Review of Jack's on Halsted - The Chef Burger Concept Continues.......

I have a history with Chef Jack Jones, not a personal one, but the kind that last; the happy food loving patron, and a Chef. I have been a patron of Chef Jack Jones, owner of Jack's on Halsted, going back many years to his first place, a simple storefront affair on North Ashland Av. His food was delicious and bold for the time, long before the advent Food TV, superstar chefs, and the term foodies.

Then he was on to bigger, but not always better things, including Jack's on Halsted. Born as a more upscale version of his original Daniel J's, he started straying into a sort of asian fusion world. This was cause for me to stray away.

So upon learning of the now common term, "reconcepting", of Jack's on Halsted, I became excited at the chance of recreating some of those great taste experience from years past and missed. As I perused his menu from the street, it appeared much to my great pleasure that this is not so much a reconcepting, but a trip back in time, to the beginning. I see some of those same dishes I enjoyed and still remember from yesteryear, and then, bonus time, Big Burgers on the menu. The thought of Chef Jones digging back into his culinary roots, and applying them to the object of our desire is very exciting.

I arrive at the restaurant, and this is definitely a restaurant. It almost has an identity crisis of fine dining meets kinda tavern. White table cloths and multiple flat screens is a little confusing, but hey, it's comfortable and I'm here for the food.

And to be more specific the Burger. On the menu along with the usual restaurant headings is a special grouping for Burgers, including some exotic entries. It appears that every venue now offering Burgers are jumping on the Burger + other ingredients, = my higher culinary creation capabilities bandwagon. Almost as to justify ones position in the gastronomic hierarchy. We at Chicago Burger and Fries are not fooled, or even concerned by this trend, because all we care about is Great tasting Burgers and Fries. Undeterred by the ever present Burger creations, because if the basic burger isn't great, the fancy accoutrements are not going to elevate it. I order my "Blog Burger" with American Cheese and raw onion, and I'm happy to say Jack's on Halsted’s offering is pretty good. A 9 ouncer, cooked almost perfectly medium rare (it was just a tad over), but still emitted the tell tale sign of tastiness, a slight trail of greasy  juice.

On the subject of onions, I have learned that since these days, most appear as a wafer thin almost nonexistent slice, I always ask for extra when ordering. Unfortunately Jack's, like most places required additional effort to get the aforementioned onion. Compounding the problem is the fact I will not eat my Burger before the correct amount of onion finally arrives. In the meantime my beautiful Burger's temperature is cooling, and my blood pressure is rising.

Despite the onion incident, I enjoyed the Jack’s on Halsteds' Burger very much. It was a classic grill job with a slight taste of char, and a nice meaty flavor. My Burger showed some signs of pink on the inside, and even a faint blur of red. If it had been pulled off the grill sooner, it would have certainly had even more depth of flavor. But unfortunately it missed the mark, however so slightly.

The Fries, not so good. They tasted as they came out of a bag, and had a slightly strange crust going on. Although they were served nice and hot, exhibiting a slight crunch, as soon as they cooled a bit, the flavor profile went downhill fast. They became rather dull and off tasting to the point that I did not care to finish them. A Chef of Jack Jones caliber should certainly be capable of putting a better fry on the plate, and I hope he will.

I accompanied my Burger with slightly pricey bottle of beer, no draft beer in the house, unfortunately and a pretty limited assortment of brews, at that.

In the final analysis, I had an OK type of Burger and Fries” experience. Not a bad place especially if you’re on a date with a non burger type of person, but why would you be on a date with someone who doesn’t love burgers. I know a Chef of Jack Jones talent could elevate his namesake spot; but I won’t be back anytime soon.

The Damage:

Cheese Burger and Fries  $ 8.95
Bottle Beer $ 6.50

The Burgers are very reasonably priced, especially in a white table cloth setting. However, ordering other menu options, aside from the Burger, will take you out of the  value world in a hurry. However, their other offering are very tasty.

Ratings: ( 1* - 4 **** )

Burger: 2**     Fries 1*