Orange Buffet

On Sunday, November 6, 2011, my boyfriend and I ate dinner at Orange Buffet in Orange Park, Florida. Orange Buffet is a Japanese buffet. The neat thing about this restaurant is that it mixes the traditional style of a Japanese hibachi restaurant with the set-up of a true buffet.

One of my favorite types of food is sushi. So of course that was the part of the buffet I visited first. My boyfriend and I both filled up our first plates with one of each kind of sushi. Next, we went up for hibachi. The way Orange Buffet has it set up is different from the traditional way, but it was really cool. They had a bar with all the raw meats and vegetables. You filled one plate with all the vegetables and rice you want and a second plate with the meats you want. Then, you hand it to the cook behind the grill, and he cooks it in front of you. When the food is almost done, the cook has you choose which type of sauce you want on your meal. For my dish, I got just about every vegetable available; zucchini, carrots, onions, peppers, and bean sprouts. I also got rice, chicken, and shrimp. For my sauce, I chose soy. It was absolutely delicious, and the best part was that it was exactly what I wanted because I was able to choose my own ingredients. My boyfriend got steak instead of chicken and shrimp, which I tasted, and it was excellent as well. Afterwards, we were so stuff there was no chance of trying the rest of the buffet.

The thing that surprised me the most was the pleasant atmosphere of the restaurant. In past experiences of dining in buffets, I have found the service to be almost non-existent, a lack of cleanliness in the buffet areas, and almost complete chaos. Orange Buffet was different. Our server was frequently at our table to remove plates and fill our drinks, the buffet areas were next to spotless, and everything in the restaurant seemed calm and oriented. I have never felt so calm and relaxed at a buffet. I think this was the first time I can truly say I enjoyed dining at a buffet. I definitely would recommend Orange Buffet to anyone who asked. The atmosphere is calm, the employees are friendly, the food is excellent, and the prices aren’t too expensive. It is approximately $11.00 per person for the buffet. My boyfriend paid $26.71, including drinks but not tip, for the two of us eat dinner.

When you walk into the restaurant, they have a beautiful Japanese picture with a building that looks like a castle, and what I assume to be an orange tree. So, on the wait out I asked the hostess if she would take a picture for us. She said yes, but she said it in a way with such enthusiasm that she almost seemed as if she was excited about it. The restaurant has been across from my neighborhood for about two years now. I cannot believe that this was the first time I have eaten that, but I can say that it will not be my last.

The Seminole Paintings by Eugene Savage

On Sunday, October 30, 2011 I went to the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens with my boyfriend and his younger sister. We went to see the art exhibition The Seminole Paintings by Eugene Savage.

Eugene Savage is an American artist and is considered to be a muralist. In the 1930s, Savage became captivated by the Seminole Indian tribe and looked to primitivism for inspiration because of the idea that primitive cultures were superior to industrialized societies. So, in 1935 Savage traveled into the Florida Everglades to study the tribe. Because of his extensive interest, Savage ended up documenting the life of the Seminole Indians from the early twentieth century through his artwork.

With his arrival to Florida, Savage intention was to study the Seminole Indians in the tribe’s natural habitat of the Florida Everglades, but at this time the American enterprise was transforming the area of South Florida. Savage’s artwork depicts the essence of the Seminole culture including clothing, customs, and traditions. But because of the American transformation of the Everglades that was occurring, his work is also effective in expressing the sorrow, worry, and devastation as the Seminole tribe felt as they faced the invasion that was threatening the Seminole way of life.

My visit to the exhibition, The Seminole Paintings, by Eugene Savage was very enlightening. I learned a lot about Florida history, especially the history of Seminole Indian tribes. Looking at some pieces I felt as if I was there; for those paintings with water, I felt that if I touched the painting I would draw my hand back and it would be wet. When I looked at other paintings, I could almost feel the pain and sorrow they depicted as the Seminole way of life was being threatened. The following painting is one of the many pieces of art by Savage really took my breath away. According to the Seminole folklore, a Seminole woman who compromised herself by having relations with a white man becomes referred to as “Ho-la wa-gus” which in English terms means “no good”. A woman in this situation is then banned from the culture. She is given a knife and a boat and forced to a remote area of the swamps to fend for herself. This folklore is what is depicted in the picture below.

Savage’s art was so beautiful and realistic. All his paintings were oil paintings on canvas and I believe this use of oil is what allowed Savage to produce works that were so beautiful with the realistic characteristics the paintings contained. I have always loved looking at paintings and other various kinds of artworks, but never have I seen such work that was so enchanting and captivating.

After visiting the exhibition, we went and visited the gardens and all the other exhibits the museum had to offer. If you do not have the chance to check out this awesome Seminole exhibition by Savage while it is on display, still visit the museum, especially the gardens. They are absolutely beautiful.

Russian Festival

          On Saturday, October 8^th, my boyfriend and I visited the Second Annual Russian Festival at St. Justin Martyr Orthodox Church in Jacksonville. There was live music, dance performances, multiple displays, and food! It was a smaller festival, but it didn’t lack in the display of culture. The atmosphere was great, and after the experience, I think I prefer the smaller festivals because it allows you to really get a feel for the culture.

          First, we watched the Mark Spivak Russian Fold Dance Toupe and the classical and folk performances. The performers, I would guess, were between ages 10 and 17, but were absolutely talented. I wasn’t sure what to expect of a Russian dance, but it was actually really cool. They wore authentic Russian clothing and each of the performances told a different story.

          Once the performances were over, we decided to try the food. We both got the piroshky. The piroshky was a stuffed breading in the shape of a triangle. The breading has a sweet taste to it, almost like that of an original donut without the glaze. It was stuffed with feta cheese and spinach, but they had a version with meat in it as well. It was not the best thing I have ever tasted, but it was not bad.  As we ate, there was music playing, both live and on tape. Although all the music was in Russian and I was not able to understand it, but I thought it was pretty. I noticed that, to me, all the music played sounded very theatrical.

          After we ate, we walked around and looked at the displays. There was a lot of art displays, but the one that caught my eye was the World War II display. There were three separate displays set up. The first two were of different artifacts. The third was my favorite. It was a tent with a bunch of different war supplies. It was set up in a specific way that would show of the artifacts but at the same time allow one to see the living situation of the soldiers.

          As we walked around, I could see people dressed up in authentic Russian clothing. It was a smaller festival and many of the people there were Russian, which wasn’t surprising. They seemed to all know each other and all the children were running around by themselves, so I assumed they attended the church together. Even though it was clear my boyfriend and I were outsiders, everyone welcomed us and were extremely friendly. Even when I held up the food line, asking what everything was, no one got annoyed. The woman in line behind me even stepped up and explained all the cuisines to me. If I could make any conclusion about the Russian culture on such a short experience, I would say that they are a lot of fun, welcoming, and warm. The friendly atmosphere definitely made me want to go back next year. Being it was a smaller festival and only the second year of hosting the festival, would be interesting to see how it expands over the years.

The Ritz Theatre and Museum

On Saturday, my mother and I went to the Ritz Theatre and Museum. The Ritz Museum is dedicated to keeping the African American history of Jacksonville, Florida alive. The first exhibit was of the Jacksonville high schools, with an emphasis on sports. This exhibit blended in well with another section of the museum that displayed sports, not only in the high school setting, but the college and professional setting as well. The third exhibit was of brothers James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson. The final exhibit was a walk-through displaying African American life in historical Jacksonville. We were shown around each exhibit by a tour guide. She really impressed me because this was the first museum I had ever been to that she actually knew her information and did not have to read off of the displays. Having the tour guide was helpful because she was able to tell us stories that provided addition facts that were not displayed.

Exhibit 1:

Edward M. Stanton was the first African American public high school in Jacksonville, Florida, beginning in 1868. It was also one of the first African American public high schools in the state of Florida. The Stanton team was also one of the first schools able to participate in football. One news article headline dated November 28, 1950 read “First Negro Football Game will be played in Gator Bowl”. Another dated November 30, 1950 read “East-West Classic will be played in Gator Bowl tonight”. Stanton’s football team went on to will the East-West Classic.

Northwestern William Raines opened in 1958. Our tour guide told us that this was an African American public school built less than a mile from Ribault high school, which at the time was an all-white school. Before the times of desegregation, white families moved from Ribault high school, soon making it an all-African American high school. She said that this was significant because this was the first time that two African American high schools were within a mile of each other, giving Raines high a lot of history. An event that is coming to the theatre soon is a documentary by Emanuel Washington called We Remember Raines. This documentary was made to help identify and make known the history of Raines high in order to keep it from being torn down.

Exhibit 2:

The next exhibit was all about sports. Here the East-West Classic trophy that Stanton high school won was displayed. Also on display was memorabilia from Robert Lee “Bullet Bob” Hayes. He was an athlete from Jacksonville. Hayes was a two time Olympic gold medalist and a Dallas Cowboy’s SuperBowl champion. Another fact the tour guide told me was that Don Gaffney, was from Jacksonville and was the first black quarterback to play for the University of Florida Gators.

Exhibit 3:

The third exhibit was all about the life of two brothers, James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson. The museum had a robotic display that gave a ten minute bio of the two brothers, more so James than John. James Johnson had been the principal of Stanton high school, an author, a poet, a huge name in Broadway and music, a NAACP executive secretary, and the first African American admitted to the Florida Bar. The two brothers along with fried Bob Cole wrote and composed over 200 pieces of music together. One piece, Lift Every Voice and Sing, is still widely known today and has been called the “Negro National Anthem”. 

 

Exhibit 4:

The final exhibit showed what life in the African American culture in Jacksonville had been like in the early to mid-1900. It showed home and family life, church, an insurance company, barber shop, doctor’s office, legal professional’s office, Eartha M.M. White, pharmacy, school, Photos by Weems, live entertainment and night life, and civil rights. There were three displays the tour guide stopped and had stories for. First was the church. The display was of Central Metropolitan C.M.E. Church. It was an African American church open from 1905 to 1986. In the stained glass window of the church, a black Jesus was portrayed with a white woman kneeling down to him. The tour guide said that she was surprised nothing had happened to the window because in the times that the church was open, this was a radical move for the people of the church due to discrimination and segregation. The second display she discussed was the Photos by Weems. Weems lived from 1929 to 1979. He was a visual storyteller who dedicated his life to capturing the lifestyle and culture of African Americans in photos. Weems work was names La Villa. The final display she took the time to discuss was the civil rights movement. She described the everyday discriminations that took place against the African American people and what they did to combat them. She stressed that most of the people working in the civil rights movement were adolescents and young adults. She said that they were pretty much throwing their lives away because they would not stand a chance in life after an arrest, but they believed that what they were fighting for was way more important.

The Ritz Theatre and Museum provided a great experience for me. I was able to not only learn history of a different culture but history of where I live as well. This museum is definitely a hidden treasure that I would encourage everyone to visit.

Dinner at La Nopalera

Over the weekend, my boyfriend and I ate dinner at La Nopalera. La Nopalera is a very popular Mexican restaurant in Orange Park. We chose this restaurant because this is one of my favorites, not just of Mexican restaurants, but of all restaurants. I have been going to this restaurant for a few years now because this is the first true Mexican restaurant that I have eaten at and enjoyed. I’m not afraid to try something new there because everything on the menu is excellent. One of my friends, who lived in Mexico for a few years, said that since he’s been back in the states, La Nopalera has been the only Mexican restaurant he has ate at that has actually served true Mexican recipes. La Nopalera has a very stereotypical environment. All the waiters and waitresses are of some Spanish decent, mariachi music is played over the speakers, and unless someone requests a channel change, soccer is on all the t.v. screens. La Nopalera is known for its friendly and fun atmosphere, white cheese sauce, and margaritas. We started our dinner off with some chips and salsa. For dinner we both had different versions of the fajitas. I had the Fajitas Texanas, which is steak, chicken, and shrimp mixed with green onion, tomatoes, and peppers. They bring out lettuce, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and refried beans out to put on the tortilla with the meat and vegetables. I always eat the meat and vegetables by themselves and take all the other stuff home home with my left overs to make the actual fajitas the next day. La Nopalera is one of the only restaurants in which the food is actually good left over. Also, the only guacamole I have ever liked is served there. My boyfriend ate the Fajita Nachos. I have had this before too and it is excellent. It pretty much the same ingredients as what I ate, only it is placed on a bed of chips and smothered with the white cheese sauce instead of a tortilla wrap. La Nopalera, no matter what you order from the menu, you get a ton of food that tastes great and is well priced. I have tried other Mexican restaurants that are similar to La Nopalera but the food is never as good, the atmosphere never as fun, and the people never as friendly. No matter how often I eat at La Nopalera, I never get tired of eating there. There is such a large variety of food and it all tastes good, so I never worry about getting tired of eating there because of being limited to always ordering the same thing. I encourage anyone who is ever in Orange Park, Fl, to stop in and eat at La Nopalera, especially if you like Mexican food. It is the best Mexican restaurant I have ever been to and one of my top all-time favorite restaurants. Even my boyfriend, who is very picky when it comes to food and can usually find something about a restaurant he doesn’t like, loves La Nopalera and has nothing negative to say.