by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
While this daytime diner might lack in some areas, it makes up for it with excellent cooking. On my first visit to Cool Moose, my husband and I went in for lunch. Cool Moose is only open in the morning and afternoon, but it’s nearly always busy during its short hours. The food is the reason why. It’s a bohemian non-greasy spoon. They serve all the artery-hardening food you’d expect from a greasy spoon, but they use fresh ingredients and the food isn’t greasy at all. They also serve vegetarian options.
One of the waitresses had an interesting spider web tattoo just under her ear. Also, half of her head sported platinum blonde hair, and the other half was coal black. I thought she was a great addition to the artistic, funky atmosphere.
I’ve always thought that short order diners require sharper servers than the fancier restaurants because the pace is so break neck, though the tips are small. I value a great short-order server. On the whole, the servers at Cool Moose seemed a bit overworked and a little disorganized, but the food was always served quickly, while it was still hot. During my first visit one server seemed to swipe our table from the first server we had, and they also had a trouble finding our bill. We ended up having to recite our meal at the cash register. On our second visit, the busy server forgot an extra we ordered, but we were able to flag down another server to correct that.
The retro floor tiles and the two prong electrical outlets attest to the age of the building Cool Moose occupies. Peeling paint adds to the bohemian patina of the restaurant, but a countertop brimming with old computers and assorted junk half-covered with a dingy plastic tarp, does not. Anything that hung higher than eye level (lamps, stuffed animal moose) had a visible coating of dust, even from a few feet away. I glanced at the kitchens on the way to the bathroom and spied an industrial bucket catching water from the leaky roof. To the left of the kitchen was a grubby storage area. In one dining area the walls are an attractive deep brick red, set off by a golden color. The red room has art from local artists on the walls. Currently one wall is filled with carbon prints of Jacksonville scenes (mostly brickwork buildings) from Katherine Metz and the other wall has a large oil painting of a dog/gun by Stafford. The other room is mainly golden colored and filled with assorted moose memorabilia.
If you’ve got a hankering for a breakfast with incredible flavor try the HELLO bagel with smoked salmon, or the three egg spicy sausage. Breakfasters with a sweet tooth can nosh on their fluffy pancakes (excellent with added blueberries), French toast or their muffins.
For lunch I recommend selecting one of their sandwiches. I tried three, and each was outstanding. The first sandwich I tried was the Chipolte shrimp po-boy. The taste and the price blew me away. Shrimp in a sandwich can sometimes be over cooked, but these Creole seasoned morsels tenderly gave way to the bite. The chef also did not skimp on the shrimp, which amazed me even more, considering that the price is under $8. I snagged a bite of a friend’s Black Forest ham and brie on my second visit. The flavorful, quality ham was an outstanding companion to the delicate mushroom taste of melted brie cheese served on flat ciabatta bread with a nicely spicy sweet Dijon maple mustard. My husband opted for a Chicken Caesar salad wrap, something that I thought was a rather pedestrian choice, until I tried it. These wraps are not made up ahead of time to sit forlornly in a fridge. The still warm chicken inside the wrap contrasted in temperature to the cool, fresh romaine lettuce surrounding it.
Each sandwich in the Cool Moose arsenal comes with a side. If you enjoy sweet potatoes don’t miss the sweet potato fries. I expected thick cut sweet potato fries, and was pleased with the thinly cut, slightly crisp, fresh fries that were placed before me. Other sides offered are the pasta salad tossed with homemade honey mustard dressing, kettle chips and side salads.
Cool Moose has a cookie that legends are built upon--which is why the legend is printed on a sidebar of the menu. They taste even better once you read the story about how the chef “stole” the award winning recipe from his mother. While I was there, more than one patron ordered a cookie to go on their way out. The substantially thick chocolate chip cookies are almost cake-like in the center. You’ll see them cooling on a rack next to the cash register, there to tempt customers on their way out.
I’ve heard occasional rumors that Cool Moose Café is going to open up for dinner. I’d love to see what the chef would do with a dinner menu, but I don’t think that venture could be successful until the place is cleaned and renovated. In its present state it’s unlikely that people are going to stop thinking of it as anything more than a diner.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
