Review: Scrumpy Jacks
Scrumpy Jacks is an oddly-named “bold, new eating experience” offering steak, seafood, sandwiches, and more. Located in southeast Lincoln’s Edgewood Shopping Center, Scrumpy Jacks is yet another option in the already restaurant-heavy area around 56th Street and Highway 2. And it’s popular. Boy is it popular. Scrumpy Jacks has maintained a steady buzz among Lincoln diners, and this website receives a steady stream of visitors looking for information about Scrumpy Jacks each day.
Nestled into a back corner of a bland strip mall, one’s expectations for atmosphere are rightfully low. But one look at Scrumpy Jacks’ oversized door tells the visitor, “This is no ordinary strip mall restaurant; come inside”. The atmosphere inside is no less inviting. It is dark, but not too dark. It is small, but not too small. It is hip, but not too hip. The bar—Lincoln’s first and only frost bar—is very sittable, and fits nicely inside. The atmosphere is unrushed and completely separated from the busy streets and parking lot outside.
Scrumpy Jacks also features a concert room, including a high-definition projector and sound system. Recorded concerts were playing on each of my two visits. I suspect more is in store. I don’t get the draw of the feature as it is currently implemented. The audio from the concerts plays throughout the restaurant, but the video was all but ignored. Nobody seemed to give the screen so much as a glance. It strikes me as a distraction rather than a point of pride.
The employees at Scrumpy Jacks are friendly. The hosts, in particular, are warm. Although capable, the servers are average in terms of helpfulness, promptness, and so on. Most servers don’t seem to have the specials memorized, and those that do recite them as though reading from a script. Requests for dining tips (such as “Do you recommend X or Y?") seemed to catch servers off-guard. I, personally, like my servers to have bold and informed opinions about the menu and not be afraid to help steer a willing diner. The one exception was on my first trip, when the server strongly recommended the homemade potato chips as a side. Drink refills are sufficient, but not quite as prompt as they could be. That’s not entirely the servers’ fault, however, since the glasses are on the smallish side.
I have tried the Scrumpy Sand ($9.50) (where’s the wich?) and the You Make It burger ($6.95 + $.50 per topping). The Scrumpy Sand is grilled steak, mushrooms, and onions stacked on a toasted baguette. The sandwich was fine, but underwhelming, especially for nearly ten bucks. The steak was neither as tender nor as flavorful as I had hoped, and the sandwich was on the greasy side. The sandwich was served with homemade potato chips. I’m still undecided on the chips, but I give Scrumpy Jacks big bonus points for going to the effort to make their own.
The burger, like the Scrumpy Sand, was underwhelming. I topped my 8 oz. patty with cheese, mushrooms, and jalapenos. The burger was cooked to a nice medium, just as I had ordered it. Curiously, although the mushrooms were hot and stacked on top of the burger, the jalapenos were served cold in a small plastic cup on the side. I would have liked them hot. There was nothing wrong with the meal as a whole, but lacked the “wow” factor I had hoped for.
Then again, maybe it’s just me, or perhaps it’s the beef. My wife has tried the Lemon Pepper Chicken ($14.95) and the Sesame Tuna with Wakame Salad ($17.50), and she speaks favorably of both. The chicken is rubbed in lemon pepper and roasted. The salad is topped with medium rare ahi tuna, miso vinaigrette and a light teriyaki reduction. Neither made my wife’s “favorites” list, but she liked both enough that she would order them again.
Scrumpy Jacks is the type of restaurant you hate not to love. It has atmosphere and character. It’s local. It’s only a half mile from my house. But right now, Scrumpy Jacks just doesn’t do it for me. It is, at the moment, just slightly above average. It certainly has potential, and I plan to stop by occasionally to watch how it ages. I wish owners Damon Driskell and Jeff and Monty Crandon the very best, and I hope that one day soon I’ll be able to write a new, far more glowing review of Scrumpy Jacks.
The Comments
Joshua Wiltshire January 19, 2006 at 6:16pm
Most of the people I know who’ve been have been underwhelmed (I prefer to just be whelmed when I go out), so I have yet to visit Scrumpy Jacks. I get the feeling that I’ll have to judge for myself. If only someone would pay me to eat out and write blog reviews, I’d be a happy man.
foxspit March 1, 2006 at 11:19am
Get the tomato basil with feta cheese soup. I also loved the bruschette sandwich, although a little mozarella would have been a nice addition to the sandwich.
I really liked the service, the atmosphere and the food was great.