4 /5 Jackie Adler: Last night we celebrated a birthday with a family dinner at Jacks in Queensbury. I have heard lots of positive reviews, but never tried it out for myself.
Seven of us enjoyed salads, dinners, desserts, and coffees over a nice leisurely 1 1/2 hours. Service was excellent, attentive but not intrusive, and the manager stopped by at the end to ask about our experience.
I loved the atmosphere and the vibe of the space. Just a place you can spend a relaxed evening with friends and/or family.
The food was good and several members of my dining party thought it was excellent. 3 ordered steaks and the filet that was ordered medium came out more like medium well with a very charred crust. Definitely a cut that needs to be ordered under. I enjoyed the special of the evening - a lobster and shrimp sweet pea risotto - but not enough that I would order it again. Lobster was cooked well, very sweet and tender. The peas were crunchy and I just didnt enjoy that contrast against the texture of the rice and seafood. The sauce was also pretty bland. This is a great place if you are not a fan of intensely flavored food; I would have definitely wanted more garlic and herbs in my broth and my husband said he was missing more flavor in the crust of his New York strip too. Caesar dressing also missing that punch of flavor I love.
However, the desserts - oh my goodness!! So often, I am often underwhelmed by the variety of desserts at many restaurants. Last night, it was like the waitress had found out what my favorites were as she read each one off of her list. There was bananas foster, bread pudding with bourbon sauce, chocolate mousse, cheesecake with blueberry compote, and creme Brule. The mousse was amazing- on par with my favorite from OBI - and I sampled the bread pudding, also amazing.
This is a really unique place with a great vibe and I recommend trying it once. Dinners were in the range of $30 for chicken parm and up to the mid 50s for steak, hot vegetable included but salad extra. For me, I will come back for drinks and desserts at the bar as the flavor profile of the meals wasnt enough to bring me back for dinner.