Erin Thursby
Here at EU Jacksonville, we want to spread the word about everything tasty here on the First Coast. We’ve talked to some of our area’s chefs about what they think you should order at their restaurants this season and why.
By Erin Thursby, EU Food Editor & Executive Director of GastroJax
Blue Bamboo
(Southside) Take a moment to chat with Chef Dennis Chan of Blue Bamboo, and you’ll know why he makes my list as one of my favorite chefs in Jacksonville. Drop in for snacks and a saketini before the movies at Tinseltown or enjoy a full dinner.
Blue Bamboo serves up Asian fusion, or hip Asian comfort food, as he likes to call it. His menu has great range, and you’ll be able to find something for most everyone. (Pick up his cookbook Hip Asian Comfort Food while you’re at Blue Bamboo so you can cross at least one name off your Christmas list early.)
Chef Dennis’ choice is an unexpected one, for those who aren’t his regulars. “People wait for this sandwich every year,” says Chef Dennis. Seared turkey finished in a sherry cream sauce, classic dressing, cranberry orange relish, the impeccable sandwich bun, and a few greens to keep it balanced, combine in holiday sandwich perfection. There doesn’t seem to be anything Asian about this sandwich, at first glance, or indeed, even at first taste. But Dennis says that the recipe for the dressing comes from his grandfather, who made it every holiday in the wok with sage, onion, and celery, stir fried, with a base of day-old French bread.
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