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Local Landmark
This place has hosted
good times a'plenty since the 1920s. Whether it was called Red
& Mel's, the Coronado Inn or Jack's Gourmet Restaurant, it
has been Columbia's centerpiece of cultural continuity.
Weddings, birthdays, graduations, retirements, election eve
landslides, first dates both disastrous and delightful -
Jack's has been the scene of celebrations for generations.
But Jack's is a living
history, transcending lore and legend with a stubborn
dedication to sumptuous elegance that defines this restaurant.
Jack's Gourmet is a destination, an enduring social tradition
that surpasses any mere dining experience.
Some may look at the
thick, luxurious carpeting, the crisp, white table cloths, the
large chandelier that dominates the center of the main dining
room, and dismiss this dated lushness as anachronistic in an
era of sleek surfaces, small servings and lighter fare
unencumbered by fat or flavor. It's your grandparents' Las
Vegas, minus the gambling and the heat.
There is an unmistakable
aura of Mafia chic. Bright red, oversized booths embrace and
envelop you, like the supple scarlet pout of a long-forgotten
starlet. The isolation |
invites intimate conversation. Above
the undertone, delicate piano stylings hang suspended in
perpetual twilight.
Those curved,
high-backed "lovers booths" that line the walls are
a key to the room's ambience, according to owner Ken
Applegate, the heartbeat of Jack's Gourmet since 1973. Tables,
he believes, are not conducive to sitting with one's
significant other. "You can sit across from them
or next to them," he says, "but only in
Jack's, where the booths intimately draw people together, can
two people really sit with each other."
"Every day here is
Valentine's Day," he says. "So many people have
gotten engaged here. I think this is the most romantic place
on Earth."
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