BEST BRUNCH IN JACKSONVILLE

When I set up to write this blog post about the BEST BRUNCH IN JACKSONVILLE, I was thinking about the best way to approach it, should I only talk from personal experience? should I ask my friends for their favorite spots in town? or should I ask my Root-mates? I decided to go with the latter. I know not everyone is a big fan of brunch, because what do you order, breakfast, lunch, or both? It can be confusing, and brunch is also known as the “most dreaded meal in most professional kitchens” but I know that my Root-mates are huge fans of this dining experience, so hopefully, this post will serve as a guide for you, and will get you to try THE best brunch in Jacksonville.

One of MaryAnne’s favorite spots for brunch is ORSAY. Her first date with Gerry was there, so it’s a special spot for both, she says: “You can’t go wrong with the deviled egg selections, in-house pastries, and of course, the grand mimosa! If you can, try to get a spot outside for a more casual/weekend feel”. Outside it is MA!

Orsay Restaurant, photo credit, instagram @orsayjax

Erica loves eating brunch at Prati Italia at St John’s Town Center, she also recommends grabbing a table on the patio (when the weather is nice) with a Mimosa or Bloody Mary in hand and ordering the Fontina Meatballs as an appetizer. It doesn’t matter the time of day, her go-to meals are the breakfast bowl, veggie omelet, or the fried chicken biscuit * chefs kiss *.

yummi drinks at prati italia. photo credit, instagram @pratiitaliajax

The District SPR in Springfield is hands down Emily’s favorite brunch spot, she likes to reserve a private yurt or enjoy the outdoor garden for a truly relaxing atmosphere while enjoying live music (see a pattern here? My Root-mates are outdoorsy). Emily claims “you can’t go wrong with the Maple Bacon Deviled Eggs, the Charcuterie Board, and the Champagne Tower.

charcuterie board. photo credit: instagram @thedistrictspr

Alaina’s choice is Taverna in San Marco, and I agree with her! The ambiance at Taverna, is unbeatable whether seated indoors or out. She highly recommends ordering the Poached Eggs or the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes paired with Mimosas (go easy on the OJ!). My personal favorites are the Prosciutto Scone and the Taverna Benedict Florentine.

Terry’s Grill is Jamie’s favorite spot to get brunch, she said “It gives you the feeling of a small-town place in a big city”. Biscuits & gravy is her go-to order. I haven’t been here, but their ½ Pound Patty Melt with Grilled Onions and Provolone looks delicious!

Katie’s favorite spot is Southern Grounds. She loves to order a Mimosa or Coffee with their amazing Grits Bowl. Amanda seconds The District SPR and loves eating brunch at Metro Diner (on Hendrick’s Ave) because it has a quirky interior and they have a creative take on the classics, especially Eggs Benedict. Another must try here is their Chicken and Waffles, you can trade their Waffles for Croissant French Toast, they top it with strawberry butter and it’s to die for! Did you know you can also BYOB (bring your own booze)? Now THAT’S A PLUS!

photo credit: instagram @southerngroundsco

chicken and waffles @metrodiner

Here is a quick list of other places mentioned by my Root-mates:

Biscotti’s/ Jacki

Silkie’s Chicken & Champagne Bar/Ariana and Lauren

Bistro Aix, Community Loaves and Le Petit Paris Café/ Sidney

photo credit: @lepetitparisjax instagram

Coop 303, The Local/Erica.

*You can click on each restaurant’s name to go to their website, read their menu and locations.

By the way, have you watched The Big Brunch? it’s an eight-episode series on HBO Max, if you haven’t, turn your TV on and do it right now, it’s a cooking competition that tasks chefs with making brunch, the show is in the hands of “Schitt’s Creek” co-creator Dan Levy, and it is yummy, funny, and warm. So go ahead, ENJOY!

the big brunch, hbo max series.

I must go, writing this blog post made me hungry.

Dany Amparano @danyamparanorealtor

10 Ways To Maintain Your Home

• Changing out your air filter every month will keep your air conditioning system running smoothly and efficiently!  Your air filter will be located in your air handler which should be somewhere inside your home or in your garage (if you have central AC system). You can determine what size filter you’ll need to buy based on the measurements printed on the side of the filter (Ex: 20x23x1).

• This next really came as a shock to me so don’t feel badly if you’ve never done this before. Your dishwasher has a filter located at the bottom of the unit underneath the dishwasher blades. You’ll unlock the cylindrical filter by twisting it counterclockwise and gently pulling it upward. Place the filter into a bowl or the sink filled with hot soapy water which will loosen the food debris. After a few minutes, you’ll use an old toothbrush to scrub out all the remaining debris and replace the filter into your dishwasher. After I’ve got the filter squeaky clean, I like to place a bowl of vinegar on the top rack of the dishwasher and run a steamy deep cleaning cycle! It’s recommended that you clean this filter once monthly btw- YIKES!

• Using daily shower spray is a great way to keep your shower sparkly in between deep cleanings, but at least once a season, I like to give my shower a nice little scrub down. Bar-Keepers Friend is JUST the product for this job! First, remove everything from your shower. Then have a scrub brush and a bowl of hot water handy as you sprinkle Bar-Keepers Friend over the surface of the shower. Get your scrub brush wet and lightly brush the powder across the floor to create a paste. Let the paste sit a few minutes before using hot water to spray away the excess. I like to focus more heavily on the grout than the tiles, as those seem to look the most discolored! You can also use this method on on floor grout to liven up the color!

• Yep, another filter! Make sure you’re changing your refrigerator water filter every six months to ensure you’re drinking the freshest water you can!

• While we are on the subject of refrigerators, did you know that there a coils underneath it that need to be maintained for optimal functionality! Mine are behind a plastic kick plate at the bottom of my fridge. I like to take my vacuum attachment and vacuum out the coils probably twice a year.

• Keeping water properly diverted from your house is a task that is well-worth your while and can prevent big issues down the line. Ensure water is properly diverted by cleaning out your gutters every so often. You’re going to need a ladder, a small shovel, gloves and a water hose. Use the shovel and gloves to remove the dirt and debris. From there, take your water hose and spray out the downspout to pass any clogs! To avoid this monotonous task, I highly suggest investing in Gutter Guards. Gutter Guards are mesh cages that can be fitted over your gutters to keep debris from settling in your gutters all together!

• Per Consumer Reports, 14,000 house fires per year are caused by clothes dryers! It’s recommended that you have your dryer vent cleaned out once a year! A quick Google search will connect you with a dryer vent cleaning company so you can rest easily!

• Take it from me, if you live in a house with exterior paint- keep an eye out for chipping paint and apply touch up paint right when you spot it! Repainting your entire exterior can be BIG job if you go at it alone so touching up as you go will save you a lot of time! And fun fact from a Realtor’s perspective- when it comes to resale of your home, chipping paint can be a problem several loan types for buyers. Tackling paint touch-ups head on will help you avoid doing it on the fly while you’re under contract with a buyer!

• If you’ve got a lot of trees and plants in your yard, you’re going to want to have them regularly maintained. I recommend hiring a tree trimming service once a year to take care of dead limbs and overgrowth. When it comes you plants and bushes near your home, you want to ensure that the plants aren’t touching your actual structure. When plants are touching your structure, you are more open to insects and critters!

• If you’ve noticed an unpleasant smell coming from your kitchen sink disposal, its time to give it a good cleaning, but HOW?! First, I like to take sprinkle a little baking soda into my drain. After that toss about 4-6 ice cubes down there with some lemon wedges you’ve cut up. Flip on the disposal switch and listen to that bad boy clean away! The ice will get any stubborn food off the blades; lemon and baking soda will freshen and deodorize!

10 Reasons to Use a Root Realty Realtor

If you are looking for a Realtor to sell your home or buy your next home, you have probably read tenths of articles with “Reasons why you Should Hire a Realtor”, but you shouldn’t just go with the first one you meet, you should choose one that TRULY understands your Real Estate desires, needs and goals. So really, you should choose a Root Realty Realtor. Here are ten reasons why: 

1. When you hire a Root Realty Realtor, you get more than one of us; we are constantly supporting each other, so in a way, when you hire one, you get the combined experience and knowledge of all of us, and together, we can find a solution to just about ANYTHING (Real Estate related, we might not be able to solve your personal problems LOL).

2. We are invested in the community way beyond Real Estate transactions, we support local charities like Sulzbacher and Rethreaded, and that’s one of the reasons why this year we won Companies with Heart (award given by Jacksonville Magazine).

3. We were recently voted the #1 Real Estate Brokerage by our community, and also included in USA TODAY as a TOP TEAM in the USA.

4. We TRULY love our customers and like to build long term relationships with them; sometimes what starts as a Realtor-Buyer-Seller relationship, turns into a friendship. and who doesn’t want more friends?

5. Have you seen our social media content? it’s not only useful but also FUNNY, when you check out our Instagram, read our blog or listen to our podcast, you get to meet us and see not only how smart and knowledgeable we are but also how much fun we have working in Real Estate and working together.

6. There are 15 of us but our diversity makes us RICH; we have agents that were born and raised in Florida, but we also have agents from Texas, Georgia, NYC, even Mexico (ahem, me). Before working in Real Estate, one of our agents worked in Medical sales, another one in the Food industry, another one as a Media Specialist, we have a former Nurse, a Psychology professional, a Mortgage Lending professional, an Adult Learning Expert, Teachers, you name it! We have an agent that served full time before joining Root Realty (go Jamie!). Do you know the amount of skills and expertise that these diverse backgrounds give us?

7. If you’re a foreigner and English is not your first language, guess what? we have 2 agents that are fluent in Spanish and one in French. Así que llámanos! Appelez-nous!

8. We don’t only work with homebuyers, or sellers, we also help Real Estate Investors reach their goals. We have long term relationships with investors that focus on Buy and Hold, Rental properties, and/or Fix and Flip. Most of them don’t live in Jacksonville, so if you are looking to invest in JAX but don’t live in town, don’t let that hold you back.

9. Our preferred vendors are the best in their field, we can refer you to the best Mortgage Brokers, Lenders, Home Inspectors, Home Warranty, Home Insurance and Title companies in town; companies like J Riley Williams, Biltrite Home Inspections, and Old Republic Home Warranty, to name a few…

10. And last but not least, our mission is to empower and educate every person before, during, and beyond a transaction and to help ALL achieve their real estate goals. We value more than your home’s value: we prioritize honesty, education, organization, communication, and support every step of the way.  Our unique team of strong women advocates for our customers, our community, and one another.

So, what are you waiting for? Call us, slide into our DM’s, stop by our office (have you seen how cute it is?), whatever works best for you. We got you.

-Dany Amparano

Top 10 Fun Places With Kids

Jacksonville is a fantastic place to raise kids! Take it from me, I’m a mama to four! I have a 12 year old, Abigail, an 8 year old, Adelaide, a 5 year old, Leo, and a 2 year old, Beatrix. When it comes to keeping them occupied, I like to find activities that the whole lot of them will enjoy and with any luck, ones that won’t break the bank!! From parks and candy making to toy stores and museums, Jax has it all!

1. Sweet Pete’s Candy Shop

400 N Hogan St Jacksonville, FL 32202

Sweet Pete’s is an experience that you’ll be sure to remember! Sweet Pete’s is located in downtown Jacksonville in the historic mansion formerly known as The Seminole Club. Here, you can indulge in a wide-array of handmade candies, take candy making classes, watch candy being made, and host stellar birthday parties! Oh, and if you’re hungry for lunch you can also enjoy a bite to eat at Fizzies & Fare, the restaurant right inside Sweet Pete’s. They offer burgers, hotdogs, sandwiches, and a unique selection of bottled sodas. There is truly something for everyone here!

Sweet pete’s

2. Jacksonville Public Library: Main Branch

303 N. Laura St Jacksonville, FL 32202

The public library is an enriching and affordable way to spend your day with your kids. The Main Branch is an especially fun experience for my family! The Library offers a myriad of children’s classes and events each month. This month they’re featuring “Sensory Friendly Storytime,” “Homeschool Art Club,” and “Drop-in Movie Day: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” to name a few. Duval County alone boasts 21 locations so find your neighborhood branch and the adventures will never end!

https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/

3. Ride the JTA Skyway over the river

Riding the Skyway is always a hit with my crew! The Skyway is a monorail that travels across The St Johns River from San Marco to Downtown. It operates from Monday to Friday from 6:00am- 9:00pm. The Skyway cars arrive every 4 minutes and are FREE! Park at Kings Avenue on the Southbank of San Marco and hop on the Skyway for a fun little outing! You can even make an afternoon of it by hopping off at The James Weldon Johnson Park Station and hitting up Sweet Pete’s, The Main Library, Chamblin’s Bookmine, and/or MOCA!

https://www.jtafla.com/ride-jta/skyway/

4. Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA)

333 North Laura St Jacksonville, FL 32202

This modern art museum is great for all ages! Their exhibitions are ever-changing, but this past weekend we got to experience Project Atrium: Milagros, The Flutter Zone! This project featured a giant air filled painted-fabric bubble that we got to ENTER!!!! It was so cool! The colors and patterns surrounded us from every which angle and each of our senses were engaged from the touch of the foam creatures and blocks, the feel of the fan wind whooshing around us keeping the blob-like creation inflated, and the sound of the neon-painted organ that we played. There are a ton of opportunities to gain free entry to this attraction making it an accessible activity/experience for all!

https://mocajacksonville.unf.edu/visit/

MOCA

5. Catch a movie at Sun-Ray Cinema

1028 Park St Jacksonville, FL 32204

Sun-Ray is a locally-owned movie theatre featuring two movie screens. It’s located in Riverside’s historic Five-Points and in 1927, it was the first theatre in Florida to screen “talking pictures!” What’s super fun about going to this theatre is their unique food delivery system. You order your food at the counter (which is totally delicious by the way), then you take your seat in the theatre, and a staff member brings your order out to you as you’re enjoying the movie! Wooden tables are situated in front of the movie chairs so you can comfortably eat.

https://www.sunraycinema.com/location/sunraydrivein

SUN-ray cinema

6. Hey Day Toy Store

2016 San Marco Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32207

I don’t know how many times I’ve thrown my hair into a “mom bun” and loaded my littles into the car for a fun filled jaunt through Target to look at the sights. But all the same items lose their luster after a while. Hey Day Toy Store is the perfect switch-up! They have a great selection of toys and clothes. Many of the toys are right at kid eye-level so they can sample the toys for themselves! The best part is that It’s locally owned and the staff really knows how to make a magical kid-friendly experience! After we poke around the store, we like to grab a coffee at Bitty and Beau’s and walk down to Landon Park to play! This’ll get ‘em niiiiiiice and ready for nap time!

HEY DAY TOY STORE

7. Walk the bridges

Did you know that Jacksonville features a whopping NINE bridges!? One of my family’s favorite pastimes is walking the downtown bridges! We like to park at The YMCA’s riverfront parking lot or The Fresh Market’s lot in Riverside. From there and on foot, you’ll head North on Riverside Ave towards downtown. Stay on the right side of Riverside Ave and head up the walking path to The St. Elmo W. Acosta Bridge. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a glimpse of the historic train bridge to the right of The Acosta being lowered for the train to cross the river and oh boy, that’s a SIGHT! Once across the first bridge, use your GPS to get you to The John T. Alsop Jr Bridge (or the Main Street bridge). The Main Street Bridge is a traditional draw bridge and it has to be raised to allow taller boats to go underneath it. It’s such a treat when you get to see the drawbridge rise up while you’re at the foot of the bridge!! Witnessing the mechanics of it all will spark a ton of questions from your kids. If you’re quick enough, you can catch one of the bridge operators on the bridge and enjoy a quick lesson on how it all works!! Once back on the Northbank of the river, you’ll pass through an outdoor, riverfront exercise station. Climb the staircase just beyond it and you’ll land right in the middle of an impressive local art installation by David Nackashi! Nackashi’s vibrantly painted path will lead you back down to your car where you can call it a day OR grab lunch at First Watch! Did you know that The St Johns River has brackish water which makes the perfect home for DOLPHINS? Be sure to keep an eye out for dolphin pods on your journey!

david nackashi’s art- northbank of river

8. Riverside Park

753 Park St Jacksonville, FL 32204

What kid doesn’t love a day at the park! Jacksonville is dotted with fantastic parks. One of our faves is Riverside Park! It features a sizable playground, plenty of trees to climb and observe, and an huge spring-fed lake with ducks and turtles galore!!! There’s even a dog park where you can let your pup run freely if you’d like! The one downfall to this park is that there are no restrooms so plan accordingly!

Riverside park

9. Wicked Barley Brewery

4100 Baymeadows Road Jacksonville, FL 32217

Wicked Barley is a brewery/restaurant located on Goodby’s Creek in the Baymeadows area. You can reach this place by car, paddleboard, or boat! What’s so fun about it is a little sandy beach area right on the creek! We like to take our kids to eat there and while we visit with the adults at the picnic tables, the kids like to play on the beach and down in the creek. They like to climb up on the Cypress Knees and collect minnows and tadpoles. This is really a fun place for the adults to relax and let the kids interact with nature! The waitstaff is really incredible and they deserve alllllll the tips for dealing with kids running around as they expertly serve everyone! Keep an eye on Wicked’s Instagram for all the events they host throughout the year!

https://wickedbarley.com/

Wicked Barley brewery

10. Riverside Arts Market (RAM)

715 Riverside Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32204

Riverside Arts Market is an ultra fun marketplace that’s located underneath the Fuller Warren Bridge and takes place every Saturday from 10:00am-3:00pm. Here, you can find dozens of local creators, fresh local produce, and food trucks! Often times, there are performances scheduled on a stage right on the river. Enjoy river breezes while supporting Jacksonville’s art community!

Riverside arts market (RAM)