Congratulations!

Joe(y) sent us this heartwarming article from Bay News 9 in Tampa about Jacksonville Confidential staff member Julio's sister Maria Canino receiving her US Citizenship...check it out!

"A Bay area mother became a U.S. citizen in Tampa Monday with her family by her side, except for her daughter who is serving the country in Iraq. María Canino came from Mexico on a student visa with her family in 1971.Canino later married a U.S. citizen and started a family.

"It took so long because I was raising my three beautiful children, and you know, being a mom, being busy and doing all their activities," Canino said.

But Canino said she has always felt like a citizen. "I have been an American in my heart for many years, and I needed the paperwork," she said.

Canino said she decided to become a citizen because of a promise she made to her daughter. Canino's 23-year-old daughter, Sophia, is serving her second tour as a soldier in Iraq and couldn't be home to see her mother become a U.S. citizen. Sophia is part of the 2nd Brigade, Bravo company 23 BTB, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga., stationed in Iraq. Although Sophia was not present to see her mother become a citizen, Bay News 9 was able to show the images of the momentous event through the Internet."

Theres a link to the video at the bottom of the article HERE.

The House That Soon Built

Do you guys know that eyesore of a dark brown/beige house that has been abandoned, gated, and closed off for years next to Mossfire Grill? Well, it is an eyesore no more! Yesterday Soon Hills (Marks Mom) house was finally leveled, paving the way for MORE CONDOS!!!!

(Photo Submitted by Mark, Details by Joe(y))

The Vagina Monologues at UNF

As part of this year’s 2008 V-Day College Campaign, the University of North Florida will present a benefit production of The Vagina Monologues at the Lazzara Performance Hall at the UNF Fine Arts Center on March 29, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

This benefit production is sponsored by the Psychology Department, Espeto Brazilian Steakhouse and Skirt! Magazine and will raise funds for the Women's Center of Jacksonville, Betty Griffin House and Quigley House. The program design and graphics were all provided by Joe at Compound Graphics (formerly Fierce Graphics).

Tickets are $5 for students and $20 for general admission. VIP Tickets are also available for $80 and include preferred seating and a pre-event reception to take place at 6:00pm catered by (the always fantastic) Biscotti's.

Click Here To Purchase Tickets

Cafe 331 - Review

As you guys already know, we tried out Cafe 331 (331 W Forsyth St.) Wednesday night before the ArtWalk and we had a wonderful time. First of all, we must say that we were really mesmerized when we walked into the place. It was freaking HUGE!!!!

The weather was absolutely perfect, so we decided to sit outside and enjoy the two-for-one drafts while we waited for a few people to arrive. Once everyone was in place, we ordered some Calamari to start out with (yes, we love calamari).

The Calamari had marinara with it and the tubes were nice big pieces, the only complaint we had was that there were no tentacles. We love tentacles!

We chugged a few more beers and then decided to order some sandwiches, so we went inside and placed our orders (you can either order at the deli counter or with the bartender).

Jason and Emily both had the BLT.

The double decker BLT's were delicious, just enough bacon, a ton of mayo, shredded lettuce, and a perfectly thin-sliced tomato.

Robin had the Patty Melt.

He said it was awesome (and it looked it, cheese oozing out of the grilled bread....) and he finished every last crumb.

Mark had the Grilled Ham & Cheese

Though they delivered him a grilled cheese initially (mistakes happen, no big whoop) they quickly corrected his order. It was great, lots of cheese. Mark pretty much inhaled it.

Joe(y) had the Turkey Club.

As you guys know, Joe(y) is a man of few words and just said that it was "good". It was pretty much your basic club, so its pretty hard to really mess one up.

Patrick had the Fish & Chips.

and it must've been like the best thing he's ever eaten because the plate was cleaned by the time we sat down from taking the picture (above).

Last, but not least, Junior Staff Member PJ had some Onion Rings...

Unlike everything else, which was amazing, PJ said that the onion rings, "taste like sh*t!"...but he's a kid so who really cared what the eff he thought about them anyway. We all had a taste and thought they were just fine.

Owners Milton and Judith were very gracious hosts and took care of everything we needed. Milton also informed us that they are going to try out a Mediterranean night sometime in the future featuring Greek/Arabic foods and music. We will definitely check that out.

HOPA!!!! At the end of our meal Milton bought us all a round of Ouzo and we did a traditional Greek toast.

Be sure to check out Cafe 331 located in Downtown Jacksonville at 331 West Forsyth Street. They have a great menu and the prices are unbeatable. The place is huge and has some of our favorite local Artists' works displayed. We had a wonderful time. Thanks again Milton and Judith.

Who's Effin Who?

You guys may have already seen this, but Joe(y) has requested that we post the real life couple Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman's ongoing riff about Sarah effin Matt Damon and Jimmy effin Ben Affleck. Hilarious stuff.

Heres the original video that started it all....

And here's Jimmy Kimmel's rebuttal video.....

Reminiscing

There's not much going on today, so we decided to scour YouTube for some cartoons that we remember from childhood (most of the JC staff was born in the 70's). Do you guys remember these? Let us know what your favorite cartoons were as a kid. For more retro stuff like movie trailers, commercials, etc. go to RetroJunk.

This post is dedicated to Joe(y)

Al's Pizza - Review

Al's Pizza (1620 Margaret Street) was totally the perfect place to kick-off the perfect night. There were about 16 of us in attendance and though Al's does not take reservations the staff was more than helpful setting up a large table for us. We had to wait a little while for the dining room to clear out, so we sat at the bar and had a few drinks to warm us up.

We were seated and promptly helped by our FANTASTIC server Lindsey. Heres what we had....

First to arrive at the table were the salads and appetizers (Italian Sausage & Peppers and Cheese Garlic Bread). The house balsamic dressing is delicious and both of the appetizers were tasty as well. We quickly devoured our first course and as soon as our plates were taken our entrees arrived.

Emily, Rusty, and David all had slices of pizza pie and all agreed that they were wonderful. The slices were pretty big too! Emily had a little trouble eating 2 slices and ended up just picking all of the toppings off of her second one.

Joe(y) and Amber both had a Chicken Caesar Salad. Joe(y) said his Chicken Caesar was "really good and was a substantial portion." Amber agreed saying, "one of the best caesar salads I have ever had, the tomato makes it!". Yeah, she added tomato.

Jason had the Spaghetti & Meatballs and cleaned his plate, so you know it was awesome.
Robin had the Eggplant Parmigiana and was very pleased. He did mention that the eggplant was a little soggy, but the taste was spot on and the sogginess wasn't enough to taint the dish.
Linda had the Chicken Parmigiana and mentioned that she orders it quite often and loves it.
Mark had the Baked Ziti. His opinion, "Tasty".
Last, but certainly not least, Becky had the Chicken Fingers and YES we all ragged on her for it, but she said she gets them quite often and they are her favorites. They actually did look quite good.

We totally give Al's a 10 out of 10 stars for hosting us last night. All of the food was magnificent, reasonably priced, and served super-fast by the most awesome server EVER!!! Thanks again to Lindsey for really taking care of us and ensuring that we had a spectacular time. WE WILL BE BACK!

Separated At Birth

Todays Separated at Birth is brought to us by Joe(y) to celebrate the brand new season of Flavor of Love 3 that premiered on VH1 last night. This particular "contestant", TIK, bears a striking resemblance to Emmanuel Lewis, child star of Webster.

Canvas of Sound is a Bust

We sent a few Jacksonville Confidential staff members over to MOCA on Saturday night for the Canvas of Sound - Asian Infusion event. Unfortunately, the event was so bland (about 15-20 people were in attendance upon arrival) that they decided to forgo the museum and trek over to the Pearl to get their jukin' on.

Check out Joe(y) & Julio, Amber & Ashley, Robyn & David, Paula, and DJ Kinetic in all their glory....

Dona Maria's Health Inspection Report

Blasphemer left us this comment (below) regarding Dona Maria's Closing:

"They were closed down by the Health Inspector. Just saw preview of the story on Channel 47 news for tonight.

Maybe we can get an affordable Thai joint now."

So we had Joe(y) do some digging and we found this extremely long list of 18 CRITICAL VIOLATIONS at MyFloridaLicense.com

Burrito Gallery - Review

This review may be a little different than most of the others we've done because we have been to Burrito Gallery (21 E Adams St.) many, many times. So, although it may not have a "fresh" perspective, the review will be based on a culmination of visits with the main focus on our meal last night. This is a good thing.

We showed up at Burrito around 5:30PM and it turned out to be perfect timing. There was a small line (that always moves quickly) and plenty of empty tables (but not for long). So we all ordered and the food was delivered super fast, as always.

Heres the breakdown....

Jason had the Yellow Curry Chicken Burrito and said, "It was pretty good; the yellow curry had a really good flavor, but honestly I usually get the Ginger Teriyaki Tofu Burrito and find it to be much tastier."

Robin had the Curry Walnut Chicken Salad Wrap and was a bit disappointed, claiming , "Too much lettuce and tomato, barely any chicken. The flavor was good, but the lettuce didn't seem to have been dried and it was wet inside. I was expecting more of a chicken salad not a salad with chicken on it. Also there were about 3 walnuts and no golden raisins."

Another Robyn had the Avocado-Tuna Salad and she said it was GREAT! and totally cleaned her plate.

Emily had one measly Steak Taco (and a TON of sour cream) that couldn't have possibly filled her up, but she did say it was delicious and she always gets the same thing, so we'll take her word for it. It did look good.

Mark had the Tuna Salad Wrap, his most favorite item on the menu. Always good and always sprout free!

Lastly, Joe(y) had the Chicken Tacos....."They were awesome, I usually get the chicken buritto, but these were much better."

As you can see from the menu posted above, the prices are incredibly reasonable. Burrito Gallery has a comfortable atmosphere and they change their art frequently. The place does get a bit loud, but we usually go during the ArtWalks so the place is, as you would expect, packed. They've also got a bar in the back and an outside "urban" patio past that.

So, finally, there's our quick review of Burrito Gallery. If you haven't been, you should really try it out...enjoy Downtown!

WTF is this? ANSWERED

Joe(y) seems to think that he has solved the conundrum WTF is this?. Seems to be the best answer so far, any other ideas?......

International Signs

Our official graphic artist Joe(y) has been on a cruise all week and he just sent us an e-mail. All it said was, "Press Nipple; Apply Bacon to Head", and had the picture below attached to it.

Super "Friends" Mash-Up

This is totally ingenious, YouTube user WeAreActualSize posted this awesome mash-up of "Friends" and "Superfriends" using a scene from Friends episode 412 with Wonder Woman and Robin (yes the BOY wonder) as Monica and Rachel and Batman, Flash, and Superman as Joey, Chandler and Ross (all respectively).
Just watch!

Updated For Sale Flier

There's a new flier out for the Preservation Tap & Chophouse restaurant that now includes a detailed list of all the goodies that are included in the sale price. Again, this building was recently renovated and is beautiful.

(Submitted by Joe(y))