B.F.D. (New breakfast/lunch place in Sun Center)

101 SE 2nd place #114
Inside Sun Center East (where Maude's is)

The owners of Boca Fiesta have decided to take a shot at the Bermuda Triangle of Downtown Gainesville's Restaurant Scene, Sun Center East. In the 2 years I've been working downtown, no less than 4 other restaurants have tried and failed miserably to make ends meet in the scarcely visited and zero incidental foot trafficked location INSIDE the "mall" behind Maudes.

As this blog has repeatedly stated, Boca Fiesta may not be Gainesville's worst restaurant, but if Tim's Thai burns down, they will certainly be leading the race.
As a fierce critic, I couldn't wait to try their new venture, fangs glistening and mouth salivating like a wolf about to demolish its prey (not in a hunger sense, but in a metaphorical sense).

Upon first glance, I was actually impressed with the menu offerings, but held my horses, as it couldn't be that good, right?

Wrong!

It was amazing.

I'm actually flabbergasted and momentarily without words.






To be honest, this is the type restaurant I'd expect from the folks running Boca Fiesta. It's definitely very Gainesville. There are ample meat options, but the veg choices are unique and seemed enticing. I settled on the BBQ Jackfruit sandwich, which is served on a potato bun with a side of cole slaw. While it didn't look like it was going to win any "handsomest sandwich" awards, it was damn good. To be honest, I've never had anything like it. The jackfruit was very satisfyingly sweet and had a mildly chewy texture. It wasn't chewy like gum, but it had something you could sink your teeth into (unlike tofu). The BBQ sauce was delicious and the cole slaw made a great addition to the sandwich. The real kicker was the price: $4.50!!!! What a great sandwich for a great price.

I polished it off with one of their 3 different ginger beers, which at 2.50, was the only slightly high price in my opinion.

My eating companion got a burger, which he said was very good. At $4.50, it was also a great bargain. His cole slaw had a decent sized sharp piece of plastic in it, so that was kind of a downer, but the restaurant gladly comped us a CHERRY PIE MILKSHAKE!! What insane pregnant woman invented this heavenly confection? I swear to god, if it wasn't going to quickly stop my heart from beating, I'd eat one of these every day for breakfast and consider a second for mid afternoon snacking.

Surprises do happen, even in this town, even with previously unpopular restauranteurs. Take it from me, if I liked this place, it's gotta be good. Again, I really feel like this style of food is more natural to the folks who run it, but don't go here expecting anything resembling Boca Fiesta.

I'll gladly go back (and surely report if things change).