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Jimmy's American Tavern

Jimmy's American TavernAs of this post on 10/4/11, Jimmy's is already closed. We added the last paragraph & "in a word" after we heard the news.

In a word: Jimmy, can you see me?

The specs: #0723  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Channel 3000, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Isthmus, Ruppert Food Blog, 77 Square; Facebook, official web site, Jimmy’s American Tavern on Urbanspoon

Latest Jimmy's American Tavern news and reviews

JM ate the BBQ pork sandwich with a lemonade.
John ate the 3 cheese pizza with a Capital amber.
Nichole ate the Reuben with an O'so Night Train.
Rose ate the American cheeseburger with a Diet Coke.
We split some nachos.
The bill was $80, or $20/person, plus tip.
JM and John gave Jimmy's American Tavern an A-; Nichole gave Jimmy's American Tavern a B+; Rose gave Jimmy's American Tavern a B (see our grading rubric).

Jimmy's has a very short menu but it's pretty well crafted. The warmth of the servers, as reported by the pros, feels calculated - our server called herself a "Pepsi whore" but we wouldn't be surprised if that were on an approved Luedtke's server vocabulary list somewhere. The atmosphere has stubbornly not changed since - ever.

They got nachos. So we got nachos. A ginormous platter of deep-fried flour and corn tortillas makes a bed for smoky, fatty pureed pinto beans. On top of that there's what tastes like a chicken-based cheese sauce and shredded cheese, and then the spicy, smoky beef brisket and some pico de gallo with jalapeños, onions, and sour cream.

The pizza is thin-crust, with some burned bubbles around the edges, and is especially good with the addition of some fresh black pepper.

NachosPizza and beer

JM's BBQ pork itself was seasoned to within an inch of its life, yet the sauce was only so-so. The American cheeseburger was done to order at medium. The bun was fresh and sturdy enough for the burger patty plus onion, cheese and tomato.

As for the Reuben, the house-cured beef brisket was OK if sort of rubbery. Cheese, bread and dressing were textbook, and everyone's fries were a little too salty.

BurgerReuben

But, of course, all of this is moot.  The barn that has hosted four A to Z meals is closed yet again. Things to note: 1) this place is huge, 2) it's outside of the beltline and 3) there are no hotels nearby. We can think of no restaurants that match all three of these criteria that have succeeded. 

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NEWS

Listen to The Corner Table podcast "Remembering Restaurants," aired December 24, 2020, where Chris and Lindsay talk with us "about the menus and memories left behind when restaurants go away."

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