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As far as restaurants go, this is a departure from the typical restaurant that I would review on here. However, after seeing Jake’s Good Eats featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”, I knew I would have to check it out (especially since it’s located within a 10 minute drive of my house). After months of mentioning it to my wife, I finally convinced her to go to dinner there last night.
Jake's Good Eats -- Guy Ate There
Jake’s Good Eats is located in a building that was originally built as a Gulf filling station in 1929. The restaurant opened in 2008 and has quite a loyal following, especially among local residents. Much of the original structure of the building is still in use, and the restaurant’s decor is perfectly accented to give diners the feeling of going back in time.
The menu is a blend of old Southern and new Southern cuisine, with such offerings as fried green tomatoes and crawfish/shrimp etouffee. Their most well-known items are the venison quesadilla appetizer and maple-glazed pork chop entree. Entrees are served after 5pm, while the lunch menu is available all day. Entrees range from $8 for a vegetable plate to $23 for a New York strip steak, while lunch items are priced from $4 to $9.
Now… on to the food porn! Heather and I decided to split the spinach and artichoke dip appetizer.
Spinach and artichoke dip
The dip itself was not too heavy or rich, and the spinach was very fresh! The homemade tortilla chips were absolutely delicious, and both my wife and I concluded that we could have made an appetizer on just the chips alone.
We both decided to order from the lunch menu on this visit. I went with the BBQ plate with white slaw and homemade chips, while Heather ordered the cheeseburger “all the way” with chili, mustard, and onions. (Slaw is also available, but she requested no slaw).
BBQ pork plate with slaw and homemade chips
Cheeseburger "all the way" with chips
My wife kept on saying “Mmmmm, that’s good!” with each bite of her cheeseburger, so I’m going to guess that she liked her meal. The BBQ plate — -chopped pork with an Eastern Carolina style vinegar sauce — was excellent in flavor. There was not very much smoke in it, but I did not expect there to be much smoke. The slaw was very fresh and not overly heavy, a perfect complement with the pork.
We also splurged for dessert. I ordered the banana pudding, and she ordered a slice of chocolate and almond butter mousse pie.
Banana Pudding
Chocolate and almond butter mousse pie
In one word: WOW! Both desserts were very rich and delightful. I started out with the banana pudding, and Heather had the pie. About halfway through, we ended up switching desserts. Either way, it was a winning proposition. If I had one complaint to make about Jake’s Good Eats, it’s that there were several flies in the dining room that kept irritating us throughout our meal.
As we were walking out to the car, my wife turned to me and said, “You did a bad thing, Wayne, by showing me this place.” That pretty much sums up our feelings on Jake’s Good Eats, as we will definitely be returning to dine here again.
Jake’s Good Eats is located at 12721 Albemarle Rd., Charlotte, NC 28227. Their hours are from Tuesday thru Thursday from 11am until 9pm. On Friday and Saturday, they are open from 11am until 2:30pm and from 5pm until 9pm. Their website is http://www.jakesgoodeats.com.
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