The three of us packed into the Mighty Dodge the other day and drove over to a Redding institution, in business since 1938 - Jack's Grill.
The menu is basic, just meat. Got a ribeye with baked potato, and it was really perfectly done, medium rare.
I still think I do a better ribeye at home, but this was also very nice. Good to go out once in a while, especially to a place with this much character.
This was my chow, in a still life image.
The interior is small, dark and loud.
This is it. Take it or leave it.
Full bar right there. My choice was a Black Manhattan - two oz rye or bourbon (to your taste) and one oz Amaro. I prefer Ramazzotti, but they're all good.
There were leftovers that went well in the Sunday morning omelette. So, two meals.
A fun choice if you're in Redding, but they don't take reservations, so be there early.
Sorry, CW, but at those prices I would hope that you get several meals.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I looked at a butchers shop the meat itself (by the pound) was almost half that cost.
DeleteIt's what you spend if you want to eat out for a good steak.
At least that's what I tell myself when I see the prices of good steaks at the store....
Only been once in the six years I've been here, but it's the full meal that someone else cooks to your order, the atmosphere, and the conversation. Once in a while a guy can spend the money....and the place was packed when we finished and left. Not hurting for customers.
DeleteAfter 5 years of not eating out, we did so twice recently and we probably won't any more. The prices, the assholes, the bland food. What's the point?
DeleteOMG. Thank you for the memory. I didn't realize that Jack's was still in business. I ate their several times back in the 80's. Never had a bad steak.
ReplyDeleteA friend told me a story about Jack's. It seems his Dad was working in the Redding area one summer in the '70s and would visit Jack's occasionally. After the job ended Dad returned home and didn't visit Redding again for about ten years. When he did he stopped by Jack's to rekindle some memories and when he did he was blown away when the same bartender that had been there ten years earlier not only greeted Dad by his name but remembered what his favorite drink was!
ReplyDeleteBTW, your ribeye looks delicious. I'd gladly pay fifty bucks for that, a good spud
and a tossed green with Jack's Home Made Blue Cheese dressing. I just couldn't do it too often.
Curious. What was your dad's drink?
DeleteThat was my friend's Dad that the story was about, and I don't know what his favorite drink was. His name was Jack, coincidentally.
DeleteMy Dad was Tom Collins. I'll let you guess what his favorite drink was.
Kid you not.
Just looked up the recipe for a “Tom Collins”—I like gin with citrus, so that recipe sounds awfully good. Might have to stop by the liquor store that’s right next to the grocery store next I go shopping to get some Tanqueray’s.
DeleteGo for it!
DeleteFunny story. The name on my Mom's credit card was 'Mrs. T. C. Collins'. Many times, when she would present it to a clerk, they would look at it and say "That would be funny if you husband's name was Tom", to which she would reply "It is". An awkward silence would ensue.
She always got a kickout of that.
Choice prime rib was $9.95 a pound on sale last week. The Prime grade was $15.95 a pound at regular price. A 2" thick Tomahawk was on sale at $11.49 and I was unsure of the grade but it came out perfect. I expect 4 or 5 meals out of that steak. I can cook a steak better than most steakhouses. The only time I will order a steak is when someone else is paying. Seafood is preferred.
ReplyDeleteThose prices! Happy I left California four years ago. So much cheaper eating out here.
ReplyDeleteMoney well spent. Go every chance you get.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of a long ago steak house - Ben & Mary's - outside of Warrenton, Virginia. Like Jack's, it was meat with basic trimmings. Meats may have been locally sourced. Maybe yes-maybe no as to shrimp/scallops/chicken being offered. A close second to their meat was the salad dressings. Made me a believer in bleu cheese.
All gone now with chain restaurants barely holding a candle to eat by.
I'd go somewhere via I-40 just to stop at the Big Texas Steak Ranch in Amarillo Texas again.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bigtexan.com/online-menu/
Buffalo Jump Steakhouse in Beulah, Wyoming.
ReplyDeleteI can afford those prices. Just not paying those prices. What, $80 bucks a head plus tip? Near enough $100 bucks a head total? Insane. And my steaks are better. My booze is better. And I don’t have to be in a noisy environment, and risk getting peeved by bad service, etc.
ReplyDeleteThat is my kind of casual dinner place!!! We have a local burger joint / bar called "The South 40" were everyone knows you or at least, says, "Howdy" when you walk in the door. Everyone smiles and appears to be happy.
ReplyDeleteThere is something to be said for a place that does a straightforward, honest steak.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet their beef comes from a local ranch. Redding and Red Bluff are cattle country.
DeleteI should have realized sooner that you are quite the connoisseur.
ReplyDeleteJack's
ReplyDeleteJack's Bar and grill for a very special occasion. I remember the old days.
Pour some of that ketchup on there and dig in.
ReplyDeleteI say "pass the DJT" now
Deleteprices about what one can expect across a country under a lawless government.
ReplyDeleteOn that Black Manhattan - try it with straight rye instead of bourbon. I use Averna Amaro, and add a few dashes of orange bitters and chocolate bitters. Got that from Rustica in Santa Fe.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Definitely will try that. Averna is the standard, but others are fun to try too.
Delete