A Night out at Jimmy's - CLOSED

Jimmy's Famous American Tavern

3325 E. Imperial Highway

Brea, CA 92823

There are a few restaurants that I feel a special kinship with. After doing this restaurant blog for nearly eight years, we've grown up with some of these restaurants. One such restaurant I feel this companionship with is Jimmy's Famous American Tavern. We remember when JFAT only had one location in San Diego in 2010, and they burst on the scene in OC three years later, adding some much-needed life to the Dana Point Harbor dining scene.

It's great watching this mini-chain expand to other areas of Southern California. They now have five locations and a little bird told us that there are more on the way, but they would not let the cat out of the bag about where the next few spots will be. Next month will mark the first anniversary of this Brea location, which is right near where I grew up, Yorba Linda. This is definitely the type of restaurant that North OC desperately needs. A restaurant that is not a mega-chain, one that serves good, honest food in a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere while still providing a sophisticated environment.

The success of JFAT should not surprise anyone, especially when you find out David Wilhelm is a Co-Founder here. He's an OC restaurant icon who brought El Torito Grille, French 75, Sorrento Grille, Kachina, and others to the hungry masses of Orange County. Not one to rest on its past reputation alone, JFAT has continuously been praised by local media outlets for its food, intriguing beverage program, and two-star rating by the Green Restaurant Association, which ranks them in the upper echelon of restaurants doing their part of implementing programs which are better for the environment.

With all of this good stuff going on at JFAT, I jumped at the chance to eat here when we were recently invited to experience this Brea location for the first time. For this visit, I asked my buddy, Erven, to accompany me and try JFAT for the first time. This JFAT is located at the corner of Valencia and Imperial Highway in the newly constructed Village at La Floresta. It is difficult to find this restaurant, as they are hidden in the corner of the shopping center. Just locate the Whole Foods supermarket, walk to your left, and you'll run right into the entrance.

Once inside, if you've ever been to another JFAT location, you will definitely be reintroduced to the JFAT vibe, which is sleek and hip without a hint of pretentiousness. The dining room is bathed in plenty of dark woods, muted lighting, trademark American flags used as decor, and very comfy booths filled with people enjoying their meals and cocktails. The restaurant's center is dominated by a lively and well-stocked bar, which allows for great views of the TVs, which were turned to hockey this evening. Score. There's also a rather large patio, which I imagine gets plenty of use when the weather turns a little warmer. After a lengthy conversation catching up, Erven and I made our selections off the menu, which features many enticing comfort food favorites. Let's see what we decided on.

Our first round of cocktails was similar. Erven selected the Classic Mojito ($13) as his maiden beverage of the evening. This trendy drink is muddled to order with fresh mint and also includes some refreshing lime juice, rum, and maybe a splash of soda water. I liked that this mojito had a touch of sweetness but was not overpowered by sugar, and you still knew you were consuming an adult beverage. I've been all about mules lately, and I like that restaurants are getting creative by branching out of the Moscow mule mold. This Gin Gin Mule ($13) included the same lime juice and mint that Erven had in his mojito but also some ginger beer and Nolet's Gin. I liked the inclusion of gin, which adds more of a bite than the usual vodka in the Moscow version. A very refreshing drink.

Since we already had our drinks, some appetizers were definitely in order. We each picked one, and Erven chose the Buffalo Style Meatballs ($13). These meatballs came five to an order and were drenched in a spicy wing sauce and served with a side of honey-garlic ranch dressing for dipping. We liked these but thought they were a tad overcooked. I had wished they would be more tender, but the delicious buffalo sauce and the ranch helped these out a bit. My pick was the Spicy Ahi Poke ($14). Poke is everywhere these days, and this version at JFAT was very fresh. It included avocado, yuzu, serranos, scallions, papaya, and sesame. The cubed ahi was still the star. The crispy wontons were an excellent vessel for this; if I worked back in the kitchen here, I could see myself eating a ton of these wontons.

Erven was sucking down the drinks this evening, probably so he could tolerate listening to my horrible stories. His second cocktail was this photogenic Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade ($13). This combined Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Southern Comfort, Marion Blackberries, simple syrup, and a splash of lemonade. I really enjoyed the sip I had of this. It was sweet, but the bourbon hung around the background and evened this drink out. Very balanced, and this will be my go-to drink on future visits to Jimmy's Famous American Tavern.

Even though we had entrees coming, we were talked into trying the Grilled Santa Fe Caesar Salad ($12) and a Bowl of New England Clam Chowder ($9). Manager Todd Cords really talked up this different take on a Caesar salad, and after my first bite, I realized he had every right to do so. It was delicious. The romaine is grilled, so it picks up the flavors of the grill and is then topped with corn, salsa fresca, avocado, and one of the better salad dressings I've had recently a green chile caesar dressing. I'm usually not too enthused about having to cut up my salad, but I did not mind with this one. The chowder really grew on Erven as he ate it. It had plenty of potatoes and clams and was very creamy. It could have been a tad more peppery, but still a solid version of this classic comfort soup.

Entree time, and Erven and I decided to split two entrees, the first of which was this French Dip ($19). This dip sandwich starts with some thinly sliced, tender prime rib and then is topped with Swiss cheese, crispy onion strings, a creamy horseradish sauce, and, of course, au jus. I liked this sandwich, although I wished the horseradish had packed more punch. The ciabatta bread was good here, as it did an admirable job soaking up the au jus and keeping the contents of the sandwich together. This sandwich came with sea salt fries on the side, which were pretty solid.

I wanted to get a burger here, but I've been on too much of a burger kick lately, so I got the JFAT Blonde Ale Fish and Chips ($18) instead. It was a good choice. This large plate came with three good-sized pieces of fried fish, which were crunchy on the outside and flaky and buttery soft on the inside. I was shocked at how these lacked the usual greasiness that goes hand in hand with fish and chips. This plate was rounded out with a nicely done coleslaw and some salt and pepper potato chips. A very comforting meal.

We did not need dessert at this point, but we could not resist trying this pumpkin and pecan streusel cake ($7). Our server, Zoey, called this an underrated dessert because it gets overshadowed by their larger and more flashy sundaes. She nailed this description. I'm not a big pumpkin fan, but it was understated here, lurking in the background while the pecan and ice cream played a more prominent role. It was a very good end to our meal at Jimmy's Famous American Tavern.

I'm happy to report that this JFAT location was just as good as the one we have visited numerous times in Dana Point. Sometimes, when a restaurant expands, there are growing pains, but that does not seem to be the case with Jimmy's Famous American Tavern. Even though Brea is 33 miles north of Dana Point, they definitely nailed the same vibe for both restaurants. The food was also consistent in both spots, and we look forward to coming back here and exploring more of their menu when we are up this way, maybe visiting my parents.

As for this visit, we thank everyone at JFAT for their warm and generous hospitality. Our server, Zoey, was excellent and very knowledgeable about the menu here, and she was spot on with coming up with suggestions to make our dining experience even better than it would have been. We would also like to thank Manager Todd Cords, who came over and checked on us regularly and answered all of our questions about this restaurant. You could sense how everyone who works here is very proud of this establishment and enjoys showing it off. Lastly, I would like to thank my dining companion this evening, my friend Erven, whom I've known for 30 years and counting. I had a great time catching up with you, and we need to do this more often. Thanks, buddy.

If you would like to experience Jimmy's Famous American Tavern for yourself, find your nearest location and online menus at their website here: http://j-fat.com/