Restaurant Review: Blue Bamboo in Jacksonville, Florida

It can be difficult to find really good, original Asian food in Jacksonville, Florida. Of course we have hundreds of hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurants where you can get an order of General Tso's, an eggroll, and fried rice for $5.99, and almost as many Japanese restaurants, each with a hibachi grill and the same sushi menu as their competitor down the block. And many of these restaurants do serve some yummy food - but, original? Not so much.

Enter the Blue Bamboo. This beautiful eatery will blow a hole in your idea of Asian food. To begin, the décor is beautiful, a truly upscale restaurant. In my experience, a restaurant with a fancy design is trying to make up for something lacking in the food - too fancy, small portions, or simply not good. Kind of like what they say about men and cars! But in this case, you get the feeling that the owner and chef, Dennis Chan, just wanted a room that matched his food - simple and beautiful.

The menu changes regularly. This month - July 2007 - they are serving dishes inspired by Moroccan cuisine. Upon seating, where most restaurants provide bread, we were given flax seed crackers with an edamame spread. I wasn't very sure about it at first glance, but I tried it anyway, and I'm glad I did. It was delicious and not at all heavy. For an appetizer, we ordered Chili-Garlic Chicken Strips ($6.95). We received five sizeable breaded chicken strips, baked rather than fried, I think, served with two dipping sauces, ranch and katsu. It was very good, especially when dipped in the katsu sauce.

For entrees, I ordered Apricot Glazed Duck with Chickpeas ($17.95) and my husband ordered Beef and Onion Stir-Fry ($15.95). Both came with rice, but when I asked the waiter to leave the rice off my place, she agreed graciously and with a smile. When the dish arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had added a green spring mix salad. The duck was served on the bone and the problems I had getting all the meat off of the bone - because I didn't want to leave any behind! - constitute my only complaint. Otherwise it was heavenly. The meat was moist and the apricot sauce was rich. The chickpeas were bright yellow, a surprise to a girl like me who has only seen the pale brown canned variety, and a satisfying side. Even the spring mix salad, with a bit of the apricot sauce acting as a dressing, tasted wonderful. I also sampled my husband's stir-fry, and that simple dish was given a lovely kick. I have no idea what was in the sauce, but I snuck so many bites of it that my husband eventually slapped my hand away. For dessert we had a chocolate brownie sundae, which was presented beautifully and tasted just as a chocolate brownie sundae should.

Jacksonville is a very large town, but I'd recommend driving from far and wide to eat at the Blue Bamboo, especially on a special occasion. In August their menu will be Thai-inspired, and I can hardly wait to try it.

Details: 3820 Southside Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32216. Phone (904) 646-1478. www.bluebamboojacksonville.com