Big Jones: User Reviews
I had the most unbelievable dinner there this weekend. From the cornbread all the way up to a sweet potato fudge dessert, everything was top notch. I usually expect southern food to be very heavy, but it was actually perfect before a night on the town with my sweet. It's not really traditional southern, not that I'm an expert, but it's more like new American/Southern. The flavors definitely reminded me of New Orleans and that whole area, but the presentations were very clean and modern.
The decor is really very nice, clean and modern-looking but with a Southern feel.
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I have been wanting to try this place for a while now. I have read the reviews and like always wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt so I passed up all the other great places on Clark to give Big Jones a shot. Here it is straight and to the point: 5:30 pm on a week night, no one else in the pace. We ordered our 1st drink and the fried green tomatoes. We ordered a 2nd drink and a second appetizer, mind you the first had not come out yet. 45 minutes later both appetizers arrive at the same time..Fried Green Tomatoes COLD! The "pickled shrimp" were like rubber combined with the SIT time cold greasy...you get the point. I should have quit at that point but we pushed on...asked the opinion of the waiter and decided on the $14 burger. We ordered it med to med rare...it came out GREY, they smother it with a mayonnaise like substance to make it creamy.The service was poor at best though very charming! We were there for over 2 hours...good thing we were not in a hurry. I would not give this pace a second thought. It is not good Cajun food, it is a want to be under the guise of "gourmet". Do yourself a favor...pass this one by!
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Best overall meal we've had in a year
By ali29803970 from lincoln square, September 24, 2009
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I had seen Big Jones at the green city market BBQ and had heard good things so we tried it tonight for my birthday dinner. We were both pleasantly amazed with the quality, freshness, service, and taste combinations.
Here's our personal menu that wowed us:
fried green tomatoes - let them cool down and the flavors popp even more.
Crawfish fritters - just amazing
pork chop w/ sweet potato hash & bean purée - have to admit I had order envy on this one. The pork was perfectly seasoned & cooked. The sweet potato hash was carmelized with perfect bacon - it was insane!
Catfish - well cooked - the greens were really the star of this dish. Yum!
Pear soup - not sure why they call it that but it has homemade Ginger ice cream, marmalade cake and a pear purée. My boyfriend who doesn't do desserts was attacking this one and I would have eaten it all if I wasn't completely stuffed.
By the way David - our waiter - rocked!
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I had brunch there recently and the food was excellent. A few weeks later, I tried to buy some gift certificates and it was like pulling teeth. Barely a thank you for spending $150 in a down economy? Loose the attitude, please.
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disappointing food, except for the fried green tomatoes, which were very good....indifferent service, even on a slow night. we watched our food sit out, waiting to be picked up by our waiter who was more interested in his conversation with the attractive woman at the bar((
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I have to agree with the last reviewer regarding the excessive wait. We had a reservation for our party on a Sunday and we were virtually the only patrons in the restaurant the entire time we were there. In spite of that fact, we waited about 45 minutes for our entrees, with no apologies or any other explanation. Some of the items were very good, such as the fried green tomatoes, chicken fried steak, and blackened chicken sandwich. Others were disappointing, such as the pecan fried catfish - the pecans had little flavor other than tasting burned. The mac and cheese, which is such a standard you would expect it to be great in a southern-style restaurant, was little more than a mass of congealed cheddar cheese. The decor of the restaurant is very nice and the menu is interesting and varied, but the service and some of the items need tweaking. It is nice that kids eat free (off the kid's menu) between 4-6 on weekdays.
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We had Father's Day brunch here with a party of 6. The food was tasty, but it took about 40 minutes for our orders to be served. Initial coffee/beverage service and complimentary beignets were prompt. But our main dishes took so long afterwards, and our server didn't check-up on us while we waited and waited. Also, the room could use some more heavy drapes to help mitigate the noise-level in the dining room.
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I've tried a number of dishes at Big Jones at both brunch and dinner, and all have been uniformly tasty. I also quick like the cocktail list, which includes unusual offerings like Sazeracs and Continental Flips.
But most of all I CRAVE their insanely good burger. Made with Tallgrass beef, homemade worchestershire, sauteed mushrooms, garlic aioli and fontina cheese, it's nothing short of fantastic. A deal at $14.
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I have been to Big Jones four times and I always leave completely satisfied.
The food, service and atmosphere are fabulous!
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If you have every had real southern comfort food then you why I write this. How can you make comfort food pretentious? The answer is Big Jones. I do not understand why food that is supposed to be warm and inviting is served up with low talking waiters and fancy unnecessary accoutrements (pickled shrimp?). The appetizer bread is not bread but a cracker type that was flavorless, served with an even more flavorless spread. I order a chicken salad that was a pile of over cooked chicken strips with very little seasoning and bib lettuce. Bib lettuce!!! who still serves bib lettuce alone with no other salad greens mixed in for color or taste. I will say this, the food is very pretty. It looked great. I went with a friend on his recommendation but the restaurant is nothing like it is described. And the one thing that stood out the most was a HIBISCUS MARGARITA WHICH WAS FABULOUS!! I'd go back for that alone. I will say I didn't have any entrees and I will try to go back to try them but the starters I had plus a salad did not scream comfort food and left me wanting something from Heaven on Seven which represents this cuisine much better without the pretense.
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Review Summary
The following scores represent the average rating submitted by 106 users:
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