Food Review: Jake's Steakhouse in East Meadow

It's sad when East Meadowians are crying out "Bring back Runyons!," but that's exactly the case.  (the former spot of Runyons) on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow calls itself a "Traditional American Steakhouse." Lauren and I found it to be just that - traditional. The place really doesn't try to be anything more than a simple, "classy" dining venue with a rather limited number of menu choices. The decor features dark wood with light seat covers and a traditional table setting.

You'll start first with some traditional bread, which Lauren and I found to be a bit hard, accompanied by some regular butter. If you're a person that will pay anything for the right atmosphere, your money would be better spent elsewhere!
Our overly attentive waiter seemed all too eager to take our dinner orders.
In fact, the staff seems to like standing around waiting for someone to need them, which is great if you require a lot of service, but in our case, we found it to be a bit annoying. We started with a traditional Caesar salad, which they nicely split on two plates for us. It was good, but a bit heavy for my taste on the cheese and anchovy flavor.

For our main dishes, Lauren ordered Jumbo shrimp from the daily specials, and I ordered the Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon with mixed vegetables,mushrooms and broccoli rabe. Lauren's shrimp were certainly plump and she commented on the nice size portion. Although it tasted "okay," she said it wasn't the best value for the price. Lauren was clearly disappointed. 

My salmon came served on a wood "plank" type plate and Lauren and I both commented on the nice presentation. The salmon was seasoned and cooked well. I found it very enjoyable. However, the mushrooms were too salty for my liking and the vegetables tasted as if they had been soaked in butter. 

Side Note: If you're a regular reader, you may wonder why we don't always sample each others food. We usually will, except when I order Salmon and Lauren orders shrimp. We're both actually allergic to those specific fish!

We also wanted to comment on the valet parking situation at this East Meadow location. It seems like a nice service, but when you see the size of the parking lot - you may be asking if it's really necessary to have someone parking the car for you. The lot is SO close to the door. It was also a Thursday night, and not overly crowded.
 
All in all, we found ourselves wondering after the meal why the restaurant tried to be anything other than what it used to be - a pub. The atmosphere conversion from Runyons to Jake's seemed minimal and as a steakhouse, left something to be desired (to say the least). It was clearly WAY overpriced. 

We give Jake's a 2 out of 5 mints on the dinner mint scale.

For more of our restaurant reviews and tips, visit our blog Alex and Lauren Eat Long Island and follow our twitter @ALEatLongIsland.