Bold Bean Coffee Jacksonville FL

When I was a youngster there was a little show some of you may have heard of called 'Friends.' Each week a group of 20 somethings living quite comfortably in New York City, would gather at their local coffee shop perfectly named "Central Perk", to muse and quip about their dramatic and interesting city lives. One of the shows characters played by what's-her-face even worked there sometimes, impressively only 3 hours a week and still able to live in a $15 million apartment and get to take infinite breaks to hop on a big orange couch with her friends.  This show made the coffee shop my generation's diner. Where once Elaine, George and Jerry used to sit cramped in a booth eating old pie and laughing at the sassy waitress, now Joey, Chandler, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross were sprawled out on a couch drinking craft beverages and laughing at a sassy barista.

My first job ever was playing guitar in a local Christian coffee shop for free coffee. That made me about as cool as you could get in Alabama. During that time there was a boom in Central Perk wannabes. Everywhere you looked was a new coffee shop with all the trimmings, fit to be tied, big orange couches, fun friends and loud, really freaking loud, machines drowning out all of the chatter.  We got over it pretty quick.

So let's talk about Bold Bean because everyone else is. When I first moved to Jacksonville I heard about Bold Bean constantly. I had my doubts because being from Atlanta, I know excellent coffee. It is a standard there. You'd be hard pressed not to find a shop that doesn't roast their own beans, french press every cup and has better draft beer than you can find anywhere in Florida. So I actually never tried Bold Bean. Until I did try it.

I went in as research for Chef's Garden as we were considering switching our coffee over to theirs because well, everyone likes it. I ordered an Americano and just added a touch of milk. It was wonderful. Like seriously good. Rich, bold, flavorful, not too bitter, all of that coffee descriptive stuff. All of it. I was a big fan. But what of the shop? What of the atmosphere? Could Bold Bean appease my coffee shop saturated boredom? Could it save me from the trauma that I experienced as a youth of walking into a million coffee shops around every corner and never getting to meet whats-her-face? Yes it could. Yes it did.

First of all, Bold Bean is right next to 13 Gypsies, which if you've never been, go there. Now. Tonight. Tres Leches. Do it.
That is already a great play in my book because they are close enough to the new King's Street Cool Hip Beer Bar Pub Antique whatever situation going on over there to be included, but far away to be more sort of a cool, chill, laid back place sipping on some joe, jamming on some tunes..you get the drift.

As if Bold Bean wasn't great enough for serving home-roasted coffee, awesome crafty drafty beers, and from what I've heard good food, now they are doing an open mic night every Wednesday which is nice for musicians like me tired of waiting 3 months to drive out to 3 layers and play for 15 minutes. It's also great for music fans like you to go and support local people making local coffee and singing home-made songs.

I love Bold Bean. I'm a big fan of the quality of their product, the location and vibe of their establishment and the things they are doing to promote themselves in the community. So maybe it's time to end that thing you've got going with the ol' joe from Seattle and find yourself a local-made, handcrafted java. See what I did there? See it?!
Long distance relationships don't work anyways. Stick with Bold Bean.

Black Sheep Restaurant, Riverside, Jacksonville Florida

Black Sheep is Jacksonville's hot, new, sexy restaurant. It's over on the corner of Oak and Margaret, just off the beaten path of the ultra-hip, too cool for you Riverside 5 Points. 5 Points attempt to appear eclectic and interesting whilst also pretending not to care what you think, is about as unoriginal as you can possibly get. Atlanta has the same indie theater, divey gross bars, old overpriced expensive thrift shoppy area as well, which is also called "Little 5 Points". Maybe it's a good thing Black Sheep is close enough to sort of ironically look over its shoulder at the area without having to talk to it.

 Let me first of all say Black Sheep is not my kind of place. The sleek ultra modern decorum and Vegas style lighting scheme don't really do it for me unless I'm taking someone on a date where I want them to think I'm someone I'm not. It's essentially an elitist watering hole where people can see and be seen, and watch the hipster freak parade from safely inside the comfort of their own pretension. I'm not sure what kind of a crowd they are trying to attract but it looked a little like some sort of American Psycho-esque business card convention.

 This restaurant is brought to you by the people who own Orsay, which is literally my favorite place in Riverside. They have THE BEST happy hour on the planet and their bartenders know what they are doing, at least by Jacksonville standards. I will say at Black Sheep, the service was impeccable and everyone was super friendly and welcoming. I may not have felt especially comfortable with the crowd but the staff was kind, helpful and warm. Good service makes a huge difference and they nail it here. We only had time for one drink and couldn't sit at the bar because of course, like a new sexy place to be in Jacksonville, it was packed. It's kind of boring here in Jville so just going out somewhere new can be sort of an epic event.

 I was getting pretty excited looking at the back bar and seeing all my good friends that I haven't really seen since leaving Atlanta. Lillet, Chartreuse, Fernet, Hendricks! They were all here and I was ready to get reacquainted. Also, the proper glassware and the good bar ice were getting me pumped for a great drink. We sat down and were promptly served with bottled water and the bar menus. Of course I flipped straight to the drinks.

Yay! Buffalo Trace right off the bat! That's exciting for a Jville girl because you never see any kind of good bourbon in a cocktail. Then BOOM another present from the mixology gods! Jerry Thomas (decanter I'm assuming) bitters. Yay they have bitters! Most bars barely have Angostura. As I make my way down I notice some interesting things about the menu. Pros and cons if you will. Here are the Pros:
 1. No Vodka- I am not being a drink snob here but vodka is a people pleasing bullshit bartender crutch. Any jackass can make anything taste drinkable with it because vodka doesn't taste like anything. Unless you are infusing it, which you always should be, vodka should be used for assholes who insist their "martinis" be shaken and for disinfecting wounds before you sever off limbs. Maybe I'm harsh but whatever, it's tasteless, pointless and irrelevant. That glazed donut vodka is an abomination.

 2. Carpano, Fernet, and Mezcal: Yay for using very distinct and challenging flavors that are difficult to work with and that some people's mouths just cannot handle. Putting a fernet/carpano drink on a menu is bold and cool without trying to be. I really wanted to order that one but I'm not ready to go back to Fernet just yet. Thanks Atlanta.

3.Personal Spin on the Classics: I'm a big fan of trumping up a daiquiri or a Gin Rickey. It's a great way to keep things simple and pay homage to the recipes that work for a reason. You're not really changing the drink, you're just making it your own. I love that and I think it is nice to build off a classic instead of creating a million crazy ass drinks with 14 different homemade bitters. If I've learned anything in mixology, it's that simple is better.

 4. Luxardo: I'm just glad they have it and are using it. That's North Florida for ya.

 Cons:
 1. Luxardo: OK I was happy you were using it in a drink. But two drinks? It's only 8 cocktails. Surely you can use something besides Luxardo. And Luxardo with gin or rum is playing it super safe, don't ya think? If you're going to use it in two drinks then at least make one of them more challenging on the pallet.

 2. Why is every cocktail $10?? How can you possibly, from any price point standard, justify a cocktail made with Fernet and Carpano be the same price as a drink with Makers and Fee Bros. bitters? That makes literally no sense. I couldn't figure it out at all and the more I stared at the menu the more personally offended I got. Yes, I got offended that a restaurant is either not smart enough to price out cocktails or is douchey enough to think their customers can't tell a difference between Buffalo Trace and Maker's Mark. $10 for a daiquiri with Luxardo? It is like you are totally unashamed of your overpriced drinks and that is disrespectful to your customers. As a bar manager, your job is to make tasty, interesting cocktails and make them affordable or at least give people an option. I'll take a well-crafted $7 cocktail over a $12 Manhattan any day. Figure it out.

 3. Whoa Simple Syrup and Fruit: I know the cocktail formula. Liquor, bitter, sweet sour. I get it. We all get it. Every single one of these drinks has syrup and fruit in it. Every one. Once again you're limiting my options. It is possible to achieve a balanced drink without adding fruit and syrup. There are so many different ways to get acid and sweet without using fruit and syrup. The liquors themselves are balanced. And lemons and limes in the same drink? Sounds like someone is struggling without their sour mix. Now you're just making more work for yourself. You're canceling out flavors, which we are all guilty of, but be more interesting than that. Let the liquor shine through, don't try to cover it up.

 So I drink Gin Rickeys like it's my job. I love them. When I'm not drinking Manhattans or Old-Fashions, I'm doing Gin Martinis and Gin Rickeys. So naturally the Bitter Rickey was on my radar. In my own I use key lime juice, New Amsterdam gin and shake the piss out of it, top it with soda and Angostura bitters. Delicious. So this was my drink from the start. Luxardo (again) with Rhubarb bitters?? Yes please. I put Rhubarb and blood orange bitters in my old-fashions so I know the score here.

 When the drink came it was in the proper glass, with the gorgeous ice we all wish we had, and a straw. Yep, a straw. And now I'm confused. I'm always confused when a straw is in my drink. As a bartender, I put a straw in a drink on purpose when I want you to drink it from the bottom. But as a guest, I'm not sure if that's what they want. It didn't seem like the bitters were on top so I assumed the straw was there on purpose? Who knows, who cares, I was ready to drink. Also side-note, there was no garnish, which is a little strange. I mean the drink was beautiful, but no garnish really disappointed me. Especially at ten bucks a pop.

Anyways, I tasted through the straw first and I got a mouthful of simple syrup and Luxardo. Which is not ultra pleasant to be honest. I figured I had made a mistake in assuming the bartender wanted me to drink through the straw. So I took a sip off the top. A mouthful of soda and lime juice. Where were these amazing bitters? Where was the gin? So I stirred it, which at this point, if any of that $10 was for labor I should get at least two bucks back for having to mix it myself. So I drink it again and now I can taste it, sort of. It tasted just like an overly sweet Gin Rickey. The complexity of the Luxardo was totally murdered by the syrup, which was so thick the drink actually coated my mouth. The lime juice overpowered the bitters, which also weirdly blended together, until I tasted literally nothing but just sweet soda water and lime. Sad face. Big sad face. But this is a common problem and one I have run into a couple times. You get a lot of ingredients that are comparable and they end up canceling each other out and you miss out on all the nuances of each component.

 Now I know taste is subjective. But I am not rating this drink on whether or not I liked it, because honestly, it was just okay in that sense. I rate it on whether or not it was well-balanced and each component was present and accounted for. And it was not. It was too sweet. As I looked further on the menu I noticed that seemed to be a running theme. Every drink looked like it had one sweet element too many for me.

Black Sheep is definitely an eye-catcher and if I had someone special to impress I would totally take them here. It's good for that because even though it's pathetic to want to seem better than what you are, or to try to look rich and important, we all want to do it. And sometimes it makes sense to. I'm super happy that someone in Jacksonville is really trying with their cocktail menu. This menu will be a huge hit with people in Riverside. It name drops enough hip, trendy spirits to make you feel, well, hip and trendy, but it doesn't force you actually have to taste them. But it is a start. I would suggest a revamp of the prices and limit at least four drinks to three or four ingredients. I think Black Sheep has great potential and I can see it being a powerhouse place to go in Riverside.

Southern Imbibery

I'm a big fan of being Southern and drinking. Not a fan of drinking like a hobo in a park or a frat boy during rush. I'm a fan of sittin', sippin' and savorin' a well-crafted cocktail, a frosty craft beer or a well-balanced wine. Some people may think that Southerners don't enjoy the finer things. That we are more High Lifer's and

Boone's Farmers than anything else. That is simply not true. While I do feel that we may be a little behind the craft spirit revolution as whole down here, we are certainly at the forefront in many ways. Here in Jacksonville FL we have big things happening in the way of beer. In Jacksonville and the surrounding area alone there are several well-established breweries pumping out some tasty and interesting brews. Their tap-rooms are almost always full, and you can find most of their signature beers in nearly every local grocer. And what in the way of cocktails? There is certainly a lot of potential. Big things are happening in Atlanta where I just moved from. Atlanta is at the center of the craft spirit movement. The drinks and beers you see coming out of this southern metropolis rival NYC or San Francisco. What was old is now new again. Mixology and home-brewing are making a huge comeback and we are finally overcoming the long-lasting effects of prohibition. Everywhere you go you can see more and more drink menus paying homage to the great Mixologists of old. Now you see how bad-ass your grandma was for drinking Manhattans. With the desire to keep up with trends and keep costs low, sometimes things can get, well, muddled. Businesses want to capitalize on the idea of crafting their drinks like they do their food, but in their haste they fail to employ the type of people who can execute. I want to share with you the places that I go, good and bad, and tell you what they're doing right, what they're doing wrong, what they can fix, and what they can't. This movement is not going away anytime soon. All Honey Boo-Boo evidence to the contrary, Southerners do appreciate the finer things. I want to show you where they are, what they are and how to drink them.