REVIEW

This review was provide by Matt Terl. click here to read Matt's Bio

Yes, they're named after the place from Three's Company. Yes, their food is self-consciously quirky, almost to a fault. Yes, they offer a variety of bizarre drinks, including shooters. Yes, on some level they're just a neighborhood bar with dreams of something bigger -- with all the good and the bad that implies.

But when they hit -- and they often hit -- Jack's Bistro can play with the best and the brightest in town. In colder weather, their Saigon Soup is worth a trip all on its own, bright, clear flavors in a shrimp/duck broth so rich that it makes all of the noodles and potstickers irrelevant. And this is a kitchen that knows how to handle a short rib, crispy where it should be, tender where it should be, sitting on a completely unnecessary but completely delicious pile of jalapeno bacon gouda grits. A scallop special of three different scallops on three different pedestals is frustrating, because it would be nice to have more of each, but fascinating and delicious nonetheless.

And how churlish would we have to be to fault a restaurant where you can eat an entire three course meal built around the concept of the cheeseburger? Start with Cheeseburger Balls (tasty, if owing a bit to frozen hors d'oeuvres), follow with the Cheeseburger Soup (pretty much what you'd expect, if you'd ever bothered to think about it before), and have the excellent Grilled Prime Chophouse Burger as your entrée, preferably topped with gouda.

Some of the experimentation goes awry. The Logom appetizer is more bizarre than good, and probably only worth ordering if you're 24 years old and stoned out of your face, and the Pop Rocks on the Pepper Berry Tuna are distracting at best. But when they hit, as in the rich and exquisite Macaroni and Cheese and Chocolate, they make up for most of the misses.