I used to be a huge fan of Jacks, but after a recent visit where the offered cocktails were trendy and overdone, the food ho hum and the service rushed and appologetic I've changes my mind. There are too many places getting it right in our area to put up with the shenanigans (and for a $65 tab for cocktails and apps!?'?) at Jacks.

I hate having to write a bad review about Jack's because it used to be my favorite restaurant in Baltimore. However, last night 6 friends and I went there for someone's birthday. We made a reservation for 7:30, but didn't end up being sat until nearly 9. While we were waiting we ordered two bottles of wine at the bar. The hostess apologized multiple times, but said she couldn't do anything to make the tables leave even though one of them had been sitting with a paid check for over an hour. Finally, someone from our party politely asked the table to move to bar. We were comped a $24 bottle of crappy champagne that we didn't even order for our hour and a half wait. Really? That cost Jack's like $7 in wholesale price (as a former bartender I know the mark up). I feel like we should have at least had our wine comped because we wouldn't have ordered it if we hadn't been waiting for over an hour to eat. Out table ended up spending over $500 total. Easily we could have been given a free dessert or app. I won't be going back to Jack's for a special event anytime soon because apparently making a reservation doesn't really count for anything.

That said, the food was amazing as usual. And once we sat, the service was great. It was too bad that the hour and a half wait left us with a bad experience. Furthered by the fact that the restaurant acknowledged the bad experience and then cheaped out on the make up.

liked it a lot better when it was buddy's ! or even better yet when it was dobbies...

We went there for dinner last week and ordered the scallop entree. There were a total of 2 scallops in the entire entree. Not a great value for $17. The grilled romaine was wonderful, but I think the portions are incredibly skimpy. No matter how good a scallop is, two in an entire entree is not enough.

The last time we went there, our friend ordered the nachos and there were five chips stacked up in a 5 inch tall pyramid. Again, when you want nachos, you want more than five chips.

Skimpy servings is how I'll always think of Jack's.

This quaint little (emphasis on little) place has been one of my favorites since it was Elliot Street Bar & Grill. The current ownership takes a very different approach to its menu, but it doesn't disappoint. I've never had a bad meal and their Sunday brunch is fantastic.

So I’ve been a huge fan of Jack's Bistro since the day they opened. Food is always wonderful, wine menu is great and the staff is warm, welcoming and ALWAYS remembers your name. Yes, they make it feel just a little like home!!

Well, as I said - all of their food is great, but this weekend I found a new love. Their burger cooked “Guinness Style". I knew the burger was good, Id had it before... and I love their Guinness Steak - but then I saw it, the option to "Guinness Style" my burger. OMG - I have seriously been dreaming of it ever since. Flavorful, juicy and absolutely SPECTACULAR!

It’s certainly not an inexpensive meal, but it was well worth the cost. And please, pay the extra to get the eggplant fries along with it - you will not be disappointed!

The 5 cheese macaroni with chocolate is to die for.

I was super excited to go to the Baltimore Foodies Holiday Party. Not only was it on my birthday, but I would be seeing some of my favorite people including Lars Rusin from The Great Cheese who also heads up the Baltimore Foodies. We were also going to see Beej and Darcy. To our surprise our friends Trey and Angela Lewis from Gunpowder Bison attended the dinner as well. Nathan and I grabbed a drink and began wondering around the quaint dining room.

I had never been to Jack's Bistro before, so I really didn't know what to expect. I found out that Jack is not really Jack, but Jack is Ted. And Ted is who most people would think is Jack. Maybe there was a Jack at some point, but I'm not sure. As Ted explained it, its a throwback to Three's Company.

Anyway, Ted is a owner and the head chef at Jack's Bistro. He's a delightful man, and an amazing chef. By the looks of the regular menu, he also looks like he loves to have fun while creating dishes like macaroni and chocolate or foie gras poutine.

We arrived at Jack's a little bit early so I could take some pictures. It was a good thing that we did, because once everyone arrived I would have never gotten the pictures that I did. They had everything set up buffet style, and I think that would have been better than 50 hungry people berating the waitstaff all at once. There was all kind of foods at different stations and Nathan and I were not shy to be the first to sample.

I first tried all the cheeses that were brought by Lars from The Great Cheese.

My favorite was the cheese curd. I could have eaten a whole bowl of those. I thought mozzarella was my favorite but after that...I'm a curd lover now.

There also was a designated "Veggie" area that consisted of two types of salads, and grilled asparagus. The asparagus was wonderful. I don't know why it is, but grilled veggies always taste so much better. There also was a bowl of macerated fruit, which we discovered was quite strong. Nathan of course went back for seconds and thirds and now I know how to get him to eat healthy. Tomorrow I will be soaking his green beans in vodka.

At the end of the table of salad and cheese, they had a two chaffing dishes with Truffle mashed potatoes and Spanish Chorizo. Sadly I wasn't able to get a picture before people dove in. But I will say this, after having Truffle Potatoes I don't think we can go back to normal ones. They were so rich, and buttery and savory.

At the next station they were slicing fresh suckling pig and paired it with several sauces. I personally liked the cilantro sauce, which I would have never thought to put with pork. Of course, the photo of Beej and Nathan contains the only part of the pig that was left... the head!

On the same table was the Oyster Station. Ted was behind the bar the entire time shucking raw oysters to order. He was talking to all the guests and was an excellent host. Shamefully I am not a lover of raw oysters like most, so I waved and walked past quickly. Along with the oysters there were several vodkas to partake in.

On the right side, the Sous Vide station was also set up. There was duck breast, pork loin and beef loin. There was also some sauces to go with your meat, I couldn't remember all the names, but my favorite was a semi sweet apple bacon sauce. It went really well with the duck and beef.

All the food was amazing. The nice thing about the buffet is that you can keep going back, and back, and back....

On top of all that food, the event also featured an open bar. I tried to take some pictures but none of mine did it any justice. So the one I have posted is from Jack's Bistro's website. It was nice to see that they had some Brewer's Art beers like Ozzy on tap, and also Delirium Tremens in small bottles. This is a favorite of Nathan's and although Nathan loves Max's on Broadway... he says it was nice to see Delirium somewhere else. So if you like Belgian Ale's and you see a grey bottle with pink elephants on it, taste it. Nathan and Beej also discovered Barenjager. Barenjager is a German honey flavored liquor. The rest of the night all that I heard from Nathan was "Hey lets do some shots.", followed by the clinging of glasses and him saying "I just raided Pooh Bears house and stole some honey."

Once again I encourage all of you to attend a Baltimore Foodies event. Make sure to visit the website and sign up for their newsletter so you can get notified on upcoming events. And stop by Jacks and say Hi to Ted. You won't be disappointed. We are going back soon and checking out the regular menu. Maybe I will see you there...

My favorite place in the area to eat! I absolutely love everything about Jack's!

Jack's Bistro is a nice upscale spot located off the square in Canton. They have great happy hour specials on appetizers if you sit at the bar. I usually just go for apps as the meals are a bit pricey, but am usualyl pretty pleased by my food.

The staff is always attentive, and is very knoweledgable about their rotating beers on tap. The selection they carry while pricey, is definitely top notch and reminds me a lot of the selection at Mahaffey's.

I keep meaning to head back for a dinner - after I do so I'll post up a more complete review. :-)