Trying "New" Restaurants: Original Joe's
Nov. 6th, 2024 11:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerIn the vein of trying new restaurants even if they're not actually new, this past weekend Hawk and I dined for the first time at Original Joe's in downtown San Jose. Well, it was our first time there together; I ate there once with colleagues a few months ago. Either way, while the restaurant is a new experience for us, it's actually one of the oldest restaurants in San Jose, opened on the corner of South 1st and San Carlos Streets in 1956.
Original Joe's serves Italian-American cuisine. It's unapologetically a throwback to how Italian cuisine was understood in the US in the mid-20th century. The menu is full of OG Italian-American staples like veal parmigiana, chicken piccata, and spaghetti and meatballs. Portions are huge and often drowned in red sauce. There are also steaks, burgers, and salads on the menu.
The 20th century OG sense at OJ's isn't just the menu; it's the whole restaurant. The high ceilings, dark wood tables, and red vinyl booths all make you feel like you're on the set of a Hollywood costume drama. When I was there with colleagues a few months ago they were making jokes about how they thought this is where Tony Soprano and other mafia leaders would be dining if they lived in San Jose.
On my first visit I went for a classic Italian-American dish I enjoyed when I was younger, veal parmigiana. It used to be sold more widely. I mean, heck, Burger King had a veal parmigiana sandwich back in the early 80s. OJ's price was a bit spendy but the portion was generous, a huge cut of veal that almost covered the plate, drowned in red sauce and covered with melted cheese. Oh, and a plate of ravioli was the (included) side dish I ordered with it. Overall the quality was good but not great. I wouldn't have minded if the portion were 2/3 the size with more focus on getting the breading and frying right and not drowning it with sauce.
When Hawk and I ate at Original Joe's this past weekend I decided to try something completely different on the menu so I took a look at the steak choices. Like seemingly everything else on the menu, their cuts of meat are huge. I chose the prime rib, where even the smaller cut available was 18oz. If they'd had a 12oz. choice I would've taken that! (I even asked the waitress, "Do you have, like, a kid's meal prime rib? 😅) The prime rib was delicious and well cooked to medium rare as I requested. I took home more than half of it as leftovers. Maybe tonight I'll see how well those leftovers last.
Original Joe's is spendier than how we like to dine out on a regular basis. For the two of us the total came to $170. Within that, though, I had two alcoholic drinks, one of them a spendy glass of wine. I also ordered a dessert after packing up more than half of my prime rib to take home as leftovers. I could keep the costs lower by not indulging in nice wine or a dessert, but part of enjoying dining at a nicer restaurant is splurging a bit. I could see us returning to Original Joe's occasionally and trying other things on the menu.
Original Joe's serves Italian-American cuisine. It's unapologetically a throwback to how Italian cuisine was understood in the US in the mid-20th century. The menu is full of OG Italian-American staples like veal parmigiana, chicken piccata, and spaghetti and meatballs. Portions are huge and often drowned in red sauce. There are also steaks, burgers, and salads on the menu.
The 20th century OG sense at OJ's isn't just the menu; it's the whole restaurant. The high ceilings, dark wood tables, and red vinyl booths all make you feel like you're on the set of a Hollywood costume drama. When I was there with colleagues a few months ago they were making jokes about how they thought this is where Tony Soprano and other mafia leaders would be dining if they lived in San Jose.
On my first visit I went for a classic Italian-American dish I enjoyed when I was younger, veal parmigiana. It used to be sold more widely. I mean, heck, Burger King had a veal parmigiana sandwich back in the early 80s. OJ's price was a bit spendy but the portion was generous, a huge cut of veal that almost covered the plate, drowned in red sauce and covered with melted cheese. Oh, and a plate of ravioli was the (included) side dish I ordered with it. Overall the quality was good but not great. I wouldn't have minded if the portion were 2/3 the size with more focus on getting the breading and frying right and not drowning it with sauce.
When Hawk and I ate at Original Joe's this past weekend I decided to try something completely different on the menu so I took a look at the steak choices. Like seemingly everything else on the menu, their cuts of meat are huge. I chose the prime rib, where even the smaller cut available was 18oz. If they'd had a 12oz. choice I would've taken that! (I even asked the waitress, "Do you have, like, a kid's meal prime rib? 😅) The prime rib was delicious and well cooked to medium rare as I requested. I took home more than half of it as leftovers. Maybe tonight I'll see how well those leftovers last.
Original Joe's is spendier than how we like to dine out on a regular basis. For the two of us the total came to $170. Within that, though, I had two alcoholic drinks, one of them a spendy glass of wine. I also ordered a dessert after packing up more than half of my prime rib to take home as leftovers. I could keep the costs lower by not indulging in nice wine or a dessert, but part of enjoying dining at a nicer restaurant is splurging a bit. I could see us returning to Original Joe's occasionally and trying other things on the menu.
