Arlington

With the news of closing in , a lot of people were pretty upset. Mudville has been a Jacksonville institution since 1994, so this felt like the end of an era (the location is still open, so don’t fret). Luckily, this sad news came with a nice silver lining. It was announced that the owners would transition Mudville into a new seafood concept, Southern Coast Seafood. They currently own , which is a commercial fishing business, so they will be serving their fresh catches in the restaurant. My husband and I visited on a Sunday night. We were seated and …

Jacksonville has quite a few ice cream and frozen custard shops, but there is only one place serving delicious, homemade gelato. Bambino Scoops is located in the Cobblestone shopping plaza in East , at the intersection of Monument and McCormick. Owners Maria Gallo and Manuel Ponce have been operating the shop since June of 2019, after buying the name from the previous owner. The inside of the shop is very whimsical with various posters and action figures throughout. “We brought our favorite characters,” Manuel explained. He collects figures from The Simpsons and various other comics, so they wanted to incorporate …

A DUAL CRITICS REVIEW Jacksonville University’s Department of Theatre has staged three performances of “In The Heights” at the during January 17 -19, 2020. The musical was a blockbuster, with book by Quiara Alegria Hudes and music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. A Broadway opening in March 2008 garnered a Pulitzer prize nomination for Drama, thirteen Tony nominations and four awards: Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography, Best Orchestration. And as you probably know, Miranda didn’t stop there – he wrote and starred in “Hamilton,” which was nominated for sixteen Tonys in 2016, won eleven awards, and received the …

There are more than a few buzz-worthy restaurants to try scattered around Jacksonville. Sometimes we get caught up in staying in our own neighborhoods–I’d bet there are people in who haven’t left in years except for road-trips, vacations, and possibly their commutes. Here are three newer places you might not have been to, some of which are in less-trendy neighborhoods. Pink Salt Well-priced and delish, Pink Salt in the Lakewood neighborhood on St. Augustine Road, serves up an excellent breakfast and lots of Caribbean and Caribbean-inspired dishes, such as oxtail and Jamaican fruit cake, but they also serve a mix …

If there was ever a perfect symbol for spring, it’s a butterfly emerging from its winter slumber in a bright symphony of colors. At , the butterfly is more than just a symbol. It’s the centerpiece of the annual held April 27 at the nature preserve on Lone Star Road in . The community event offers a chance to connect with nature in a pristine setting where guests can stroll the wooded paths, enjoy homemade crafts, family-friendly activities and live music culminating in the release of hundreds of live butterflies. The butterfly release is held at 3pm, weather permitting. It’s …

A JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY LINDA BERRY STEIN COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS THEATRE DUAL CRITICS REVIEW  Jacksonville University opened Legally Blonde – The Musical at Swisher Theatre on their Arlington campus (at 2800 University Boulevard North) on March 28, 2019. Additional evening performances are scheduled during March 29 – 31 at 7:30 pm; followed by a concluding matinee on March 31 at 3:00 pm. Legally Blonde began as a novel based on the real-life experiences of author Amanda Brown, was adapted as a film starring Reese Witherspoon in 2001 which became a blockbuster, and transformed into a musical in 2007 which also …

Jacksonville University student Christopher Mandel held his Senior Showcase in the Black Box Theatre on Saturday, February 16, 2019. Theatre majors are graded on their showcase performance, which is a final must-past test. Over the years, The Dual Critics of EU Jacksonville have attended and covered a number of showcase productions, but have also missed a number of them because we were reviewing stage plays, or just didn’t know about them. Of note, performances are free to students and the public. We have noted a recent twist: students are using Facebook to publicize their creation and announce time and place. …