Baltimore Jack’s

If the address of Baltimore Jack’s seems familiar, it is because that it used to be Springsteen’s American Diner until five minutes ago. I was walking along Botanic Avenue a couple of days ago and performed an absolutely flawless double take when I saw the new signage. I don’t know if it’s just a ‘revamp’, or a brand new business.
My sister and I were there on my first visit, and I’m pleased to say that the first impressions upon entering were different from Springsteen’s — a lot of the silly Americana paraphernalia (bye bye, motorbike and non-​functioning jukebox) has been ejected, and more tables had been installed.
We were sitting upstairs — After noting that there was nothing even remotely healthy or small on the menu, I ordered my chilli dog with fries and coleslaw, my sister ordered chicken strips with a hot and tangy barbeque sauce which turned out to be resolutely non-​spicy. Sadly, my chilli sauce was stone cold and congealed. We both had pots of coleslaw that were an interesting shade of yellow.
So, I wasn’t overly impressed but decided to give it a second chance, which led to a third and fourth. While they may have had a few problems at first, things are pretty top notch now. Let’s face it, a good burger and chips is one of the world’s greatest dishes (Jamie Oliver says so, therefore it must be true) — and for what you pay here, it’s pretty bloody good. Their New Yorker burger with pickles and mustard is delicious, and the service can’t be faulted.