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View the
Jim's Famous 1/4lb. Charbroiled Burgers Menu
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Jim's
is located at 915 W. Duarte Road, Monrovia |
Hard
at work in the kitchen |
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That's a large soda, so you can see the zucchini is a big order |
Pastrami sandwich |
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Pastrami sandwich, zucchini and soda |
The
beef dip, with au jus on the side |
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I
ordered the burger plain, so I could add...
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...the award winning chili. The fries are a big order, too.
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This
is their small cone... |
Also
a small cone, this one a mix of chocolate and vanilla |
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The
banana split |
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DOT COM DINING
A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
Jim’s Famous ¼ lb. Charbroiled
Burgers in Monrovia a Busy Place For a Reason
By Bill Coburn
Stopped
by Jim’s Famous ¼ lb. Charbroiled Burgers at 915 W. Duarte Road in Monrovia
(right near the Arcadia border, 626 447-5993) for dinner this evening. Jim’s is
one of those places that I’ve been meaning to try, but just hadn’t gotten to
yet. I’m sorry that it took me so long to get down there, I can guarantee I’ll
be going back. The food was good, the prices reasonable, the portions beyond
reasonable, and the desserts were worth a trip on their own. Jim’s has been
serving up delicious burgers, sandwiches, Mexican food and desserts for about
fifteen years now, and they seem to have gotten it down.
I was a
little surprised to find the place as busy as it was, all the inside tables were
full when we got there. We settled in at a patio table, and I have to say, I
think it was nicer outside than it was inside, even though it was a hot July
day. What really surprised me though, was that while we were there, (and we
were there for quite a while), it never really slowed down. In fact, there was
wave after wave of customers, and the counter people and the cooks never really
had a let-up. Every time I looked up there were half a dozen new people at the
counter, and the obviously experienced crew kept them moving through. Despite
the constant influx of people, no one waited very long; to order, or to get
their food.
I ordered
a plain double cheeseburger, because Keelan was getting a bowl of their homemade
chile, and I knew he wouldn’t eat it all. I knew that a local paper’s readers
had voted Jim’s the best Chile of 2003, so I thought I’d give an “award-winning”
chile cheeseburger a try. I also was planning to split Keelan’s beef dip with
him. Katie and Keelan were splitting an order of fried zucchini, which Jim’s
makes fresh daily (they make their onion rings fresh daily, too). Katie ordered
a pastrami dip, and I ordered some fries, also to split with the family. Jim’s
is also known for their soft serve ice cream cones, so instead of my usual soda,
I ordered a strawberry shake.
As we sat
on the patio waiting for our food, we had a good view of the activity in the
kitchen. I knew the food was going to be good as I watched them make up the
orders for the people ahead of us. As they prepped the burgers for instance, I
could see that the tomato slices were from big tomatoes, and sliced thick. Each
burger got one big slice, which covered the bun, not a couple small, thin sliced
tomatoes. Avocado Cheeseburgers had a complete half an avocado, there was
plenty of lettuce, and the onions, like the tomatoes, were big, thick slices.
In other words, they made their burgers the way fast food places used to make
burgers when I broke into the business, back in the early 70s. No scrimping,
just a good, big burger.
Our food
came, and I could not believe the size of the small order of zucchini and the
small order of fries. The bags for each were stuffed and overflowing, and when
placed in a vertical position, were as tall as the large soda Katie had ordered,
and about as big around. I think an average family of four would probably have
enough of each with one order apiece. I know we didn’t finish either side
order. Katie and Keelan both praised the zucchini, and noted that it not only
was served with ranch dressing, but that it was a larger portion than most
places serve. Katie did note though, that if we had eaten the entire order of
zucchini, she might have wanted an extra side of ranch, which costs just a
quarter. I worked on the fries with Keelan, which were fresh, hot and crisp.
I put some of the chile on my burger and dug in. As the name states, these were
¼ lb. charbroiled burgers, so the double was a good sized ½ lb. burger. The
chile was good, meaty, no beans, and complemented the burger well. Katie was
quite pleased with her pastrami, noting that it was exceptionally tender. She
said that she frequently will find that even when she finds a good tasting
pastrami, when you take a bite of the sandwich, you get a trailer from the
sandwich. You know, that little piece that you were hoping would stay on the
sandwich, but instead, it comes with the bite you took? Well there was none of
that with this sandwich. What you bit through you got, what was on the other
part of the sandwich stayed there. Tender meat, and delicious. Despite having
eaten a ½ lb. chili cheese burger, I ate half of Keelan’s beef dip, too. Tender
beef, lean, cooked up on the premises, and served on a grilled French roll with
plenty of au jus. And my strawberry shake was a good way to wash it all down.
In
addition to their burgers, Jim’s does have a nice selection of sandwiches, and
while their Mexican menu is a little more limited, it has all the basics.
You’ll find the Jim’s Famous ¼ lb. Charbroiled Burgers menu online at
www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/jimsfamouscharbroiledburgers. I saw a great
looking chicken quesadilla coming out of the kitchen, and while I was ordering
dessert, a man I recognized as a waiter from Los Gueros Grill came in with his
family. This is a man who obviously knows good quality Mexican food, and he was
having Jim’s tacos for dinner. I didn’t see what the rest of the family had,
but I’d have to say that’s a pretty good endorsement.
As I
said, we ordered dessert. Katie and Keelan had small cones, Katie vanilla only,
Keelan had vanilla/chocolate mix. If you’re reading this review in a medium
that has pictures of the cones, you’ll see that these cones are huge. I can’t
imagine how big the large cone is. This cone cost just under a dollar, and is
definitely well worth it. I recommend asking for a cup along with the cone,
especially if you’re getting it for a kid, because it’s just a lot of ice cream
to eat. I ordered a banana split, and man, was it tasty. Three large swirls of
vanilla ice cream, served on sliced banana (I prefer sliced banana over whole or
split bananas, as it’s easier to eat). It had chocolate sauce on one swirl,
pineapple on another, and strawberry on the third. It was topped off with
whipped cream, walnuts, and a little more chocolate sauce. The soft serve ice
cream really helped to make this one of the better banana splits I’ve ever had.
You’ve
heard people say that they’re tired after working hard on a fulfilling project,
“but it’s a good kind of tired?” Well, after a ½ lb. burger, half a beef dip,
French fries, strawberry shake, and a banana split, right now, I’m absolutely
miserable. “But it’s a good kind of absolutely miserable.”
Stop by
and try Jim’s, I recommend it highly. But don’t eat as much as I did, save room
for some of that great ice cream to finish it off.
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a
restaurant website featuring dozens of restaurant’s menus, as well as
downloadable coupons. He has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant
business, and has been eating for much longer than that. |
