Jacksonville Tastecasting at The Bridge Waterfront Bistro

This is the first time I have written a Jacksonville Tastecasting post in this blog. I decided to bring all of my Tastecasting blogs over here from now on, since it is a much more personal and social subject than the other things I tend to write about. The best part about Jacksonville Tastecasting, aside from the delicious food, are the people in the Jacksonville Tastecasting team. I cannot write with an objective voice about something that was recently so convivial.

Chef Cakmis greeted our table and explained a few things about The Bridge Waterfront Bistro. First, none of their meat is bought frozen. It is always purchased fresh. The fish is fresh that day and is diver shot. None of us knew what that meant, so he explained it for us. Fish caught traditionally, that is in a net, struggle and stress out their muscles. So, they have a tougher consistency. Diver shot fish are shot via a sort of spear by a diver and die immediately. Their meat is more tender. That sounds like bologna, but I promise you can taste the difference. Chef Cakmis works at the restaurant every single hour it is open and oversees everything. He will not allow any ingredient to be compromised. Lastly, we were given a special early evening menu to look over. It provides several pre fixe meals including the Mojo Marinated Roast Pork with rice and beans and fried plantains, and Grilled Salmon. These meals come with a glass of house wine, salad, and dessert for only $19.95. You can also opt out of the wine and dessert and only pay $14.95. How they plan on not going bankrupt at those prices, I do not know. I also do not care. I like gourmet food for incredible prices. I like it a lot.


Our appetizers were the Avocado and Lump Crabmeat Salad, Crawfish Spring Rolls, and the Fired Oyster BLT salad. Then we were treated to the Cajun Bayou Gumbo, which was simply incredible. It was hearty, not too spicy, and definitely gumbo. Having previously lived in New Orleans, I know what good gumbo tastes like and this was good gumbo. The fish in it depends on what Chef Cakmis believes to be their best choice that day. On this particular day, the fish was salmon. I was very impressed. The salmon got to be salmon, and was not overwhelmed by the flavor of the gumbo. We got the $6 cup and I could not even finish it. It was so satisfying and filling that it could have easily sufficed as an entire meal on its own.




Our entrees were superb. First there were the Citrus Scallops. They were pan seared and topped with a grapefruit-orange buerre Blanc and served with sauteed spinach. It did not overwhelm the pallet like citrus can sometimes do. Instead the citrus was a steady hint and the scallops were tender.




Then there was the Grouper Eleni, which had a pleasant earthy taste to it that was nicely complimented by mushrooms.




Next there was the Athena Chicken Pasta with sauteed artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes. There was a tangy taste to the pasta from a lemon sauce.




Then we had the Snapper New Orleans. Generally, this is the Grouper New Orleans, but customers can choose to substitute any fish they want in this meal. Since we already had a grouper dish, Chef Cakmis felt we would appreciate red snapper in this dish instead. For many of the Jacksonville Tastecasting team, this was their favorite entree. The snapper was juicy and flavorful. I can still taste it and I find myself wanting to say "succulent" every time I think of it.




Lastly, there were the Greek Lamb Chops. These were my personal favorite. Chef Cakmis is Greek and Greeks seem to be born knowing just what to do with lamb. I usually come up with my own words to describe dishes, but I am just going to steal fellow Jacksonville Tastecaster Jodi Kasten's instead because they were so dead on. The Greek Lamb Chops were "perfect" and "smack your mama good." They came with mashed potatoes that harmonized so beautifully with it that I had to mention them here as well. Just thinking of these lamb chops is tempting me to drive all the way over to Ponte Vedra right now and get some more.




Following our entrees was dessert. We were so completely stuffed from tasting everything so far, we wanted to turn it down. I am so glad we had the Bread Pudding, however. I know I have waxed on about the bread pudding from b.b.'s before. I may or may not have proposed to it. I do not remember clearly, my mind having been befuddled by infatuation. However, this bread pudding is a whole other animal. It is soaked in a Jack Daniels sauce and topped with pecans. "Decadent" seems like a trite term, but eating it really did make me feel like there was some real sinning going on with my taste buds. A veritable Mardi Gras was happening in my mouth. So, maybe I can marry the bread pudding from b.b.'s and keep the bread pudding from The Bridge Waterfront Bistro as a mistress.

Often, I will eat somewhere because it is decent and convenient. Though I do not live near The Bridge Waterfront Bistro, I would have no problem driving those extra miles for a nice dinner here. The atmosphere is wonderful, the food is amazing, the customer service is excellent, and the servings could satisfy a lumberjack. I am so grateful to The Bridge Waterfront Bistro for allowing us to come taste their treasures.