Jack’s Family Restaurant
294 Child Street
Warren
by Bob Mariani
Like its simple, uncomplicated name, Jack’s is a family restaurant with no pretensions to anything but serving hearty meals honestly prepared with no frills or flourishes. There are no tablecloths, paper napkins, and an adjacent neighborhood bar of the same name. Families with little kids can come and go as they please and the overall mood is as relaxed as it gets. The four-page menu covers pretty much all the bases.
We were at Jack’s on a Monday night for a friend’s birthday party. For starters we ordered a large plate of "Jack’s Famous Fried Smelts" ($9.75) for the table. These were finger-size fresh water smelts batter-fried and served with a tangy marinade. Unlike their oceanic cousins, these crunchy little cuties did not have that oily/fishy taste. And the marinade, though a bit heavy on the olive oil, was a nice addition.
We also ordered a platter of steamed Little Necks for the group. The small to medium size clams came in a no-frills plastic bowl accompanied by paper cups full of clam broth and drawn butter. Because the clams were nice and fresh, they needed no seasoning and they worked well as an appetizer.
From a menu that has multiple pasta dishes and Italian combos, seafood dinners, surf & turf, beef and pork dishes, plus a selection of eight different Portuguese items, I chose one of the evening’s specials— fried catfish with a mild "Cajun" sauce. The three small catfish "steaks" were meaty and cooked perfectly. They sat on a bed of white rice that had been sautéed with onions and other tangy seasonings. I don’t know a lot about authentic Cajun cuisine but my guess is that anyone from Bayou country would not mistake this for "home cooking." Nevertheless, this was a good, flavorful dish that I would have liked even more if they had used just a tad less olive oil.
My wife had the Veal Parmigiano ($11.50) with ziti and we agreed that there’d be plenty for lunch tomorrow. No surprises here. The veal was a bit thicker than you might get at a fancier restaurant, but it was remarkably tender. The red sauce was basic and tasty and it was topped with a melted slice of what I’m pretty certain was a domestic parmigiano cheese. There’s not much else to say about this classic dish except that it was executed much the way my Italian grandma would have done it— simple and straightforward.
Our birthday guest of honor ordered the boiled lobster and was served perfectly done and cut into 3 pieces. Its head and upper torso were standing upright and it held a wedge of lemon in its claws. (Nothing like adding a little personality to your dish.)
Some one else in our party ordered the baked lasagna ($8.25), a four-layered classic in a rich, dark red sauce. It comes with either sausages or meatballs and I guarantee you will not leave the table hungry after this one.
There were a number of other items on the menu that looked worth coming back for: seafood zuppa ($17.75) with everything from lobster, shrimp and mussels, to fish, scallops and clams; shrimp scampi ($11.95) baked in garlic butter; grilled swordfish ($12.95); N.Y. Sirloin; veal Dijonnaise ($14.95) with mushrooms and scallions; fried chicken ($7); and a string of appetizers that goes on and on. All this in addition to the eight or nine daily specials Jack’s always has.
Clearly, Jack’s is doing a lot of things right or it would not have lasted almost 35 years in this gritty little Warren neighborhood. It’s a place where anyone would be happy to be a regular, and where you get excellent value for your money. They’re open for lunch and dinner every day but Tuesday. For more information call 245-4050.
Bob Mariani is a Southeastern New England freelance author. Besides his "Table for Two" restaurant reviews found here, he also writes jazz articles on allaboutjazz.com.
