Dining
Nick & Jimmy’s offers superb fare, fast service, warm hospitality
Nick & Jimmy’s offers superb fare, fast service, warm hospitality
The worst impression to make as a diner is to walk into a restaurant three minutes before closing and ask to be seated. I committed this infraction on a weekday at Nick & Jimmy’s, on the southwest corner of Interstate 25 and Jefferson, and it led to one of the best meals I’ve ever had.
The bright-red neon sign on the front of the former Johnny Carino’s building beckoned from the freeway. I walked in and was greeted by a friendly host who, perhaps seeing I was alone, didn’t turn me away. I asked when they closed. “In three minutes,” he said. “You’re our last diner.”
I offered to come back at a reasonable hour, but he welcomed me in and offered me a spot anywhere in the restaurant. To meet him in the middle, I asked for a seat at the bar and told him I wouldn’t waste time. He told me to make myself at home.
Stacy, the bartender, cheerfully told me about the specials and offered me a menu; I immediately ordered the filet mignon medallions, and she smiled approvingly and told me they were her favorite item on the menu.
She poured me a delicious draft India Pale Ale that she recommended and then brought a small basket of artisan bread (tender pieces of white bread and some crispy, herb-crusted crackers) with a homemade dipping sauce made of crispy sautéed garlic and herbs in extra-virgin olive oil. That was followed by a garden salad, a huge mound of mixed greens and cucumbers and onion slices with a creamy ranch dressing on the side.
So far, the meal was flawless. A few diners were finishing their conversations; sports was playing on a couple of big screens in the bar. Stacy checked on me and offered me refills. I realized that every detail at Nick & Jimmy’s has been engineered for the most comfortable possible experience for diners.
Surprisingly quickly, the main course arrived: three thinly sliced filet mignon disks coated in peppers and herbs and cooked perfectly with a thin layer of pink in the middle. They rested on a generous bed of orzo pasta seasoned with a delicate cream sauce and finished with mushrooms and sautéed spinach. I was expecting a few small chunks of beef but instead got 8 to 10 ounces of impeccably