Jack & Giulio's

Sun 04.18.2004


We celebrated John's birthday at Jack & Giulio's Sunday night. His parents and eldest sister came from the Midwest for this occasion. Or, I should say a family get-together since we missed the holidays last year?

John had though of going to Jack & Giulio's again but we couldn't quite afford to eat there as often as we liked. For our 6th wedding anniversary (this January) we walked in there by chance for the first time but instantly fell in love with the wonderful Italian cuisine they served. Yes, we had been thinking about trying the "40 Year Favorites" on the menu for a while. His sister, having been living here for 4~5 years, usually made great entertainment suggestions but John wanted to make sure very badly that we'd go to Jack & Giulio's for his birthday.

"Italian restaurant in Old Town?" It even sounded odd to his sister.

I bet most people thought there were only Mexican restaurants in Old Town, ha! (Oh, you'd be surprised.)

Last time we're there, our server told us that they owned another Italian restaurant in NYC and that's it. The chef had been cooking all his life. This restaurant was located in Point Loma then moved to Old Town a couple of years ago. We believed it's been around for a long time as the menu suggested 40 years. There was a lady in her 50s coming in with friends and recommended tons of stuff to her companions and I would tell she's a regular. Later I found out it used to be in Pacific Beach not Point Loma. Perhaps, it moved twice?

It is a moderate-priced restaurant for the most part but entrees on 40 Year Favorites menu are all around $20 a plate. For the quality and flavor you will enjoy, I think it's worth very penny.

John had special of the day, some kind of seafood pasta with red sauce (including half a lobster) -- I can't remember the name. His dad ordered "Lasagna della Casa" (House Lasagna). His mom and sister shared a plate of Rigatoni with Marinara sauce. As a general rule, John likes to order basic red sauce dishes when he tries an Italian restaurant for the first time as the sauce is the key to him. For me, I always order a tofu dish if I try a Chinese restaurant for the first time. If the chef can make tofu, something most people think bland, tastes good, I would definitely go back for other dishes. So, John recommended the Lasagna to his dad since that's what he had last time. Of course, it's good.

I ordered the best dishes the whole night. I had "Insalata Cuore di Palma" (Hearts of Palm Salad). The dressing is olive oil vinaigrette blended in basil thus light green in color -- probably the best vinaigrette I've tasted. Then I ordered "Scampi Alla Giulio" (butterflied shrimp saut�ed with mushroom in white wine sauce) from the "40 Year Favorites" menu. When I took a bite of the mushroom, it was so incredible that honestly I'd cry. Everyone tried a few bites and couldn't believe button mushrooms could be so tasty. The jumbo shrimps were lightly breaded -- usually I'm not crazy about breaded seafood but they were just wonderful and almost tasted like lobsters.

We brought in 2 bottles of wines (one red & one white) for the night and paid $12.50 cork fee. I couldn't remember the exact name of red: Salice Salentino Rosso DOC of Taurino winery from Apulia, Italy. This southern Italian winery is probably best known for producing quality inexpensive everyday table wines. I only had a sip so couldn't tell much. Since I had shrimp, my drink of the night was Montes Chardonnay 2002 from Chile. It is also inexpensive and rated in upper 80s by a few wine magazines. We don't care for white wines much but for the occasion we picked Chilean Chardonnay for it's drier than Californian ones. It was great with the salad and scampi I ordered. I wouldn't say it's the best match for the shrimp but John claimed a sip of Montes Chardonnay after eating the shrimp creating vanilla-like after taste.

A small plate of pasta with Marinara sauce came with my order. Surprisingly, the white wine held up to the red sauce and in harmony. I was really amazed. I know I will change my views of Chardonnays forever.

For the finale, I had Tiramisu. Just heavenly! John's sister tried the flourless torte but it didn't impress her a bit. I really did order the best dishes the whole night.

The food was so wonderful that I left my digital camera there. Need to call them later...