Ms. Behave: December 2013

My Review of Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails Restaurant and Flashdance The Musical.

A new hot restaurant at the Town Center just opened and the new season of The Artist Series is upon us! They both couldn’t come soon enough as I was in desperate need of a girls night and quite determined to show our cousin, who just moved here from San Diego, that Jacksonville is a fun and trendy city. In fact, Jacksonville is ranked as one of the hottest housing markets for 2014.

I digress…now back to the nitty-gritty.

Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails, located at 4972 Big Island Drive, Jacksonville, serves up southern comfort food with an upscale flair in a casual and rustic, yet modern atmosphere. Committed to sustainable sourcing and working with local growers and artisan producers, Moxie reminds me of the local restaurants I would come across in my travels through Vermont, Sonoma, and Napa Valley, California.

Let’s start with the food – Here’s what we ate:

Kettle Corn (sweet bacon and spiced cashews) – Snacks

Cheddar Cheese Curds with Spicy Ranch Dip – Appetizers

Short Ribs (Dr. Pepper glaze, shaved veggies, mashed potatoes) – Live Fire

Seared Scallops (Cheese grits, lobster sauce, green onion salad) – Mains

Chicken-n-Waffles (Fried chicken, waffle pudding, pepper jelly) – Mains

Mac-n-Cheese – Sides

Brussels Sprouts (Hot bacon vinaigrette) – Sides

Peanut Butter Mousse Stack (Peanut Brittle, bruleed bananas) – Desserts

Apple Hand Pie + Salted Caramel Custard – Desserts

Warm-Baked Skillet Cookie – Desserts

S’mores Malt – Desserts

A special thank you to the fabulous four (Alicia, Melissa, Nina and Stacy) who held my hand through this tantalizing journey of post-Thanksgiving fabulousness! …And a disclaimer that many bottles of wine were drunk (but I am unable to recall which ones, as it was a night of laughter and heavy pours. They were red and delicious…that’s all).

The Kettle Corn snack was the perfect start to the meal – sweet, spicy and savory. As I dumped the remaining crumbs into my mouth from the little white bag they were served in, I knew we might have to order more.

On to the Cheddar Cheese Curds – good, but I have to be honest; nothing beats Black Sheep’s Poutine.

Then we moved on to the main courses – the Short Ribs were cooked perfectly, melt in your mouth, as were the Scallops – tender and bright, with the perfect pairing of creamy cheese grits. The obvious star, however, was the Chicken-n-Waffles.

I never would have thought to order this dish, but it was highly recommended by our awesome (and very adorable) waiter. It was the favorite of all five ladies – hands down! We all raved about this dish – from the perfect crispiness of the outer shell of the chicken to the moist and tender center. Then, just when you think this dish can’t outdo itself, it does, with the waffle pudding, which must have been whipped potatoes with a maple syrup reduction…forkful of potatoes + perfectly done chicken + waffle = deliciousness! It’s Harlem meets the deep South…if they had a love child. If you don’t go to Moxie and order this dish your life will be empty and unfulfilled. Okay, maybe that’s a little much, but just try it.

Oh, I almost forgot our side dishes. We had the Brussel Sprouts and Mac-n-Cheese, which were also quite good! Sorry, I was almost too busy writing my food porn about the Chicken-n-Waffles to recall the sides.

Lastly, we had dessert – oh glorious dessert. I’m not naming names, but cheers to pastry chef Sylvia Gould – everything was amazing…no seriously…crazy good (okay the Peanut Butter Mousse Stack maybe the best thing I have ever put in my mouth, but that’s the only hint you get)!

Some of my favorite things about this new kid on the block (yes, besides the food), is Moxie hosts a very large outdoor seating area, both upstairs and down. The layout is quite unique and very cool. Obviously it’s in a great location - it’s where the beachy across the ditch folks can meet up with their Riverside friends, plus it’s right across the street from Ovinte – bonus. The hostess and wait staff were all very friendly, inviting and accommodating. The restaurant even appears to be family friendly with their special kids menu. Lastly, of course, Chef Tom Gray is just as charismatic and fun as usual, personally coming to greet our table and check on us.

Just a few things on the wish list – If a restaurant is going to have “+ cocktails” in the title, it should have a larger specialty cocktail selection, and a larger wine list would be nice as well. Moxie also needs a happy hour and brunch menu, but I have a feeling that may be in the works.

Overall, I am thrilled to see a local non-chain restaurant in the Town Center area. I usually have to drive to San Marco, Riverside or Avondale to find this type of unique establishment. I know I may get in trouble for saying this, but much to my dismay, Jacksonville is a chain town. Most areas of Jacksonville have yet to find their unique personality, unlike the areas I mentioned above, and unfortunately it’s filled with strip malls and Darden type chains. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a naysayer against chains all-together, they have their place in the world as well. I like a lot of the fast-casual places that are popping up, and you can definitely find me at Seasons 52 every now and then. What I am really trying to say is that I really hope Jacksonville gets it. I hope they get Chef Tom’s vision. The Town Center was crying out for a restaurant like this, and now we finally have it. So give it a chance Jax…we all have to go through a few growing pains to be great.

Now let's talk Flashdance The Musical

I know I say this after every show, but Flashdance is my new favorite show! I don’t know if The Artist Series continues to outdo themselves with the season lineup every year, or if I appreciate the theater more and more after each performance.

Exactly 30 years ago, the movie Flashdance adorned every TV set in America, and last night I had the pleasure of seeing this pop culture phenomenon live on stage!

The story line focuses on Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a bar dancer by night, with dreams of one day becoming a professional performer. But we all know the heart and soul of this story is DANCE. This show has such a refreshing, eclectic mix of classic ballet, modern and urban (street) dance with hit songs like “What a Feeling,” “Maniac,” and “Gloria” being played by the live band.

I was most impressed by Jillian Mueller, the actress playing Alex. This girl is a serious force to be reckoned with, being a triple threat with her phenomenal dancing, and just as likable singing and acting. On stage, Alex sums up what dance means to her in one word – Passion. I think this would also translate to Mueller’s real life, as it has to take not only passion, but also dedication, and perseverance to have that extreme high energy dancing on stage for two hours straight! And just when you think this girl has got to be exhausted, she belts out “Let Go” in the second to last number of the show. Wow!

Alongside Mueller, Flashdance has an all-around great cast! I was really digging the background street dancers, who were all extremely talented. I also want to give a shout out to Corey Mach, who played Alex’s boyfriend Nick Hurley (their love story was a sexy distraction from all the awesome dancing), and David Gordon, who played Jimmy, totally had a Bruno Mars thing going on.

Best scenes – opening Maniac number, and of course, the water scene closing out the first act – seriously, so cool! Someone please hand me a chair and a pitcher of water!

Flashdance premiered towards the tail-end of the feminist movement where woman proved to be just as good, or better than men in the workplace. Alex’s stubborn, take-no-crap-attitude was relatable, and made me glad that I was born after many of those women had already paved the way for their children, who would hopefully never have to deal with proving themselves from a sexist point-of-view, only proving their true intelligence and work ethic on a level playing field. My name is Alex - I am woman, hear me roar!

Overall this show is a must see! It’s high energy, sexy, and very entertaining!

Shows run through Sunday, December 15, 2013 at the Times UnionCenter-Moran Theater.