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Jackie's, Georgia and Sligo Avenue in Silver Spring - Chef Adam Harvey Replaces Diana Davila-Boldin - Closed


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I went to Jackie's in Silver Spring for the first time for dinner and enjoyed it quite a bit. There hasn't been too much written about it for a long time on other boards so I wasn't sure what to expect, or to order. We had the soft shell crab to start, which was on the papery side of soft, and kind of puny, but tasty; and the Mini Elvis Burgers, also tasty, especially the pimento cheese spread on top, but cooked all the way through to a uniform brown. The pan fried chicken with potato salad that was the special was fabulous (and a real bargain at $12). I'm not sure whether our very friendly waiter was slow because he was so busy or because he knew we wanted time to catch up with old friends who somehow managed to have two kids, change careers and move twice while I wasn't paying attention. In any event, slow worked great for us. The rhubarb pie could have used more fruit, but a great dollop of fresh cream made up for it. I also enjoyed the Flying Dog- Doggy Style Pale Ale on tap - perfect with the fried chicken. I think it would be a great place for a MoCo-style happy hour.

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Something always slips through the cracks....

Many of you know that I'm a big Jackie's booster.

Easily the best of SS (for now :lol: ).

The specials are usually the best dishes. My personal favorite is the Thursday night braised pork. Small but excellent beer selection and a small, but very nice, wine selection.

Service can sometimes be a crapshoot, but is always friendly.

Jackie and Patrick are great.

Need to rectify my long absence.

A HH sounds like a capital idea, I'll just pack up Peanut and bring her on down.

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As someone from Silver Spring-- I REALLY want to like Jackie's. They do a few things well (steak, mini burgers), and other items are OK. I would really like to see more daily / seasonal specials, as I feel I have memorized the menu. Even with the few items they added in the last couple of months, I feel like it needs... something. Alas, it is the only "nice" place for dinner in the area, until Ray's comes!

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I agree on Jackie's. I like it too. But not as much as I'd like to. As for Ray's, I think it is becoming Gatsby's green light for us area eaters, month by month it recedes before us. But that's no matter -- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further. And one fine morning...

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I agree on Jackie's. I like it too. But not as much as I'd like to.

Ya know, me too... :lol: I visited a few times when it first opened & thought it was great. Once it got too popular to get a spot at the bar, I backed off. Then, went for my first visit in months about 3 weeks ago & was seriously underwhelmed.

The service was glacial, food was lukewarm when it showed up, and every single dish we ordered had limp french fries on the side. The bright spot was my roast chicken which did have an amazing flavor. It'll stay in the stable of neighborhood eats but not anything more (ie a destination to bring friends too).

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I agree on Jackie's. I like it too. But not as much as I'd like to. As for Ray's, I think it is becoming Gatsby's green light for us area eaters, month by month it recedes before us. But that's no matter -- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further. And one fine morning...

I enjoy Jackie's immensely and think they do a great job and more at being a fun, friendly high quality neighborhood restaurant.

Do they even have a counterpart in the District?

It's always a problem: what happens when a restaurant is more, and better, than it needs to be, but because of that it doesn't always live up to expectations that aren't even required of it, if you think about?

By the way, Stretch, shame on you for referencing the final paragraph of Gatsby without working in the word "orgiastic."

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Does anyone know if Jackie's has limited, late-summer hours?

Yesterday I dropped by around 1:30 for a late Friday lunch and was met by just a "Closed" sign hanging from the door (the place was dark and deserted). Thought maybe I was just too late for lunch service, so I had my second "consolation prize" lunch in the old-school italian place across the street (previously blanked on the closed Monday thing). While there I overheard a 4-top at least a half hour ahead of me muse about missing their Elvis burgers - so maybe it's not just me.

I hadn't thought to eat there in a few months and it may be a few more before I try again.

Edited to add: I called the restaurant to ask about their weekday lunch service - it's been suspended for the summer and MAY come back again during the winter...

Too bad the lunch menu is still live on their website (what a tease).

Edited by Lydia R
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on a first visit, we had a good time at jackie's last night. instead of a tv in the bar area, there's a translucent screen separating the dining room on which i was able to watch inverted footage of Earth. i would like to suggest belly dancers with tinted sunglasses -- maybe they could have a gyro night -- an appropriate reminder that you don't often get to enjoy this many pillows without having to eat with your hands.

anyway, the solitary oyster hanging out with the calamari had eat me written all over it, and practically tore itself apart so that two could share. accompanied by beaten avocado and salsa, these nachos were good enough to try to sneak into the afi down the street. there was nothing not to like about the flatiron steaks and fries.

if you started out with one of jackie's raspberry martinis, you may feel that you've already had dessert, but a neopolitan waffle ice cream sandwich and mocha ice cream soda make it worth having some more. at the adjoining table a woman was all thumbs-up about her blueberry mousse, her dining partner not too upset that they were having problems in the kitchen chiseling the watermelon sorbet. the tables up front are close together so if you are adept at small talking you might get to taste some things you didn't order. a word of warning about the raspberry martini: first, it goes really well with the 50s-60s plexiglass bubble decor, and comes with a head of advertised pink foam that if you're not careful will give you a moustache that also matches. a traditional gin martini is probably a better choice.

i'm not going to slam the service. our waiter was still learning and at least half-way there. we didn't pick up on any attitude at jackie's. i can't say it's all the time, but this place was exceptionally happy during our visit.

after pretending you're eating in south beach, if you want an alternative to the metro back downtown, take the 70 bus across the street on georgia avenue and you can pretend you're in detroit. the only young chilcdren on board were well-behaved, carrying unopened water pistols.

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I went back to Jackie's this past weekend. I really want to like that place, but the one thing that they always made well has been changed, not for the better.

We had the mini-Elvis burgers, which were good as usual.

I always count on the steak to be good, and it is usually what I order. They changed it to include some sort of potato gratin, which was no where near as good as the fries that usually came with it. There were two sauces; one was a bordelaise, which was fine, and the other spinach, which was terrible. I had to push it away so that it would not mar the rest of the food, but it was the most prevalent. I don't know how my favorite veggie could make such a bad sauce, but there you have it.

The service was maddening as well. Our waitress was MIA most of the night, and over zealous when she was there, interrupting, etc. We were there for over 2 1/2 hours, but it was not that relaxing. I am glad they are updating some of the menu, but I wish they would not mess with something that was not broken.

FYI, the steak was still good, but it was the only thing I liked on my plate. I probably should have spoken up, but with the MIA waitress, by the time she came by, our dinner was over.

I REALLY can’t wait for Ray’s Classic to open

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I went to Jackies about about a month or two ago. I really like the place.

It is really a cute neighborhood restaurant. We had the steak and I think the risotto. I remember the food being very good, not over the top but very good for a neighborhood place. No it is not in a Ray's catagory, but I really did not have any complaints.

The service was good, not the best ever. Our waitress was NICE (curteous, efficient and had a smile on her face) and these days that puts her two steps ahead of most others.

I would go back in heart beat.

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I've gotta say I'm not a huge fan of Jackie's. I've been a resident of this area for a very long time and I look forward to some of the culinary developments in the Silver Spring/Takoma area, but I'm underwhelmed by this place. The entrees are too expensive for what you actually get, and the appetizers are boring. The service is never all that great, and I'm just not impressed.

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I've gotta say I'm not a huge fan of Jackie's.  I've been a resident of this area for a very long time and I look forward to some of the culinary developments in the Silver Spring/Takoma area, but I'm underwhelmed by this place.  The entrees are too expensive for what you actually get, and the appetizers are boring.  The service is never all that great, and I'm just not impressed.

Truer words were never spoken. I've given the place another chance after a lackluster first visit, and it failed to impress me once again. Samantha's and Mandalay nearly always deliver a good meal however.

Any hidden gems in Takoma Park we should know about?

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We have also been disappointed with both the food and the service at Jackie's on a couple of occasions and am still struggling to figure out what the hype is all about. The only thing that it appears to have going for it is that the concept is somewhat unique to Silver Spring (not many new, trendy places).

We are always pleased with the service and food at Cubano's. Their plaintain chips are delicious, all their steaks are always cooked perfectly (my wife also loves the Chicken Fricasse), and their mojitos are damn tasty (and strong).

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The Mrs. and I went to Jackie's last night- I'm trying to wittle away as many Washingtonian Top 100 and Cheap Eats places as I can, and jackie's falls on BOTH LISTS (not sure how they qualify for a cheap eats listing- 1 app, 2 entrees, 1 dessert and 1 beer were $68.)

I love the decor- modern funk in what apparently was a rundown space. It's befitting the entire silver spring revival. taking some older structures and keeping the exterior in many cases while revitalizing the inside. The exposed brick and the construction site lightbulbs hanging from extension cords from the ceiling just seem to fit with the minimalist decor.

Our waiter was very friendly. He did a nice job explaining some of the specials and steered us in the right direction. Was debating about which beer to have and he recommened the Belgian Hoegaarden- a very good choice (apparently made by the same folks who make Stella Artois- yum!).

We had 2 mini-Elvis burgers to start- and they are addictive. Perfectly cooked to medium rare with a big dollop of pimento cheese spread. HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG WITH PIMENTO CHEESE? I mean, it's not like head cheese. ew. the buns were nicely toasted and it set a good tone.

Unfortunately the fried chicken that so many rave about is now a daily special and wasn't offered on our visit- I believe it's only Wednesday nights now.

The bread was good but the butter was ice cold and unspreadable. Can't someone tell restaurants that ice cold butter from the fridge and room temp bread don't go together? either use olive oil or use whipped butter. but I can't fault them too much as the bread by itself was very nice.

I had the Flat Iron Skillet steak medium rare. Our waiter said it's grilled between 2 hot cast iron skillets and it's a thicker cut, so my medium rare had a center that was still quite rare. but the other 90% of the steak was wonderful. Reminded me a little of a hangar steak but quite flavorful with a green romesco sauce. The fries were very good- not quite Mannequin Pis quality where they're still smolderingly hot, but very good.

My wife had the special- roast beef with mashed potatoes and haricot verts. The beans were perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were also very nice. The beef was served with a brown gravy. While it was good, for $17 it's pretty hard to make roast beef that's going to live up to the price IMHO. Good but not great.

Dessert offers some unique choices but we decided to split one or I'd have headed for the blood orange sorbet or the cheese plates- some nice choices for 9-12 dollars. But we split the waiter-recommended chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream. Our waiter said it used to come with caramel sauce but didn't anymore but asked if we'd like some. We said SURE.

I thought that was a great touch and it added to the dessert so kudos to him. The brownie was good- topped with nuts, but not "wow" inducing. Pretty typical actually- like something you'd get at an Applebees or Fridays. In fact, I was surprised that the vanilla ice cream didn't have a speck of vanilla bean in it- I'm not expecting homemade ice cream, but come on, even Breyers has specks of vanilla beans. The ice cream was a bit of a letdown. The serving of brownie was enormous- a good call to split it, but unremarkable.

Overall, I'd try Jackie's again. I'm not sure how it qualifies for cheap eats status when the apps were 6-9, the entrees ran 16-27 and the desserts were 5 or 6++. If we'd each ordered 3 courses and a drink we'd have been pushing 80 dollars before tax and tip.

Having lived in Wheaton years back, I'm excited about the Silver Spring revitilization, and I see some potential with this restaurant. Not everything was a hit, but nothing was a big miss either.

And I had to laugh when the chef (formerly of Cashion's Eat Place in Adams Morgan) was the one wearing the thin dishwasher-type chef's shirt, while one of the line cooks had the nice thick chef's jacket with an embroidered name. Guess the chef doesn't want the attention. The open kitchen is a joy to watch- how 4 or 5 people operate in such a tiny space is amazing.

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I wanted to really like Jackie's. The space is adorable and it's less than a mile from our house. Unfortunately, both the cooking and the service were uneven, the menu isn't very interesting, and it's expensive for what you get. It was one of those meals where we sat down, looked at the menu, looked at each other, and had to stifle the urge to get up and leave because it was not what we wanted and more than we wanted to pay.

Jackie's Nachos, $6.50 A dozen chips thinly smeared with beans, and smothered with so much cheese that the whole dish sits in a pool of grease. We left at least a half cup of congealed cheese on the plate. Gah.

Grilled calamari, shrimp, and scallops, green romesco sauce, $9.00 Two tired, chewy shrimp with a pile of slightly rubbery squid and one grilled sea scallop. The romesco had very little flavor.

Beef Stew, $24.00 Good sauce, nice spaetzle, some carrots, and three little cubes of beef.

Pork chop, mashed sweet potatoes, sauteed spinach, $25.00 One, half-inch thick, bone-in pork chop on top of some decent sauteed spinach and a small pile of oversweetened sweet potatoes. It was very flavorful and nicely browned, but approximately 3 ounces of actual meat. I realize that the pig was probably read bedtime stories and taken to museums, but for $25 I expected a little more.

Vanilla ice cream No discernable vanilla flavor.

Butter pecan ice cream with caramel sauce and pecans Salty in a good way and delicious.

Scott had a Flying Dog pale ale, I glanced at the wine list but opted for iced tea.

Our service was oddly disjointed and there were a few small glitches. We waited almost ten minutes before one server took our drink order, then another delivered it, then someone else came to take our food order, but everyone seemed pleasant. We'd go back, but only because there are so few nice, non-chain options in our area.

OK overall, but I left really wishing that Colorado Kitchen was open on Tuesdays.

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A group of 4 had 8pm dinner Friday night. Made reservations Thursday evening, no problem. Got there a couple minutes early and bartender was attentive and quick.

Sat in booth next to wine cage in back left corner -- tables quite large and comfortable. The decor is an acknowledgement of the space's history as an auto repair shop, with random photos of the universe or something beamed on a screen seperating the bar from the restaurant.

Diet Coke: my friend labeled it far too sweet... not mixed right.

Miniburgers: Juicy and well cooked with tasty buns. But overpriced at $3 each (compared to, say, Matchboxn downtown). Each burger is bigger than matchbox, plus the pimento cheese is tasty, although not called out on the menu.

We ordered our meals, then asked for another minute to choose a bottle of wine. Waitress didn't return for 10 minutes, despite our being stationed next to the wait staff order computer. Couldn't catch her eye, despite several attempts. She returned when she was ready.

Entrees:

* Ordered 2 halibuts (with fennel salad and cold potato salad); fish servings small, but cooked to flaky goodness with a light yellow crust. $26 was steep for the portion. When ordering, my friend asked whether the potato salad was mayo or mustard-based, and the response was "its your standard potato salad." Fennel salad was tasty but cold potato salad felt out of place on this plate.

* Steel head trout with pureed fennel. I tried and was tasty.

* Friday's special nostalgia bowl of ciopino. Plenty of seafood. Saw squid, etc.

* Side of sweet mashed potatoes (which are actually mashed sweet potatoes): have curry (not mentioned on menu) and therefore were not a hit with the one who ordered them. I tasted them and they were a bit thin, but tasty. I did like the curry in there. Not spicy, just enough to taste it.

Bottom line on the entrees: Small portions for the price. Nothing extraordinary, but tasty meals. The meals were each, as the waitress labeled the potato salad, "standard." If I'm paying $24-26 per entree for small portions, I'm expecting something special that I can't make at home. The food did not rise to that level.

Desserts:

* Pecan pie: tasty, but not at all sticky and firm, as you'd expect usual. It crumbled under the fork, making it really hard to share, especially across the big table. I recommend the pasty chef take a trip south for a few days for a refresher on rib-sticking pecan pie.

* Chocolate cherry Bread pudding -- for me, the highlight of the meal! Bread top & bottom sandwiching together a layer of red cherries and melted choc chips! Yum.

* Coffee: both decaf and regular were too weak... we commented that it tasted like it was brewed by someone who doesn't drink coffee and doesn't know what they're doing. (They were out of espresso at 9:30 on Friday night... seems poor planning.)

Overall, the service was pleasant. But, once we paid and waitress picked up bills, we sat & talked for 20 minutes or more, but waitress ignored the table (and walked by many times) for the rest of the night. (There was no wait to be seated, so there was no rush for them to move us along.) No more coffee, no more niceties, no acknowledgement, no "have a nice night." We were treated like we'd undertipped, which we had not.

A note on the Washington Post review (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=cityguide/profile&id=1104489): If you've checked Tom Sietsema on the Washington Post, note that the prices have spiked significantly since his visit. He lists $11-20 as the entree range, but I'd say they're $18-26 now. Amazing what a good review from a great reviewer can do for a restaurant's business.

Overall rating:

Food: 2 stars of 5 (portions could be bigger, especially for the price)

Service: 2 stars of 5 (could be better informed, more attentive)

Decor: 4 stars of 5 (I enjoyed the setting and crowd was vibrant and fun...)

I hope it improves for the sake of Silver Spring's away from downtown image. It could be great with a little more attention to detail and bringing the prices into line with the food. For a few dollars more, I'd rather go to Ray's the Classics in Silver Spring or a Jose Andres-level restaurant downtown.

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Had dinner at Jackie's last night for the first time. I had been meaning to check it out for a while, and since it was Restaurant Week, it gave me a bit more motivation to go.

The appetizers offered were different than the regular menu items. I got the grilled calamari with olive sauce and my plus one got a salad with warm camembert and pine nuts. Both were pretty good. The aforementioned Elvis Burgers were not on the RW menu, but we were able to order them separately. The pimento cheese can look slightly unappetizing, but it was damn good.

For the entrees I got the halibut with beet relish and asparagus, and she got the duck confit. I thoroughly enjoyed the halibut. It was a small, but thick cut -- simply seasoned, crispy on the outside, nice and flaky on the inside. I had a couple of bites of the duck and that too was tasty.

Dessert was pretty unexciting. The two choices were locally made sorbet (mango, raspberry, or lemon) and warm brownie a la mode. I love brownies and this one was pretty good. Though I think this slice was bigger than my halibut. I tried the sorbet my date got -- two scoops of lemon, one scoop of mango (they were out of raspberry). The lemon had a nice zing to it, and I thought the mango tasted good on the first try. Upon subsequent tastes, it started to remind of of some lotion one would find at Bath & Body Works or something. I immediately changed my opinion.

All in all, it was a pretty good meal, and I'd definitely go back. But I don't know why I'm such a sucker for Restaurant Weeks. I almost never order dessert, so I probably would've spent less than $30 on my food on a regular night. Oh well, it gave me an extra incentive to try the place, and that what it's supposed to do, right?

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I am planning a visit here. anyone been here lately?

I went there a week ago and was very disappointed.

First the good things:

The rib appetizers (pork riblets) were incredibly tasty and well prepared.

The fried chicken was solid although potato salad in February as the side dish would not have been my choice.

Now the disappointments:

The service was awful even though the place was less than half filled. The wait staff stood by and had nice chats with each other as the food would be sitting waiting for delivery to the table. The only person who seemed to be working hard was the busboy/water pourer who was very attentive. The waitress was unattentive and not very personable...a bad combination.

We ordered the mussels and fries as an entree (an appetizer and a side dish). The fries soggy (greasy) and the mussels not very warm.

All in all the food could/should be good but the execution of the kitchen and wait staff is awful. It seems like they just need a good manager to keep the place in order. I am going to try again but I will sit in the bar area and order appetizers since it appears the kitchen cannot coordinate multiple dishes.

I was really disappointed but there were enough good flavors for me to try again. I really hope I caught it on a bad night.

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I went there a week ago and was very disappointed.

First the good things:

The rib appetizers (pork riblets) were incredibly tasty and well prepared.

The fried chicken was solid although potato salad in February as the side dish would not have been my choice.

Now the disappointments:

The service was awful even though the place was less than half filled. The wait staff stood by and had nice chats with each other as the food would be sitting waiting for delivery to the table. The only person who seemed to be working hard was the busboy/water pourer who was very attentive. The waitress was unattentive and not very personable...a bad combination.

We ordered the mussels and fries as an entree (an appetizer and a side dish). The fries soggy (greasy) and the mussels not very warm.

All in all the food could/should be good but the execution of the kitchen and wait staff is awful. It seems like they just need a good manager to keep the place in order. I am going to try again but I will sit in the bar area and order appetizers since it appears the kitchen cannot coordinate multiple dishes.

I was really disappointed but there were enough good flavors for me to try again. I really hope I caught it on a bad night.

Huh.... sounds like the menu hasn't changed since 2006. Wonder how long they can survive. I guess now that she owns Quarry House, it just doesn't matter.

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I did end up going on Saturday night.

The place has a cool vibe, but the food was fair. I did start off the night with their fried oysters which were quite good. My wife ordered a green salad that was too spicy for her to finish. For the entrees, I had their special Saturday plate which was lamb. The lamb was pink and gray with no texture or flavor other than garlic. A complete disappointment. My wife had the rock fish which had plenty of kick to it, which was not mentioned at all on the menu. My wife, a plain food type, usually picks plain but safe choices and could not eat either. The deserts were good - apple crisp and a brownie.

Unfortunately, I will not be back.

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My wife ordered a green salad that was too spicy for her to finish.
I'm curious as to what could be done to a green salad to make it excessively spicy. If I were looking for a safe food to order to avoid heavy seasoning, I would think that would be it. All I can come up with is black pepper as a culprit, but I may not be thinking outside the box :P.
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Hey, just a proud note that Jackie's Restaurant will be hosting pretty much all the parties for Silverdocs next week, as we were selected as the "AFI's Cinema Lounge" (the primary location for the entertainment provided to passholders, filmmakers, event participants, and VIP's during the week). Anyway, for more info on that stuff, contact us at Jackie's, but this is really just a heads up that Silverdocs rocks and we hope you'll attend and support the festival!! Highlights are movies--and personal appearances by--LeBron James, Muhammed Ali, and Marion Barry. --Jackie from Jackie's

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Hey, just a proud note that Jackie's Restaurant will be hosting pretty much all the parties for Silverdocs next week, as we were selected as the "AFI's Cinema Lounge" (the primary location for the entertainment provided to passholders, filmmakers, event participants, and VIP's during the week). --Jackie from Jackie's
Thanks for the info!! Looking forward to the festival.
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The pan fried chicken with potato salad that was the special was fabulous (and a real bargain at $12).

Unfortunately the fried chicken that so many rave about is now a daily special and wasn't offered on our visit- I believe it's only Wednesday nights now.

"This place reminds me of Yo Fruit," was the astute comment made by my young dining companion as soon as we walked through the front doors.

Tonight it was a super Clay Pipe Backfin Pale Ale ($6 on the bill), with a couple Mini Elvis Burgers ($3 each) and a bowl of Maryland Crab Soup ($6). The burgers were ordered medium-rare, and cooked just right.

But Wednesday night is chicken night, and that's why we were at Jackie's. The gentleman behind it all was busy at work in a bandana, and a t-shirt that said "The Chicken Man" - it was Darius, the sous-chef, and his Skillet-Fried Chicken with Potato Salad ($15) is everything you hope it would be. Offered only on Wednesdays, it's a high-quality, teeny-tiny half-chicken with a simple rub, done in a big, hot skillet, served picnic-style alongside the homemade potato salad, the whole plate full of confidently direct flavors.

Good news for people working in Silver Spring: Jackie's will be opening an appendage, right next door (closer to Georgia Avenue), that will have carryout among other things. I'm a little skeptical of the soft-opening date I heard, because when I looked in, it didn't look nearly ready, but who knows? Perhaps mid-to-late August.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Sietsema apparently Tweeted yesterday that Morales is gone from Jackie's (with appropriate credit to TIm Carman for the heads-up).

I received this note last October, which I reproduce with the author's permission:

"I put the over/under on Frank and Jackie Greenbaum working together at 6 weeks. You wanna make a prediction?"

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I received this note last October, which I reproduce with the author's permission:

"I put the over/under on Frank and Jackie Greenbaum working together at 6 weeks. You wanna make a prediction?"

Without knowing anything about the individuals involved, is there a particular reason why this was a partnership that was doomed to fail?

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I went to Jackie’s in Silver Spring for the first time for dinner and enjoyed it quite a bit. There hasn’t been too much written about it for a long time on other boards so I wasn’t sure what to expect, or to order. We had the soft shell crab to start, which was on the papery side of soft, and kind of puny, but tasty; and the Mini Elvis Burgers, also tasty, especially the pimento cheese spread on top, but cooked all the way through to a uniform brown. The pan fried chicken with potato salad that was the special was fabulous (and a real bargain at $12). I’m not sure whether our very friendly waiter was slow because he was so busy or because he knew we wanted time to catch up with old friends who somehow managed to have two kids, change careers and move twice while I wasn’t paying attention. In any event, slow worked great for us. The rhubarb pie could have used more fruit, but a great dollop of fresh cream made up for it. I also enjoyed the Flying Dog- Doggy Style Pale Ale on tap - perfect with the fried chicken. I think it would be a great place for a MoCo-style happy hour.

I'm happy to see good comments about Jackie's (and other independently owned Silver Spring restaurants!). We go there every month or so, and enjoy the food and wine/beer list. However, the service is often disappointing. Just last night we dined there. My husband ordered steak which the menu described as being accompanied by winter broccoli. The waiter (who told us of the soup of the day and a special appetizer not on the menu only after we specifically asked) took our orders without comment, then delivered the steak and announced that last night it was being served with cauliflower instead of broccoli. My husband hates cauliflower. He would have asked for a different vegetable if told upfront that broccoli wasn't available, or ordered a different entree if replacing the cauliflower wasn't an option. I'm afraid that lack of good service is a consistent theme to our visits. We love Jackie's food and love having Jackie's in downtown Silver Spring, but we'd love it even more if we could expect better service. Ah, well...

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We walked into Jackie's just as they were closing the kitchen, after drinking at Sidebar. They let us put in our order right before they closed. We had the Elvis sliders and then tries what appear to be two new items - truffled cheese fries, and the chicken chiles relleno. The burgers were great - browned, but not yet charred on the outside and pink on the inside. The truffled cheese fries had small pieces of truffle (likely inside the cheese), but is a vast improvement from just using truffle oil and cheese. The cheese was sweeter than I expected it to be, but they got to be pretty addictive.

The chicken chiles rellenos was pretty surprising. It was a refined take without excessive amounts of gooey cheese, instead just some moist, flavorful shreds of chicken under an umbrella of a chile topped with a sort of crepe-like cover instead of frying with a creamy salsa verde. If this is a reflection on the new chef's cooking, Jackie's is definitely worth making return trips to try out other items. Yum.

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I finally made my way to Jackie's tonight, and I was rather underwhelmed with the whole experience.

Started the meal with cornmeal-crusted green tomatoes ($7), which seemingly came out almost raw. I realize a green tomato should be firm before cooking it, but these were tough to get through with a knife and fork.

The highlight of the meal was the skillet fried chicken w/potato salad ($16), but even this was uneven. Of the three pieces of chicken, the thigh was fantastic, the leg was alright, and the breast was dry in parts. The potato salad had more onion than I'm accustomed to, but I still enjoyed it.

Dessert was a banana split ($7), which was good, if unremarkable. I had an issue, however, with the pieces of peanut brittle and toffee which were added. They were way too large to eat in one bite, and in some cases too thick to break up with a spoon. This led me to, with my fingers, dig into the soupy melted ice cream and pluck out the peanut brittle so I could actually eat it. I was actually OK with this; I can understand why others (including those dining near me) would not be.

Service was also fairly lousy. I'm not sure if it took so long because we ordered the fried chicken, but it took two hours to get through three courses, in many cases with an uncomfortably long wait. All of this was compounded by our server saying that food would be out in two or three minutes, and having it not arrive for another ten minutes. I understand what he was trying to do, but don't give me a number figure if it's not going to be accurate. I know it may seem like a minor issue, but it really is a tease to prepare to receive your meal and then have to just continue waiting.

All in all, I don't see myself coming back to Jackie's. I struggle with saying that, because I feel like it makes it seem that things were far worse than they were, but I'm not sure I can justify the cost ($60 for one app, two of the cheapest main offered, and dessert) for what I got.

(One other note: I'm not sure if the menu's changed drastically since Diana Davila took over, but a lot of the mains just seem out of place. The whole space screams for a modern take on comfort food, and instead there's......bacon-wrapped rabbit loin? Korean "hot pot" tuna sashimi? I just don't get it. The decor portrays a very specific theme, and the current menu is not fitting that theme at all.)

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I finally made my way to Jackie's tonight, and I was rather underwhelmed with the whole experience.<snip>

it took two hours to get through three courses, in many cases with an uncomfortably long wait. <snip>

($60 for one app, two of the cheapest main offered, and dessert) for what I got.

Wow. MrP and I had an early dinner out tonight. It took us an hour and a half to get through three courses: one iced tea, one cocktail, 2 appetizers (smoked baby artichoke. raviolini in broth), 2 main courses (penne with meatballs, roast chicken), 2 desserts (chocolate hazelnut cake, strawberry rhubarb pie), and one coffee. $98 including tax for all that. Where would you rather go?

...Palena.

I don't get Jackie's, either.

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Wow. MrP and I had an early dinner out tonight. It took us an hour and a half to get through three courses: one iced tea, one cocktail, 2 appetizers (smoked baby artichoke. raviolini in broth), 2 main courses (penne with meatballs, roast chicken), 2 desserts (chocolate hazelnut cake, strawberry rhubarb pie), and one coffee. $98 including tax for all that. Where would you rather go?

...Palena.

As frustrating as that is to hear, it's almost more upsetting to drive past Ray's The Classics on the way back and know that I could've eaten there for roughly the same price (or, if I went with the whole comfort food motif and got a Hell-Burger, much less).

I don't get Jackie's, either.

I'm just glad I'm not the only one.

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I would just caution everyone from being so quick to judge. Getting use to a new kitchen, new crew, laying down the law and changing the way things have been done in the past is hard enough under the best of circumstances let alone walking into what is probably a very difficult situation having become the third chef in the past year to come in. The chef has only been in the space for just over, what, a month an a half? Please give her a chance to get settled in and then I'm sure you'll see what she is fully capable of. I'm sure some of you will say, well if you're charging we should be able to say what we think. I agree. by all means have your say, but please take it with a grain of salt and know it will only get better, at least foodwise. Also just realize that I'm not upset in any way and am not trying to be preachy, I just know that quick criticism can sting alot, especially when you're excited about the new oppurtunity, trying to show your new boss they made the right choice and busting you're hump for ungodly hours trying to get it "right". It's tough guys, real tough.

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I would just caution everyone from being so quick to judge. Getting use to a new kitchen, new crew, laying down the law and changing the way things have been done in the past is hard enough under the best of circumstances let alone walking into what is probably a very difficult situation having become the third chef in the past year to come in. The chef has only been in the space for just over, what, a month an a half? Please give her a chance to get settled in and then I'm sure you'll see what she is fully capable of. I'm sure some of you will say, well if you're charging we should be able to say what we think. I agree. by all means have your say, but please take it with a grain of salt and know it will only get better, at least foodwise. Also just realize that I'm not upset in any way and am not trying to be preachy, I just know that quick criticism can sting alot, especially when you're excited about the new oppurtunity, trying to show your new boss they made the right choice and busting you're hump for ungodly hours trying to get it "right". It's tough guys, real tough.

Fair enough, and I wish the best for the new BOH staff, but it doesn't change the fact that I didn't enjoy myself at Jackie's as much as I have at other places in Silver Spring, much less the DC area. And I'm sure it can be hard to hear criticisms, but if somebody is reading the comments I or someone else makes, do they really want me to lie for a morale boost instead of saying when something's not likely up to the chef's standards?

I would sincerely hope that nobody takes a "review" such as mine and extrapolates it to say "Diana Davila is a crap chef, and nobody should waste their time on her or her shoddy restaurant." Even with my feelings on my visit, I'd like to think that I alone would never end up turning away someone who otherwise had an interest in dining at Jackie's.

That aside, I think it's also worth noting that tenure in the kitchen doesn't address the service (a problem that, from other accounts, seems to be a constant from even before Frank Morales took over), nor does it change my opinion that the menu currently offered at Jackie's is in direct conflict with the general vibe of the place. Even if the kitchen had been executing their dishes perfectly, the experience still wouldn't have been outstanding.

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Don, is this place still worthy of being at the top of downtown Silver Spring list? We're meeting some friends in SS next week and we need a place to eat....perhaps we should go to Wheaton instead?

I had dinner there last Saturday night (after an incredible display of nine-ball at Sidebar) and had two very good appetizers, neither of which is listed on the current online menu. Nothing I experienced prompted me to move Jackie's from atop the Silver Spring guide. (I also tried to go to Ray's: The Classics several weeks ago, and was faced with a 30-minute wait, so went instead (for the first and last time) to Abol.)

Cheers,

Rocks

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It also seems that "hunks of protein" (steak, roast, fried chicken, pork tenderloin, poached salmon, lobster thermidor, etc.) are invariably gone at the end of the picnic, so I don't think we can have too many meat courses.

Nobody got my joke about this (click the "snapback" arrow for context), but Jackie seems to have picked up on it. First time I've seen lobster thermidor on a menu in years, if not decades.

Even if you aren't a fan of all-you-can-eat dinners, you have to admit this sounds awesome!

celebrate our 7th poster 8.5X11.pdf

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A little tardy in posting this as it's been a few weeks since we ate at Jackie's for the second time with the new chef. So maybe these things have been corrected, but it has been two visits with pretty much the same experience. In short, the food tends towards oversalted and very dry.

For appetizers, the highlight was the bone marrow. Nice and fatty, because who doesn't like fat? Our son loved this one. The not so good were the truffled cheese fries. Although the portion seems larger now, they were so salty, almost inedible. The cold corn soup was disappointing in that the corn didn't really shine the way it should in a  good corn soup. The calamari had a nice breading, if it could stay stuck to the calamari. It was nice and light, but just didn't stay stuck to the squid.

Main courses have been most disappointing. The Berkshire pork tasting comes with very small pieces of pork, all very dry. I think they were trying for crispy, especially on the pork belly, but it was just way overcooked, probably due to the small sizes. This is one dish which I think screams for a sous vide preparation. Great in concept, but poor in execution. The same can be said for the smoked Amish chicken. It smells fantastic, with a nice smoked smell, but the meat is so dried out it's painful to eat. The Roseda culotte was promoted as having been dry aged 28 days. Compared to other dry aged meat, this didn't have a lot of aged flavor to it. The problem with the salting on the beef was uneven salting, some bites perfect, others too salty and some no salt at all. I didn't taste enough of the salmon to get a really good opinion of it, but it seemed OK.

We have been fairly regular at Jackie's for the past 4 years since moving to the DC side of Silver Spring and are really disappointed in the turn that they have taken with their new chef, who certainly has great credentials. Perhaps it's just a matter of working out the kinks in the transition, but right now, it's not the restaurant it used to be under the previous chef.

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Went back for family night on Tuesday. Kids eat free. Yeah!

First, there was some notable improvement since our last visits. The Berkshire pork tasting seems to have evolved per some of my previous critique in that it is now larger pieces and more substantial. Didn't taste it, but it was definitely enjoyed by my father. I had the halibut which was prepared perfectly. Wife's steak was still suffering from slight overcooking and the piece I tasted was very dry.

For appetizers we tried the tuna sashimi at the recommendation of the waiter. While I can't say it was bad, it wasn't exactly good. This is one of those dishes where there is just way too much going on. The individual components were good, but together it was like a Jackson Pollock painting. Kind of a mess that you're expected to find creative, but in reality, aren't all that impressed. The tuna was fresh, but the sauce overwhelmed it. The avocado was in a little mousse cake with ikura on top and neither really complimented one another. Kids ate the ikura straight and the avocado was kind of left on its own.

Also got the oysters which were quite good, though one of mine didn't have much of the liquor in the shell.

Things are moving in the right direction, I think the chef just needs to stop trying so hard. Creativity is not trying to put as many things on a plate as possible. He just needs be more selective in which flavors he wants to highlight or play off one another, rather than throwing everything on the plate and hope it works.

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Sorry, went last fall the week after Restaurant Week and never did a write-up. (I remember the time because they were still doing RW menu, which I thought was kind of stupid given they regularly had a 3 course dinner for $30, less than the cost of RW) Food was much better than our last previous visit. Dishes were much more sensible in the mixing of flavors, he's still trying hard on the creativity side of things but not letting it overpower the dish like he seemed to be early on. He seems to have a lighter touch on the slat now as well, which was one of my criticisms previously. I think Jackies is one of the best deals in dining in the area with their prix fixe dinners Sun-Thurs. We keep wanting to go back, but with so many restaurants and so few dining out nights, haven't. Maybe sometime this month...

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Sooooo, the danger of this group is that we decided to go for dinner last night. First, although it's not on the menu anymore, they were offering the prix fixe for $32.

Kids got the chicken tenders and cheeseburger with sides of fries and brussel sprouts. Sides were the highlights of their dishes with lots of fries that we all had some as well as the sprouts which were also very good. Burger was way overcooked to being dry, though I'm guessing they do that for kids to ensure no chance of food borne illness.

For our first course, wife had the ricotta gnudi which was really nice with a nice serving of meat, though she forgot to look what exactly it was. I think it was a braised brisket from the small taste I got. I had the tempura sweetbreads, which were very good, though I would not call the batter a tempura batter, more of a beer batter, kind of like onion rings. I also thought it was a little overcooked as the sweet breads did not have quite the creamy texture I was expecting.

For mains we had scallops with risotto which was a huge serving of 4 scallops on top of the risotto and greens on top. All the components went nicely together, and the dish held up well considering my wife had to take our daughter to the restroom just as it was delivered to the table. I had the porcetta which had a nice crust on the outside and very tender meat on the inside. It was served on top of a bed of beans with a slightly spicy seasoning on top. Not sure how to describe the seasoning as it was a bunch of things chopped up very small. Beans were a little bland, which was good for my son to eat, but when everything was combined together, it meshed well. Can't emphasize how nice the crust on the porcetta was.

Desserts were a chocolate cake with ice cream and pistachio mousse. Both were very nice endings to the meal.

With two beers the full meal was $100 and change before tip for a ridiculous amount of food.

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We were at AFI the other day and veered away from our usual stop at The Classics -- I've been meaning to try Jackies. Great veer. The gnudi you must have had came with lamb and a 63 egg; we loved it as well as our other first course Cacio e Pepe, a very simple but excellent preparation of angel hair pasta, cheese and pepper. We could have made an utterly satisfying meal from two orders of each. 

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Went with some friends for Monday night fried chicken for the first time. Apparently they had lost power the day before and the air conditioning was still not back a day later so it was a pretty hot night. They had called to warn us when I made the reservation, but this was our friends last time to eat there before moving out of the area so we stuck it out.

Fried chicken is very good. Has a little bit of spiciness to it as well which I really liked, and our daughter was OK with it, but our son found it too much. He did like the tilapia which is also available as a replacement to the chicken. The coating on the chicken is perfect and  I was eating all the bits that had fallen off into the bottom of the serving bowls. Frying was perfect as the meat was still juicy.

Potato salad was pretty standard but the kale was absolutely fantastic. I think I ate almost all of one of the serving dishes of kale by myself.

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I'm overdue to share my review of a recent meal here and sadly, although perhaps telling at this point I've forgotten many of the details of my dishes. What I haven't forgotten was the rather shoddy service. There was a group of 6 of us. We were seated quickly and then waited a full half hour to order any food. In that time, he did serve us wine, but delivered it with a "I'll give you more time to review the menu" line and shot off before anyone could stop him despite the fact that we were ready to order (our reservation was already on the late side at 8:30). I watched him putz around totally avoid any attempt I made at eye contact so we could order. 15 minutes later he appeared and said "he didn't want to bother us" or something along those lines. I think the whole table nearly cheered when we managed to actually get him to stay and take our orders.

It was at that point that he proceeded to tell us that they were out of several menu items, including one of the 2 entree dishes on the prix fixe menu. This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I asked if they had run out of the dishes in the last half hour, he said no. I really feel strongly that if the kitchen has already 86'd items, the server should let you know in advance so you don't spend time deliberating over options that aren't actually available. In the end, they were out of the pork tenderloin, which several in our group had planned on. Most just opted for the only other entree choice from the prix fixe, which was a seafood dish. I really didn't want seafood and they wouldn't sub the porchetta for the tenderloin so I ended up ordering a la carte at a substantial additional cost. I started with the cacio e pepe that I would have had from the prix fixe, which was a tasty dish outside of a noticeable absence of any real pepper flavor. Details of the porchetta dish are failing me, but I do remember that it had fresh summer vegetables and was tasty. The popcorn cream puff dessert, also part of the prix fixe menu was really delicious. I did not share. :P

Service once we ordered was okay - food was delivered fresh, but our server remained mostly absent and had to be flagged down so we could order another bottle of wine. Dessert and the check were another lengthy process and to top it off, the server made a mistake when running our credit cards (not a huge deal, and easily remedied, but it was just more time spent waiting). I don't know exactly what time we got out of there, but I would say it was close to 3 hours from start to finish.

I would give Jackie's another shot based purely on the food and hope for better service, but I would only go if the prix fixe menu appealed to me. I think for the quality of the food the prix fixe is a good deal, but the regular menu prices aren't justified. I will admit my opinion may be somewhat biased by the crap service.

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The Prix Fixe menu is definitely good value (now $28), and seems to be available nightly now. I hesitate to call it great value because the food, at least for me, was inconsistent. The cacio e pepe was a really nice start. I asked for extra pepper ground on top after reading Choirgirl's review, but they seem to have gotten things straightened out because the dish was nicely peppery throughout, with strings of shaved cheese and a little crunch from bits of breadcrumbs sprinkled throughout. The entree, pork tenderloin, was the major disappointment of the meal. The pork was overcooked and not particularly flavorful, and the vegetables and sauces arranged on the plate were fine, but didn't really seem to complement or elevate the pork in any way. One of the onions on my companion's plate, who got the same entree, was raw in the center layers. Dessert was luckily another hit, a honey ricotta eclair with little slices of peach IIRC. This was accompanied by a nice sorbet and some crunchy caramel cookie crust. 

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Tom Sietsema reporting that Jackie's will be closing in March of this year.

THIS JUST IN: Jackie's, the popular Silver Spring restaurant named for owner Jackie Greenbaum, will shutter sometime in March after an 11 year-long run, says the restaurateur. The closing coincides with the opening of Little Coco's, Greenbaum's future contemporary Italian eatery in Petworth, whose kitchen will be headed up by Adam Harvey, the current chef at Jackie's. Over the next three months, Jackie's will be featuring past hits, including mini Elvis burgers, skillet fried chicken and pork riblets, along with guest chef appearances, according to a press release.  I, for one, will miss the groovy interior and the creative American fare.

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