By Irene Merenda

If you like southern comfort food, and don’t worry about calories, this is a restaurant for you to try.  My son had been to the other Ida Claire Restaurant in Texas, and insisted that he take us to the one in Jacksonville while he was visiting St. Augustine.  We decided to go on the 4th of July since the nasty weather canceled all of our outdoor plans.  They took our reservation for 5 and, it was a good thing, because many other people had the same idea.  The restaurant was nearly full for our mid-afternoon meal but we were seated immediately.  Because of the crowd, including many families with children, and room size, it was quite noisy.

Ida Claire – St. Johns Town Center, 10209 Rivercoast Drive, Jacksonville, FL. 904-326-1900

The restaurant has breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper and kids menus. They also have a large selection of draft beer and wine and “Ida’s Favorite Cocktails.”  We began our meal by sharing blistered greens (broccolini, okra, pickled fresnos served with a spiced yogurt and lemon zest). ($7.50)  The vegetables were crunchy and the yogurt sauce was mildly spicy and delicious.  We also shared an order of 5 biscuits ($7) which were served with ramekins of bacon gravy,  house jam and honey butter.  Honestly, I could have finished my meal right there, as the biscuits with butter and jam could have been dessert.   But, alas, we continued…

My husband’s “Nashville Hot Chicken” ($15) was a very spicy hot chicken breast with pimento cheese toast pickles and pickled red onions.  I could only eat a small taste because of the overwhelming “hot,” but he enjoyed it.  My mother in law’s Monte Cristo ($13.50) was a sandwich with ham, cheddar, bacon, powdered sugar and jam served with home-made potato chips.  This nearly-90 year old lady usually doesn’t eat much, however, she devoured the entire, huge sandwich.  Usually, home-made chips are thick and crisp, but these were disappointingly thin and soggy from the sandwich juices.

My son ordered the Brunch Burger ($14) which included 2 patties, bacon jam, pimento cheese, pepper aioli and a sunny side egg on a brioche bun.  His chosen side was a large bowl of asiago cheese grits.   According to him, the egg was cooked perfectly and the jam, aioli and cheese made the burger experience unlike any other.  I don’t usually like grits at all, but the asiago made them delicious, even to me.  My six year old grandson’s silver dollar pancakes looked  over-cooked and he described them as “kind of crunchy.”

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I admit to TRYING to find something a bit healthier and ordered the chicken and kale salad ($13.50).  My choice was to have the chicken grilled or fried.  I suppose I didn’t TRY all that hard, because my chicken was battered crispy, moist and spiced just enough to make it more interesting than your typical fried chicken.  In the salad were cranberries, mustard seeds, broccolini, grilled grapes, goat cheese and pumpkin seeds.  All was served with a mild honey mustard dressing that did not over-power the individual ingredient flavors.  It was luscious, if not terribly healthy.  I decided to bring most of it home, because my son reminded me that desserts were an important part of this restaurant experience and I needed to save space!

The bourbon pecan pie, served with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, had a distinct bourbon flavor and was not overly sweet, as most pecan pie is.  The key lime pie with a dollop of whipped cream was excellent. Each slice of pie ($7) was enough to share with friends, or in this case, relatives.

Ida Claire is open 7 days/week.  Vinyl (Happy) Hour is from 3-6pm and 9-11pm Monday-Friday when discounted cocktails, beer, wine and bar bites are offered.

Ida Claire is awarded 4 and 1/2 out of 5 spoonbills.  Be sure to go hungry and wear sweatpants!

Ida Claire, St. Johns Town Center, 10209 Rivercoast Drive, Jacksonville, FL. 904-326-1900