I have only been into a Jason's Deli a few times in my life, but often eat their boxed lunches as part of meetings that work through lunch. You end up paying somebody $10 and they usually have a choice of roast beast or turkey, plus some chips, a dill spear and a cookie of some sort.
My wife on the other hand swears that she never gets to go to Jason's or eat a boxed lunch, as if it was some special dining event, and so as a big special treat, we went for lunch on Sunday. Am I a special husband, or what?
The parking lots was full, but because they have so many tables in the place, it didn't seem busy at all. There is a huge soup and salad bar, free healthy frozen yogurt, and a menu that is really overwhelming with healthy food choices. Once you eliminate all the creepy healthy items, you can get down to business and order some food.
My wife went with the club sandwich. It really is big, and as I alluded to before, they don't skimp on the meats. It is a little more classy than say a Subway, because your sandwich comes out on a plate and the chips and pickle (which she didn't bother to eat) aren't in a little bag. By the way, had we really looked at the menu before ordering, she could have substituted something like steamed veggies or potato salad or honey mustard Cole slaw instead of the chips and pickle. She'll know next time.
Not being limited to the boxed lunch options, I had to make a quick decision between the Muffaletta or a Reuben. The Reuben won out and I was reasonably happy with it. In comparing it to places like Schilo's and even Earl Abel's, I think Jason's is easily a bigger portion (lots more corned beef), but the other places grill the bread or something as opposed to toasting it. Maybe they slather a bunch of butter on the top and fry it. Don't get me wrong, it was a good Reuben - I'd gladly enjoy one from Jason's in the future, but I kept thinking as I was wolfing it down, it seemed a tad bit dry. Maybe that was some sort of health trick to make me not want to clean my plate.
Next time we go - and my wife took the menu home so she could study it - so there will be a next time, we may try one of the options that allows you yo get a half sandwich and a soup or salad. Or I may just go with the Muffaletta.
I would compare Jason's to Panera, but Panera seems a little more upscale what with the different dining areas and WiFi access. Cost is about the same. For the two of us, sandwiches, drinks and a cookie, it all came out to over $22.00. I think Panera would run about the same.
Oh, final note: When did Applebee's go out of business? We used to occasionally go to the one located just across the parking lot from Jason's, and now, it is all closed up. What gives?
Do you know about Applebee's? Do you know where I can get a good Reuben or a top notch Muffaletta? Tell me about it or leave a comment here.
I'll make this very brief; The new TGI Friday's at 151 & 410 had acceptable food but bizarre service.
My wife and I had finished up our Sunday sightseeing and on the way back home made several false starts at places to eat. I had even considered the idea of - gasp - just eating something at home.
We drove by Henry's Puffy Tacos on Bandera & 410 even though neither of us wanted Mexican food, but since we had never been there and looking to try something new, we figured what the heck. But, they were closed. I don't know if they are closed on Sunday's or don't open until later or they are really, really closed. Who knows?
Next stop, Jason's Deli. But, my wife said instead of Jason's we should try McAllister's Deli over on 151 since neither of us have tried it. So, I get going to 151 and before we can pull into McAllister's, I see TGIF's and we go there instead.
Okay, to the point. I ordered up a Cobb Salad. In all honesty, I didn't know what a Cobb Salad was, but the last time I was with some co-workers at a TGIF in New Jersey, one of the guys ordered it and loved it.
So, our waitress was friendly and pleasant and such and other than the fact that they seated us between two families with screaming kids, everything was going rather well. I got my iced tea and my wife got some sort of frozen slushy drink and was very pleased to get one of those straws that bends. That is real value if you ask me.
Anyway, we sit there a little bit and before too long, a guy comes from the kitchen to deliver our order. My wife got a sandwich so there wasn't an immediate reaction by her that something was missing. And frankly, when he set down my Cobb Salad, I was immediately consumed at just how huge the portion was. He was gone before it hit me that we had never received any silverware or napkins for that matter.
I sat there for a minute or so and thought that I might get up to ask the hostess for some silverware but just then, our waitress made her way back. "So," she says, "how is everything? Can I get you anything else?"
I stared down at my untouched salad and looked up and said, "A fork?"
I don't know what I expected as a response but she answered with an "Oh? Okay." as if I was asking for something extraordinary. My wife quickly added in a request for some honey mustard and the waitress smiled and said, "sure".
I sat there for another minute or two and I was strating to get this really bizarre feeling like I was either on Candid Camera and Mr. Funt would pop out from one of the booths of screaming kids, or perhaps I was no kidding starting to feel some sort of transferred chemical reaction from having read Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (it has quite a bit of chemical abuse in the book). I mean, this had to be some sort of crazy Twilight Zone thing.
Finally, as my wife was a good third of the way through her sandwich (she was really hungry), our waitress came around as if she too had been reading Mr. Thompson's crazy account of a trip to Vegas, and casually handed me a fork. A single fork, no napkins, not a fork or anything for my wife; just a single fork.
Realizing that there would be no appearance by any TV crews to have me wave and smile, I stopped our waitress before she could move along and said, "I'm sorry. I guess there was a miscommunication. You see, we never received any forks or napkins or any other service items aside from a fancy bending straw, so really, I wasn't asking for just a single fork, I was hoping for the full compliment of utensils."
She leaned in and said, "Oh, there is a slight problem in the kitchen. We are out of forks and knives and things, but I'll get you some napkins."
I then held up my fork and asked her if this one had been washed or had she grabbed it from someone else's table. She got a nice chuckle from that and promised it was clean.
So, in the end, the food was good and in fact, I ate half of it and took the rest to work for lunch today.
I'll offer up my Tasty Treat status for the quality of the food, but you might want to give TGI Friday's at 151 and 410 another few weeks to have the rest of their silverware arrive. Either that or just order sandwiches.
How was your last visit to TGI Friday's? Tell me about it.
My wife on the other hand swears that she never gets to go to Jason's or eat a boxed lunch, as if it was some special dining event, and so as a big special treat, we went for lunch on Sunday. Am I a special husband, or what?
The parking lots was full, but because they have so many tables in the place, it didn't seem busy at all. There is a huge soup and salad bar, free healthy frozen yogurt, and a menu that is really overwhelming with healthy food choices. Once you eliminate all the creepy healthy items, you can get down to business and order some food.
My wife went with the club sandwich. It really is big, and as I alluded to before, they don't skimp on the meats. It is a little more classy than say a Subway, because your sandwich comes out on a plate and the chips and pickle (which she didn't bother to eat) aren't in a little bag. By the way, had we really looked at the menu before ordering, she could have substituted something like steamed veggies or potato salad or honey mustard Cole slaw instead of the chips and pickle. She'll know next time.
Not being limited to the boxed lunch options, I had to make a quick decision between the Muffaletta or a Reuben. The Reuben won out and I was reasonably happy with it. In comparing it to places like Schilo's and even Earl Abel's, I think Jason's is easily a bigger portion (lots more corned beef), but the other places grill the bread or something as opposed to toasting it. Maybe they slather a bunch of butter on the top and fry it. Don't get me wrong, it was a good Reuben - I'd gladly enjoy one from Jason's in the future, but I kept thinking as I was wolfing it down, it seemed a tad bit dry. Maybe that was some sort of health trick to make me not want to clean my plate.
Oh, final note: When did Applebee's go out of business? We used to occasionally go to the one located just across the parking lot from Jason's, and now, it is all closed up. What gives?
