EATS
Culinary Character
JEFF HOLLERAN With a cornucopia of healthy options featuring locally sourced ingredients, plus a well-planned beer and wine program, the ever-evolving Ripe Bistro and Social Lounge is just the latest feather in Jeff Holleran’s entrepreneurial cap. By Matthew Shaw | Photography by Brian Miller
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t’s 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon and Jeff Holleran is taking advantage of his first opportunity of the day to simmer. After one of his servers called in sick, the well-known St. Augustine entrepreneur and jack-of-all trades was doing double, make that triple, duty during today’s lunch shift at his Anastasia islandbased farm-to-table style restaurant Ripe Bistro and Social Lounge – hosting, waiting a few tables, and yes, even cooking. True to his nature the laidback father of three who spends much of his free time surfing, paddle boarding, or playing paddle tennis takes it all in stride. A veteran of St. Augustine’s food and beverage scene – having opened and sold several restaurants including Sangria’s on St. George Street and Spy Sushi on Hypolita – this is not Jeff’s first rodeo, so to speak. “I learned a long time ago that you have to be prepared if someone doesn’t show,” he says. Ripe is the first of Jeff’s businesses where he’s endeavored to do the cooking. “It gets a little hectic, but you just have to be ready to do whatever,” he says, nonchalantly.
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Ripe’s gone through some renovations and menu changes since opening in 2011, but through it all it has maintained a reputation for serving simple, well-crafted dishes made from fresh, locally-sourced (when available) ingredients in a plush, yet welcoming environment. “The philosophy is pretty casual,” Jeff says of Ripe. “Come drink, share some plates, hangout, and if you’re hungry, we have really delicious meals.” Ripe’s lunch menu incorporates a variety of healthy options like smoothies, juices, salads, and sandwiches – including the wildly popular house-made free-range chicken salad made with almonds, cranberries, apples, and organic apple cider vinegar. But the dinner menu is where Jeff’s creativity shines. He serves a delicious and well-marbled Flat Iron steak, using nonhormone treated meat he buys from the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Seminole Pride Beef out of Ocala. “I use Flat Iron because it has the marbling of a Rib eye with the tenderness of a filet,” www.STAUGUSTINESOCIAL.com
Jeff says. “You get the best of both worlds and the whole 8 oz. steak is edible – no bone, no grizzle.” Another popular dinner item is the Hawaiian Poke bowl, which Jeff prepares using raw, center cut Hawaiian Ahi tuna, spinach, brown rice, cucumbers, carrots, and avocado. He places all of these ingredients in a bowl and covers the dish with his house made poke sauce which he creates using Bragg’s liquid aminos, organic blue agave nectar, Sriracha, coconut oil, sesame oil, fresh garlic, cracked pepper, and freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice. These signature dishes only serve to compliment what is an atmosphere that became even more conducive to socializing when Jeff extended the bar area and added several high top tables a few months ago. Now on any given Friday or Saturday night, groups of locals gather at the high tops to indulge in craft beers from Ripe’s selection of more than 30 (plus six rotating taps) or wines by the bottle or glass from a selection that includes many small