Jamms has found the secret
It’s just a little coffee shop, tucked away in a strip center near a supermarket and a big-box home-improvement store. Yet Jamms Restaurant has managed to maintain a strong local following despite growing competition and has gained a bit of national attention thanks to a recent appearance on Adam Richman’s “Man Finds Food” on the Travel Channel.
So, what’s its secret?
Well, somebody at Jamms is pretty light on his feet, quickly reacting to changing conditions. Examples would include the recent introduction of “small plates,” versions of a number of Jamms’ dishes, and a weekday express-lunch plan, plus an ever-evolving menu that retains the classics while adding what’s newer and more novel.
And then there’s that justifiably famous Pot of Bread.
On our most recent visit, we decided on a split between breakfast and lunch. The New Jersey Sloppy Joe ($9.99) was a triple-decker on rye, thickly layered with roast beef, turkey and corned beef, dressed with crisp, creamy coleslaw and just enough Thousand Island dressing to keep it all moist without making it soggy. With it we chose the housemade potato chips, a tiny fryer basket filled mostly with crisply fried chips, with a few tucked between the others that had remained slightly soft, which is part of the charm of chips of this nature.
We really like omelets, and Jamms has a good selection of them, including a Reuben Omelet complete with sauerkraut, a White Castle Omelet presumably without soggy buns, and the Sandy Omelet, the naming of which had to involve some dubious judgment. We kept it simple with the Mushroom Delight, but here’s the thing: We didn’t want a big, giant ol’ omelet, so we took advantage of the new Erika’s Small Plates feature, in which customers are invited to order somewhat diminutive versions of dishes, including the Benedicts, specialty pancakes, soups, French toast, waffles and omelets. And our omelet ($5) turned out to be just the right size, light and fluffy and filled with cream and cheddar cheeses, with sauteed mushrooms serving as contrasting accents.
The Pot of Bread is included with full-sized breakfasts, so we added it to our mini one ($1.95). Wretched excess seemed to be the theme of the flavor-of-the-week peanut-butter-Nutella, so we stuck with plain, which was a lovely, yeasty, oversized roll, hot and just perfect with a lick of butter.
Service of the “what would you like, hon?” variety was pleasant and quick, and the decor is easy on the eyes.
All of which are part of Jamms’ secret.
Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Email Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at bestoflasvegas.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.