Review: Jim Dandy Family Restaurant
Author: EatHSE | Filed under: Food Reviews, Location: Noblesville, IN
Jim Dandy Family Restaurant
2301 Conner Street
Noblesville, IN 46060
http://www.jdrest.com/
I love breakfast. It is my favorite meal of the day and I am always on the hunt for places that offer something out of the ordinary. I have driven by the retro looking Jim Dandy in Noblesville countless times and decided to take my family to give it a try. I am 35 years old and on this morning, I was at least twenty years younger than the rest of the customers. A busy breakfast on a weekday morning is usually a good sign. As I sat and observed the surroundings, it was clear that many of the retired customers were on a first name basis with the waitstaff giving the environment the welcoming small-town feel. Service was outstanding throughout the visit with my coffee never getting less than half full.
A breakfast bar? Yes, for $5.00, you could have eggs, bacon, pancakes, biscuits and gravy and a variety of other choices. Although perfect for evaluating a lot of food, we arrived near the end of the breakfast bar hours and fresh food was no longer coming out so I passed and went to the menu.
What We Got:
Denver Omelet $5.99 + $1 for Hash Browns
The Denver is one of just a few specialty omelets on the menu and all omelets come with a choice of pancakes or an English muffin. I did not want either and would much rather hash browns be one of the options for $5.99 but chose the English muffin in this case. The English muffin was clearly toasted on the griddle to perfection and went well with my coffee. In comparison to most breakfast restaurants, the hash brown serving size was small but was thin and had the perfect crispy like crust that make hash browns one of my favorite breakfast foods. The omelet was also thin the way I like it and had plenty of green pepper but not so much that it overpowered everything else. The ham used seemed of lunch meat quality, yet it still worked. I like how Jim Dandy puts some of the ingredients on top of your omelet to sort of dress it.
The only big problem I had with the food was the cheese used. It is clear from the squares on top that Velveeta-like American processed cheese was used both on the top and on the inside. I quit eating that kind of cheese years ago and the amount inside made my omelet taste like a Velveeta green pepper omelet and that is not a good thing.
Bacon and Cheese Omelet $5.99
My wife chose her own combination which allows for up to two ingredients that she enjoyed and would buy again. Of particular note, this omelet had complete strips of bacon placed inside the omelet. I like this much better than the bacon bits that become hard or crunchy like you sometimes experience at other restaurants.
Pancakes with Syrup and 5 strips of Bacon $3.99
The pancakes were huge, came out steaming hot and were grilled well with a nicely browned on the outside. The syrup must be the cheapest stuff they can buy and I would have gladly paid an extra fifty cents for thicker syrup that did not taste watered down. I am not sure I have been anywhere where you get four-to-five strips of bacon in a meal for $3.99. An excellent value and my two young daughters demolished this meal with delight.
Would I Buy It Again? Yes, we will be going back to Jim Dandy. If no cheese alternative is available for the omelet, I will go for some of the other well priced menu items or hit the breakfast bar. Yes, they even have a loyalty card that gets you a stamp for every $5 you spend getting a free meal after $50. I have also heard the fried chicken is good and would like to give it a try. Overall, service was excellent and the value was high for a small family to have an affordable breakfast. I am fearful that as their aging customer base passes away, so will the remaining few local diners in favor of chains that lack character and that small-town local appeal that Jim Dandy still maintains long after the end of its drive-in years many years ago.
-EatHSE
Tags: Bacon, Biscuit, Breakfast, denver omelet, eggs, Food, hash browns, jim dandy family restaurant, omelet, pancakes, syrup
Wow, Jim Dandy. I live just a few blocks from this place and haven’t ate there since High School. Talk about a time warp.
Jim Dandy reminds me of the old old school burger joint in Noblesville that they tore down a good 15 years ago (probably longer).
@IndianapolisEater: Do you know what I’m talking about? I can’t remember the name of the place to save my life!
@Erin: Are you talking about Clancy’s? Clancy’s was owned by the same people that owned Michaelangelo’s and Grindstone Charley’s, if I remember correctly.
As for Jim Dandy, I love it. Awesome (and cheap) breakfast buffet and I would give my arm for the fried biscuits and apple butter. Their current promotion is all you can eat ribs on Saturdays after 4:00. I’ve got to make it in there to take advantage!
Jim Dandy’s is great…I had it this past weekend when the Original House of Pancakes was way too crowded to wait to sit. Their breakfast bar (if fresh) is well worth the money…fried biscuits, biscuits & gravy, sausage, bacon, etc. The only thing I don’t really care for on the bar is the scrambled eggs.
Erin – are you talking about Clancy’s?
Yes! Thank you, Clancy’s. I remember them having great burgers and my Grandma and Dad loved their tenderloin. Then again, that’s had to of been well over 15 years ago…teenagers and old people will eat anything.
Been a while sine I’ve been to JD & I have great memories of Clancy’s. As an NHS grad I’ve spend my fair share of time in these places. Good times & good food.
I HIGHLY recommend the Uptown Cafe for breakfast. This place used to be a total greasy spoon but it’s been improved greatly by the new owner.
Here’s a flashback moment for you Noblesville guys & girls… Anyone remember Wheelers Truck Stop on 37? It was up near the county line.
I live really close to Jim Dandy, but I have never been there. I wanted to go simply because it looked like kind of an anachronism as far as restaurants go. Now that I know they have a cheap breakfast buffet it’s right in the Random Dude Eats Random Food wheelhouse.
Those hash browns look proper. I hate going out for breakfast and getting hash browns that are soggy and have absolutely no crispiness to them, even after specifying when ordering that I like them well down.
Is it bad that the part of your review that makes me want to try this place is the mention of the velveeta….I’m a processed-cheese-aholic…
It looks good and for $5 for the bar, you can’t beat it. I like the lunch bar here as well. i think that is $6 or $7, but it is the bomb.
Those hash browns look perfect. Too long have breakfast joints been slinging the slightly browned, mostly raw and white twig mounds of potatoes!
Good review. I’m kind of sad that I could walk there from my house (well, it’d be a hike, but it’s doable) and haven’t been there since I was like 15.