PBR150: Seattle Georgetown Neighborhood Lunch Food: American

Georgetown loves the myspace like it never went out of style. After a solid showing at the Falafel truck we're back to the sit down joints. Today - Jules Maes Saloon.

Jules Maes Saloon, Seattle
Average Rrrrrating: 3.7 R's
Address: 5919 Airport Way S, Seattle, Washington, 98108
Cuisine: American: Burgers, American: Upscale Bar Food, American: Bar
Website: www.myspace.com/julesmaes...
Lunch date: 3/9/2010 @ 11:37:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 2 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 30 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 58 minutes
Chair quality: Old-timey Bar
Beers on tap: Pabst Blue Ribbon, Odin's Gift, Manny's Pale Ale, Chopper's Red Ale, Roger's Pilsner, 9 Lb Porter, Pike Weiss, Skull Creek Lager, Imperial IPA
Bar type: Full Bar
Year Established: 1888
Number of tables: 14
Number of occupied tables: 9 (64%)
Number of white collar tables: 6 (66%)
Number of blue collar tables: 0 (0%)
Number of hipster tables: 4 (44%)
Healthcode Score: 5
Links: Yelp! , Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Reuben - $10.95

Rrrrating: 4 out of 5 R's

Is it the neighborhood that influences the feel of the bars or is it the other way around? Jules Maes Saloon may be missing an apostrophe, but it has everything required by the Georgetown cultural code: old-timey saloon feel, check; neon "R", check; oddities on the walls, check; hipster staff, check; higher class menu than its appearance might suggest, check; great beer selection, double check.

The menu was a particular surprise to me; I expected a lot less. There is nothing too pretentious, but it is a definite step up from typical bar fare. I was particularly interested in the Lamb Burger, the Georgetown Cheesesteak, and the Cuban Pork Stew. In the end, however, I went with the Reuben, as I always seem to do, and a Chopper's Red Ale to whet my appetite / wash it down. As we waited for our order and sipped our beers we had a chance to admire the old safes around the room, the jackalope mounted on the wall, and the wallpaper itself.

There was only one server and one cook and it seemed like a pretty large crowd for such a small staff. Regardless, the service was prompt and friendly and the food all seemed to come out together but it did take a bit of time. The fries were hot and delicious. They were the thin greasy type, which I like. The Reuben looked beautiful, and had a tangy red kraut, and gooey cheese, but the corned beef was a bit dry and chewy in spots. I think it was left on the grill too long. The lone cook was young (lots of undershorts showing above low jeans) and was in the weeds most of the lunch which may explain the below par execution of what had the potential to be a great sandwich. In all, Jules Maes showed lots of potential and is definitely worth another visit.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Basil Soup - $7.25

Rrrrating: 4 out of 5 R's

Jules Maes is a sleeping giant. I'd never really heard about it before and I fancy myself at least a little hip(ster). Solid food, good beer selection and games. This place will make an excellent weekend hangout.

First, the food: I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato basil soup. The grilled cheese was totally solid, a great crispy (but not burned) and soft piece of bread. I wish I could remember the cheese on it a little better, but from what I remember it was a nice little blend of white cheese, I'm thinking: white cheddar and maybe some dubliner (it definitely had a little "edge" to it). The sandwich to soup ratio was a little off; I feel like I could have used a little bit more sandwich to use while finishing off my soup.

Why am I really excited to go back here (on a non-work-day (of course))? Because this place is loaded with games: Ping Pong, Air hockey, Skee ball, Pool, and some good looking pinball machines. This is the perfect place to set up some sort of bar-game tourney.

A solid food experience, and a solid bar. This place will soon be the magnet that draws non-Georgetowners to the neighborhood

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Chicken Fried Steak - $10.95

Rrrrating: 3 out of 5 R's

Another saloony place, smells of old wood. I like. The wallpaper has animals on it. There are antlers, battleship, and leather bar stools.

Started with the beer - Odin's Gift was delicious, a South Park-made brew with a lot of flavor. Their specialty - chicken fried steak - sounded like a winner and I went with it. Sadly, it wasn't fantastic. It smelled/tasted like Bush Garden -- a deep, fragrant burnt smell from oil that has been reused too many times. The mashed potatoes were decent enough, the gravy was satisfactory, and I liked that there was something green on my plate.

A miss, to be sure, but I'll be back to try something else, as the rest looked good.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Portabello Sandwich - $9.95

Rrrrating: 4 out of 5 R's

Well, I somehow managed to miss the Falafel truck, which made me sad. To cheer myself up, I tagged along to Jules Maes. Old-timey decor, good beer, friendly atmosphere -- it put a smile on my face. After the <$10 ultimatum in my last review, I decided to go with the Portabello Sandwich, which just barely squeaked by at $9.95. Sure, with the beer it came out to quite a bit more, but I'll just ignore that part. Anyway, the sandwich was quite good. The portabello was very well marinated, and the gorgonzola cheese and sauteed onions did a great job rounding out the flavors. The fries were good, too, but I had actually ordered the tater tots, which I'd heard positive things about. Alas, I guess I'll just have to go back sometime for the tots.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Lamb Burger - $10.95

Rrrrating: 4 out of 5 R's

Lamb burger, sublime; fries, o.k.; price, reasonable = 4 Rs

Luncher: Dave

Lunch: Meatloaf - $10.95

Rrrrating: 3 out of 5 R's

i've got mixed feelings about jules mae's. the meat loaf could have been great; the loaf itself had a good texture, not tough or chewy but still substantial, and the tomato glaze was sweet and a little tangy. but the slices i got were a little overbrowned. the mashed potatoes were good but not really super hot, and the gravy was good but there kind of wasn't enough of it. the service was friendly but kind of slow for how empty the place was, especially at first. it seems like with a little attention to detail and a little effort the place could be really good, but as it was it just missed the mark a little bit. i liked the feel of the place (4 pinball machines, looked like they were in decent shape, always a plus); i'm sure if somebody suggested going again i'd totally be willing to give it another try. maybe it was just an off day.