The post should’ve been titled “Restaurant Week – Fido’s,” but Fido’s had closed their kitchen at 6pm for the night on the first night of Restaurant Week. It’s not really the way a restaurant would want to start the week, but I guess something bad happened. Or there was really bad planning on Fido’s part. At least there were multiple restaurants on 21st Ave that were participating in Restaurant Week. And because it was there, and partly because I had been told that Jackson’s dinner was different, we decided to get dinner at Jackson’s.
The ongoing deal for the week was $20.08 for a prix fixe meal at all restaurants participating in Restaurant Week. From what I recall, other cities’ restaurant weeks involved special menus and dishes created just for the occassion to showcase the chef’s, and restaurant’s, razzle dazzle. Jackson’s special menu was just a “you pick one of our regular appetizers, one regular entree, and one regular dessert” for $20.08. It didn’t dazzle. But at least I could see how much the special saved me: six dollars. Then again, I don’t think I’d ever buy that much food in one sitting at dinner for just myself.
Now, since the actual dinner was two weeks ago, and my brain has been sufficiently stuffed with medical knowledge, my ability to recall the names of dishes will probably subpar, but I can still describe the dishes. They just won’t sound as eloquent.
I chose shrimp and corn puffs, or hushpuppies, with a sweet chili thai dip as my appetizer. It was mostly puff, a couple kernels of corn, and maybe the essence of shrimp. No real pieces of shrimp really. My friends ordered other dishes so we could get a nice sampling going: beer-cheese dip with bread and chips, grilled chicken quesadillas, and buffalo feathers (fried pieces of shredded chicken). Out of all the dishes, the beer dip was probably the best, mostly because I could actually taste the beer. And since I’m a man now, I grow facial hair, have a deep voice, and love the taste of beer. The quesadillas were a little messy; a product of overstuffage. And the chicken was just another form of fried chicken. It’s all the same to me.
For my entree, I chose barbecued meatloaf with mashed caulliflower and cheese. I didn’t really know what to expect since barbecue and meatloaf seem so opposite to me. What I got was something that looked like mushy spam with grill marks, covered with ketchup. The meatloaf had none of the complexities of its multiple ingredients, but rather tasted like meat. I couldn’t really describe it, but it was very basic. The ketchup had more complexity than the spam meatloaf. The mashed caulliflower was more like mashed potatoes. I couldn’t really taste the cheese, so there wasn’t much incentive to finish this off. The mashed caulliflower at Amerigo is far superior. Besides, at this point, I was getting stuffed.
Dessert was the real reason for coming to Jackson’s for dinner; my friend recommended their cookie dough egg rolls. I was really interested giving it the good ol’ try. It was just too bad that my stomach wasn’t as willing. Fortunately, I was able to force some cookie dough and ice cream down the food tube. It was good, but then again, I never found a problem with cookie dough and ice cream. I don’t know why they decided to fry the cookie dough in an actual wonton skin and not just a log of cookie dough by itself. Fried wonton skins had no place in that dish, and by that time in the meal, no place in my stomach. Much like the pizzookie at BJ’s, it’s good, but I, too, can go to the store and buy ice cream and another baked good and slap them together at home. Then I won’t have to pay 6 dollars. And then I can tell girls I cook!
Also of note: my friend’s $5 milkshake tasted like low-fat milk with syrup. Go to Ben and Jerry’s instead.
Another note: maybe Jackson’s would taste better if there weren’t so many people smoking on the patio.
Jackson’s Bar and Bistro 1800 21st Ave S Nashville, TN (615) 385-9968
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