At the cozy C Street Bistro, just one block north of California Street, customers may find themselves sharing a long communal table with fellow diners who quickly become friends. Or when the weather permits, patrons may spread outdoors to the patio, or a deck in the shade of a towering horse chestnut tree.

What draws them is Chef Paul Becking’s menu of signature dishes. Like the wild mushroom risotto, a staple he serves year-round. “It’s always popular,” Becking states. “It’s vegetarian. The mushrooms that I get locally have a big, intense flavor, so they provide what seems to be an actual meatiness, without meat. And I use farro grain, because it has much more texture than the usual arborio rice.”

Becking left behind his flourishing culinary business in Santa Barbara for the quieter streets of Jacksonville, opening C Street Bistro in February 2011. “I envisioned a bistro where I could offer quick, high-end brunch and lunch service, as opposed to long drawn-out fancy meals,” he says. “In a huge restaurant, with more staff and more infrastructure to take care of, it becomes really easy to lose control of the quality. This location was small, so it felt just right for what I wanted to do—open an accessible place for people to get really good food, and enjoy the bounty of our region.”

Becking, who shares some of his kitchen duties with Chef Dawn Strickmeyer (who also chefs at Cowhorn Winery), intentionally doesn’t specialize in a particular style of cuisine. “I’m all over the board,” he says with a smile. “Call it New American. Or French American. I rely on local ingredients, seasonal ingredients.” One of Becking’s spring offerings for his dinner service, for example, is a Dungeness crab and asparagus penne pasta. Whenever possible, he uses organic ingredients, and takes pride in preparing everything in the restaurant from scratch, even making his own ketchup, sauces, and dressings, like the white balsamic peach vinaigrette that adorns the C St. Salad. For his Bistro Burger, he prepares Natural Black Angus sirloin—ground to order—on a brioche bun. And his miso-roasted wild sockeye salmon comes with asparagus and Japanese sweet potato puree.

Becking likes to keep the menu flexible. “We deal with quite a diverse crowd in Jacksonville,” he says. “We have ‘the built-ins,’ the people who live here all the time. Then we have the wine crowd—that scene has just exploded in recent years.” The Britt season brings yet another opportunity to cater to different tastes. “Our clients come from all walks of life, yet everyone appreciates good, honest food.”

C STREET BISTRO
230 East C Street• 541-261-7638
Brunch n’ Lunch: Tuesday-Friday 11:00am-2:00pm
Saturday 10:00am-2:00pm
Dinner: Friday-Saturday 5:00-8:00pm