Tex and I met our friends D and E at Jak's at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. D and E are fellow West Seattleites and they chose the spot for breakfast. Tex was excited as he had heard about their chicken fried steak.
D and E were already seated in a wooden booth in the back of the restaurant when we arrived and we were quickly taken back to join them. Jak's has a 'darker' steakhouse atmosphere - very pleasant and somewhat 'high class' without making you feel uncomfortable in shorts and flip flops.
After greeting our friends, we glanced down at the menu - I immediately pointed out the "country fried steak" to Tex. We all ordered coffee which came fairly quickly, although the brew was somewhat bitter and never quite steaming enough. Typically I consume almost four cups of coffee during breakfast but due to the unflattering taste, I only had one and a half cups during our meal.
When it came time to order, I was delighted to find that D was also ordering the country fried steak. Tex, of course, ordered the same except asked for the gravy on the side as usual. The meal also came with a biscuit and potatoes. After consulting with the waitress, I ordered Jak's Scramble which included sirloin mixed in with the eggs - I asked to have the mushrooms excluded. I'm just not a fungus guy. I also asked to substitute fruit for the potatoes for the extra $1.00. E ordered a belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream. I was jealous as his slender frame could handle the extra calories.
Jak's holds a nice atmosphere for conversation. It never gets too loud with the other customers due to the high backed booth seating and the decent acoustics. We enjoyed catching up with our friends and sipping the not-so-tasty coffee while we waited for our meal.
Our four meals came all at once with two 'helpers' assisting the waitress. The presentation was quite pleasing - especially E's waffle. D's country fried steak was smothered with gravy and Tex's gravy was served in a small cup to the side of his plate.
I noticed that my dish still had potatoes and no fruit and I reminded the waitress of this mistake. She quickly remedied this and brought me the most pathetic small dish of tiny pieces of melon I had ever seen. Needless to say, I barely touched the fruit and although the potatoes looked delicious, I refrained out of jealously of Eric's fit appearance.
Tex's meal looked pleasing, although he noted that the serving size did not match the price. "Texas chicken fried steak comes on its own plate," he noted, before taking his first bite. I watched in anticipation wondering how he would critique his latest attempt at finding the perfect chicken fried steak.
Tex seemed most disappointed in the gravy. He felt it was watery and runny - much like a 2-year-old child with a sinus cold. D added that he felt the gravy had a bit of spice to it but Tex didn't seem to agree. Tex did say that the meat itself had a very good taste and was incredibly tender (as should be expected from a restaurant that specializes in steak), but the breading did not stick to the meat and flaked off too easily.
D somewhat disagreed with Tex and felt that the fact he had ordered his with the gravy poured on top made all the difference. D felt the gravy was 'just right' and agreed with Tex that the steak was very tender and had no fat. D seemed pleased with his meal and was surprised by Tex's slight dissatisfaction.
E's and my meal were quite good - except for my fruit of course. My scramble had delicious chunks of sirloin cooked within the eggs and I enjoyed every bite. E enjoyed his waffle thoroughly and was fairly quiet during the meal as he engulfed the fluffiness in front of him. We all enjoyed the biscuits which were incredibly fresh and tasty.
We finished our meals, exchanged stories and joined each other in hearty laughter. We were certainly satiated by our meals but more so enjoyed each other's company. We hugged D and E goodbye and then trotted out to our car.
Overall, we loved our Jak's experience although the coffee needs some assistance and the country fried steak still wasn't 'the best.' We certainly would return to Jak's for brunch - especially due to its close proximity to my home and its inviting atmosphere and expertise in grilling a slab of meat. However, our search will continue for that perfect chicken fried steak in Seattle...
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