A couple of weeks ago while I was running errands on Main Street in Jackson, I noticed that Luka’s Restaurant and Bar was open again after being closed for over a year. I told my mother and we agreed to order a late lunch for take-out from Luka’s on May 12.
I called them at about 3:00 to order our lunch. My mother ordered a chicken avocado sandwich, and I ordered a Pub Burger. The woman I talked to on the phone asked if I wanted fries with that, but the menu on Luka’s Facebook profile page stated fries were $4, which was half the cost of the burger, so I declined. My mother and I opted for chips at home instead.
The woman told me that our food would be ready in five to ten minutes, but it only took us about six minutes to get ready, drive to Main Street, and find street parking close to Luka’s. Once we entered, the dining room looked pretty much the same historic décor and hardwood flooring as it did when we last ate there in December 2018.
The front dining room was empty but the bar at the back of the room had several customers sitting at the bar with an employee behind the bar. She was wearing a mask, but the customers were not. (My mother and I were.) The woman asked if we were there to dine in, but we said we were there to take out.
After about 30 seconds, we received our bag of food and our credit card slip. A balky computer system kept us waiting for a couple more minutes, but once we did, we were on our way home. (I was stopped outside for a couple minutes for reasons I’ll explain in a future article.)
Once we got home, we found each meal in its separate Styrofoam box. The bottom of each box had diner-style checkerboard paper, which was a nice touch.
My Meal
The Pub Burger contains sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and garlic aioli. The one-third-pound meat patty sitting atop the bottom bun was almost obscured by the large slab of cheese. The bun itself was a standard flour bun with a sturdy bottom and fluffy top.
As I ate through the burger, I didn’t taste much flavor in any of the ingredients. As I picked off a couple of pieces of the beef patty cooked medium-well, I could tell it had been lightly salted. There were plenty of mushrooms and plenty of cheese.
Indeed, the mushrooms and cheese are what I tasted from the first bite to the last. I commented to my mother that I couldn’t really taste much of the tomato or pickle slices without thinking about it. And I couldn’t taste any garlic aioli.
Mom’s Meal
My mother’s chicken and avocado sandwich included grilled chicken breast, avocado slices, lettuce, tomato, red onions, pickles, and mayonnaise between a sliced French roll that was cut in half and held together with a large toothpick.
As she looked at her sandwich, she was pleased to see a large slice of chicken breast between a large slice of tomato on top and large slices of avocado on the bottom. Slices of lettuce were the only other vegetable easily noticeable, though a pickle peeked out between the chicken and avocado.
After a few bites of the sandwich, she said she appreciated having so much avocado and it blended in with the chicken and the rest of the vegetables. Though the tomatoes and pickles were mild as they were on my burger, my mother said she appreciated that because it allowed the taste of the chicken and mayonnaise to come through.
The Verdict
I liked that the bun held together well. What’s more, the patty was perfectly sized for the bun and so I had bites of meat and bun in every bite. There were plenty of mushrooms and the Swiss cheese covered the entire patty. The patty was so mild that it blended in with the cheese, so I mostly tasted the mushrooms and cheese. If you like mild burgers, the Pub Burger is a good choice.
My mother didn’t say much as she ate, which is always a good sign that she liked the sandwich. When she finished, she said she tasted the meat and produce with every bite, and the French roll was crunchy but not hard.
So, here’s our green light for Luka’s Restaurant and Bar, with the caveat that the Pub Burger may not be to your liking if you like a more seasoned burger. The price for our lunches was a little over $16.
Want to Try Them?
Luka’s Restaurant and Bar is located at 35 Main Street in Jackson. They’re open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11:45 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. for lunch and dinner. They also have a full bar.
You can view their menu on their Facebook profile page. The restaurant is open for dine-in and take-out, and there are seating limits per current state public health guidelines. If you want to order and/or have questions, give Luka’s a call at 209-217-8175.
Amador Business Ticker food reviews are adventures in local dining with Editor Eric Butow and his mom.
