James, the party planner and owner over there, said if I wanted to come in for a site visit that he would cover my lunch. Now he only works until 4:30pm so I had to wait for a day off. At first I was going to skip it, but I have a life rule of not passing on a free lunch. If you look at the menu, you may very well guess my cheeseburger of choice.
The Chuck Wagon Burger.
*Note to menu, you don't need the word "Burger" behind every burger.
Bacon, mushrooms, cheddar, BBQ sauce, and fried onion on the top bun. I was offered some other cheese choices, but cheddar is best the option in my opinion.
For a cheeseburger with 5 toppings, this is a simple burger. Above average frozen patty. Seasoning is negligible. But it was cooked to the best of it's ability on a charbroiler. Like CBCB this could be the best burger for the patty and cooking style. But I am going to give Jak's credit for having some very interesting sounding burgers on the menu. The Shanghai Burger is served with a spicy Asian sauce and Old Bleu has bleu cheese with Cajun seasoning. If there is a burger that you can only get at a specific location and they do it well, that's the definition of destination burger for me.
This one however was just ok. The fries, though, are worth noting. These are well executed frozen fries. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
There are a few factors that were working heavily for the betterment of this burger. Let's discuss. First off the time frame. I was there at 11:30am on a Thursday before the lunch rush. Nothing should have prevented the cook from doing a good job. Next, the charbroil is a great way to compensate for the lack of seasoning and general lack of flavor for the frozen patty. Also charbroil + BBQ sauce = good effort to make due with what you have. Next add bacon. Add bacon to everything I say. I own a cook book "Everything's Better with Bacon", and it's not a lie.
There is no easier way to add great flavor to a burger than bacon, bleu cheese, and onion (fried, grilled or raw). And maybe garlic, but not here.
Now a burger menu lesson:
Jak's takes a basic burger and follows a formula of adding stuff to make it better. They are telling you not to order the basic burger. There are 14 burgers on the menu. 2 are veggie, 2 are JR burgers, 2 are turkey, and 1 Patty melt. So take the remaining 7 burgers and 3 (including the "Jak's DeLuxe" first burger on the menu) have bacon. 3 are specialty flavors, Tex Mex (w/taco seasoning & jalapeno), Shanghai, and Chuck Wagon. There is the 1lb Big Jak for those just wanting big. And buried in the middle of the burger section, is the BLVD burger. The one normal sized plain burger. If you order this, then shame on you. It's placement on the menu and all the specialty burgers around it tells you that it sucks. AND it's too expensive @ $8.95. The specialty ones are a mere dollar more. Less than the price of bacon most places. And the JR double (for children?) is a dollar less for $7.95. Seriously, even both Patty Melts are less expensive. I dare someone to make an argument for this burger. All this to say sometimes it pays to read into the menu.
OK menu lesson over.
As far as Jak's overall, you may find yourself there and not just for my party. The burger does not make it a destination at all. But if you are there and really want a burger, go for it. Mine was ok and quite filling. There are many others to try that sound very good if you are into the different flavors. And the fries are actually good. But I would try something else first. There are better bar burgers in the city and the ribs @ Jak's sound good. Also they do have good bacon there, and quite a few of the other sandwiches feature it.
Jak's Tap
901 W. Jackson
312-666-1700
http://www.jakstap.com/
No idea what's next. Needs to be a trip to the gym.
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