LifeStyle Magazine - Jake's Restaurant

Jake's Restaurant

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Written by Brian Freedman

The Bloody Mary and the pancakes are standouts at this Manayunk favorite.

Modern man has designed double-decker airplanes that carry hundreds of people, skyscrapers that soar to the heavens, and medicines to remedy once-incurable diseases. But despite all our ingenuity, all our finest minds, we have not come up with a better cure for the Sunday-morning hangover than a little hair of the dog.

Some things simply defy explanation.

Not that I was feeling cloudy-headed during a recent trip to Jake’s in Manayunk—I spit most of my wine; it’s the one downside of my job—but the sight of their famous Bloody Mary ($10) on the brunch menu certainly piqued my interest. Maybe it was the promise of horseradish, of a salted rim kicked-up with celery seed, cayenne and chile powder, a bit of cumin and other assorted spices. Or the slight menace of the garnishing string bean that had been infused with Sriracha, the Thai chili paste that, in large enough doses, can render you a teary-eyed mess for a week. Or perhaps it was just the thought of living dangerously. (Vodka on a Sunday morning!)

Whatever it was, the Bloody Mary was fabulous, and had I actually been hung-over it would certainly have chased any residual demons from my head with aplomb.

Unfortunately, the rest of the meal, while pleasant enough, generally failed to live up to the rather high standards of culinary excitement set by that beverage.

Sunday brunch at Jake’s seems to be one of the best deals in the area, offering two courses for the very reasonable price of $16. And while the selection was wide and the presentations pretty, I left Jake’s feeling just the slightest bit underwhelmed.

The “citrus fruit three-ways” salad failed to live up to its description. Or, perhaps more accurately, I had hoped that it would exceed its description, which it did not. Grapefruit, blood oranges and naval oranges were plated up with dates, date nuts, frisée, and a bit of honey vinaigrette. I say a bit because, on my plate, at least, that’s all there was of the vinaigrette, which left the greens rather on the dry side. The combination of flavors was tasty enough, but I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing, that some key ingredient—a linchpin of sorts—was needed to give it more of a center of gravity.

The oatmeal cranberry crème brûlée, on the other hand, hit all the right notes. A ramekin of dried-cranberry-studded oatmeal that had been mixed into the crème itself, all topped with the traditional crown of toasted sugar. It was simple, elegant and exactly the kind of dish you go out to brunch for – a take on the classic home-cooked version that you could never—or would never—pull off on you own.

The rock shrimp frittata entrée, while generously portioned, was under seasoned. The sautéed shrimp themselves were nicely cooked and juicy—they seemed to pop with just the slightest bite—but without a little help from some additional salt, the feather-light column with spinach, feta and red onions was a bit on the dull side. And the puddle of thin smoked tomato purée didn’t add much aside from visual interest.

Banana sour cream pancakes, however, were a wild success. Soft and gloriously chewy, sweetened with actual maple syrup, moistened and made beautifully unhealthy with a couple of scoops of date-nut butter, they were more typical of the kind of high-quality preparations Jake’s is known and loved for: classically American, but so much more than that. Like the Bloody Mary. Like the space itself. I just wish the meal as a whole had been more consistent.

Jake’s Restaurant is located at 4365 Main Street in Manayunk and can be reached at (215) 483-0444. Visit Jake’s Restaurant online at http://www.jakesrestaurant.com .

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