Thursday, January 24, 2008
T-Bone Jacks: an American restaurant
Larry Bly
Larry Bly has plenty on his plate these days. He's got two TV shows on Cox Cable Roanoke. Click ahead for details and showtimes.
Recent columns
The lounge has been totally reworked from the Cheers Lounge of many decades. Whether the new bar is an improvement over the old one, I'll leave for you to decide. I just know that the memory (and memory cells) of many of my fellow WROV-AM jocks, such as Fred Freelantz, will always live there. Fred used to open and close the place with regularity. Laughter from his stories will forever ring.
The building is huge and could use some oversized artwork, though the caricatures adorning the walls from the talented Kyle Edgell are great fun. They feature many local personalities and politicians. Kyle's done more than a few caricatures of me through the years, though the newer ones make tend to play up my jowls. I wonder why? Could I be getting older and more jowls, perhaps? The floors have been taken back to a polished concrete; the place is more open than in the past.
The wait staff is young and attentive, if sometimes forgetful. I had to ask three times for water, twice for more butter for my potato on one occasion. And she forgot a fellow diner's side order altogether once. But these are start-up glitches that hopefully will get worked out.
I've tried quite a few of the entrees and give them high marks. So I'll just get these criticisms out of the way right up front: The creamed spinach is way too salty and the homemade cole slaw, which we had to remind her to bring, was way too sweet. Someone in the kitchen is ham-handed in both cases. And that's a shame, because I hate sweet creamed spinach and would have loved this one had it not been so salty. The cole slaw was obviously made on premises and would have been perfection with half the sugar. That was a table-wide consensus, by the way.
Having said that, their fresh crab cake was about as good as you'll find in these parts. It was crispy brown on the outside -- a mound of truly fresh lump crabmeat and just enough filler to bind it all together. It's served with French fries, cole slaw and a wonderful Remoulade sauce. Nice presentation, perfect portion, and delicious. No disappointments here.
I once tried the luncheon 5 ounce filet mignon. Five ounces isn't much, so it looks very small on a large plate, even with the sides. But to my surprise, it was tender, had a nice charcoal flavor, and was surprisingly filling for a luncheon item. Maybe the homemade bread helped fill me up. They also offer a 7 ounce New York strip, a 9 ounce ribeye, and a 7 ounce aged choice sirloin for lunch as well. You should be warned that on any 5 ounce filet, there are limited options for doneness. It's mighty small, so don't expect miracles from the kitchen.
The chicken Marsala could not have pleased more with its tender chicken breast pieces, sautéed in an excellent wine and mixed mushroom sauce, served with angel hair pasta.
I love trying soups, especially during the cold months, and was happy with she crab soup, though I thought it a tad heavy on either the sherry or the pimento. I couldn't tell which. But to its credit, it had plenty of crab meat. Soups are homemade and worth a try.
Much to its credit, T-Bone Jacks has kept its pricing reasonable. Dinner items are in the $14-$24 range, with the highest being a broiled seafood platter that consists of cod, scallops, jumbo shrimp, small crab cake with cole slaw, one side and side sauces.
Jacks' combos are terrific and a good a value besides: crab cake and steak (sirloin), sirloin and shrimp, ribeye and scallop scampi (a particular favorite of mine), baby back ribs and New York strip, crab cake and shrimp, and ribeye and shrimp scampi. By they way, all of these are in the $18-$19 range, except for the baby backs, a bargain at $22.
T-Bone seems to be trying to be all things to all people, though there's certainly nothing wrong with that. In many respects it reminds me of the old Tony Roma's in Vegas: a throwback to the old true rib house tradition, menu-wise. There are plenty of steaks, burgers and sandwiches and even brick oven pizzas including something called the Margherita, which is a traditional pizza from Naples with mozzarella, Reggiano, Parmesan cheeses, plum tomatoes and fresh basil.
There's obviously a heavy Italian influence coming from the kitchen, so you can't go wrong, aside from the steaks and seafood, if you order anything with an Italian flavor.
When ordering, you'll have to pay a little attention to the way they offer up sides. There are "standard sides," which can be ordered as a part of many entrees. Or there are "premium sides" which are extra, but well worth the price: California veggie medley, grilled asparagus, garden vegetable Risotto, or seasonal veggies. Add them for $2.50 additional.
There are nearly a dozen appetizers. Some of the better ones worth a try: seared Ahi tuna (excellent) mini-crab cakes (they know crab cakes), an appetizer version of Jacks' barbecue ribs (yum), or crab stuffed shrimp. Go for something a little more exciting than the standard appetizers and you won't be disappointed.
For those watching their waistlines: choose from eight salads, full-fresh crunchy featuring toppings of steak, chicken, or none of the above. And there's an "Endless bowl of soup and salad" as well.
Desserts are homemade and change from day to day. I'll lay you odds that there's usually at least one homemade cheesecake offered. And I wouldn't be shocked if it's New York style. Is there any other? Suddenly I'm overcome with memories of the cheesecakes in a basement restaurant in Little Italy, New York, called the Blue Grottoes. Waiters carried around cakes the size of car tires and carved huge pieces off of them at your table. It's hard to forget something that dramatic or delicious.
T-Bone Jacks is worth a try. I love great steaks and I love great Italian cooking. So what's not to love about this place?
T-BONE JACKS Steak & seafood 1650 Braeburn Drive (across from Lewis Gale) Salem, Va. 24153 540-387-9061
Oone more thing
My article last week on White Castle frozen cheeseburgers brought quite a response, mostly positive. The subject brings great memories to mind for most.
C.N. wrote: "Thanks for your article on White Castle. It's a tradition in our family every time we return to Chicago. My husband and the kids have to stop for a sack."
D.S. wrote: "Good reading about White Castle, especially since the company is based here in Columbus. I think a lot of Columbus residents use slyders as a food source to recover from a night of excessive drinking ... not unlike the Texas Tavern or the former Little Chef Diner. Always enjoy your columns which help me keep in touch with Roanoke."
And finally, a not-so-enthusiastic, but gentle and kind reader wrote: "... it leaves me with a sinking feeling to think that in Roanoke, the restaurant column features frozen White Castle burgers. I wish that someone in Roanoke would start recruiting at J&W (Johnson and Wales culinary school) -- there should be a market there for some really good, exciting food."
As I explained to M.C. of Wirtz, this is a "food commentary column" and does not confine itself to only restaurant reviews, but rather includes all things culinary: books, history, food experiences of all sorts, you name it. I also pointed out that Roanoke now boasts an impressive number of Johnson & Wales and CIA (Culinary Institute of America) trained chefs in many local kitchens now. There is a new culinary school in cooperation with Virginia Western Community College being built in the exciting Henry Street area of downtown Roanoke. So we're not quite as bereft of culinary talent as one might suppose in this neck of the woods.
