Jacks Restaurant & Steakhouse

Jackson's Steak and Grill, or Jacks Restaurant & Steakhouse? Looking for a restaurant close to the Harrison Resort, I relied on Urbanspoon's "nearby" app and read a review on Jackson's Steak and Grill (mainly about their prime rib and tenderloin!). However, walking in to Jacks Restaurant & Steakhouse, we could not find prime rib or tenderloin on the menu! Turns out we were at the wrong steakhouse LOL. In our defence, how is Chilliwak considered a "nearby" eat from Harrison?! Jackson's Steak and Grill has plenty of booth seating arrangements and coming an hour before closing, the only one waitress at the front of the house was friendly as well as attentive. 

JACK'S SHRIMP CAPS, SIRLOIN WITH SCALLOPS, TABLE BREAD, TOMATO VEGETABLE SOUP, NEW YORK STEAK WITH PRAWNS AND BAKED ESCARGOT.

COMPLIMENTARY BREAD AND WHIPPED BUTTER.

The table bread is served freshly toasted as well as hot, and has a perfect crisp exterior with a soft crumb. For the whipped butter, of course it pairs well with the bread. Although butter will always tastes good, whipped butter is my favourite.

JACK'S SHRIMP CAPS, MUSHROOMS STUFFED WITH TENDER SHRIMP IN MELTED GARLIC BUTTER TOPPED WITH JACK CHEESE AND RICH HOLLANDAISE ($9.44).

The baby shrimp as well as mushroom caps have a rich flavourful buttery herb taste with a generous amount of jack cheese and sprinkles of cayenne pepper. For the hollandaise, the sauce does not taste overwhelming and the cheese definitely stands out more which I prefer. Also, usually I would appreciate at least regular sized prawns but being biased and considering the small town compared to Vancouver, I thought it was fine. The generous amount of cheese makes up for that! However, from a different perspective, BF thought the baby shrimp was too small and in a way, the dish tries to copy The Keg's. Also, he thought the baby shrimp was hard to eat together with the caps because of the tiny size and had to eat them separate. Plus, he is not one to be dramatic but even referred to the baby shrimp and mushroom caps as, "putting two same ends of a magnetic together" LOL.. he really wanted to eat them together rather than separate.

BAKED ESCARGOT, BAKED IN RICH GARLIC BUTTER AND TOPPED WITH HOT MELTED JACK CHEESE ($7.22).

The baked escargot is a side dish offered with an entree, but I wrote down the price as a la carte. The escargot tastes pretty bland as well as dry, does not have that nice buttery herb taste like the mushroom caps, and is only somewhat tasty because of the cheese. Also, a few pieces of escargot tasted grainy, resembling sand and could have been properly rinsed. However, as a side for an entree, the value is there. Although I would have preferred a salad or fries because of the sand taste.

JACK'S SOUP,
TOMATO VEGETABLE ($5.88).

The soup is also included with the order of an entree and I wrote down the cost as a la carte. The soup has a rich tomatoey broth and tastes hearty, although the consistency is a bit too thick which resembles pasta sauce. Lol… I thought I was drinking pasta sauce but it is not that bad, in a way.

6oz SIRLOIN TOPPED WITH PLUMP SCALLOPS 

SAUTEED IN RICH GARLIC BUTTER ($21.44).

The steak is creeping up close to a medium than the requested medium rare and although extremely dry, does not taste too chewy. For the large sized scallops, the first couple tastes quite moist, tender as well as tasty. However, the scallops went downhill from there. The rest of the scallops have an unpleasant grainy sand as well as a salty milky taste, and should have been properly rinsed. It is pretty unfortunate considering the value! Moving to the side of vegetables, the green beans are sautéed and tossed in a light vinaigrette, not overcooked and tastes quite fresh.

8oz NEW YORK STEAK TOPPED WITH 

GARLIC BUTTER SAUTEED TIGER PRAWNS ($25.44).

The steak is cooked slightly more rare than medium rare (which is fine since we both prefer that) and tastes juicy as well as tender. Although the new york does have that nice natural beefy steak taste, some more seasoning could have been used since it does taste bland for the cut. As for the sautéed tiger prawns, they are more like shrimp, not even regular sized prawns. Although being just generic frozen shrimp, there is a light garlic butter taste. And for the side of baked potato, the potato is served warm and tastes average, nothing special. There is a good amount of sour cream and bacon bits though.

TOTAL: $61.75 + TIP $12.25 = $74.00

Overall we tipped 20% because the waitress was friendly and even told us to order the soup as well as baked escargot as a side with the entrees for a cheaper cost.

POSITIVES

- Reasonable prices compared to Vancouver

- Attentive and friendly waitress

NEGATIVES

- Some may think it is pricey for what you get

- Thoroughly rinsed scallops and escargot would have been better

- Although not a big issue considering the small town, a steak should never be overcooked at a steakhouse

Food: 2.5/5 (barely makes average, in a way)

Service: 3.5/5