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| Butternut Squash Risotto |
I've been visiting Taverna in San Marco a lot after work and on weekends. It reminds me a lot of Decatur, GA which is a place I used to love visiting when I used to live back in Atlanta. I really like the elegant, rustic, yet casual feel of the restaurant and the service is generally pretty solid as well.
The food is very good overall -- not phenomenal but it's kept me interested enough to come back week after week to explore Taverna's menu. Some of my favorites have been the butternut squash risotto with the fried sage, the gambas al ajillo, house made mozzarella and the crispy half chicken.
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| Gambas al Ajillo |
I really liked the prawns -- well cooked, great paprika taste, lemony. Recommended as a starter.
The meatballs were good. The sauce wasn't the best I've ever had but if you like meatballs I think you'll enjoy this starter.
I like Taverna's house made mozzarella. Creamy, tangy, and sweet. If you're not a big fan of fig but like fresh mozzarella, I'd try the caprese salad.
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| Butternut Squash Risotto |
I really like this risotto -- the rice isn't overcooked (thank god), the butternut squash dices and puree with the parmesan plays a pleasant sweet and salty combo. I like fried sage in general and it pairs well with the flavors. Definitely a must get if you like risotto. There's a scallop main with the risotto on the 2012 fall menu if you like scallops as well.
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| Bistecca special |
The above is a bistecca special I had one night. The steak was cooked perfectly to a requested medium rare. There were a couple of things I didn't really like though. The roasted garlic -- I hate when inedible elements are placed on the dish. It's an entire head of garlic roasted so to get to the actual garlic cloves, you have to peel the skin. The other element I didn't like was how oily the dish was. The most probable culprit being the fingerlings.
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| Half Chicken |
The chicken itself is fantastic -- the skin is so, so crispy and even the breast is juicy. The rest of the plate as a whole however, I didn't really like. The mushrooms took on a gummy candy like texture which was unpleasant and the sticky walnut pieces clung to my teeth after chewing... -- the dish as a whole is very rich and heavy. I would've loved to see a more pronounced acidic element to balance everything. There are individual elements to the dish that I really liked though like the tasty walnut puree and the brussel sprouts. Honestly, I'd probably buy a bucket of that chicken if Taverna ever offered it.
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| Skirt Steak |
Again, the meat was perfectly cooked to my requested medium rare. I didn't care much for the chimichurri because it didn't taste of anything but I liked the fingerlings and the piperade.
Although expensive, Taverna's pizzas are probably second best in Jacksonville next to Pele's in my opinion when it comes to Neapolitan pizza. I've gotten their pizzas for lunch and dinner. All have been tasty choices.
Taverna also has some nice happy hour selections as well for all your libation needs. All in all, I like Taverna and it's worth checking out if you haven't eaten there. There are some things I would like to see improved but all the proteins have been cooked really well and the service is friendly.
Hightide Burrito on Hendricks is a frequent lunch stop whenever I have to make trips down to the main hospital. While their burritos and tacos are delicious, the main thing that brings me back to this place over and over again are Hightide's fantastic chips.
These chips are perfect for nachos because they can hold the weight of salsa, queso, and toppings without breaking apart. Chicken, carnitas, ground beef, steak -- all the proteins are very tasty. You can't go wrong with any of them but I keep coming back to the steak for my nachos.
If you're not feeling the love for nachos, try one of their burritos or tacos (Taco Tuesdays -- 2 tacos and a drink for about ~$7 I believe). You can either get flour or corn for your tacos -- unless you specify what you want, you'll get flour. My favorite tacos have been their baja fish and the carnitas.
The parking kinda blows around that area so get there early or a little later if you can hold out eating until the lunch rush is over. Don't forget to try their Island Tea while you're there!
Sarah recently sent me a pretty awesome infographic regarding the consumption and harms of high fructose corn syrup. I thought it was pretty neat so I thought I'd share it with everyone on the blog.
Enjoy!
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