Chef's list of Restaurants.

[sandyshoes]

Is it spelled "Noura's" or something similar?  It's next to Richardson's Jewelers and Merle Norman on the Tijuana Flats side of the strip.

[JaxJerry]

So, what professional accreditation allow Stephen to accurately refer to himself as a chef?  Is the guy behind the counter at Lubi's a "chef"? How about the kitchen at the European Street Cafe.  Do they employ a chef?  Isn't anyone in the kitchen a simple cook anymore?  Rant over.

[spuwho]

So, what professional accreditation allow Stephen to accurately refer to himself as a chef?  Is the guy behind the counter at Lubi's a "chef"? How about the kitchen at the European Street Cafe.  Do they employ a chef?  Isn't anyone in the kitchen a simple cook anymore?  Rant over.

Stephen works at Lubi's?

[I-10east]

In terms of an old school 'fold in half' NY pizza, IMO nothing beats Libretto's at SJTC. The spices are absolutely perfect. Sure it's definitely not the most healthy pizza in the world as it's a lil' greasy, so I just dab the pizza top with some napkins, viola! It tastes that damn good to me to go through that. The more health friendly Mellow Mushroom is really good too; Can't wait until the Avondale location opens. 

[stephendare]

So, what professional accreditation allow Stephen to accurately refer to himself as a chef?  Is the guy behind the counter at Lubi's a "chef"? How about the kitchen at the European Street Cafe.  Do they employ a chef?  Isn't anyone in the kitchen a simple cook anymore?  Rant over.

Stephen works at Lubi's?

Well a "Chef" is defined as the following:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chef

chef  [shef]  Show IPA
noun
1.  the chief cook, especially in a restaurant or hotel, usually responsible for planning menus, ordering foodstuffs, overseeing food preparation, and supervising the kitchen staff.

But the primary difference between the two is that a chef is someone who is able to create recipes (with some understanding of the hows and whys, hopefully) and a cook is a person who is qualified to execute a recipe either as written or trained.

That and a chef is really just a manager or general manager of a professional kitchen.  It comes from a french word meaning basically "Chief".  It encompasses both cooking, efficiency, employee management, and economics of a kitchen.

As for me, 30 years of work experience in both corporate and ownership positions, training in 23 different types of ethnic cuisine, several television gigs for cooking and 13 restaurants under the belt, 7 of which I served as executive chef, Jerry.  Why do you ask?

[buckethead]

It sounds as if you might qualify to call yourself a chef. I am not a chef... but I do pretend in my own kitchen!

Don't judge me Jerry.

[CityLife]

No love for Matthews? I've only been there 3 times, but each time it has been a great meal and a different experience. It is a bit stuffy and the wait staff are a little self-important, but man is the food really good. If you ever want to splurge on a great meal or celebrate an occasion, this is the spot imo. A meal of Matthew's quality would cost about 25% more in NYC, Chicago, Miami, LA, etc.

I concur with Picasso's. Wish there was one in the urban core. I also think Carmine's isn't getting enough love. Its my favorite pie in town by a good bit, probably because their Chicago style is so good. Also love the Burning Down the House Lasagna and Fried Calzone. My wife is from the Jersey Shore, but grew up in an area of South Florida with a lot of NY/NJ transplants and we spend time in both places, so I'm a little spoiled on that type of pizza. Jacksonville has nothing that comes close, but there is some decent stuff I guess.

[stephendare]

Every time Ive been to matthews, the food has been technically perfect. But I think the creative juices have transferred to Medures at the Beach.  I toyed with including it in the short list, and I wouldnt object to its inclusion, but I didnt for reasons which I promised I wouldnt go into for this list.

[Fallen Buckeye]

Not technically Jax, but the best pizza I've had in NE FL is at Pizza Time in St. Augustine hands down. Of course, that was before I found found out I have celiac. Been meaning to try Moon River's gluten-free pizza for a while now.

Any tips for good gluten-free friendly restaurants?

[Ocklawaha]

So, what professional accreditation allow Stephen to accurately refer to himself as a chef?  Is the guy behind the counter at Lubi's a "chef"? How about the kitchen at the European Street Cafe.  Do they employ a chef?  Isn't anyone in the kitchen a simple cook anymore?  Rant over.

You've obviously never had the distinct pleasure of dining at one of Stephens restaurants, but even if you did, what qualifies you to judge the cuisine?

[ben says]

^Nobody has had the "distinct pleasure" of dining at one of Stephen's restaurants because nobody has told us which restaurants Stephen has opened. Not to mention, ANYONE qualifies to judge his cuisine whose tried it before. Also, not trying to be confrontational, but you (Stephen) were trained in 23 ethnic cuisines? How so? 7 executive chef positions? Need more information!!

[thelakelander]

I met Stephen at Boomtown back in 2006.  A group of us from MetJax had decided to get together and discuss becoming more organized to protest Mayor Peyton's Big Ideas plan for downtown.  If I recalled, at the suggestion of Councilman Suzanne Jenkins, we agreed to meet at Boomtown because of its location near city hall.  I remember there being a red headed guy coming out of his kitchen taking an interest and joining us at the table.  That small group went on to form the Metro Jacksonville that exists today.  For the first year or two (up to Boomtown's closing -- Dalton Agency purchased the building they were in), we met weekly at the restaurant, where Stephen prepared us an array a meals.  I for one, have always wished that Boomtown would reopen at some point.

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/122305/lif_20628954.shtml

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051603/ent_12541810.shtml

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/060807/enm_175230680.shtml

http://www.eujacksonville.com/pages/06-21-07/boomtownclosing.htm

[ben says]

Thanks for the info. Again, not calling into question what Stephen said or making accusations. Would just like more info.

[BridgeTroll]

I met Stephen at Boomtown back in 2006.  A group of us from MetJax had decided to get together and discuss becoming more organized to protest Mayor Peyton's Big Ideas plan for downtown.  If I recalled, at the suggestion of Councilman Suzanne Jenkins, we agreed to meet at Boomtown because of its location near city hall.  I remember there being a red headed guy coming out of his kitchen taking an interest and joining us at the table.  That small group went on to form the Metro Jacksonville that exists today.  For the first year or two (up to Boomtown's closing -- Dalton Agency purchased the building they were in), we met weekly at the restaurant, where Stephen prepared us an array a meals.  I for one, have always wished that Boomtown would reopen at some point.

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/122305/lif_20628954.shtml

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051603/ent_12541810.shtml

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/060807/enm_175230680.shtml

http://www.eujacksonville.com/pages/06-21-07/boomtownclosing.htm

Pretty sure that is where I first met Stephen also... (handing out flyers?)  Please bring back the meatloaf! 

[stephendare]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

In a way ben says, I couldnt be more pleased with the fact that you only know me as a person on metrojacksonville.com.  For a couple of years after I closed Boomtown, people kept treating me like one of the Dixie Chicks---you know, "shut up and sing" because so many people primarily knew me in a restaurant and theatre context.

Im older than I seem, ben and Ive had an extremely active life, often pursuing more than one career at a time.

Ive owned restaurants in Jacksonville, Seattle, Atlanta, and Indiana. Did corporate consulting in San Francisco, San Jose, Atlanta, Seattle and here in Jax. Worked for the most respected Sourdough Bread Bakery and Cafe in the country, and at corporate for the largest American coffee retailer in the world.

My first time owning a cafe in Jax was in 1991, I think. Here is a link to an interview I gave about the Fusion.  http://www.billectric.com/StephenDareInterview.html It was the first legitimate coffeehouse in Jax since the closing of the Golden Buddha in the 70s.  Got a lot of attention for that, and was part of the transformation of Five Points into an alternative district. It was also the first time that I was an active participant in an urbanist district creation.

There is a lot of information out there about the Fusion.  I followed it immediately with a place next door called 'oppenheimer's', and then after we closed, I went across the street and worked for my landlords at the Fusion (Cliff and John Schultz) and helped them create a place called The Abyss.  I built a 75 foor recreation of the caves of Lascaux as the entrance for it.  It was a pretty cool project.

Some of my places were successes, some of them were failures, and a couple were outright debacles.  But you learn equally from all three kinds of experiences. I don't ever have plans of going back into the restaurant business.  Its a younger man's game for people who have a real passion for food which I do, and Ive done almost everything I wanted to do in the food industry.

I'm doing what I am passionate about now at MetroJacksonville.  But Im more than qualified to discuss food and the administration of restaurants.