Black Jack's Pub & Grill

When I looked up Black Jack's to write a review, I was shocked to see that someone had listed it as "$$$$"  . . . uh, what? It's very reasonably priced, and the food is UNREAL. All the ingredients are fresh, and the burger patties are made the night before to let the seasonings soak in, according to one friendly local (man, I love the people in West Jefferson!).

It was probably the tastiest burger patty I've ever had, the bacon was crisp, and the fries were EXACTLY like my dad made when I was a little kid. Like you just cut up a potato and fried it up. No pre-made anything here.

The owner is really sweet, and has a pay-it-forward policy to do kind deeds for those in need. The rest of the staff is also amazing, and we loved our bartender . . . she told us all the cool things to do in town, and she was right.

Love this place. We're going back today.

What a find. Great microbrews, and EVERYTHING is homemade, right down to the hot wing sauce. Virginia, the chef, is Romanian, and she even took us back to the kitchen to show us how she makes her sauerkraut. Seriously, best Reuben sandwich we have ever eaten, and the burgers are unbelievably good. We had excellent service, and the owner even found some of Virginia's famous cabbage rolls in his freezer for us to warm up later at our cabin in the mountains. Virginia's story is quite amazing. I highly recommend this little place. We first thought it was just a divey burger joint, but we were pleasantly surprised and had a great lunch with our kids.

My worst dining experience in 35 years. I've spent 12+ years in restaurant management, and I was amazed, over and over again how poorly this place was managed and operated. We found this place online because I'd their blackjack burger challenge. (3lb burger in 30 minutes) we had an adventurous eater in our group, so we went there specifically for the challenge, and informed the waitress of it as we were seated. There were three other tables there at the time, two servers and one employee doing nothing but drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

After our server checked with the cook, we were told that it may take about 30 minutes to prepare the challenge. We were okay with the wait and graciously accepted the delay. After about 30 minutes the server decided to take our food order. All except the challenge eater ordered. I also ordered a beer. 20 minutes later I had to remind her that I had ordered a beer. She promptly brought me a room temperature draft beer.

Another 15 minutes went by and our food arrived (minus the burger challenge). Our server proceeded to drop a chicken finger platter on me and a chicken finger lands in my lukewarm beer. We wait another 15 minutes for that meal to be recooked. At this time she tells us that the cook hasn't started our burger challenge yet because some other tables just came in, but it would start shortly.

After we were all finished with dinner, she came back to tell us that the cook was angry and throwing things. She was afraid to ask about our burger challenge. At this point we had been there two hours. We conceded defeat and asked for our checks. She ran our cards after about another 15 minutes and shortchanges our only cash paying member by 5 bucks. We maintained nothing but politeness and benefit of the doubt during the entire experience. I saw no resemblance if a manager or an owner on site and cannot believe hat anyone would allow this type of service when their reputation depends on it.  

If I ever vacation near wear Jefferson again, I'll eat at the gas station before I go back to black jacks pub. Avoid at all cost.