Big Easy at Harry’s

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July 10th, 2012

Every time you go to downtown Gainesville – whether you’re watching something at the Hippodrome, filing paperwork at the Alachua County offices, or shopping at one of the several stores, it’s almost impossible to miss this week’s restaurant – Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille. Located right across the street from the Alachua County offices and Hampton Inn just off Main Street, it might have one of the best locations in downtown.

I actually had a camera with me this time.

Harry’s features New Orleans-style cuisine in an upscale environment. Diners can choose to eat inside or at one of the patio tables outside. I’m usually a fan of eating outside, but it being afternoon on a perfectly clear and humid day, a dining experience in the comfort of air conditioning sounded more appealing. So we decided not to take it outside.

Some of the patio seating.

The lunch menu featured various kinds of seafood and soups; we had calamri to start, and I ordered the Bourbon salmon. The bread came pretty quickly and it’s worth mentioning how good it was. I’m not a bread connoisseur of any sort so I can’t name the kind, but it was very crispy on the outside, and was served with butter with herbs.

Great bread!

The starter kept the trend of goodness going. Served with fried green beans, the fried calamari came with “Remoulade Sauce”. Not long after came the salmon, with a side of mashed potatoes and a lemon on top. One word – amazing. The sweet sauce made for a cajun-like taste, and the grill added a unique flavor, all of which combined for a great plate.

The amazing Bourbon Salmon.

The salmon, drink (coke with about unlimited refills) and split calamari all came out to about $19, which was good, considering the quality of the food and how it was just enough. I’d say that quality combined with the nice feel of the place make it a great choice when celebrating a special occasion.

A Burrito, Bro – Burrito Brothers

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July 10th, 2012

Quite honestly, I hadn’t intended my lunch at Burrito Brothers as a business trip for this blog, but it’s a spot unique to Gainesville, very much of the type I set out to review. So, I thought, why not?

Burrito Brothers is a bit of a challenge to find, if you don’t know where to look – it’s located on West University Avenue, right in front of Matherly Hall…but it’s behind the Presbyterian Student Center that’s facing the avenue, so you can’t really see it until you drive to the parking lot, behind the building. If you’re walking along University, you’ll see a sign and a path leading to the place.

The entrance to Burrito Brothers. I actually took the picture this time.

Once I found it, I walked in through the gate pictured above. The place had tables and chairs outside, and a window at which you placed your order, and a second at which you picked it up. It reminded me of eating at the Miami-Dade County Fair, since you typically placed your order at a window and sat outside, and picked it up when you were called. The area was very nice – despite the fact that it was 1,000 °F (ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration…but it felt like it), it felt cool as trees provided shade. There wasn’t any indoor seating available at that point.

I ordered a pretty basic meal – a meat burrito and a lemonade to avoid imminent melting. I took a seat at one of the tables, and waited about 5 minutes before it was ready…so it was pretty fast. The food was good, and the lemonade definitely was a relief. It all came out to about $9.

Yep, took this one too. These are some of the tables and chairs to eat at. 

All in all, a very nice spot to grab something quickly if you’re on the run, or to sit down and enjoy something if you have a little more time. I was a big fan of the seats outside…the only thing I would have changed would have been the heat.

Reggae Shack Cafe, Mon!

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July 10th, 2012

It’s been a while since my last post, but the restaurant sampling did not stop during my hiatus. I have for you now a review of a place with catchy radio spots and a reputation for Jamaican-style cuisine – Reggae Shack Cafe.

Located at 619 West University Avenue, Reggae Shack Cafe is at about the midpoint between UF’s campus and downtown. It’s within walking distance from both, though I wouldn’t recommend walking there during the Gainesville summer with the high temps. I was able to find good parking right in front of the place.

We passed the bar and sat at one of the tables at the back of the restaurant, seeing what the whole place looked like, and walking inside, I could imagine myself at a restaurant on one of the Caribbean islands – reggae’s playing in the background, and the walls are painted of a color reminiscent of the shell shops near the beach.

Looking at the menu, I really felt like I was in a completely new and unfamiliar place – I had never had Jamaican food, so none of the things on the menu sounded familiar. I ultimately picked the oxtail per the recommendation of my friend who joined me. For sides, it brought platains and rice and “peas”, which were beans. And to drink, I’d opted for iced tea or something generic like that, until I saw the smoothies page! There were a lot of appealing choices, but one stood out – again, as something completely different – strawberry coconut. I picked that instead.

And when it came – oh, man. I have never seen so massive a smoothie. It was so large that I drank half of it and took the other half to go (when have you ever heard of taking a drink to go?) in a large cup, which I FILLED. And that was not a bad thing – the smoothie was one of the best I’ve ever had. I could already imagine myself on a beach on a Caribbean island.

The smoothie comprised a large part of the final bill, which came out at a little over $20. But, it was very much worth it. Overall, Reggae Shack Cafe is a pretty good place to feel like you’re getting out of north central Florida and taking a quick trip to the islands. Smile, mon!

A Latin Taste in Downtown: Emiliano’s Cafe

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July 10th, 2012

For this week’s restaurant sampling, I picked the downtown Latin restaurant Emiliano’s Cafe. To be honest, I was under the impression that Emiliano’s Cafe served Italian food until I walked in. (I have no idea where I got that impression from.) Nonetheless, the Latin tastes on the menu were a pleasant surprise.

Located across the street from the seat of the Alachua County government, Emiliano’s Cafe is located right in downtown Gainesville. And the restaurant takes advantage of its nice location – there is seating both inside and outside the restaurant. Despite the crazy heat, we sat at one of the outside tables, and I think it was the right decision. There’s something about breathing in fresh air as you watch downtown passers-by go about their business that sitting indoors doesn’t quite match. Nonetheless, as we walked toward the outside seats I caught a glimpse of a cozy, classy restaurant, complete with an upright piano.

Looking over the menu, I saw a great variety of interesting dishes. I ultimately ordered churrasco, which is a kind of grilled Latin steak. It comes with chimichurri (I had to look that one up to make sure I spelled it right) served on it, and sides of plantains and your choice of either white rice and beans or yellow rice and beans. (I ordered white rice.) My friend ordered the Tuesday special – pork shanks. To be honest, when the order came and I saw her plate I became a little jealous.

But it didn’t last – the churrasco was fantastic. I don’t typically add sauces to anything I eat (that includes ketchup to fries. I know, weird.) but the chimichurri sauce definitely added something to the steak…something that made it deliciously amazing. The white rice and beans were also very good, but was more than I could handle – I ended up having quite a bit to take home.

The total for it all came out to just under $20…and I think the food was worth it. It’s a bit pricey for a typical weekday lunch considering I only ordered an entrée, a side and a coke with no ice. But if you’re looking for good food and have some time and a bit of extra change to spare, a trip to Emiliano’s Cafe may be something to consider.

For Starters

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July 10th, 2012

Hey, everyone! And welcome to my new blog!

A little about myself – I’m a senior at the University of Florida, studying Telecommunication News at the College of Journalism and Communications, and Political Science at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I’m taking a few classes at UF during the summer, so I’m in Gainesville for the term.

About this blog? Well, for the past two years I’ve been at UF I’ve never really left campus to eat, save for a few trips to Red Lobster and Applebee’s when my parents are in town. But as the Spring semester ended, I became tired of eating the same things every day.

Plus, as a Telecommunication News major, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to downtown Gainesville several times on assignment. And every time I have, I’ve been very tempted to try the nice restaurants there. So it occurred to me – why not use the summer to do it?

This blog will document my experience as I see what Gainesville dining has to offer. While I wouldn’t consider myself to have the makings of a restaurant critic for the Michelin Guide, I hope this blog will be useful to college students and Gainesville residents in picking a place to go for lunch during the week, for dinner on a Friday night, or for a snack on an Sunday afternoon.

I’ll typically pick places I’ve seen, but I’ll also take some suggestions from this website. I’ll also take suggestions from you!

Bon Appetit!

Response to “Page One”

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July 9th, 2012

One of the themes treated in the New York Times documentary “Page One” is the role of traditional media, particularly newspapers, in getting information out to the general public. Two examples are used, both involving WikiLeaks: in the first, WikiLeaks posted video of a Reuters reporter being fired at by American air units after the soldiers confused the gear the reporter was carrying for weaponry. In the second, WikiLeaks teamed up with five newspapers – El Pais, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, The Guardian, and The New York Times – to release over 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables.

The roles played by traditional media in these two cases are very different – in the case of the video involving the Reuters crew, the traditional media played no role in the release of the video. WikiLeaks simply posted the video on its website for all the world to see. In the second case, the traditional media were very involved in the process – the 5 newspapers vetted the cables, redacted names and information where they deemed appropriate, and published the cables.

It’s easy to see that no one really needs to involve a typical news organization to get something – whether it’s an idea, a video, or a document – out to the masses. One needs only a website or a blog to do it. WikiLeaks recognized this with the video of the Reuters crew, and decided not to consult with any media organizations to release it. Indeed, the media organizations came to WikiLeaks’ web site to examine the video and to publish it.

However, if one wants his or her idea, video or document to be credible before the world audience, bringing a traditional news media operation on board is the wise thing to do. 250,000 diplomatic cables are sensitive materials to splash on the internet, and to do so without consulting anyone could put the lives of the people mentioned in the cables at risk. Not only that, but it also gives credibility to skeptics who would accuse the publisher of fabricating the documents or of having a grudge against the subject of the idea.

Much of the world increasingly seeks its news from new and alternate sources, but at the same time, most people still place much trust and value on the work of the traditional news media. A niche blog or Twitter account may never have the same credibility as the New York Times. This is because the journalists of the traditional news media have reputations of seekers of the truth, who verify their facts before telling the world what they’ve uncovered. Few people have that same level of credibility.