Good Hamburger At Jo Jett's

[butterisbetter]

Just had a burger and fries at Jo Jett's on Huay Kaew Rd. It was the real thing. A thick burger with good quality beef. I had it along with some excellent french fries.They tasted freshly cut to me. My wife, who is Thai, isn't that fond of beef so she had the hot dog with chile on top. That tasted real good too. Just like good chile dogs in the states. The decor is cool too. Retro 50's. If you're heading out from the city it will be about 3 or 4 storefronts ahead of the Boat Restaurant which has a prominent sign.

[Lost in LOS]

Just had a burger and fries at Jo Jett's on Huay Kaew Rd. It was the real thing. A thick burger with good quality beef. I had it along with some excellent french fries.They tasted freshly cut to me. My wife, who is Thai, isn't that fond of beef so she had the hot dog with chile on top. That tasted real good too. Just like good chile dogs in the states. The decor is cool too. Retro 50's. If you're heading out from the city it will be about 3 or 4 storefronts ahead of the Boat Restaurant which has a prominent sign.

how do you know her meal tasted good too? you pig if i go there i wont be sitting next to you

[Sansai Sam]

I went in with high hopes! My burger was really dry. The waitress spoke NO english. I had to point at what I wanted. I asked about a birthday party and got blank stares. .......the fries and decor were good! Love the TV's.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

LOL..

Chiang Mai gets a lot of those, these days..

But ehm, yeah, everyone should speak English! Especially in that expat ghetto that is the university area!

Edited April 2, 2009 by WinnieTheKhwai

[Sansai Sam]

Roll your eyes all you like dear but if you are going to open an American style restaurant with American style food on an english menu then the staff should be able to understand at least a minimum of english. Who did they think they would attract as customers?

[Greenside]

There's a long thread about this place started only three weeks ago - makes you wonder if the management isn't giving an extra French Fry or two to get some more exposure.

Please don't say we've got to suffer more burger posts while the others are still greasy and grey on their tepid buns

Edited April 2, 2009 by Greenside

[uptheos]

I have to agree with Sansai Sam, in fact I'll go one step further and say that the burger was really awful. The staff seemed to understand and the decor is OK, but I certainly wouldn't have any reason to eat there again.

[Maejo Man]

I ventured in there the other night with a Thai lady friend and was very disappointed with the burger. Prehaps I'm strange, but I like my onions cooked and not raw, maybe I should have asked first. I also asked for no mayonaise or lettuce, yup you guessed it, arrived with both of the above. The meat was far too dry, but large, and the bun was the best part.

They have gone to a great deal of trouble and expense in setting up the place, and I really hope they succeed in their endeavours, but they defintiely need some pointers if they want to attract the resident ex pat business.

[Ulysses G.]

This is off the Jo Jet's target, but last night I went into a place that I eat pretty often and ordered a tuna sandwich and vegetable soup. I told them that I like to eat the soup and sandwich together, but they brought the soup alone. I ate some of the soup and left the rest sitting in front of me. I kept asking for my sandwich and they started getting angry and saying, "it's coming. It's coming". Finally, much later, the cook turns the lights off in the kitchen, and comes out to sit down.

I go, "where is my F___ing sandwich", and the farang owner of the restaurant yells, "where is his sandwich"? The cook goes back in the kitchen, takes it off the counter where it has been sitting and brings it to me.

TIT!

[Scrubber]

Roll your eyes all you like dear but if you are going to open an American style restaurant with American style food on an english menu then the staff should be able to understand at least a minimum of english. Who did they think they would attract as customers?

Based on this logic, the waitresses at M Pizza Pasta behind CMU should speak a little Italian then???

[rrose070]

Risking ridicule, having already posted on this subject when I had Joe Jets confused with California Burger...we DID go, and found the food quite good, but also felt that the prices (25% off promo) were appropriate...period. And what does it take to get a nice slice of dill around here? JK that was a total flame invitation. They did humor my request for no mayo (fattening) and no lettuce (perfect vehicle for dropping mayo into your lap). Place was cold, strangely lonesome feeling, and empty though. Decent effort. Maybe they're just getting warmed up.

Oh, and YES I'm talking about Joe Jet's and not California Burger...sorry for my previous gaffe.

Overall...food, 8 - ambience (charming but kinda strangely sad) 6, service 9, value, 9.

[Maejo Man]

Risking ridicule, having already posted on this subject when I had Joe Jets confused with California Burger.......................

If I had the right directions last week, I would have been there sooner

[Sansai Sam]

Yes scrubber...if either pizza or pasta were of Italian origin then maybe the wait staff should speak a little Italian!

[bristolpistol]

Hey Scrubber.....DUH!!!

I agree with ya Sammy!

[sabaijai]

This is off the Jo Jet's target, but last night I went into a place that I eat pretty often and ordered a tuna sandwich and vegetable soup. I told them that I like to eat the soup and sandwich together, but they brought the soup alone. I ate some of the soup and left the rest sitting in front of me. I kept asking for my sandwich and they started getting angry and saying, "it's coming. It's coming". Finally, much later, the cook turns the lights off in the kitchen, and comes out to sit down.

I go, "where is my F___ing sandwich", and the farang owner of the restaurant yells, "where is his sandwich"? The cook goes back in the kitchen, takes it off the counter where it has been sitting and brings it to me.

TIT!

Don't leave us hanging, UG .... where was it?

[lannarebirth]

Made it to Jo Jets earlier this week. Very good burger I thought, but next time I'll tell them to cook it a little less long (my error). Fries are the seasoned "reconstituted" potato type and pretty tasty, as was the shake. I'll try them again for sure.

Constructive input would include addition of an onion roll bun. Not a fan of the sesame seed type, but if you like those, theirs are very good. Maybe have a combo menu item instead of everything ala carte? I'm sure most people order fries with their burger anyway.

I wish them well, and with the 25% discount prices are fair, but still too high for the location they're in near the uni. I saw students looking in, but none entering. Tough to make a go with a farang only oriented business.

Edited April 3, 2009 by lannarebirth

[Ulysses G.]

The Rose Guest House. Gypsy had surgery not long ago. Maybe he is on some strong medication. Great tuna sandwich and minestrone soup though.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[john b good]

Roll your eyes all you like dear but if you are going to open an American style restaurant with American style food on an english menu then the staff should be able to understand at least a minimum of english. Who did they think they would attract as customers?

Based on this logic, the waitresses at M Pizza Pasta behind CMU should speak a little Italian then???

What logic??

English is the first language of more than 25% of the world's people and it is the second language of a further 25% + of the worlds people.

Italian is Italian and any Italian who has done any traveling at all will speak some English (this can be said of France as well)

I totally agree with the opinion of SanSai Sam that if any business in the realm (service industry, hotels, restaurants etc) wants to succeed their staff should at least have an understanding of ENGLISH (they can forget about Italian, French, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, etc., etc)

[Sansai Sam]

Very logical John...cheers!

[Scrubber]

Yes scrubber...if either pizza or pasta were of Italian origin then maybe the wait staff should speak a little Italian!

Sorry - my apologies for assuming Naples (where pizza, in its current form, was established) is in Italy and that the word 'pasta' is Italian - but point taken about staff being able to speak some basic English, I agree with you there

[Sansai Sam]

The word PASTA is indeed Italian for DOUGH...so using this logic, everything made of dough is Italian.

Where you place the origins of pasta depends a great deal on how you define it. There is evidence that the ancient Etruscans prepared a wheat and egg paste, but it was baked not boiled. Does that count? There are artifacts from a period 3,000 years ago that look remarkably like pasta dies and extruders. But naturally the material they worked on is not preserved.

Certainly the ancient Greeks had some form of flattened dough that resembles lasagna. The knowledge to mix wheat and egg with water was known long before. But the result was roasted on hot stones. Whether this should be called 'baking' is a matter of semantics. The Romans quickly followed suit in the 1st century AD with a layered dish comprised of 'lagana' and meat or fish.

By the 5th century AD, cooking noodles was commonplace, as is known by references from the Talmud. This record of pasta-like preparation in Arab lands provides a basis for the claim that the practice spread to Italy from Arabia. With the incursion of Arabs into Sicily, they would undoubtedly have brought a food that could travel well. A flour-based product in the shape of strings was produced in Palermo at the time that might fit the bill.

While for a time it was thought that Marco Polo returned from China in 1295 with pasta, there are Italian recipe books from twenty years earlier containing references to pasta dishes. However, it is certain that he did encounter pasta on his travels. Since China is an ancient civilization, with a complex culture dating back 5,000 years, it's likely that pasta existed in China very early.

Nevertheless, pasta did become more popular during the 14th century and spread to the 'New World' as Italian and Spanish explorers sailed the seas to new lands. In the 'Old World' it continued to spread, with tubes of pasta in use at 15th century Italian monasteries. By the 17th century, it was a common food throughout the region.

PIZZA

The common belief is that Italians invented the pizza, however the origins go back to the ancient times. Even though we have yet to uncover archeological evidence of a Dominos Pizza before the last century, it is known the Babylonians, Israelites, Egyptians and other ancient Middle Eastern cultures were eating flat, un-leaven bread that had been cooked in mud ovens. The bread was much like a pita, which is still common in Greece and the Middle East today. Further it is known that ancient Mediterranean people such as the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians were eating the bread, topped seasoned with olive oil and native spices.

[Scrubber]

Where you place the origins of pasta depends a great deal on how you define it.

Very true SS, and as much as we all know about the Chinese origins of pasta, when I think of it, I think of things like spaghetti, fettuccine, linguini, penne, fusilli, etc. and can make a clear distinction from noodles (as I'm sure you do yourself).

As for pizza, like I said before, I was talking about its modern form (ie. with a tomato sauce) which was started in Naples. I don't know of many pizza restaurants nowadays that serve up flat bread with just spices on it and sell it as pizza.

[Sansai Sam]

So to clarify....spaghetti, fettuccine, linguini, penne, fusilli, etc. are not noodles and noodles are not pasta? Correct?

I often eat pesto pizza and potesto pizza and white pizza...none have tomato sauce but I think I am still eating pizza!

[Scrubber]

So to clarify....spaghetti, fettuccine, linguini, penne, fusilli, etc. are not noodles and noodles are not pasta? Correct?

I often eat pesto pizza and potesto pizza and white pizza...none have tomato sauce but I think I am still eating pizza!

I stand corrected. Next time I go out for Chinese at Stefano's, I'll ask him what noodles he has How did this thread get this far? Ok, I admit I started the topic of Italian (allegedly) food.

Anyway, all this talk of food is making me hungry - I think I'll go and try Jo Jett's!

[PFV]

Went in today with the family, just to try it out.

I had a "made to order" burger, which was very good, juicy - I asked for it rare - with the right toppings. Also, it was *free* because they had forgotten my order initally, so the nice English gentleman who owns the place apologized and didn't make me pay for it (This is the first time in Thailand, or anywhere outside of the US, that I have such a good level of customer service.)

The onion rings and chilly fries were great. The shakes and malts tasted OK, but were a little "thin" for my taste.

What I liked about the burger is that it wasn't greasy at all, contrary to other establishments in town.

[Scrubber]

Roll your eyes all you like dear but if you are going to open an American style restaurant with American style food on an english menu then the staff should be able to understand at least a minimum of english. Who did they think they would attract as customers?

Based on this logic, the waitresses at M Pizza Pasta behind CMU should speak a little Italian then???

What logic??

English is the first language of more than 25% of the world's people and it is the second language of a further 25% + of the worlds people.

Italian is Italian and any Italian who has done any traveling at all will speak some English (this can be said of France as well)

I totally agree with the opinion of SanSai Sam that if any business in the realm (service industry, hotels, restaurants etc) wants to succeed their staff should at least have an understanding of ENGLISH (they can forget about Italian, French, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, etc., etc)

JBG - The logic that an American style restaurant with American style food should have staff that understand basic American English. Wasn't that what SS implied?

You are quite right in what you say and it does seem bewildering to find American style restaurants apparently aimed at Westeners that employ non-English speaking staff. I'm still not sure why they opened Jo Jett's at that particular location as about 99% of the local residents are Thai. However, my original posting was just to back up WTK's comment that not all the restaurants in the Naa Mor area will have English speaking staff (whatever style of food they serve), so you can't guarantee that you will be understood when ordering in English.

[cnxmike]

A good hamburger is an oxymoron.

If it's a good it's not a hamburger.

If it's a hamburger it's not good.

[Ulysses G.]

A juicy hamburger made with fresh, ground sirloin from the USA and flame broiled till the outside is slightly burnt with a melted slice of good English cheddar cheese on a light, fresh whole grain bun is good in my book. If you don't like them have something else.

[harrry]

A juicy hamburger made with fresh, ground sirloin from the USA and flame broiled till the outside is slightly burnt with a melted slice of good English cheddar cheese on a light, fresh whole grain bun is good in my book. If you don't like them have something else.

THinking about food too much today UG.

[Ulysses G.]

I need my morning glass of fresh vegetable juice. Carrot with beet, celery, spinach and ginger tastes good and lessens the hunger pangs!