Finding Food on Hull Street: Jack's

You know how Quentin Taratino makes movies that juxtapose the mundane with the obscure, absurd and sublime. Well, our visit to Jack’s was a lot like that. In one night, I had rolls with an olive tapenade, with mint strawberry lemonade in what looked like a booth from Happy Days while enduring the Doors.

Jack’s is a new restaurant on Hull Street that has taken the place of what was once a non-descript pizza place. The menu is continental, and I do mean continental in the broadest since of the word. If you were to drive by Jack’s and take a quick glance, you’d definitely be intrigued given the bright florescent lighting and warm glowing neon. Yes, your first observation would tell you a lot about the restaurant since the interior looks like a gradual renovation process with a modernized bar, that does not serve alcohol, and a renovated entryway. With its green walls, large booths with curtain dividers, and, and strange cottage architecture, the rest of the restaurant is a work in progress. Honestly, I had my doubts.

Nonetheless, where the mood fails, the food shows some promise. Look, Jack’s is not a chain and its menu allows those who’d ordinarily settle for a burger to stretch a little. The menu included the standard pizza and burgers, but there were some interesting items that included jerk chicken with plantains, a pan-fried tilapia with a saffron-lemon butter sauce, and flank steak with sweet potatoes. Hence, it would suffice to say that Jack’s is all over the map, which is part of the problem.

Though my food was solid and well-presented, I felt like the richness of flavor and depths of the recipes were not highlighted. For dinner, I started with a salad which, simply put, was really good. The hostess, who I suspect is also an owner, made it a point to tell us that everything was homemade, and with the salad this showed. The dressing was a honey-dijon vinaigrette and very large (large enough to share). I could have stopped with the salad, but the rest of the meal was pleasing as well. I had the tilapia, a fish I generally don’t care for since the preparation often leaves it tasting watery and bland. I ordered it because of the promise of the saffron lemon butter sauce, and I was pleased. I was pleased more so by the pan-frying of the tilapia which was meaty and firm and lightly seasoned to highlight the fish’s sweetness. I was less impressed with the sauce which needed an additionally kick (probably more lemon and saffron). The accompanying asparagus and rice were mediocre and drowned in the flavorless sauce. I did get a chance to try some of the flank steak which was perfectly prepared at medium though the sweet potatoes proved disappointing and flavorless as well. To drink, I had the mint strawberry lemonade which you should order but only with extra mint and strawberry. We passed on dessert since it featured a pretty standard group of desserts including chessecake and a brownie sundae. One item that was unique was the crème brulee cookies which I hope to try down the road.

Overall, I look forward to watching Jack’s grow and become even better. A major renovation some tweaking of the menu and it really will be a great local spot.