Comfort food on the Texas Coast
On-StJohn food critic Charlie Joseph stops by JJ’s Texas Coast.
Any restaurant with a sign that says “Sorry, we’re open.” deserves your attention. Some St. John restaurants come and go. They change menus, owners, chefs, locations. Some just stay the way they always are. That is JJ’s Texas Coast. Put this place on your breakfast and lunch list. From the occasional chickens pecking at your feet, to a front row seat to marvel at the the cast of crazies stumbling through the park, this is quintessential St. John. And the food is darn good and reasonably priced. Breakfast ranges from hearty to healthy. Lunches include daily specials like meatloaf and chicken fried steak, pretty good cheeseburgers, excellent Tex-Mex and a fried grouper sandwich that is perfect. And desserts are truck stop good. Want a pancake instead of toast? Not a problem here. The kitchen and wait staff are laid back and will put what you want in front of you. Biggest complaint I hear? Slow service. Trust me. The service isn’t slow. The place is just busy. One or two servers working the inside dining and patio can be a lot of work when it’s busy. But relax. The server sees you. You’re next in line. Added bonus: Good stop for the last bit of paradise before getting on the ferry. You can see your boat arrive from the patio. Bottom line: Not fancy. Good food. No rush, and you won’t want to.
Thanks Charlie. Anybody else have an opinion about JJ’s?
February 20th, 2007 09:09
Well said! This is one of our “must-do’s” on every trip. We get drinks in the afternoon and watch the world go by and we just have to go to breekie here before we board the ferry to leave. Nothing changes here and I like it.We also been known to have the fried chicken as a little beer scavenger after a long night!
February 20th, 2007 09:21
Long-winded comment coming:
In 2004, on our first trip, we had a bad lunch adventure at Polly’s. Namely; we were not served. We wandered out, hot, hungry and thirsty. We couldn’t find anything else, so we sat down at JJ’s. I didn’t want to eat there. It looked horrible. Well, 3 Caribs later (my first Carib I’ll add), some conch fritters and the aforementioned grouper sandwich, I was hooked. We went back 4 more times that week.
Fast forward to August 2006. The ladies stepped off the ferry and bee-lined there, leaving the husbands with a pile of bags. For the next week, we had Caribs and conch fritters there every day for happy hour. Coming off a boat from the BVI? Head to JJ’s. Coming in from the beach? Head to JJ’s. By Wednesday, the waitress would see us on the street and put 4 Caribs on “our table”.
We love the place and have the shirts to prove it! As the review says, the food is good. Not spectacular, but the music, the vibe, the chickens and the crazies in the park make up for it. I could be a very happy man spending an entire week holed up there, sitting in the outdoor seating area, snacking and enjoying cold beer.
Now I’m quite annoyed because I have NO IDEA when I’ll be back there.
February 20th, 2007 09:25
I second the recommendation. We had a great breakfast there last year. In our party of six, everyone got something different and we all liked our meals.
February 20th, 2007 10:03
Haven’t tried it yet, but it is on our ‘must-do’ list for our next trip. Now I really can’t wait, after that review!
February 20th, 2007 10:22
We never made it to JJ’s, we usually want nothing to do with Texas since that is where we’re trying to escape from…but name aside I think we’ll have to stop in there this time for a cold one, I loves me some Carib!!!
February 20th, 2007 15:32
JJ’s is a MUST!!! The food is tasty, the service is friendly and the people watching is fun! Just a good old fashioned, unpretentious, comfort food place to eat. Love it!!!
February 21st, 2007 10:00
I thought the food was terrific. A bunch of us had breakfast there this past November and everyone in our party was very pleased. Yes, the service did appear to be a bit slow, but that just gave me an excuse to go next door and look in some of the shops. Plus if the food is good…who cares, your on vacation! I would recommend it over a couple of the other restaurants in the area that serve breakfast. I have also had lunch there in past years and thought that was good as well.