Jay's in Clarendon

It's about to be time to sit out on decks and drink beers - perfect timing to start up this blog again. And last night I found an even better reason to start writing - Jay's Saloon & Grille in Clarendon.

On our way to a housewarming last night, we stopped in to this dive bar to grab some food before the party. First, I have to mention how we found the bar. My husband saw it as a 'tip' while 'checking in' on Foursquare. I consider myself to be fairly internet savvy, but I have yet to get involved in this social phenomenon. Probably because I don't have an iPhone.

Anyway, back to Jay's. It is the kind of place that immediately makes me feel at home. A true dive bar, where everyone seemed to know each other, buying each other rounds at the bar. My husband and I took a seat right at the front where we were presented with menus and asked what we wanted to drink almost immediately. As we started to look over the menu, Jamie asked "Have we stepped back in time?" The prices are seriously cheap. Cheap enough to make you think they printed the menu 10 years ago and just never updated it. This was the first indicator that I was going to love this place.

Next came the food, which was delivered within 10 minutes of ordering. I had a crab cake sandwich and fries. Crab cake was pretty good, but the fries stole the show. They were amazing - the perfect combination of crispy and salty. Just perfect. Jamie had chili nachos, something I couldn't share because I gave up cheese for lent. After the first bite he said, "These might be worth going to hell for." Now I'm not sure I would go to hell for breaking lent, but I did turn him down. Then he found a chip on the bottom with no cheese - again, perfect.

Finally, my second beer was kinda warm. When I mentioned it to the waitress, she took my beer back to the bar, tested all the other Michelob Ultra's in the fridge and came back to tell me they were all kinda warm. Then she offered to put a beer on ice for me! I turned her down, and ordered a different beer, but what amazing customer service!

By the end of the meal, we were looking for houses for sale in the neighborhood so we could make this our regular dive bar. Maybe someday.