TASTE OF THE TREASURE COAST
The menu isn’t huge and it changes according to what’s
available. A dish there on one visit might not be there the next.
Thankfully, the creamy, dill-flecked deviled “yard eggs” ($6)
are a menu standard, and are a great way to begin a meal.
There are other “snacks,” too, including crispy zucchini
sticks that are meant to be dipped in a flavorful combination
of harissa, yogurt and ricotta salata ($6) and Florida street
corn done Mexican style with a covering of cotija cheese ($8),
perfect accompaniments for the local brews on tap.
The raw bar, serving seasonal oysters, is another draw for
diners who want to start with something special. The chef’s
dozen is $34 and is served with a black pepper mignonette
and cocktail sauce. But if you come on Sunday, the oysters
are a buck a shuck and we happily downed a dozen cool and
briny Malpeques at a bargain price on another visit.
District’s menu might be described under that catch-all
umbrella, “New American,” and you will find such darlings
of the foodie world as Beef Tartare ($13), Bone Marrow from
grass-fed cattle ($14) and Octopus ($12) that is served charred
with croutons made of black olives.
But if it has any roots, it is in the South. Typical Southern
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ingredients like black-eyed peas, grits and fried green
tomatoes pop up throughout the dishes, but are done with a
stylish twist, thanks to Chef Stocks and his sous chef, Shane
Burrell. Consider the Black-Eyed Pea Ravioli ($12), pea-filled
homemade pasta pockets swimming in a heady broth of ham
hocks and house collard greens, or the Smoked Sweetbreads
MEET THE CHEF
Name: Jason Stocks
Experience: Chef de Cuisine at Ocean Reef Club, Key
Largo, Fla. Executive Sous Chef at Omni Bedford Springs
Resort, Bedford, Pa. Sous Chef, Sea Island Company,
Sea Island, Ga.
Education: Capital Culinary Institute, Tallahassee
Externship: The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
Influences: “I worked under a certified master chef at the
Greenbrier, and it was the French brigade system so I am
used to a very high level of cooking. I worked under Chef
Todd Rogers at Sea Island and Chef Scott Crawford (a
three-time James Beard award finalist) and they were both
big influences. I bring a lot of my mom’s cooking to what
I do. Her family is from Kentucky and I have always had
a love of Southern ingredients.”
Why use locally sourced ingredients?
“It’s just the way it should be. I don’t understand why
you would want to use a peach from California when you
can get a peach from Georgia that’s right at our back door.
It happens naturally. I take pride in the region and
in Stuart.”
How do you describe your cuisine?
“It’s not molecular. It’s straightforward and I try to use
the ingredients with some finesse. I don’t just think about
flavors, but the texture, the color, the smell, hot and cold.”
Why change the menu?
“When I started, I pushed myself to change about 75
percent of it. But now I just let it change organically as I
get different ingredients, say, if I have radishes or peaches,
I’m going to use them some way. But I like to constantly
challenge myself.”
What do you do on your day off?
“I usually end up working at least part of the day, but
I love to go eat somewhere. I‘ll drive down South. I like
to hang out in the pool with my son (Lucase, age 5) and
my wife.”
How popular is farm-to-table dining in area restaurants?
“It’s definitely a trend. I even see it now in sports bars,
where they will say they got an ingredient from a local farm.
But you are never going to grow asparagus in Florida.”
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Creativity runs through the menu, including this appetizer of beef tartare,
crispy egg, arugula, lemon, pecorino cheese and toast.