So before going to St.Dunstan's production Amadeus out in the Greek Theater, Cranbrook, my host family and I went to Beau Jack's for dinner. Originally Linnea was going to cook something, but decided that eating out would be faster and therefore a better choice to get to the theater on time. Yet, though we only waited 10 minutes to get a seat despite its crowd, the food was served rather late and it did not make much difference. However, I still enjoyed the meal here.
The inside was dark, maybe a little too dark for me, more like a bar than a dining place. After all, Thursday to Saturday (Maybe Sunday as well), starting at seven they have a jazz piano going on, though you really should sit on the bar to hear it because the noise of the dining crowd takes over.Normally when I complain about the light, it is usually because I cannot get good pictures with my camera. However, this place was pretty dark, that when I checked my pictures taken with flash, I was surprised to find out that my bearnaise sauce was so yellowish, while on the table the white crab meat and bearnaise seemed pretty much blended in color. Other colorful schemes such as Owen's nacho chips were clearly visible though, and I didn't have any other problems...... so I guess it is all about pictures again.
I like the coleslaw here. They are freshy, crunchy and not too sweet.
The bread was served warm, but not the butter. I wish the butter was a little warmer because it was rather cold. I do enjoy cool butter as well, and the butter did melt on the warm bread. However, when cutting the round butter, trying to put some on my plate, it did not work very well, and certainly not when the bread was not as warm as it was at first. This was a more doughy style bread, I should say, dense in the middle rather than light and soft. Not my favorite kind of bread, but still nice and warm.
Owen got what I call Monster Nacho, which is truly monsterous in its size. With the colorful chips and bunch of cheese and meat, it surely tastes pretty good. After all, it is Owen's favorite; I don't remember him ordering anything else, aside from the question whether it is the best choice.
Linnea ordered a Caesar Salad, which also came in a monsterous portion. It looked like a "If you finish in 5min it's free, but if not price doubled" kind of event dish. Can people normally finish that huge pile of salad? The taste was not the greatest but okay.
Lizz got a nostalgia burger, a triple decker with thousand island. This used to be my favorite and now hers. I used to believe that ketchup and maybe mustard is the only thing that goes with burgers, but I actually really liked thousand island sauce, which gives the name "nostalgia" to this burger. The burger is nice but so are the fries.
Since I had a T-bone steak the night before, the steak was out. Do I want fish? Nah, not today. Let's skip the burger since I already ordered it twice before, once a Nostalgia Burger and once my own creation. The honey mustard chicken with pecans sounded nice, but then I saw the veal on the menu.Actually, though I like the tenderness of the veal, I prefer the flavorful beef. Yet maybe because veal is something I do not eat everyday, once I see it on the menu, especially as a daily special, I tend to go for it. Today at Beau Jacks, when I saw Sauteed Veal Oscar, I had to order it.
Breaded thin veal medallions were topped with Alaskan King Crab meat and Bearnaise suace, garnished with grilled asparagus. Asparagus is quickly gaining my favor ever since I tried it for the first time three years ago upon arrival to United States, for it goes very well with almost any meat, including poultry. Though I do like crab meat, I wonder if it is the best choice to go with veal, since it always has not much, but at least a bit of natural fishyness of a seafood. However I liked it, mainly because of its texture. I was happy that I ordered this, which is not always on the menu.So, I would say my daily special dish, Veal Oscar, was the best among today's order. The Nostalgia Burger was good too. Though I did have some better burgers, the burgers at Beau Jack's are always a satisfactory choice. The nacho and salad were okay, but really, something has to be done to the portion. Nacho and salad are not something that you would be happy eating as a left over, soggy and unfresh.
Though I like Beau Jack's food, it is not a super duper restaurant. The food is good but not all of them are very impressive. Yet there is something, along with the interior and atmosphere, that makes me want to go there. Somehow I always enjoy the food and leave satisfied. Always ordering a burger, this time I tried something different and I liked even more. It is a comfortable family place.
