When you wind up being inadvertently diverted to the North Shore due to ridiculous weekend construction, what do you do? Lose $500 at the casino! And after that? Go to James Street! James Street is gonna make everything alright again.
After my bf reached his daily max on ATM withdrawals, we took it as a sign that we should probs leave the roulette table behind, and venture out to get something in return for our cash money. I'd had James Street bookmarked for a while, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally knock it off my to-do list.
The place itself wasn't hard to find, but it wasn't easy either -- as in, it's not really on a main street where you'd just happen to drive past and say "Hey! There's Janes Street Gastropub!"
Regardless, we got there, parked on the street nearby, and entered at about 5pm on a Saturday. The place was pretty dead -- maybe 6-8 people at the bar, nobody seated in the dining area. We chose a booth right near the bar, and our waiter promptly came over to give us menus and take our drink orders.
The menu had lots of options that looked good, and I think I'd describe the selections as mostly comfort food kinda stuff, but with a kick.
We started with the oft-touted "pipe bombs". Mmm... They didn't disappoint! Thinly sliced flank steak was nestled in between pepper jack cheese, red and green pepper, and jalapeños. Better yet, it's all rolled up and deep-fried like a spicy, Spanish eggroll! Oh, and it gets better -- the dipping sauce they serve it with is SO good. It's got all the tang of A-1 (I don't care if mentioning A-1 makes you think less of me -- I'd drink that sh*t for breakfast), but its consistency is that of an au jus. It really added to and complemented the "pipe bombs"!
Now, on to The Main Dish: Chicken Fried Steak! Oooh, boy. It. Was. AWESOME. Perfectly seasoned crispy breading. Tender steak. Delish gravy with a peppery kick. The smashed potatoes were a perfect accompaniment. Oh man, just recounting this is making me salivate. I will definitely be going back to James Street soon!