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| - I've been a fan of Original Joe's for a few years now, and I visit the Kensington and Marda Loop locations as well now and then, though Northland is our preferred restaurant.
Originally I was going to give 4 stars, but have now dropped to 3 due to some small changes made since around Christmas. The menu got updated and if I remember the old prices correctly, many of the items went up about $1, which isn't much considering that the cost of labour and ingredients have gone up in the last couple of years. However, at the same time the food portions have gotten smaller.
In the past, I would never be able to finish an order of the Double Dog or Pulled Pork Sandwich with the 2 sides on my own, even for a dinner meal. Having visited them just recently, I polished off most of my meal along with an appetizer of chicken wings. One of the reasons could be the fact that they replaced all their plates with new, more clean and modern looking white ones that look like they are from 2011 rather than a 1980s family diner, but they are considerably smaller. Still, for $11-15 you could get a very decent meal that is hardly expensive when it comes to sit down restaurants.
The one change that really bugged me though, is the change of buns they used for Joe's Double Dog. They used to use a soft, sweet roll that I rarely find in other restaurants, and my friends and I love it. But gone are those days as it is now replaced by a very boring, standard white roll that is not as soft or tasty as it's counterpart. A couple of times, we found the bread to be dry or overly toasted. Double Boo.
Some of the dishes are hit and miss, depending on your personal taste and expectations. For appies we've only had the sweet potato fries and chicken wings. Both have been great, and the sweet potato fries are a must even if you don't order it to share as an appy, order it as a side to your meal and pay that extra $1.99. It's worth it. The wings we had in salt and pepper, honey garlic, and dill pickle were happily consumed by our table without any complaints.
The salads are only so so. Having tried 3 of the 6 or so they offer, I can't really say any stand out as a recommendation. The sandwiches and wraps are a good deal as they come with 2 sides, and you could pick a salad as one of them instead. Stay away from the philly cheesesteak or beefdip sandwich, as it's always dry and tough no matter how many times we try it. The pulled pork sandwich and double dog seems to be popular with my family and friends. The wraps are decent and filling. The steak sandwich is not too bad though it's not steakhouse quality, but that's a given.
The restaurant is at a good location with plenty of parking on weekends and evenings. A relatively safe and quiet neighbourhood close to Northland Mall, with a Royal Bank next door. Not much ambience inside, though clean with plenty of TVs for those following any games that might be on at the time. Service varies, sometimes it's great and sometimes half hearted. Don't order the cranberry juice unless you honestly don't want to drink anything else. It's almost $3.50 and is majorly watered down.
Overall: 3 Stars
Location: 5
Value: 4
Ambience: 2
Service: 3
Food: 3
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