What's Jack Know That Jill Doesn't?

Jack and Jill went up a hill and disappointment is what begot them. I have officially decided to stop listening to people after they suggest a place. Mind you by listen to them I mean eaves drop while they discuss an eatery. As I look back at my experience at Jack N' Jill I remember at the time liking it, but it has been a few days and now I am completely underwhelmed and my food that I ordered was not memorable in the slightest since I am struggling to find great things about it. 

I ordered the Chili because hell a good chili is something that can warm the souls of the undead. The chili was thicker and better than the chili I had at Blue Plate but still it was more of a thin stew than a chili. I was looking for punch and heartiness. But I did get cheese, onions and sour cream on the side unlike at Blue Plate. I did not really understand the sour cream but once I put it in the chili I was pleasantly surprised. The chili on its own left me wanting, but adding some pepper, and the other accessories made it pop to a level of actual enjoyment. 

BBQ Chicken salad. Usually a safe bet and often times very enjoyable. I've overheard many people talk about how Jack N' Jill's has amazing salads. It was a great assortment of delicious veggies etc., but amazing it was not. It was a good salad by all means. It felt safe and generic though. It had what you wanted and in the amounts that you expected, but for the price of everything and the build up that I came in with, Jack N' Jill's  just did not live up to it. Final Bite: My hunt for amazing chili continues. Salad was good but I ruined the experience by listening to people hype it up. Will I go back? Most-likely but I will be getting a different salad. Suggestions are welcomed but don't say it's amazing.

Jack N' Jill

510 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 656-1501

May I Have The Blue Plate Special?

On a quiet Saturday night in the town of Santa Monica I ventured into this seemingly quiet little restaurant and was delightfully impressed with the service and quickness that my food was ready. Somethings I enjoyed, others I was underwhelmed, well not really under, can you just be whelmed?

We ordered Sweet potato fries as our app, big fan of the sweet potato but what we received was more straw looking than fry looking which threw me off. 

The hardest part about these little guys is trying to eat the suckers. Its like grabbing at fragile straws. And forget about dipping them into the catsup or the delicious honey mustard stuff, they just break off. But once you get them in your mouth they are quite delicious. What I believe was honey mustard was very tasty on the fragile tuber.  

On their own though they were lacking, which I felt was the running theme with my meals at Blue Plate. They all needed salt. Once salted EVERYTHING sans the Turkey Club wrap was 100% better. The turkey wrap was beyond awesome as clubs meeting wraps go. I like my toast on my clubs.

Speaking of the Turkey club, wow thing was great. Turkey, avocado, tomato and turkey bacon, TONS OF TURKEY BACON. They used lunch meat turkey in the club which I am a huge fan of. I freaking HATE when restaurants use real turkey. I mean seriously how pretentious are you, use regular turkey, weirdos. I like my turkey process, salt infused and bad for me. The combination of all the items in the tomato wrap was fantastic. The only criticism was that I wish there was a little heat, possibly a spicy mayo or flavored mayo. Just to tie it all together and really make it pop. 

It was a big eating day, I was hungry and felt like ordering with my stomach instead of my brain. I ordered a cup of the turkey chili and was surprised to see how large it was for a cup. Our neighbor had a bowl and I was even more impressed, you could definitely make a meal out of a bowl hell even a cup if need be. The turkey chili was not the greatest thing I ate on this night though. It was slightly watery, not spicy at all and didn't come topped with any cheese. Seriously how can you get chili without a good amount of cheddar on top? I mean Wendy's even puts cheddar on their chili, which is also amazing and better than Blue Plates (sorry), but who am I to play favorites. (read as: Wendy's is way better, and I am playing favorites) 

Last and certainly not least is the turkey meatballs. Nestled on a bed of rice and topped with cheese and some sort of red sauce your mouth salivates. The smell is amazing and you get so excited to dive into the little bastards. And then you bite into it and you are brought right back down to earth, disappointed and left wanting. Something is missing, saddened you grab the salt and shake the whiteness over top. Take a new bite and WAM you are no longer underwhelmed, you have left whelmed and teetering into very very delicious. The combination of all the ingredients are only really experienced once salted. 

Final Bite: All in all Blue Plate was a tasty place to eat. Was I impressed, will I automatically suggest going there if we are hungry and in Santa Monica? Probably not, but I will definitely go there again. Final word: Bring your salt shaker and eat some good food with great service.

Blue Plate

1415 Montana Ave

Santa Monica, CA 90403

310.260.8877