Jimoco Cafe & Pasta

Jimoco Cafe & Pasta, a most talked about restaurant from a friend of mine. He claims that the restaurant serves tasty pasta, is a must visit and the price is a steal! So meh, why not? I did not have any other restaurants in mind anyways. Plus, I expected the restaurant to be a bit slower on a raining evening since occasionally there is a long wait. Walking in, there was a pleasant aroma of pasta sauce which is a good sign for me. The restaurant has less than six booth seats and a few tables for four which can be arranged to accommodate larger parties.

AAA SIRLOIN STEAK WITH HERB BUTTER AND  TOMATO SAUCE FUSILLI WITH HAM, MUSHROOM AND GREEN PEA, AAA BEEF TENDERLOIN IN ONION CREAM SAUCE AND CREAM SAUCE FUSILLI, BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP, GARLIC TOASTS AND SEAFOOD STEW IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE.

COMPLIMENTARY GARLIC TOASTS.

Before ordering, one of the waitresses brought over some table bread. The garlic toasts have a nice crunchy taste and the crumb has a generic garlic spread. And although served cold, it did not matter since we planned on dipping the bread with some tomato sauce later!

DAILY SOUP, BUTTERNUT SQUASH, LARGE ($7.00). 

The butternut squash soup is very healthy, simple and quite tasty. The soup tastes smooth as well as creamy and slightly sweet.

CIOPINNI, SEAFOOD STEW IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE ($8.95).

The seafood stew is served hot, has a mild settled spiciness and a generous amount of tomato sauce as well as a decent amount of mussels, baby scallop, prawns and squid. Although the prawns taste slightly overcooked as well as rubbery and the baby scallops taste stiff, the squid tastes tender and the mussels taste moist because of the stew.

SIRLOIN STEAK, AAA SIRLOIN STEAK WITH HERB BUTTER AND TOMATO SAUCE FUSILLI WITH HAM, MUSHROOM AND GREEN PEA ($18.95) + ($1.00) FOR SIRLOIN.

The fusilli has a nice al dente texture and the tomato sauce tastes very basic. My friend added some of the tomato stew to her pasta and enjoyed it a lot more. After waiting ten minutes for a steak knife, we tried the sirloin. The steak is around 3oz, cooked to a medium rare as requested, and tastes stiff, dry as well as chewy. Also, the sirloin resembles a previously frozen steak and lacks the nice beefy taste (there is nothing wrong with a previously frozen steak considering the price, and most restaurants that do not sell much, freeze them). 

BEEF TENDERLOIN STEAK, AAA BEEF TENDERLOIN IN DEMI-GLACE & ONION CREAM SAUCE AND CREAM SAUCE FUSILLI WITH HAM, MUSHROOM AND GREEN PEA ($7.00).

After my friend's steak arrived, mine followed fifteen minutes later, with a steak knife. The beef tenderloin is cooked more to a medium than the requested medium rare and when I mentioned this to a waitress, she was nice and said "I'll talk to the kitchen". Shortly after less than ten minutes, she took my plate and brought back my pasta on a smaller plate to munch on while I waited for the new steak. The fusilli is also al dente and the cream sauce has a simple light cream taste, despite the dry tasting pasta. To most, the sauce may taste bland but since I am okay with lighter tastes, it was fine. 

For the new beef tenderloin, there is a knife cut in the middle which is a bit amateurish although understandable considering that the first steak was overcooked. The tenderloin is cooked to a medium rare and tastes somewhat tender, despite the lack of steak taste. And for the accompanying demi-glace and onion cream sauce, both tastes fairly light.

TOTAL: $46 + TIP $9 = $55

Overall we tipped a bit under 20% because the staff was friendly. Plus, our main waitress seemed to be new and still learning. For around the same price, I rather head to Anton's for better food and a true "bang for your buck".

POSITIVES
- Daily two for one specials
- Friendly staff

NEGATIVES
- Small portions
- 2 for 1 is a bit deceptive because the amount of food on every plate is almost one portion split in two

LITTLE THINGS

- Specialty pastas are probably a lot better than the entrees (a kind of obvious but if we were not greedy, we would have known!)

- Most people seem to think that the restaurant is understaffed, however, considering the less than ten tables with three people at the front of the house, the staff should just be more efficient and organized

- Good smaller sized portions for those who tend to overeat. We felt "just right" rather than full and had room for dessert elsewhere

Food: 2.5/5 (would be 2/5 if it was not for the prices)

Service: 2.5/5