Cantina Louie is set to open more locations, at Nocatee, Monument Road, and on the Southside at Tinseltown. Old locations include St. Augustine, Atlantic, and Fernandina Beach. Expect some funky Day of the Dead mural action at all the locations–they were painted by local artist Moses Gazon, so you’ll have some Mexican art to go along with your Mexican food!

Nocatee’s promise of development has been kick-started again, with some great restaurants nearby the moneyed individuals who live there. The line-up in the area is really starting to tempt me, and I think they might start attracting people from outside the immediate neighborhood. So far, I’m looking at M Shack, South Kitchen & Spirits, Fionn McCool’s Irish Pub, and Timoti’s Seafood Shak, many of which are open or due to open soon. All of these can be found elsewhere in and around Duval, but for me, it means if there’s an event out there, I’m more likely to go because there will be plenty food of options that I know and love!

The Hyppo Cafe in St. Augustine is dropping their lunch menu and sticking to popsicles. They’ll also serve coffee and pastries, and they and will be adding local beer to the mix. Here in Jacksonville, they are mainly known for their pops, which they serve at their Brooklyn location, among others. The owners of Hyppo have also opened a new concept, Mayday Ice Cream,  at 1835 US1 South in St. Aug. It’s not the only thing they have in the works, though. You might have seen their pop kiosk at the St. Johns Town Center, but they’ll soon have a vending machine there with their pops.

Creative Loafing Tampa named five of Florida’s hottest restaurants outside of Tampa Bay, and one of Jacksonville’s own made the list! Congrats to Bellwether and Chef Kerri Rogers!

Candy Apple Cafe has added a quick-service lunch menu for those lunching on a tight time-table, and they also have delivery and corporate catering for Downtown.

The Downtown Investment Authority board, which has helped such projects as the opening of Florida State College at Jacksonville’s culinary institute and 20West restaurant, Cowford Chophouse, and Bellwether, is now reportedly taking a look at the Southbank. We can’t wait to see what the culinary aspects of the new projects will be!

The death knell of Unity Plaza continues to sound–and the last restaurant open to the public has closed. Brixx Wood Fired Pizza is gone.

The former Ovinte spot at the St. Johns Town Center will soon be taken over by Kamiya 86, a sushi joint with two other locales in the area (Jax Beach and Ponte Vedra).

The long-anticipated El Jefe has opened on Edgewood Avenue in the Murray Hill neighborhood near Post and Edgewood. At the helm, the awesome Chef Scotty Schwartz will serve up from-scratch Tex-Mex–wood grilled skirt steak fajitas, San Antonio puffy tacos, chili con queso (Texas style!), traditional tamales and queso fundido with flour tortillas. Don’t forget to visit the bar, because they have margaritas, among other things!

Homegrown chain Maple Street Biscuit Company is continuing to expand around the county. If you love their biscustiy goodness, and you’re away from home, you might just find a location and some comfort food to slake your homesickness in Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas!

Another homechain on the uptick is V Pizza, which has announced two new locales–Palm Valley and St. Augustine. They expect that the Palm Valley spot will open their doors this fall, and it’s the first location they’ve built from scratch, so you can expect extras in the location. The floor plan will be split between V and a craft cocktail bar called Julep, probably a bit like the plan with Sidecar, except that owners of V seem to be more directly involved with Julep than they are with Sidecar. We will keep you posted.

FOODIE EVENTS

June 4 Porchetta ’bout it

Kick off June with a plethora of pork and sides to match. Chef Waylon and his team are cooking plenty of pork for dinner on the roof Monday, June 4th. Food will be served in a casual setting with beer from Intuition and house-made sangria to wash it down. Happy Hour pricing on cocktails and wine will also be available all night. $65. 6-8pm. Black Sheep 5 Points. See 904tix.com for more info.

June 7 Secret Supper Club – Cummer Cafe

Secret Supper Club is an exclusive dining series gathering Jacksonville’s talented chefs and curious foodies alike to celebrate the city’s ever-evolving culinary scene. Featuring a multi-course tasting menu and drink pairing, fused with elements of mystery and excitement, Secret Suppers are true one-of-a-kind dining experiences. $50. 6-8pm. Cummer Cafe. See 904tix.com for more info.

June 9 Bikes & Brews

The Rotary Club of Jacksonville-Oceanside presents the first “Bikes & Brews” event to raise funds for and awareness of their community-wide bike rack program. Features local micro-breweries in the Beaches community. A combination pub crawl and scavenger hunt with participants encouraged to ride their bikes to each location. $25. 1-5pm. 904tix.com for more info on the start and stop locations.

June 15 Children’s Camp: Father’s Day Cookies!

Children learn to make specialty cookies from scratch, including special shaped cookies for Father’s Day! Children bring home a dozen handmade and decorated cookies for a Father’s Day present. (Amelia Island Culinary has plenty more classes available throughout the month for adults as well, from rustic italian to a Fernandina Market tour to Thai food.) $65. 9 am-noon. Amelia Island Culinary Academy. 515-6863, ameliacooking.com

June 25 Cocktail Workshop

Don Sueños Tequila will teach you how to make classic cocktails while discovering the history behind them. Learn new skills, enjoy your creations, and show off your newly acquired talents by playing bartender! 7-8:30pm. The Volstead. See 904tix.com for more info on pricing and tickets, to be released on June 1st.

July 4 Restaurant Orsay’s 9th Annual 4th of July Backyard BBQ

All we have to say is this–if you’ve never marked your calendars for this annual event, you probably should, for some backyard cooking Orsay-style! $35. 1-6 pm. Restaurant Orsay. See 904tix.com for more info.