Jacksonville's food scene is stronger than its reputation suggests. The best concentrations are in Riverside-Avondale (especially along Avondale's St. Johns Avenue and the Five Points area), San Marco, and the beach towns. Downtown still has work to do outside of lunchtime, but the Southbank Riverwalk has improved significantly.
The city has a strong tradition of Southern cooking — barbecue, fried seafood, shrimp and grits — and the proximity to the coast means fresh fish and shrimp are everywhere. A number of serious independent restaurants have opened in the last decade, and the dining scene is genuinely in transition toward something more interesting.