D. Craig takes the J Train for NY style pizza pub in Jeff

Since this is my first post as food editor I probably should explain what I do. I will visit local restaurants and order what I think will be the most difficult item for the chef to prepare. (Notice that I did not say the Featured item or the one that I may want at the time.) My goal is to see how the restaurant or local eatery does on the tougher stuff on their menu.

Today, Jeffersonville’s J Train was on MY menu. Down at the corner of Spring and Market is where this little restaurant / pub is located (think where Appleby’s used to be). J Train had it’s grand opening (according to the staff) about 5 months ago. What a great little location in the heart of Jeffersonville’s downtown district.

The menu is New York style pizza, calzones, salads and other such fare.

OK, so to the food we go… After looking over the menu, I selected the bacon, ranch, chicken, and mozzarella calzone. And since they offered the option, I asked that it be deep fried. (I know you might think deep fried is EASY, but deep fried ranch dressing can go wrong REALLY quickly )

I enjoyed the Saturday afternoon sunshine in what was a surprisingly busy place while my lunch / dinner was prepared. The setting was very much like I imagine about a million NY pizzeria’s to be. It did take a while to get served, but the food arrived in time and I dug in to the generous portions. Not bad at all given the $9.95 price tag.

The difficult part of deep frying a calzone is getting the interior cooked properly without turning the crust into carbon fiber. This calzone passed the carbon fiber test with flying colors. Probably a little bit more bacon in the calzone than I expected and a little bit less chicken. That having been said, I cannot fault them for that. Not many diners will complain about too much bacon! (And this is, after all, a people pleasing business…)

The service was terrific and the lady who served my food served up just enough conversation to make it a comfortable meal. While I don’t drink, it certainly appeared to me that the afternoon folks in the bar area were comfortably nibbling on food and enjoying the beverages.

So how many “SMILEYS” does the J Train in Jeffersonville get??? 3.5 (out of 4) !

Next time you are in downtown Jeff, give the J Train a try!

D. Craig joins Southern Indiana Times as Food Editor

Southern Indiana Times is thrilled to announce that Local “Foodie” and restaurant enthusiast D. Craig has joined Southern Indiana Times as our Food Editor. While he is not who you’d expect when you meet him in person, he is knowledgeable in what works and what does not in the restaurant business.

He also will be providing articles on food producers and agricultural related businesses in Southern Indiana. If you want D. Craig to visit and do a review on your restaurant, simply let us know! We will be happy to make it happen!