Restaurant Review: Jefferson's

is the kind of restaurant you could easily take for granted. Its prominent location on Main Street is part of the backdrop of our daily lives and I, for one, am guilty of having walked or driven by countless times with the intent of stopping in “some day.” However, restaurants do not survive on our intentions to eat at them, so recently I decided to finally pay Jefferson’s a visit. 

My husband and I went for a late lunch on a Sunday at 2 p.m. The first thing I noticed when walking into the restaurant were the walls, which are covered in decorated dollar bills. According to the menu, which tells the story of the bills, when the first Jefferson’s restaurant opened in 1990, multiple friends of the owner each wanted to leave the ceremonial first dollar bill, so they each signed a dollar and tacked them to the wall. Twelve restaurants and more than 20 years later, the tradition continues with patrons continuing to decorate bills and tacking them to the walls.

The restaurant has a pub-like feel with dark wood décor, flat-screen TVs, florescent beer signs and a cozy bar, where most of the patrons were gathered on this day. We sat ourselves at a large corner booth by a window and were quickly greeted by our server.

The menu is American fare with an emphasis on burgers, wings and oysters. We wanted to see how they did with one of their specialties, so we ordered wings for an appetizer. When you order the wings you can pick a temperature (mild, medium, hot or turbo) and a flavor (Buffalo, lemon pepper, barbeque, teriyaki or double dipped). We ordered a medium-heat Buffalo flavor. Other appetizers on the menu include fried mushrooms, corn nuggets, nachos, stuffed shrimp and more.

The wings were really good, though the medium sauce was more like mild so you might want to order up a heat level. I appreciated the way the wings were served; casually on an oversized plate with celery and Bleu Cheese dressing. The presentation spoke to the “come and get ‘em” nature of Buffalo wings. Sadly, they were not served with hand wipes, which would have been a bonus.

For lunch, I ordered a salad with barbeque chicken and my husband had a chicken sandwich. My salad was great; hearty and very filling. The chicken was moist, fresh and flavorful and the croutons were thick and crunchy. My husband’s sandwich was equally good. He chose to substitute a side salad for the crinkle-cut fries. Other side options include curly fries, onion rings, red-skinned potato salad, pasta salad, baked beans and cole slaw.

While the menu is extensive, including appetizers, salads, sandwiches, wings, platters, baskets, seafood and a kids menu, they do not have any wraps, which are one of my favorite lunch items. There are also few healthy options, comparatively, but all the grilled chicken and fish on the menu makes putting together a healthy meal easily possible, if that is something that matters to you.  

Jefferson’s seems like the kind of place to best enjoy with a group of friends. They have a nice mix of music, ranging from country to Michael Jackson, sports playing on TV and a lively bar. I enjoyed my lunch there on a Sunday but would love to go back on a Friday night sometime soon. Now that Jefferson’s is on my radar, I do not intend to take it for granted.