August is upon us, my foodie companions, so let’s take a look at what great food you can plan for in the month ahead!

One of the best things about August on the First Coast is Eat Up Downtown. Eat Up is an event organized by Downtown Vision featuring more than 20 restaurants offering 3-course prix fixe menus for $25 from August 9-22. Last year during Eat Up Downtown, EatJax reviewed three participating restaurants – The Wine Cellar, Cafe NOLA @ MOCA and Koja Sushi. I’ll be heading out again this year to review a fresh set of menus. Participating restaurants include Morton’s, bb’s, Chew, Charthouse, Casa Dora and many more. Get a full list of participating restaurants, details, menus and directions at the Downtown Vision website.

Vodka Gazpacho from Cafe Nola @ MOCA’s Eat Up Downtown Menu 2009 (Highly recommended)

It’s no surprise that it’s hotter than Sookie Stackhouse dancin’ on a waffle iron out there. That leaves us all trying to find ways to feed ourselves without heating up our kitchens. More than a few of us have a waffle iron gathering dust up on a top shelf in our cabinets. I thought about that quite a bit recently when I was introduced to The Waffleizer. The author, Dan, asks the age old question, “Will it waffle?” but then goes on to be sure that the waffling tastes good too. This is food you’d actually want to eat – only… flatter. It’s detailed, smart, funny, surprisingly beautiful and much more than just squishing random things in a waffle iron. Check it out!

Speaking of beating the heat, don’t forget that local chef Jessica Bright has teamed up with Breyers All Natural ice cream to bring the “Sundae Showcase” to the Riverside Arts Market on July 31. You may have seen Chef Bright on WJXT’s “Eating Fresh” segments. In addition to recipe demos for the Market Fresh Florida Sundae and Jaguar Sundae, families can also enjoy free samples of Breyers All Natural ice cream, a make-your-own sundae bar and kid-friendly activities. If you think you’ve got sundae-making talent then enter the Breyers nationwide “Sundae Scoop Off” contest at Breyers.com for a chance to win cash and prizes. Demos will be from 11-12 and 3-4 at the RAM under the bridge on Riverside Drive. Be sure to hit the Farmer’s Market area to get some veggies to counteract all that ice cream. Full details can be found at the Riverside Arts Market website here. EatJax would also like to extend congratulations to the new director of the RAM – Teri Coutu.
 

Chef Bright’s Jaguar Sundae

Chef Ted Peters of Azurea at One Ocean Resort is sharing a few of his culinary secrets with a Mediterranean Cooking Series held on Sunday, August 15, 2010 from 1-3 p.m.. Foodies can enjoy the interactive class for $60 per person with 11 other cooking enthusiasts. Participants will be greeted with champagne and canapés and meet the chef and staff. Chef Peters will teach the class which will feature a summer meal made of Mediterranean ingredients. The class will highlight the flavors, philosophies, histories, uses and availability of the ingredients while sharing techniques and teaching hands-on skills which emphasize the understanding of light, healthy Mediterranean flavors and cooking.

Once the four-course meal is prepared, students will enjoy wine pairings with each course to further aid in understanding and ultimately hosting a well-planned and delicious summer Mediterranean meal. The afternoon is wrapped up with a take-home of a chef’s jacket and apron along with the day’s cooking creations. To reserve a place in the Mediterranean Cooking Series by Chef Ted Peter’s of Azurea at One Ocean Resort, call (904) 249-7402 or for more information visit www.oneoceanresort.com.

Fans of the old Dave’s Diner in Murray Hill at 954 Edgewood Ave. will be glad to know you can once again enter the building. Owners Ed Owens and Mark Busher have given the new “Crazy Egg” a shockingly fresh makeover and completely revamped the menu to include such foodie friendly fare as a “Garden” version of Eggs Benedict (two poached eggs, sliced tomato, spinach, mushrooms, onions), soups, sandwiches and burgers. They serve breakfast and lunch and are open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. The buzz is great and so is the food, but I will miss hitting the place late at night, so hopefully the hours will expand again soon. The website is pretty useless at the moment, but it does have contact information and hours. Hopefully menus and interaction are forthcoming. Best of luck to the folks at Crazy Egg because I have a lot of memories in that building.

We’re also shaking our heads in the general direction of the stadium, newly acquired by EverBank. Hopefully the new sponsors will bring about some change in the level of critical food safety violations incurred by the vendors. Personally, I’m more likely to get sick from the ticket prices.

Finally, I’d like to share Inside Insides – a website featuring MRIs of vegetables and fruit. It’s spiffy and I love it more than Pocky. The only problem is that I can’t seem to tell if the broccoli is male or female. Be safe out there and eat well!

Note: EatJax does not accept advertising or compensation from any restaurant, grocery or caterer. We take pride in posting any and all food news sent to us by any local establishment or reader in the Greater Jacksonville area. If you have news you’d like to share, please let us know by clicking “Contact Us” above or emailing me at webmaster@eatjax.com.

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Special Thanks to Breyers Ice Cream for our Jaguar Sundae image.
Cafe NOLA gazpacho image is mine – taken with a two year old cell phone. Why would you want to steal that? Why?