You wouldn’t normally find me out at the bar scene during the work week, but last night my wife and I joined a friend of hers at the J&M Café to watch some of her friends jam out on stage. J&M is one of, if not the oldest bars in Seattle– established in 1889! It is a pretty good sized dive with a large wooden bar at the front of the house which runs parallel with the open kitchen. Looking around, you’ll definitely get a rich sense of history – the wooden floors, beams and accents really give the feeling of an old western saloon!
The Food:
j&m spicy burger
The Review:
My wife and I shared the J&M Spicy Burger which included spicy coppa, roasted jalapeños, pepper jack cheese and sriracha mayonnaise with a side of fries. When the burger came out, it was much bigger than I expected. It was at least a 1/3 lb. patty with the standard trimmings (tomato, lettuce, red onion and dill pickles) in addition to the special ingredients, all jammed between a brioche bun. She literally had to press the whole thing down so she could sink a bite into it. The steak knife stabbed down the middle helped facilitate this process and was handy in cutting the burger in half for sharing. Biting into the burger was like an explosion of flavors! The spicy kick of the jalapeños and sriracha mayo were nicely accompanied by the cool and crisp texture of the lettuce with a mild sour kick of the pickles. The pepper jack was also melted perfectly atop it all to help blend the flavors together. The fries were almost like shoe-string fries and were well seasoned with a nice crisp.
By the time we finished the burger and had a few drinks, it was happy hour! HH at the J&M is daily from 2pm-6pm and 10pm-close, and everything on the HH menu is $0.99!! We had the chorizo quesadilla and loaded potato skins. These dollar items were all bite-sized and the portions are essentially single serving. The chorizo in the quesadilla had a nice smokey & spicy combination of flavors and was served with a side of pico de gallo. The potato skins were each covered with cheese, bacon, green onions and served with a side of spicy ranch. The HH items were good, but the burger alone warrants future visits to sample the rest of their menu!
Now, the best part of the evening was the live music! Last night featured, “The Cory Wilds Band.” They are a 3-piece band specializing in rock/jazz/blues with a modern twist. They jammed for a good while and then introduced some guest guitarists. The first guest was a young boy (maybe 15-years old) named Tobey. He definitely held his own up there jamming with the band and even had a few moments where he was able to shine – playing some great guitar solos! The crowd was definitely pumped up – cheering and applauding his performance. The second guest was Ian Crawford, former lead guitarist of, “The Cab” and currently touring with “Panic! at the Disco.” Prior to last night, I did not know of Ian Crawford, but I was familiar with, Panic! It was pretty awesome to see a musician of his caliber, live and jamming with the band! They played a bunch of covers, my favorite of which was Santana’s Black Magic Woman! After they were done, they opened up the stage for other acts/bands to sign up and jam! These next two bands were great – performing cover songs and keeping the energy level high.
tobey jammin’ on stage
ian crawford doin his thing
My Conclusion:
The J&M is located in the heart of Pioneer Square and is fittingly rich with history, character and diversity! I am definitely glad I found this place and only wish it would have been sooner!
nw gourmand 