Tuesday, June 28, 2011

J and J Restaurant Review


Our fourth and final stop on Glenway's "3-way Highway" was at J and J Restaurant. J & J is across the street from the Western Hills Plaza next to Kroger. This is not the original J & J Restaurant as that was demolished for the new Kroger, but it is located very near the original location. As soon as you walk in you can tell it is a newer location. I would say the ambiance of J & J is fast food meets Cincinnati chili parlor. It has your basic booth seating and lots of light, but also has various photos of Cincinnati and Greece hanging on the wall.

The menu is your standard Cincinnati chili parlor menu. A majority of the menu is made up of Cincinnati chili staples and double decker sandwiches. In fact, it appears that the double decker sandwich is their featured menu item. So instead of a chili parlor that has double decker sandwiches, its more of a double decker sandwich shop that has chili. I did not have a double decker, but I saw one and it looked pretty delicious.

Alison's Review
The J&J cheese coney had nothing particularly outstanding about it.  However, it did have several elements that were well done.  The chili was meaty and warm in flavor.  It had fairly traditional spices, but it was a nice blend.  The cheese was soft and fresh.  Both the chili and the cheese were loaded on pretty heavily, but the soft bun held up well under the weight.  The mustard complemented the chili nicely, and the onions were just strong enough to be tasted but not overwhelm the flavor.  The dog was pretty standard.

Though J&J made a coney that was above average, it lacked a wow-factor.  I'm giving this cheese coney a 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Clint's Review

J & J was the second stop in a row where they load the coneys with an ample amount of cheese. However, the heaping amount of cheese was more satisfying here than it was at Ft. Wright. This is mainly due to it being a lighter, finer shredded cheese. It did make for a pretty filling coney, but I didn't feel like I just ingested an entire block of cheese. The cheese was very fresh and had a good taste.

It was hard to get a read on the chili at first. I wouldn't say the chili was bland but nothing jumped out at me during the first couple of bites. As I ate more I began noticing more savory and sweet flavors, there wasn't any heat level spice. I did like the flavors that were there even if it wasn't the strongest chili. The chili did have a good texture. It was a thicker texture and reminded me a lot of neighboring Price Hill Chili.

Overall I enjoyed the J & J Restaurant cheese coney. While nothing was amazing about the coney, nothing struck me as bad either. It is a quality product which I give a 3.75 out of 5.

J & J Restaurant on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

  1. I've been patronizing J&J's since 1972. Their double deckers are superior and their chili is delicious. I particularly recommend their home fries, but don't figure on eating a serving alone--this is a job for two or three people! All in all, one of the best chili parlors in Cincinnati.

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