New in NoDa

NoDa finally welcomes the long anticipated Jack Beagles. By long anticipated, we are talking two plus years they have been working on this place. I'm not sure it was totally worth the wait. But it is a pretty tasty place to stop by. The Mrs. and I have now been there twice and I feel like I have a pretty good feel for what they are going for. Jack Beagles is basically, a slightly upscale, dive bar, emphasis on the slightly. It is small, seating is 6 tables and the bar holds a dozen or so people, and friendly. The menu is currently appetizers, burgers, cheesesteaks and fried hot dogs. We were told they would be rolling out more items like salads in the coming weeks. I want to start by saying I love their fries. The best description is the one from our waiter the first time we went, "Ruffles on steroids", pretty much says it. The first visit we made was kind of on a whim and neither of us was starving, but they were open and I can always eat. We had some cheese bread to start and I ended up getting a burger. It was the Gunslinger which is a beef patty with hummus and pepper jack cheese. It was cooked as asked for and I liked the textures. The beer selection is solid, mostly craft bottles and some cheap american swill, the half dozen taps are outfitted with an array of quality craft brews. I had some Allagash Cruieux and The Mrs. had a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter. Second visit was a dinner that ended up as a double date with a band mate and his wife who happened to be there when we showed up, I love my neighborhood. We started with some buried treasure fries, which are a do it yourself cheese fry thing. You pick from a list of stuff you want and they throw it all over fries. We ordered ours with gravy, onions, and mozzarella, trying to recreate a sense of poutine. Unfortunately with a new restaurant comes some growing pains and our server informed us he accidentally added chili. He was more than willing to have it remade but we were more than willing to eat it with chili. He gave them to us half off so all was forgiven. Main coarse for me was an Italian sausage deep fried into submission and topped with the usual suspects. The Mrs. had a competently made and cooked to order blue cheese burger. The atmosphere is laid back and they are just figuring out who they are. Which in a place like that is usually determined by who decides to take up residency at the bar. The service was friendly and, more important in NoDa, fast. But that is fast on the NoDa scale, which generally falls somewhere between slow and did you have to grow the grain for the bread before you made it to put my sandwich on. But, Jack Beagles is definitely a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Next time your in the neighborhood give it a shot and don't forget to call me.

Jack Beagles - 3213 N. Davidson St. - NoDa

A Sia Saide