Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Business Brief: New Riverside Italian Restaurant Latest On Jax Foodie Scene

Northeast Florida’s restaurant scene is heating up, with a new eatery’s being announced seemingly every day.

The latest addition is a "modern Italian" restaurant called Il Desco opening Thursday, Nov. 12, in Riverside in the space that used to be Pele's pizza joint.

Wood-fired pizzas are still on the menu, but Forking Amazing Restaurants co-founder Fraser Burns says an upscale, modern flair includes unique tastes like Il Desco’s house specialty of rabbit lasagna.

And, as many restaurants do these days, the owners are embracing local ingredients, including olive oil from Georgia and microgreens from St. Augustine. 

GastroJax’s Erin Thursby says the area’s foodie scene is poppin’ as celebrity chefs have started eyeing it as a destination and the local palate has grown more sophisticated. 

Il Desco opens this Thursday. 

Jessica Palombo supervises local news gathering and production, podcasts and web editorial content for WJCT News, ADAPT and Jacksonville Today. She is an award-winning writer and journalist with bylines including NPR, Experience Magazine, and The Gainesville Sun. She has a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from Syracuse University and is an alumna of the University of Florida. A nearly lifelong resident of Jacksonville, she considers herself lucky to be raising her own children in her hometown. Follow Jessica Palombo on Twitter: @JaxJessicaP