JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Hey Foodies, it's Friday!
If you have special dietary restrictions, or maybe just looking to add some spice to your life, boy, have we got just the place for you.
Foo Dog Curry Traders on Stockton Street is putting Riverside on the map for curry. This time, First Coast Foodies has a special guest appearance to help chow down: Renata Di Gregorio's mom.
"It is a very nice introduction into the curry world," said Foo Dog's General Manager Bryce Llorente. "We don't like to stick to one specific region. Every country has a different spice blend that they like to put into their curry."
India, Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Singapore are just a few places named on Foo Dog's curry menu. They also have non-curry items like different kinds of noodles and fried rice and some appetizers you may have never tried before.
"Our lime curry, which is an herb-based curry, it's ridiculous," said Owner and Chef Howard Kirk. "People come in and they love it. "
Your dietary restrictions never tasted so good. Here, the curry is gluten-free and can be vegan.
"Keeping it as traditional as possible but also as flexible as possible for dietary needs," said Kirk. "The one thing about curry is that there's a lot of misconception about it. Including my wife, she was just like, 'Oh, all curries taste the same to me' and I'm like, 'whoa, whoa!'"
Also, if you think all curry has to be spicy... it doesn't.
"I had always wanted to do a curry house and Riverside didn't have a curry house," Kirk said. "Oddly enough it comes from growing up in southern Spain. Southern Spanish food is very spice-heavy."
"Our Lion City LiLi, which is a curry that is traditionally done over a rice noodle, which a lot of people have never experienced before," said Llorente. "That's definitely one of our neighborhood favorites. We actually have T-shirts printed with the Lions City logo on it."
Renata's mom Andrea got the wild ginger and mushroom noodles.
"It tastes great!" she said.
Foo Dog gets the mom stamp of approval! Check out their menu here.