The past two Sunday's, my wife and I have found ourselves at the Jim's in Alamo Ranch for a nutritious (if we only ate about a third of it) breakfast and delicious coffee.
Both times we decided to sit at the counter and enjoy watching the operation of the place. I have flipped burgers before, but I suspect there is a whole lot more going on behind the scenes at a full menu restaurant. As someone may be ordering pancakes or waffles, another person could be ordering a chicken fried steak.
You can observe the cooks in the back all doing their individual parts to construct the final plate full of food for delivery. A manager of some sort directs the entire operation from her position, barking orders to the cooks when a plate lacks some bacon and calling out the waitstaff as their orders come up.
While Jim's comes across as a little more subdued, we like the banter between the cooks and waitstaff at Lulu's. It all seems good natured and perhaps all part of the show for the customers. At Jim's, you get the feeling that these are people just trying to do a job, and that is fine too.
Last week, I had a hankerin' for grits and decided to get the eggs and bacon with grits and biscuits combo. Really, this is what breakfast is all about.
My wife is not into grits and often uses the line from My Cousin Vinney to ask, "just what is a grit?" Instead, she loves Jim's hash browns and opted for the ham instead of the bacon. I think they gave her my eggs, and me, hers, because I like them over easy, and she likes them over medium. Who knows what that means or how they should look anyway?
This morning, we changed it up a bit and I tried a western omelet (minus the bell pepper). For my tastes, it was cooked a bit much, but there was still some gooey goodness going on with the cheese.
My wife opted for a waffle with the strawberry topping. I know, it looks good, but in the end she decided to scrape off all the topping because it had somehow made the waffle really soft. She likes a crisp waffle - and who doesn't?
The food is good but the best part of sitting at the counter is seeing all the action. When we sit in a booth, we are stuck overhearing the conversations of people in the booth on the other side of the low wall. My wife likes to speculate on the status of people. You know; the AOL Date, the one-night-stand having breakfast before never seeing each other again, or the married couple who hate each other. It is really hit or miss with the booths, but at the counter, there is sure to be action.
Today, we saw what my wife speculated was an area supervisor. Those are the guys who run several restaurants for the owner. This guy came out of the back with what appeared to be a store manager. It looked as though she had just gotten a solid ass-chewing. Then for the next several minutes the man kept going up to her and patting her on the back as if to say, "There, there, it will all be okay." Who knows really? But it is fun to speculate.
At the end of the day, the coffee is really good, we usually can't complain about the service and there is always something interesting going on. Got any Jim's stories to share? Tell us, won't you, with the comments button below.
Well, I grew up here, so you can imagine my past is filled with the usual Jim's stuff--Dungeons & Dragons games, giant pyramids o' creamer packages from hours spent guzzling coffee, etc. My friend John used to work at the one on Hildebrand (@ San Pedro, I think). I spent a huge amount of time there as a teenager.
ReplyDeleteActually, after I got married the first time, a small group of us went to Jim's (the one on Broadway) and had dinner.
I've had my share of Quickie's there.....the breakfasts, nothing fun! I like Jim's (we put the Tejas slant on it and call it Him's) and we have a lifetime (well, until the card wears completely out, which looks like sooner rather than later) discount card my hubby picked up somewhere. And they actually have a pretty good hamburger! My favorite is the Club sandwich....and my husband feels special because even though the Colorado Club was taken off the menu, they'll still make him one.
ReplyDeleteHim's - I like that; how very Tejana of you.
ReplyDeleteA lifetime discount card? Do you own a scanner and some PhotoShop?
@ Sabra Actually, after I got married the first time, a small group of us went to Jim's (the one on Broadway) and had dinner.
ReplyDeleteWell, I would one-up you and tell you we went to Steak & Ale (the one off of 410 near Vance Jackson) but I think it is a strip club or something now.
After living in upstate NY for 13 years I finally moved back to SA.
ReplyDeleteThe very first time I ever went to Jim's was probably in '83 when my band took me there after a show, so it was around 4AM.
A man in the next booth was on a date, and was so classy that he even did the ordering for the young lady, much to the amusement of the waitstaff.
Their food came around the same time as ours, and the gallant man even cut her food for her, all the while saying the nicest and most flattering things--you could tell he was smitten.
The staff was giggling up a storm, especially when he expressed concern that his date wasn't eating--he commented that her tummy must be upset.
(On the other hand, I demolished my 1st ever order of huevos rancheros!)
We stayed to see how things would turn out. After their meal and nearly constant although one-sided conversation, the man and his date departed with a hearty thanks to the staff and strong assurances that the food was fine, it was just her upset stomach that caused so much food to be left uneaten.
"Please assure your chef that everything was wonderful!"
Their waitress insisted on comping the lady's meal, which almost killed me.
After they left, we all laughed loudly and shared our favorite tidbits of overheard conversation with other tables and the staff. Everyone had a terrific time that night.
Because you see, his date was an inflatable "love" doll that he had dressed-up rather smartly, and never once did he break character and treat her like anything less than a fine lady.
Everyone played along, which was even more hilarious considering the waitresses were stereotypical gum-popping 50-something vets who called me darlin' and gave me crap about my spandex shirt.
He tipped $10 on a $4 check, BTW.
Because you see, his date was an inflatable "love" doll that he had dressed-up rather smartly, and never once did he break character and treat her like anything less than a fine lady.
ReplyDeleteWhat a true gentleman. I'm gonna guess with manners like that, it was a sure bet that he got lucky that morning.
Great story!