’s a lunch counter that serves amazing Cuban Sandwiches. Now that I work downtown, I eat most lunches here. My favorite is the egg and cheese sandwich with a salad. I love this place. The quality of the food is top notch and the prices are great. There are a billion meat items, but the vegetarian items are unique and sufficient enough to have variety. The Sunshine bowl is chock full of fresh veggies (cauliflower, carrot, green olive, okra, corn, and more), vegetarian ground beef style crumbles, lentils and rice. It takes them about 30 seconds to prepare, so if you're in a hurry, it's a great choice.
Bottom line: Eat at Flacos often!
Menu Highlights: Egg and Cheese sandwich, Sunshine Bowl, Guava Pastuelito, Cuban Coffee
Price Range: $5-8 bucks for a meal
Review: What can’t I say about Flaco’s? It’s a lunch counter that serves amazing Cuban Sandwiches. Now that I work downtown, I eat most lunches here. My favorite is the egg and cheese sandwich with a salad. I love this place. The quality of the food is top notch and the prices are great. There are a billion meat items, but the vegetarian items are unique and sufficient enough to have variety. The Sunshine bowl is chock full of fresh veggies (cauliflower, carrot, green olive, okra, corn, and more), vegetarian ground beef style crumbles, lentils and rice. It takes them about 30 seconds to prepare, so if you're in a hurry, it's a great choice.
Bottom line: Eat at Flacos often!
Welcome!
So, I've finally done it. I've started my very own opinionated, over-reactive, bawdy local food blog. Just think, all it took was terrible seasonal allergies and extreme boredom, combined with a bunch of previously written reviews to get me off the ground.
You may be asking yourself, what makes him an authority on anything gastronomic? Well, I've lived in this town for 8 years and think I've been to most of the eating establishments. Also, during the fall of 2009, our kitchen was being remodeled for approximately 45 days, therefore every single lunch and dinner was eaten from local restaurants. I really tried to use this period of time to experiment with places I'd never been, revisit those I'd previously written off, and of course hit up my usual favorites.
I would be remiss without providing you with a full disclosure: I'm as picky as a little kid who will only eat hot dogs if they're cut up into small slices. I'm more than aware of this personality trait. That being said, there is a lot of crap in this town! Also, however, are some of my favorite restaurants in the world. I'll try to focus on the good stuff for the most part, but I feel that a restaurant warning is just as valuable as a recommendation.
I will be rating the restaurants on a "5 thumbs" system. Thumbs can be up or down.
So, let's get goin!
You may be asking yourself, what makes him an authority on anything gastronomic? Well, I've lived in this town for 8 years and think I've been to most of the eating establishments. Also, during the fall of 2009, our kitchen was being remodeled for approximately 45 days, therefore every single lunch and dinner was eaten from local restaurants. I really tried to use this period of time to experiment with places I'd never been, revisit those I'd previously written off, and of course hit up my usual favorites.
I would be remiss without providing you with a full disclosure: I'm as picky as a little kid who will only eat hot dogs if they're cut up into small slices. I'm more than aware of this personality trait. That being said, there is a lot of crap in this town! Also, however, are some of my favorite restaurants in the world. I'll try to focus on the good stuff for the most part, but I feel that a restaurant warning is just as valuable as a recommendation.
I will be rating the restaurants on a "5 thumbs" system. Thumbs can be up or down.
So, let's get goin!
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