Onion rings and and two-patty Jake's burger. (Robert Goldberg, Special to The Courant / February 1, 2012) |
Jake's Wayback Burgers
450 S. Main St. West Hartford
860-561-5000 http://waybackburgers.com
(Also Jake's restaurants in East Windsor, Hamden, Meriden, Mystic, Orange, Rocky Hill, Startford and Torrington )
Patty palaces continue to arise in West Hartford, and we've vowed to visit them all. So my husband and I made our way to the corner of South Main Street and New Britain Avenue to see what the newest kid on the hamburger block has to offer.
THE VIBE: Bored with Burger King? Finding Mickey D's mediocre? Jake's is a similar purveyor, but definitely a step up from those two national giants. Jake's West Hartford outpost is its eighth in Connecticut, one of 11 states in which it now has restaurants.
Jake's is a large, square, well-lighted room, with counters and an open kitchen along one wall and a color scheme of cranberry and beige. There are numerous tables for two, a park bench-like banquette and several high tables of the kind you see in bars. The place was spanking clean and the staff was affable and efficient, which helped them handle the steady flow of patrons young and old. Servers bring you your meal on trays, but it is up to you to bus your table when you are finished eating.
The most "wayback" thing about Jake's is the piped-in classic rock, thankfully set at a non-blasting sound level. There's also a big flat-screen TV on the back wall, which was on mute when we were there.
THE FOOD: Jake's is similar menu-wise to Five Guys and Johnny Rockets, with a small menu heavy on burgers, plus hot dogs, chicken items, specialty sandwiches, sides of rings and fries, two kinds of salad and 12 varieties of milkshakes. There's also a machine that dispenses a range of Pepsi drinks.
My husband enjoyed his Jake burger: two beef patties with the works: ketchup, mustard, pickle, onions, lettuce and tomato. That said, he wished he could have ordered it rare, but carnivores beware: Jake's only serves its burgers well-done, presumably to avoid any chance of illness from undercooked meat. His side order of crispy-fried onion rings, made from actual onion rings, hit the spot, as did his chocolate milkshake, which was nearly too thick to glide up its straw.
I went with the split and grilled all-beef hot dog, which was excellent and reminiscent of a Hebrew National or Nathan's wiener. I had it with mustard and relish, but could have opted for toppings of cheese, chili or both. You can get those toppings on your fries as well, but I had them plain, and they were good, if not outstanding.
The garden salad was mainly romaine lettuce, with one lonely slice of pinkish tomato and a single onion ring. The greens were fresh, but a tad gritty. The honey mustard dressing, served on the side, was zingy and livened up the lettuce nicely.
Also available are garden, grilled or breaded chicken and turkey burgers, BLT and grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken fingers, chips made on the premises and Caesar salad. The mainstay burgers are available as junior or one, two or three patty-size, some with cheese. Free extras include mayo, grilled onions, jalapenos, relish and sweet peppers. For an extra 50 cents, you can add mushrooms or chili, and adding bacon will cost you 60 cents. The milkshakes include a malted version and strawberry banana, orange cream and chocolate mint flavors. There also are special burger and shake of the month offerings.
THE BILL: You can eat here for reasonable prices: items range from $1.69 to $6.79, with most in the $2.49 to $4.59 range. Our meal, which was ample, came to just under $20 before tax.
THE PARTICULARS: Jake's is open from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
THE VERDICT: Good if standard burger fare, pleasant service, gentle prices.
