the maestro's view of the world

rambling commentary about living in a college town, enjoying culinary delights, surviving in a red state, and traveling to wonderful places

Saturday, November 04, 2006

an unexpected find in Jacksonville

so I am in Jacksonville for a board meeting and a conference and I am staying near San Marco. Typically the only visits I ever make to this city are to shop, fly out of the airport, or to attend the Georgia-Florida game. Jason recommended a restaurant to me: B.B.'s (short for Bistro Biscottis). I think he got the advice from our friend Arthur Frommer, who never steers us wrong.

I had a glass of shiraz, and duck confit wonton for an appetizer, and lamb with mushrooms and butternut squash puree for my meal. The duck confit wonton was three layers, with a flattened fried wonton, then boursin cheese, with duck confit on it, and repeated twice, with a small topping of boursin cheese on top. The entree was really good too and was cooked to a nice medium rare as all lamb chops should be.

What is duck confit? It is almost like pulled pork, in the shredded sense. "The French word confit means “preserved,” and the process was devised as a means of preserving a variety of meats and poultry — most traditionally goose, duck, or pork." Here's more information on how to make it.

I also went over to the dessert case and got two small desserts to go: one is a pumpkin cheesecake with a maple topping and the other is a mexican cookie with cinnamon and chocolate.