{"id":153211,"date":"2026-02-12T17:21:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/153211\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T17:21:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:21:12","slug":"jjs-scratch-cocina-morphs-from-a-fast-casual-to-a-full-service-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/153211\/","title":{"rendered":"JJ\u2019s Scratch Cocina morphs from a fast-casual to a full-service restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JJ'sCredit: Matt Keller Lehman<\/p>\n

The story of JJ\u2019s Scratch Cocina is a story of constant change. And by constant change, I mean constant name change. When owner J.J. Paredes opened his restaurant on Curry Ford Road 12 years ago, it was called JJ\u2019s Grille and offered Mex-Med fare in a fast-casual, counter-service setting. In fact, I praised the restaurant\u2019s uncompromising take on food quality and flavor in a 2014 review<\/a>. Then, in a bid to play up the menu\u2019s diversity, it became JJ\u2019s Fusion Grille. A few years later, the name was changed to JJ\u2019s Fresh From Scratch, perhaps as a way to tout its unprocessed ingredients and kitchen prowess. But in its latest iteration, JJ\u2019s Scratch Cocina, the name isn\u2019t all that\u2019s changed.<\/p>\n

The restaurant now operates as a full-service concept where, Paredes says, \u201cwe get to slow things down and share a more immersive dining experience with plates inspired by different parts of the world.\u201d I\u2019m all for the switch, though, in actuality, it\u2019s really a hybrid operation \u2014 folks can still order JJ\u2019s bowls, burritos, quesadillas and even arepas from the kiosk in front of the counter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the full-service menu, those corn cakes are referred to as \u201cerepa,\u201d an indigenous term for, you guessed it, \u201ccorn cakes.\u201d Unlike those in the pre-Columbian era, this trio of golden-griddled buns ($18.95) is cooked in higher-fat European butter and served on a fetching wood-and-marble serving board. Inside each was soft shredded cheese and microgreens cloaking pulled meats of the brisket, pork and chicken variety. A smoked honey chipotle sauce amplified the handhelds, which made for a mighty fine (and filling) lunch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The same could be said of the handful of tostones ($12.95) topped with avocado spread and pink garlic shrimp licked with reposado tequila, though eating five of these green plantain cakes can get texturally monotonous. I bagged two of them to eat at home later and focused instead on a plate of falafel, pita and beet-infused hummus garnished with chickpeas and pomegranate nestled alongside a bright and vibrant tabbouleh. JJ\u2019s mom, Olivia, grew to love the cuisine of her good pal\u2019s native Lebanon and became very adept at crafting Levantine cuisine, and it shows in this dish dubbed \u201cEarth & Herb\u201d ($12.95).<\/p>\n

\"JJ'sCredit: Matt Keller Lehman<\/p>\n

The label could also describe the restaurant\u2019s interior, with its natural tones and finishes and, yes, even a live herb wall towards the back of the restaurant. It\u2019s all very pretty and pleasing to look at, much like the \u201cLima\u201d ($25.95), a beautiful presentation of halibut ceviche washed in citrus and passion fruit juices. Dressing the fish were elegantly draped slivers of red onion, red and yellow peppers, and passion fruit pulp whose seeds added a nice crunch to every bite.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"JJ'sCredit: Matt Keller Lehman<\/p>\n

The plating here is clearly meant to impress, and it does, but never at the expense of the food. A circular, live-edge acacia wood board flaunting a crackly-skinned chicken breast set in a parsnip puree ($24.95) was very much worth admiring, particularly the bundle of heirloom carrots \u201ctied\u201d with hollowed-out zucchini rounds and graced with edible flowers. Beet wedges, zucchini pulp, mustard greens and a dusting of candied walnuts lent depth and dimension to a not-so-average chicken dish that came highly recommended by two different servers.<\/p>\n

The coco de playa ($12.95), billed as a \u201ctaste of Tulum,\u201d is a dessert one of the servers said he ate every day for a week. Inside that coconut shell is a coconut cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e topped with toasted coconut and garnished with basil and slivers of candied coconut. As gratifying as it was, the portion size doesn\u2019t make it ideal for sharing. The sweet plantain cake ($11.95), also stunningly plated with a pool of cr\u00e8me anglaise, a scatter of candied nuts and a flower fashioned from the peels of caramelized apple, is more conducive to splitting. The cake, however, leans dry and the taste of plantain was subtle at best, but it\u2019s hard not to appreciate the effort, technique and plating Paredes puts into this and, really, every dish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regulars who\u2019ve enjoyed his fast-casual eats over the past decade ought to give this menu steeped in the flavors of the Mediterranean and the Americas a try. The \u201cScratch Cocina\u201d isn\u2019t a slogan \u2014 it\u2019s a flex.\u00a0<\/p>\n

JJ\u2019s Scratch Cocina, 2950 Curry Ford Road, 407-900-0375, jjsscratchcocina.com<\/a>, $$<\/p>\n

Orlando\u2019s daily dose of what matters. Subscribe to The Daily Weekly.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"JJ\u2019s\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSpecializing in the cuisine of the Americas\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Osteria\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tMichael Cooper\u2019s paean to Italian cuisine alla New Jersey feels like our very own Babbo\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Desi\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tWhen it comes to cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, Bangladeshi fare has long been overshadowed in this city\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

This article appears in Feb. 11-17, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Matt Keller Lehman The story of JJ\u2019s Scratch Cocina is a story of constant change. And by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[73581,73582,73583,139,141,140,18792],"class_list":["post-153211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-curry-ford-restaurants","tag-j-j-paredes","tag-jjs-scratch-cocina","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-restaurant-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}