Roadfood in North Florida

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties 
- Passing thru Jacksonville 

We drove down to South Florida at the end of December and stopped overnight in both Nashville and Jacksonville. We didnt have a ton of time in either spot as we arrived in the late afternoon and left the next morning. But since we were only four hours from South Florida we weren't in a rush to get out of town thus I was able to check out some spots on my list. But we didn't stay directly in Jacksonville instead opting to stay near the water in Atlantic Beach and most of my roundup reflects that. 

Atlantic Beach Florida
__________________________________________________

Lubi's Hot Subs (Jacksonville)

As longtime readers know - I love the unique roadfood stops. It's not always about the food at places like Lubi's Hot Subs in Jacksonville. I'd had plans to stop in Jacksonville previously to this and Lubi's was a spot I found while searching around. I knew I wanted to go there as soon as I saw the pictures of it. It's a prototypical 1970's sandwich shop having first opened in 1969. I visited Lubi's semi early on a Sunday morning and it was pretty busy with customers mostly there for a bacon, egg, and cheese on pita. There's a very obscure regional sandwich thought to originally be from Jacksonville called the Camel Rider or sometimes Desert Rider, as it can also be called. It's a pita stuffed with cold cuts plus lettuce, tomato, and Italian dressing. You can read all about the Camel Riders history in this fun and informative read in the New York Times by Southern Food Historian and fellow regional food aficionado John T. Edge by clicking HERE. All the popular spots known for their Camel Riders were closed on Sundays. They did have one on the menu at Lubi's but I was there for a steamed sub. 

Sign inside Lubi's

According to my friend / fellow food blogger Sef Gonzalez (aka Burger Beast) - Lubi's was founded in 1969 by a lady looking for a new hobby. It grew to five locations in the Jacksonville area at its peak but today there's just one left which I believe is ran by the founders daughter and grand daughter. As you can read in the picture above Lubi's is popular for their steamed subs which are made with ground beef, steamed onions and cheese. They offer six different steamed subs ranging from the original Lubi to the Fiesta Lubi which is the original Lubi topped with chili, sour cream and both American and Mozzarella cheese plus lettuce and tomato. That sounded like a bit much plus from what I read in reviews it seems like the Mozzarella Lubi is the most popular - ground beef, onions, and American cheese is topped with sour cream, mozzarella and marinara and the whole thing is steamed on a boat made of Aluminum foil. Lubi's sandwiches are served with a fork and a knife as they basically morph into a soggy mess when steamed. I'm glad I stopped but not sure I'll plot a return. 

Mozzarella Lubi at Lubi's Hot Subs
__________________________________________________

Singleton's Seafood Shack (Mayport Village)

Unfortunately O’Steens down in St. Augustine was closed the Sunday we would be passing through. The 2022 S'C'&C 'Stop of the Year' serves up the best fried shrimp I've ever had but they aren't the only popular stop for fried shrimp in these parts. So we visited another old Roadfood favorite instead as I’d never been to Singleton's Seafood Shack. It's located in the Village of Mayport which some call a fisherman's dream, it's an authentic Old Florida waterfront village located on the St. Johns River two miles east of the Atlantic Ocean. The locally caught Mayport fried shrimp isn’t as good at Singleton's as it is at O’Steens but it’s still better than the majority of fried shrimp elsewhere. The Minorcan chowder, another local specialty, was bland but improved with a few drops of locally produced Datil Pepper Hot Sauce. I feel like this place may have passed it's prime as it too opened in 1969 and although it's still the definition of a shack it seems like more of a tourist trap than a locals stop as the shrimp wasn't cheap despite it being abundant in the area but it is on the water so there's that.

Fried Shrimp and Minorcan Clam Chowder at Singleton's Seafood Shack
__________________________________________________

Safe Harbor Seafood (Mayport Village)

If you only have time (or the stomach space) for one Mayport Village stop I would go to Safe Harbor Seafood Market / Restaurant. We started off at their seafood market where locally caught large head on Mayport shrimp was on sale for $3/lb. I had planned ahead and brought a cooler down with me so we went ahead and got ten pounds of shrimp to bring down to South Florida with us - it took forever to shell and devein all of it but we ate well for a couple weeks. After procuring our shrimp which they loaded up on ice for us we went across the street to the restaurant. The setup at Safe Harbor is like pretty much every other popular fried seafood stop in that you order at the counter and then take a number to the outside deck where they come find you. We got an order of the fried shrimp which was thinly coated with just the right bite. I wish they sold it by the pound as the fries and cole slaw that comes with it aren't much more than filler. We also got a 1/2 lb of the steamed shrimp which was nice and plump and had the taste and texture of mini lobsters. Safe Harbor is a smooth sailing operation. 

Lunch at Safe Harbor Seafood (click pics to enhance)
__________________________________________________

AB Kitchen (Atlantic Beach)

We stayed at a cute little boutique hotel in Atlantic Beach which is the northernmost of Jacksonville's three beach communities. The menu at AB Kitchen looked more like one you would find in a trendy food neighborhood in the city than that of a popular beach vacation community. We stopped in for an appetizer and some drinks while waiting for a table at another restaurant nearby. The crab fried rice was the reason we stopped in as Erica had scoped it out - good call by her, she learned from the best. Haha. After a few runs of average fried rice in hip and trendy restaurants like this I was very much surprised with the cooking quality of this version served with snow crab, shiitakes, scallions, bean sprouts, fish sauce, cilantro, lime. The rice was smoky and the taste of the crab was clear. 

Crab Fried Rice at AB Kitchen
__________________________________________________

North Beach Fish Camp (Atlantic Beach)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this popular stop with tourists and what not. But North Beach Fish Camp is ran by a local restaurant group who also owns a popular seafood restaurant in the city so we decided to give it a go. After all it was a short walk from the hotel and I was very much intrigued with the many mentions of their shrimp and grits. We started out with their fried shrimp dinner and it was the best fried shrimp of the trio of plates we tried. It was bigger than the previous two spots and had slightly better texture to it too. The breading was a bit thicker and it did slip off a bit but in the end we both agreed this was the best of the bunch. The shrimp and grits are served with a white wine butter sauce and was one of the best preps I've tried. This makes sense when you come to understand this part of Florida is considered a part of the Low Country region which extends up the coast thru Georgia and into the Charleston South Carolina area. Every aspect of their shrimp and grits was good from the plump and abundant locally caught shrimp to the rich and creamy grits loaded with butter.  

Fried Shrimp at North Beach Fish Camp

Shrimp and Grits at North Beach Fish Camp
__________________________________________________

See ya next time @chibbqking