The Blue Jay is one of those great family owned neighborhood places that we just love to visit. Located at 4154 Hamilton Ave. in the heart of Northside, it is a perfect example of what restaurants use to be like before the invasion of the chains.
At The Blue Jay you can order up breakfast 24 hours a day and, for under $6 you probably won’t have to eat again until dinner, if not the next day. The portions are large and definitely remind you of breakfast at your grandmother’s house; especially if your grandmother, like Mark’s was literally from the “holler” in southeastern Kentucky where breakfast was the largest meal of the day.
There are other goodies on the menu here, especially very large double decker sandwiches and a host of comfort food. But it was the burgers that brought us on a day when there was a gas leak on Hamilton Ave. That odor of gas a couple blocks away was something from which we desperately wanted to escape. It made you wonder how the (literally) nine workers who were collecting overtime could stand it. Of course only one was down in the hole actually doing anything while the other eight were giving him crap.
Inside The Blue Jay that odor became an immediate distance memory as the place literally smells of home cooking. It’s quaint and comfortable, even on a chilly day. And the noise here is perfect; people talking, the sound of orders being called out, the sizzle from the grill. This is a joint!
Burgers
In keeping with the tradition of our blog, we both ordered basic burgers, the double cheeseburger deluxe. Nothing fancy about the name which is fitting for a place like this. We didn’t get a chance to ask but from the taste and how juicy these burgers were we guessed that the beef was brought in fresh daily, never frozen. From how the patties are each just a little different we also guessed that they are hand patted with each order.
The buns, likewise, were fresh and tasted like Klosterman’s though once again, because the place was so busy and our waitress was running around giving great service, we didn’t get a chance to find out for sure. While the tomato, lettuce and pickle were fresh and tasty they didn’t overpower the burger. One thing that always bothers us is when a place puts so much lettuce on the burger that you have to tear some off in order to actually get to the burger. Are these places trying to hide something? Are they trying to add an extra crunch to their sandwich? Lettuce on a burger is there to compliment not turn it into a salad.
Our fries were pretty basic restaurant crinkle cuts. Obviously the oil hadn’t been recycled too many times and probably nothing else was ever cooked in it. They were passable, even good with a crispy outside and warm, soft middle, but nothing to stand on the bench of the booth and shout from on high about how these are the most spectacular spuds you’ve ever had.
Mark had ordered up the cole slaw (he got the fries and slaw as part of a platter for $3) and determined it was in the same category as the fries. It was pretty standard, creamy restaurant cole slaw. But that is much better than ordering slaw and finding some “special” recipe surprise. Besides, this is how you would expect the slaw to taste in a diner such as The Blue Jay.
While parking in Northside can always be a bit of a hassle, there are a couple of lots and plenty of meters if you take the time to look. And heading to The Blue Jay is well worth taking the time. In fact, if like us, you go for a burger, you will definitely come back to enjoy breakfast.
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