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Modern approach meets old favorites under new owners By Sarah Lemon Jun 10, 2022 12:15 AM A A 6 View all photos Sarah Lemon / Mail Tribune Blue cheese can be added for an extra charge to the Jacksonville Inn’s pear and walnut salad. Sarah Lemon / Mail Tribune Fried chicken with mashed potatoes, country gravy and collard greens is on the new menu at the Jacksonville Inn. Sarah Lemon / Mail Tribune Polenta cakes accompany a pork chop and spring vegetables at the Jacksonville Inn. Sarah Lemon / Mail Tribune Meyer lemon-infused pot de creme is topped with rose gelee at the Jacksonville Inn. Sarah Lemon / Mail Tribune Crabcakes with succotash are an appetizer at the Jacksonville Inn. Sarah Lemon / Mail Tribune Roasted beef bone marrow with grilled bread is an appetizer at the Jacksonville Inn. Jacksonville Inn As they remodel, redecorate and reconfigure the restaurant menu, new owners of the venerable Jacksonville Inn are writing the historical property’s next chapter. A group of seven local investors purchased the Inn late last summer from longtime owners Jerry and Linda Evans, who made few changes over 45 years. A modern approach to seasonal cooking, including support for local farmers and food artisans, comes with new Executive Chef John Blevins, according to the Inn’s new owners. Formerly of Clove & Hoof in Oakland, California, Blevins cites zero waste in his background of whole animal butchery and charcuterie. Meat indeed is at the center of the Inn’s revamped menu, which touts four steaks priced from $23 for flat iron to $74 for wagyu ribeye. Diners craving a taste of Jacksonville Inn nostalgia still can order prime rib in 10- and 14-ounce portions for $34 and $38, respectively. The heading of “a la carte,” of course, advises diners that these cuts of beef come unadorned and unaccompanied. Sauces from peppercorn to Port demiglace and side dishes from mashed and baked potatoes to seasonal roasted vegetables and sautéed wild mushrooms can exponentially increase a steak dinner’s price. My partner craved the garlic confit mashed potatoes, just not with steak. The buttermilk fried chicken, collard greens and country gravy demiglace ($24) were more in line with his tastes. Intrigued by miso as a vinaigrette, our friend gravitated to the Berkshire porterhouse pork chop with polenta, snap peas and rhubarb ($32). Gilding the lily, bacon augmented the larger cut of pork. Given that neither of my companions are known for their hearty appetites, I anticipated plenty of bites from their plates. So I requested the Dungeness crabcakes appetizer ($20) as my main course. But first we had to satisfy our friend’s curiosity about roasted beef bone marrow ($17), one of the menu’s eight starters, otherwise weighted heavily toward seafood and such vegetable-based dishes as crispy Brussels sprouts, heirloom tomato bruschetta and charred shishito peppers. Both salad devotees, my companions debated the merits of four salads, one of which we figured on divvying up. While our friend angled for Caesar, my partner vouched for pear and walnut with grapes and caramelized apple vinaigrette. Each cost $6 for a half order, $11 for a whole. In the end, the $3 addition of blue cheese to the pear-walnut duet enticed our friend. Although the server clarified our desire for the appetizer in advance of salad, the two dishes came out simultaneously. Unperturbed, I spared hardly a glance at the salad to scoop gelatinous marrow from the lengthy bones and smear it over the accompanying grilled focaccia. It took only a single bite to win over our friend, as my partner and I confirmed it was one of our favorite interpretations of this dish. Hazelnut salsa verde — the Inn’s particular flourish — lent essential acid and crunch, along with mustard seeds. The bread’s deep char also cut through the marrow’s decadent richness. My glass of Dibon brut cava ($10) lightened the overall effect, and my partner contentedly sipped a pisco sour ($12). Generously garnished with blue cheese, the salad couldn’t have seemed more abundant. Candied walnut halves — not mere pieces — matched chunks of ripe pear for size. Impeccably fresh greens kept their integrity under just the right quantity of dressing. On my palate, the blue cheese was essential, preventing the combined salad components from coming off as too sweet. Flavors veered sharply toward salty with the arrival of our main courses. My partner commented the gravy’s concentrated savor overwhelmed his mashed potatoes while the collard greens packed their own acidic punch. Our friend had a similar take on her vegetables, too tart and assertively seasoned for her liking. Her pork chop was cooked slightly past her requested doneness and wasn’t as tender as she had hoped. Unremarkable exteriors belied the flavor of my crabcakes. Uniformly coated in very fine breadcrumbs, the cakes were almost pure crabmeat — albeit very finely shredded — inside. Extraneous inclusions and a heavy hand with binding agents ruin crabcakes for me. But the shellfish’s briny flavor held sway, along with an appealing texture that only would have benefited from a chunk of fry leg or two. Blevins’ refined take on succotash and classic Old Bay aioli nicely complemented the cakes. Celebrating her birthday, our friend nevertheless had little interest in dessert, unless it was a bite of chocolate mousse cake. My partner and I prefer to finish rich meals with fruit — macerated cherries atop Basque cheesecake ($10) or Meyer lemon-infused pot de creme ($10), in this case. Deferring to our friend’s gluten-free ethic, we chose the latter, capped off with rose gelee — even ruddier in the glow of stained-glass lamps and antique fixtures that define the Inn’s basement-level bistro and lounge. Surrounded by circa-1860s locally quarried sandstone — flecks of gold still visible — both guests and cuisine are cast in their best light. It’s the perfect venue for the Inn’s new “happy hour” menu, served 4-5 p.m. and 8 p.m. until close daily in the bar and on the patio. Deeply discounted appetizers, fried chicken, Caesar salads and cheeseburgers accompany $8 cocktails. Located at 175 E. California St., Jacksonville Inn is open from 4-9 p.m. daily and serves Sunday brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. See jacksonvilleinn.com or call 541-899-1900.