Shay M.
Yelp
Oooooooooooo on the TLC tip!
I'd been pining to try Juan Jasper for ages, so they were at the top of my list for Valentine's dinner. We decided to do the dinner a few days early so we could ditch the crowds and the prix fixe menus.
We arrived about 5 minutes after opening and already there were only 2 patio seats available; this place fills up fast. Although we hoped for a seat inside at the bar, we jumped at what was available. We were facing the street and had just a small area to eat at, so we were...kinda bummed; this was not the romantic dinner we had in mind. Desperate to improve our situation, I was sharkin' the indoor seating and boom! As luck would have it, someone moved so I swooped in like a hawk. Now we were seated at the bar, almost like a chef's table, and ready for action. Things we're looking up; they'd never look back.
The menu is rather small, so initially we struggled to pick two shareable entrees. Luckily, I had already learned that if I wanted to order an off-menu steak, I could simply go to the butcher shop next door (the owners are related), pick out a steak, and JJ's would cook it and make it a plate for an extra $20. So that's exactly what we did. We picked out a beautifully marbled Brandt beef 1.3 lb bone-in ribeye. Winning! Back at JJ's we also ordered the burger, the spicy caesar salad, the cheese curds special, and a glass of Jean Max Roger Rose.
Let's start with the burger. Ohhhh what a burger it was; it was phenomenal. It was so good in fact, we almost ordered another one to share. 1/3 lb freshly ground beef that was cheffed to an absolutely succulent medium, oozing with the tastiest of juices . I'm talkin' the most delicious bordelaise covered awesomeness, tucked under a blanket of cheese on a carb filled pillow...mmmm...check out my video for the proof. $17 and 6/5!
The starters were very solid and came out very quickly. The piping hot cheese curds had a deftly seasoned coating, and were served with really tasty robust marinara. These were by far the best curds and sauce I've had. $10 and 5/5
The spicy caesar hit the spot, as we needed something light and refreshing. I believe the "spicy" aspect was from a Tabasco sauce mixed into the caesar dressing. I'm not a fan of Tabasco but it didn't overpower the salad. Overall, it wasn't spicy but it was solid and big enough for 2. $9 and 4/5.
The steak was served with broccolini and a salsa bravo. I wasn't sure what to expect from a salsa bravo but it was good. I'm not accustomed to having a red sauce with steak but this was good. The sauce was very versatile and could easily be used on chicken and pork but anyhow, back to the steak. Before I get too ahead of myself, if you haven't had a steak from Sepulveda Meats and Provisions, you must. The best steak I've ever cooked was from there. Their meats are exceptional and tonight's steak was no different. Although it was cooked a tad more than I would have liked, it was still very moist and tender. We did enjoy the broccolini, however I would have liked to see another side along with the steak. ~$65 and 5/5
Ambiance was great inside. It's really small ~8 seats so come early or be prepared to wait a while. Sitting at the bar is almost like a chef's table, being so close to the kitchen. The chefs brought nearly every dish to us, which was really cool. I always love a good open kitchen.
It looked like people who were waiting on the sidewalk, were still able to order wine so that's cool.
Service was attentive but not "hovery". I really liked how they offered us samples when choosing our wine. We went with a glass of the Jean Max Roger Sancerre Rose, which was slightly tart and sweet. We had planned to order a bottle, however my beautiful, "cheap date" was already feeling quite pleasant from the samples.
One of the servers had a bit of a frantic/nervous energy, but it wasn't too distracting. We presumed the new menu may have just thrown them a bit out of sorts.
Thanks to Juan Jasper for a very memorable 5 star experience! We shall happily return for another lovely meal.