Hankering for meat and potatoes? Head to JaK's

Inspired by the menu at JaK's Grill, I'll get right to the point.

The place is noisy, the décor nothing fancy. And forget about reservations, so there's no telling how long the wait might be. But the steaks are great, the stuffed pork chop no slouch either, and a better burger would be hard to find. Only the big, showy cuts of beef will drag more than a twenty from your wallet, but for the price you get salad, potato and a vegetable, too. As for appetizers, JaK's doesn't have them and, trust me, you won't miss them.

For those who want the details, here's the rest of the story. West Seattle was first, then Issaquah, and now it's Laurelhurst's turn to line up for dinner at the third JaK's Grill, a neighborhood eatery of the genre that might be called loud-casual. The steak prices aren't as cheap as they used to be when the first JaK's Grill opened in 1996, but then what is?

Keep in mind, though, that JaK's serves corn-fed, dry-aged, Nebraska beef, just like you get at expensive white-tablecloth joints. But JaK's eschews the à la carte concept. Whether you pony up $32.95 for 21 ounces of gorgeous prime porterhouse, or $12.95 for a skinless breast of grilled chicken, they make sure you get a good-sized, well-dressed salad, fresh vegetables and the potato of your choice.

Let me digress here on the subject of spuds. You pretty much can't go wrong: The garlic mashed potatoes and fries are just what they should be; the onion-laced potato pancakes, golden from the griddle and savory in the middle, would please a Jewish grandmother; and the baked potato is so formidable the remnants were enough for a side dish at home the next day.

Some requests and substitutions require an extra charge, the menu pointedly states. For $4.95 you can have a small Caesar or spinach salad instead of the house mix of very crisp, cold lettuces tossed with mellow blue cheese vinaigrette (or the dressing of your choice). An extra buck puts "the works" on your baked potato — sour cream, bacon, scallions and cheddar. But there's no surcharge for ordering a "UFO" — kitchen shorthand for mashed potatoes topped with a potato pancake. ("We get so many requests that we even have a name for it," the server explained.)

The porterhouse is the priciest cut at JaK's, followed by the Delmonico ($29.95). The filet mignon ($20.95 petite/$27.95 JaK's) and New York strip ($18.95/$24.95) are available in two sizes, which helps keep the bill and your waistline in check. Even prime top sirloin ($17.95/$22.95) is impressive. Grilled precisely as ordered glistening with seasoned butter and gushing with jus, the least expensive cut on the menu is dense, chewy and immensely flavorful.

At heart a steakhouse, JaK's looks the part. Fans twirl above a maze of dark-brown wooden booths. Wood floors, bare tabletops and whimsical Guy Buffet prints contribute to the masculine, modern mood of the room.

Yet more than half the menu is devoted to pork, seafood and chicken entrees, as well as sandwiches and salads. Stick to those and you'll find that dinner for four can cost as much as dinner for two with steak.

Seafood entrees like grilled, ancho-seasoned prawns ($19.95) and brined wild king salmon ($15.95) are joined by a daily special, recently mahi mahi ($16.95). Though rather meagerly portioned for the price, the firm white fish was nicely crosshatched on the grill and paired with a peppy mango, cilantro and lime salsa.

The bourbon-and-brown-sugar-marinated, honey-and-peppercorn-glazed, double-thick pork chop sounds every bit as good as its fat-bellied cousin, the stuffed pork chop (both $16.95), whose arrival is preceded by a strong whiff of sage. The herbaceous stuffing is creamy with gorgonzola and liberally laced with pine nuts, while the meat retains a juicy suppleness often lost when pork is cooked too long. What the menu describes as garlic and rosemary jus was (thankfully) served on the side, its harsh, oily taste as unpleasant as it was unnecessary.

I like the rambunctious Caesar ($7.95) for its lemony twist and anchovy undertones. (Have it with grilled or blackened chicken ($10.95) or salmon ($12.95). Bacon crumbles and toasted almonds notwithstanding, I wished for more texture in the spinach salad ($7.95), composed of whole baby leaves, sliced mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs and strings of mozzarella, sweetly dressed with more honey than mustard. The balsamic vinaigrette has a sweet edge, too, but on the steak salad ($12.95) it completes the harmony begun by warm slices of top sirloin, crisp romaine, caramelized onions, tomato and tangy blue cheese.

The wine list is heavy with reds from California and Washington. Prices go as high as $120 for a 2000 Quilceda Creek Cabernet, but there's nothing in the $20 range.

The brief dessert list proved uninspiring, even to the waitstaff one evening.

When asked if the cakes came from the bakery down the street, the server said, "I think they come from Canada or someplace." Oh well, we didn't have room anyway.

Providence Cicero: providencecicero@aol.com