MShack

299 Atlantic Blvd, 32233
$

There is a meal commonly found throughout America that is, considered by many, a favorite past time.  A dish that can be pushed to the extremes and cost as much as $60, a veritable masterpiece with foie gras, black truffles, and Australian Waygu beef.  But the simplest ones take form as properly cooked meat on bread that used to sell for as little $0.05.  We are talking about the burger.  The hamburger, cheeseburger, sliders, minis, unnecessarily over sized party burgers.  We have seen them presented gloriously with a side of french fries or onion rings, speedily produced in the fast food chains, and destroyed by the inexperienced on an improperly prepared grill.  And because of all the Big Macs and Whoppers they have began to lose their allure.  Thankfully Five Guys, Smash Burger, and In-N-Out Burger have started a revival in this arena.  And as lovely as these places are, sadly, they are still corporate, non-local vendors.

Then MShack arrives on the shores of Jacksonville.  Like white sails on the horizon, the Medure brothers,  have brought the masterpiece known as burgers.  Not just meat on a bun with a little bit of ketchup, masterpieces designed by David and Matthew Medure.  The chef brothers who are responsible for bringing us Restaurant Medure and Matthew's have brought us a burger joint Jacksonville can be proud to have in its city, fusing the old fashioned burger joint with style and fresh ingredients. MShack burgers are made with all natural, hormone-free Black Angus beef ground fresh daily. Juicy, all beef hot dogs, hand-cut fries, mouth-watering milk shakes and more help complete their unique menu.  My friend Callie told me I needed to check it out and I had waited long enough.  She convinced me the drive from Riverside to Atlantic Beach was worth the trip.  I could only hope it was all true.

Having a beach locale, the feel of the restaurant follows suit.   Large windows that open at the front to give access to a small patio and allow a gently sea breeze in to remind you that you are a mere seconds away from the sand.  A small bar where the offer a few local brews and long community table running down the middle of the room all bring focus to the large chalkboard upon which they hand write the menu.  The concept was, and is, to provide a great burger that is affordable.  The basics all ring up under $5.  And just like any good restaurant, you get to watch all your food made in the open kitchen.

The Sunrise Burger, bacon, farm egg, American cheese, shack sauce, $5.50.
Anybody who has truly enjoyed a good burger knows that one of the best ways to improve upon it is by frying an egg and throwing it on top.  And that is the angle this burger takes.  The burger is ground in house, if you get there early enough you can actually watch them grind it through a window in the rear of the kitchen.  The bacon is not cooked until you order it and the Shack sauce is made in the style of Louis Dressing, a flavor that is familiar to most and pairs well with almost anything you would like to put it on.  It all comes on a toasted Martin's potato roll, one that is made specifically for MShack.

Italian Sausage, sauteed mushrooms, peppers and onions, melted provolone, $5.95.
This sandwich is not what you may expect, it is not a tube of meat shoved into a hoagie and topped with soggy vegetables.  It is a fresh ground, completely made in house Italian style sausage formed into a burger style patty and cooked fresh, just like all the other burgers at the joint.  Then top with veggies and cheese and put it all on a fresh ciabatta roll made by local bakers, Village Bread.  Old fashioned meets new school, and I have nothing to complain about.

Sweet Potato Tots, $1.95.
Almost simple and straight forward.  I know, they are just tater tots made out of sweet potato, right?  Not at MShack.  I never got confirmation, but I am almost positive, and Callie agrees, that they are not a frozen, bought out product.  To many irregular sizes and in no way a manufactured look to speak of, these awesome little nuggets had to be made in house.  Then to finish it off, a special seasoning, salt, sweet, a little spice and a hint of heat, a perfect pairing for the golden sweet potatoes.  Such a perfect pairing, we did not need anything to dip them in.

Queso Cheddar Fries, $2.95.
Nothing fancy, just potatoes, cut, blanched, and fried, then topped with a white cheddar chile sauce.  The fries stay crisp, are well seasoned.  The sauce, Oh!, the sauce is a dream of white velvet with just enough heat to keep the fries from becoming monotonous and keep you happy.

There is one spot I feel a place like Five Guys falls flat and that is not offering shakes.  I cannot blame them for not attacking it, creating a great shake is not an easy task.  And it allows them to focus on creating create burgers and fries and not worry about anything else.  However, at MShack the Medure brothers took on the challenge and excelled greatly.

Pecan Pie Shake, $5.25
I saw this and had to try it.  I easily saw the way for them to incorporate pecans, that one is a no brainer.  Even incorporating the texture and flavor of a pie crust can be done with a little effort.  The tricky part, the one that made me curious enough to have to order this shake, was incorporating that unique and ubiquitous flavor of the syrup style custard that makes a pecan pie a pecan pie.  Simply put. . .Nailed it.

Peanut Butter Shake, $4.50.
Blue Bell Ice Cream and Skippy Peanut Butter come together in a luxuriously thick emulsion of dairy and legume.  If it had strawberries in it, it would take you back to tour childhood days of PB&Js with a cold glass of milk.

So it turns out a drive to the beach was worth it.  Most of the time I can see myself driving out to the beaches just to get one of these burgers instead of going to Five Guys.  The good news, we will not have to be doing that by the end of summer. 

The Medure brothers have decided to open one up in San Marco at their former Take Away Gourmet location, and I have nothing but thanks for this decision.  With the talent that drives the restaurant and the concept behind the menu it can be successful anywhere they decide to set up.  They have the basics that will be mainstays on the menu, burger, cheeseburger, M Burger, shakes, and sides, but the others, such as Sunrise Burger or Fish Sandwich, are rotatable and can form the menu around the location it is at and the clientele they serve.  I feel that with this concept, MShack will be around for a while, which I could not be happier about.  Which gives plenty of time to try the The Medurable .

22nd Annual Jacksonville FOODFIGHT

Today I am bringing you a post that does not have anything to do with a recent trip to a local restaurant but with the chefs involved in making these local hot spots happen.  

The 22nd Annual Jacksonville FOODFIGHT will be held at the EverBank Field East Touchdown Club on Thursday, June 7, 2012. The event will feature more than 60 local restaurants, beverage distributors and caterers engaging in a friendly competition showcasing their signature dishes. In addition to the fabulous food and spirits, live entertainment will be provided by the local band Split Tone.
More than 1,200 guests are expected to attend the event and enjoy the samplings provided by the best in the industry. Last year, nearly $100,000 was raised at the event - a record total - with all proceeds benefiting Second Harvest North Florida.  Their mission is to distribute food and grocery products to hungry people and to educate the public about the causes and possible solutions to problems of domestic hunger.  Opening their doors in 1979, the Lutheran Social Services food program began as the Nourishment Network, but became the food bank in 1981 as its services expanded. In 1984, the food bank became a certified member of the national organization, America’s Second Harvest, which changed its name to Feeding America in 2008. The mission of Second Harvest North Florida is to feed hungry people by soliciting and judiciously distributing food and grocery products and to educate the public about the nature of and solutions to the problems of hunger.

This benefit is near and dear to me, as a chef with the Jaguars I have been able to assist by donating product to Second Harvest over the years and have participated in this event for the last few years professionally.  If there is anyway you can make it, I would love to see you out there.

I am sure a lot of you are now asking, "How do I get in?"  You could easily support the cause by purchasing a ticket.  But I have a solution for those of you who are itching to get in and cannot necessarily afford a ticket or simply prefer to spend your tightly knit budget in other ways.  I will be raffling off two tickets to those who help support this blog.  All you have to do is "Like" the Second Harvest of North Florida page, then "Share" this page on Facebook tagging me and Second Harvest and you have earned yourself an entry.  For my Twitter friendly readers "Share" this page on Twitter and tag me, @Jag_Chef and @JaxFOODFIGHT in the post and you have earned yourself another entry, up to four entries a day.   To ensure your efforts are not overlooked, be sure to post a comment here informing me of your efforts. The more you share, the more entries you get, the better chance you have at winning the tickets.

Nipper's Beach Grille

2309 Beach Boulevard, 32250
$$$

January 11, 2012

Former Top Chef Contestant Kenny Gilbert has an impressive resume, so when he decided to partner up and open Nipper’s Beach Grille, I was excited to finally make my way out there to experience his work.  The restaurant sits just off the Intracoastal Waterway on a little inlet, with a large boardwalk style dock that wraps around for plenty of seating.  Immediately inside is a large sports bar style area with a little Tiki bar off to the side.  After being pleasantly greeted by the hostess we are lead into a long dining room that leads to a semi open kitchen.

The menu is rather large, over fifty items, and allows you to easily see his direction of turning Southern cuisine to a higher level.  Boiled Peanuts, Fried Green Tomatoes with Nipper’s Aioli, Marsh Harbor Guacamole, Bahamian Conch Fritters with Nipper’s Remoulade, and many more items, that not only represents the South with passion, but showcases a love for the port city that is Jacksonville.  Looking the menu over a couple of times more, makes me really wish I had decided to dine with more than one person.

Fried Calamari with house marinara, Nipper’s Aioli, and lemon, $9.  Large pieces of tubes and tentacles breaded and fried golden brown.  Simple, straight forward, fresh.  What sets this apart from your average calamari dish is the sauces served with it.  House marinara, bright, slightly sweet without anything over powering the bright flavor of the tomato.  Nipper’s Aioli is a well flavored Cajun style mayonnaise, without any excessive heat, which brought a perfect creaminess to the sauce and layered flavors in the plate.  Fully plated, no ramekins of sauce on the side for you to decide what to put where, a chef’s decision to place the on the bottom so the calamari does not get soggy and you get the food the chef has envisioned.

Rock Shrimp Cobbler, Parmesan chipotle gratin, $10.  An Italian will tell you, “No cheese with seafood”, but in the South, it is viewed differently.  So as a chef, we see it as a bit of a challenge on how to incorporate these two beloved items together without over powering one or the other.  Chef Gilbert achieves it here.  The sweet, succulent rock shrimp are coated perfectly with a cream sauce gently flavored with Parmesan and chipotle.  The sauce itself is not heavy in the slightest, a perfect medium of body and lightness that allows you to savor as much of this dish as you would like.  It can be difficult to end up with perfectly cooked shrimp when you are using multiple cooking techniques for service, but Nipper’s has developed this dish perfectly, the shrimp were plump and tender, and anything but over cooked.  Finish it with a beautifully breadcrumb topping and you get one of the best shrimp dishes I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

Port Royale Pork Chops, smoked bacon onion compote, mashed potatoes, collard greens, $19.  Pork topped with pork, served with vegetables cooked with pork?  Can’t go wrong or so I thought.  As soon as the plate is set down in front of me I knew that I was about to have me first disappointment of the night.  Three paper thin pork chops with diamond char marks from the grill means nothing other than a dry piece of meat, which was exactly what the first bite delivered.  The flavors of the dish were spot on.  The bacon onion compote was smoky and sweet.  The collards, perfectly cooked.  Not stewed to death and not crunchy, nor over vinegared or spicy.  A perfectly even keel for greens.  The mashed potatoes, made from red potatoes, were creamy and served with the skins mashed in; I felt they could have used a little salt, but they were very well made and tasty even without it.  The only thing this entire dish needed was a better method of preparing the pork chops and it would have been spot on.

Shrimp n’ Grits, rock shrimp, chorizo con queso, creamy grits, $17.  Simple, traditional dish of the South with a twist.  Perfectly cooked plain grits allowed the sweet rock shrimp shine.  Paired with the slight heat of the chorizo, this dish would be perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  It was almost like a spoonable version of really good shrimp nachos.  I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

I am sure Nipper’s has gotten plenty of publicity with Chef Kenny Gilbert doing so well on Top Chef, but the food he serves here in Jacksonville has not.  The new and fresh takes on traditional Southern fare is one that needs to be shared.  Though I would leave momma at home, we wouldn’t want her getting mad when you tell her that this food is better than hers.