JC’s Bar & Grill bartender Tralain Benner, center, delivers a beer to a table of patrons. The restaurant serves a solid lineup of casual food.
Andy Tullis / The Bulletin
Beaver country burgers
JC’s Bar & Grill offers decent food in a sports bar atmosphere
By John Gottberg Anderson / For The Bulletin
Published: April 11. 2008 4:00AM PST
First things first: JC’s Bar & Grill is a sports bar. It also serves food — pretty good food, truth be told — but that doesn’t obscure the bar’s primary purpose, which is to provide drinks and entertainment.
Twin brothers Jeremy and Chris Cox, together with Chris’ wife, Marianne, opened the downtown Bend establishment on Franklin Avenue in October 2003. An expansion in January 2007 tripled its size. Today, JC’s accommodates not only pool tables, darts, table shuffleboard and television sports, but also occasional live music and charity events.
Its owners are Oregon State University graduates, so it comes as no surprise that decor at JC’s is heavily Beaver-oriented, including framed, autographed jerseys from several past sports stars. But that doesn’t mean the Coxes don’t also welcome University of Oregon fans … especially if they like their homemade beers.
About the same time as last year’s expansion, the Coxes also introduced beers from their own Wildfire Brewing Co. Three styles — a lager, a pale ale and an India pale ale — are now available on tap at JC’s, and all three are worthy contenders in the Central Oregon market.
Burger and salad
I dropped by JC’s last week for lunch. I ordered a mushroom Swiss burger with a green salad. Both were excellent.
The thick hamburger patty was a full quarter-pound of beef, maybe more. Cooked medium-well, it was juicy and topped with sauteed mushrooms held onto the meat by Swiss cheese melted on it. The sandwich was stacked with a tomato slice, red onion slices, pickles and shredded lettuce. Although the bun was not dressed, it was served with a tangy Thousand Island-style dressing.
My salad was chopped romaine lettuce, fresh and crunchy, which I consider far superior to iceberg. It came with blue cheese crumbles, candied pecans and a tomato wedge. I enjoyed it with ranch dressing.
Service was very casual but also very friendly, as befits a local sports bar like this one.
Soup and sandwich
A few days later, I returned for a light dinner of soup and a sandwich.
The homemade clam chowder was excellent, even though it contained more potatoes than I might have preferred. There also were ample clams, as well as celery and fresh dill weed in a creamy stew. Oyster crackers would have been better than soda crackers as an accompaniment.
My Philly chicken sandwich, on the other hand, was mediocre. The grilled chicken breast itself was tender and tasty, topped with melted mozzarella cheese. But with minimal vegetables, it was a far cry from a Philadelphia cheese steak. There were a few slices of yellow and red bell pepper, but no grilled onions, which I normally expect in a Philly.
The Kaiser roll on which the sandwich was served was dry as a bone, and unlike the burger, no dressing was offered on the side. I wound up taking the chicken off the bread and eating it by itself.
The server who brought me the salad and a pint of Wildfire’s Code 24 Pale Ale was excellent. But the cook who prepared the sandwich barely glanced at me and didn’t say a word, when he slid the plate in front of me. I saw him treat a nearby diner exactly the same a short time later. That pushes casual too far.
‘Cheers’-like ambience
I’ve been an occasional visitor to JC’s almost since it opened. Even though I’m a Duck fan, not a Beaver, I like the easy “Cheers”-like ambience of the place and its youthful energy.
There are 10 TV sets here, more than enough to offer multiple sports. And local singer-guitarist KC Flynn performs every Thursday night.
JC’s is a place that I’ll avoid on busy, shoulder-to-shoulder nights like Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day, but I find its food better than most other lounges of its genre.
RECENT REVIEWS
Chloe New American Cuisine (A-) : Laotian chef Jerry Phaisavath offers excellent French-influenced cuisine, notably crab cakes with a tomato-ginger jam, in a cozy cafe in the Fred Meyer shopping center on Redmond’s south side. Service is casual and friendly, decor pleasant and understated, prices moderate. Lunch 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. 950 S.W. Veterans Way, Suite 102, Redmond; 548-2600, www .chloeredmond.com. Red Dragon Chinese Restaurant (B+): Chef Casey Chan, a native of Hong Kong, is comfortable preparing a wide range of Chinese cuisines: Szechuan and Hunan, Mongolian and Cantonese. The restaurant is tastefully decorated; service is friendly and efficient; portions are generous. Open 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, noon to 9:30 p.m. Sunday. 61247 S. Third St., Bend; 389-9888. High Tides (A-): Central Oregon’s finest seafood restaurant assures a variety of fresh fish cooked in creative style by owner-chef Mike Rushing. The Thai fish soup is especially outstanding, and regulars rely on the daily blackboard specials. The atmosphere is cozy and intimate, service generally excellent. Open 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday. 631361045 N.W. Bond St., Bend, 389-5244. Alpenglow Cafe (A-): A “freshness pledge” sets the tone at this downtown Bend institution, which relocated in late 2006 to a new building with industrial chic but retained a loyal clientele. Simple meals seem to be the best; try the cinnamon-swirl French toast with a side of smoked chicken sausage. Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day (lunch from 11:30 a.m.). 1133 N.W. Wall St., Suite 100, Bend; 383-7676, www .alpenglowcafe.com.
John Gottberg Anderson can be reached at janderson@bendbulletin.com
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