Jake’s Famous Crawfish

• Jake’s Website
• Location: Pearl (across Burnside)
• Cost to fill up two people: $80-$100

My online buddy Gary was in town, so we caught some glass art and headed to the Pearl for dinner. After sifting through choices, we settled on one I’d heard about, Jake’s, off 12th and Burnside. I’m usually leery of any restaurant with the word “famous” in the title (I mean, Hitler was famous, too, right?), but collegial raves told me to ignore my instincts and try it anyway.

So much for my instincts: It was really good. During the meal I discovered that Jake’s is owned by McCormick & Schmick’s, one of my favorite Beaverton seafood joints, which explains a lot.

I ate fresh petrale sole in a lemon-caper-parmesan prep, Gary had panko-coated razor clams. Both came with fresh asparagus and mashed potatoes, both were very tasty. We ordered the house salad (it’s extra), a simple but well-dressed heap of greens topped with bleu cheese and candied walnuts, also tasty.

Service was fast and friendly (the maitre d’ gets chops for being especially welcoming). On the downside, the requisite sourdough bread was served cold when hot would have really capped the meal. And the benches had been disarranged, so that it was impossible to sit on one side of the table and breathe at the same time. Gary wound up perched on my side instead, which made for a crick in my neck by the end of the meal.

Desserts looked delicious, but we were too full to contemplate anything but the check. Jake’s isn’t exactly for the faint of wallet, but it’s a nice choice when you’re in the mood for good seafood.

Tip: Given the current situation with wild salmon, be prepared to pay a small fortune for it. I think it was around $38 at Jake’s tonight, and reports are it will continue to climb.

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