99. Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food
The last time I was in Reston Town Center, it wasn’t much more than a Clyde’s and a movie theater. Now it is out and proud with its chain store goodness. And I love it. True, I could easily go to the mall and get a JCrew and a Gap and an Anthropologie in the same place, but in Reston it’s OUTSIDE. And there are lots and lots of ice cream options there, so I think we have a winner. For the most part, the restaurant selection is not terribly original—M&S Grill, Mon Ami Gabi, Rio Grande, Clydes and so on—but lucky for Reston there is Jackson’s. It’s what it would happen if the guys from Rounders moved to the suburbs, had a couple kids and decided to open a restaurant. At least I think it is, since I haven’t seen Rounders in like ten years and only vaguely remember it. Well, it’s at least the restaurant the guys in the movie poster would open.
It’s a sprawling place, but at 2pm on a Friday I had to wait for a table. It’s packed and loud, but the truth is, if this place were quiet I would assume something was wrong. I was seated pretty quickly at a nice booth fit for two by the window—perfect for watching the finishing touches being put on a restaurant across the street called “The Counter: A Custom Burger Joint” or something. Sounds like something the contestants on Top Chef would open during the week where they have to run a restaurant. So, the menu at Jackson’s is reminiscent of the one at Founding Farmers—tons of favorites to choose from and something for everyone. It tends to be mostly reimagined comfort food, though there is a sort of inexplicable sushi section. Something for everyone, indeed.
I was told not to miss the deviled eggs, so I obliged. The menu said they were served with candied bacon, which I understood to be pieces of candied bacon on top of the eggs. Oh no. The eggs were served with three full strips of candied bacon. I literally clapped when my waiter put it down in front of me. (Not cool?) The bacon was obviously fantastic, since you would have to serve it with a side of Styrofoam puree for me to not like it. I feel like I’m becoming a bit of an expert (in my own mind) on deviled eggs since they seem to be everywhere these days, and I can say this plate of them was pretty top notch. The filling was nice and mustardy, and there were raw diced onions jicama and watermelon rind (ed: Thanks Ronya!) folded in with it. That was unexpected, but I thought it was the perfect way to keep these from turning into a slimy mush in your mouth.
For my main course, I told my waiter that I was in the mood for something light. He proceeded to go through all the great salads on the menu, pointed out some of his favorite sushi rolls and turned my attention to the grilled fish. I promptly ignored what he said and ordered the Duck Burger. As he took my menu away, he muttered, “I thought you said light…” I gave him my “whatever dude” eye roll and went back to my paper. When the sandwich came out, I had to kick myself because he was right; there is nothing light about this sandwich. It’s ground duck breast served with a shiitake mushroom sauce (like a mayo) and watercress. I’ve never had a duck burger before, hence my ordering strategy, and it was really great. Though the meat was pretty flavorful, the shiitake sauce was even better. It was salty and had big Asian flavors, which went great with the duck. It was very, very messy (not a good date meal), so it probably could have stood up a bigger better badder bun. The rice salad served with it was really delicious too—wild rice with grapes, celery, onion, pine nuts and probably some more ingredients I’m missing. If that were in the prepared foods section at Whole Foods I would be a happy camper. Actually if it was in the prepared foods section in my fridge I’d be even happier, but a girl can dream.
I was prepared to not like Jackson’s. That’s not true—I was prepared to be annoyed that Washingtonian thought this restaurant was worthwhile enough to drive from D.C. to Reston. The truth is, it’s well worth it. Yes, Reston is only a couple miles from Dulles Airport, which to most Washingtonians seems like West Virginia. But here’s a secret—halfway between the Key Bridge and Reston is a Total Wine (aka the happiest place on Earth), and a stop there really breaks up the trip nicely. Also, the drive back gave me enough time to digest my eggs and duck (ha! Poultry joke!), that now I’m ready to start in on my Total Wine purchases.
