It may seem antithetical that our latest look at local diners
takes us to The Mall at Greece Ridge. Usually populated with banal chain
restaurants, malls typically don’t include classic, independent diners. Jim’s
at The Mall, originally opened in 1967 by George Criticos
as Critic’s at The Mall, was an original tenant in the
area’s first suburban mall. But the diner would fit well into any neighborhood
or town. Its pedigree is earned through the guidance of Elena Knapp, whose
diner ownership rรฉsumรฉ also includes the original, now closed Jim’s on Winton
Road and Jim’s Too, which became Jim’s on Main.
In December of
2014, a fire destroyed Jim’s Too. Six months later, the owner of the building
housing Jim’s sold the property, and Knapp was forced to vacate. After going
from two restaurants to none, Knapp was approached by Criticos
about buying Critic’s. To get a feel for Critic’s, and because she insists on
working in businesses she owns, Knapp worked there for six months, and on April
1, 2016, she purchased the business and renamed it.
Knapp then
focused on enlivening the restaurant by creating a homier and friendlier
atmosphere, expanding the menu, extending hours, and lowering prices. These
efforts, led by Knapp and her son, Stavros, fostered a more convivial
environment. There’s even a seating area toward the back of the restaurant that
caters to families with young children. On the menu you’ll see dishes honoring
family members, such as Papou’s Greek omelet, Nana’s
Italian omelet, or the Kobe Slam Wham breakfast sandwich, named after Knapp’s
daughter’s dog.
Conveniently
located near Entrance 6 (near Barnes and Noble), you don’t need walk through
the mall to dine here, though you can look out into the mall from a table in
the glassed-in “patio.” There is also a J-shaped counter with stools, but the
majority of the seating is two- and four-person booths. Worth noting, even if
the need doesn’t arise, are the bathrooms, which have “sanitary door openers”
on the inside that cleverly allow use of a forearm, instead of a hand, to open
the door.
My first
meal at Jim’s at The Mall was with friends who turned me on to it: Paige,
Chris, and their daughters, nine-year-old Rayme and four-year-old
Elsa. Both kids love this place, and Rayme says she especially
appreciates the “very kind people here, the servers never tell you to hurry
up.”
Jim’s has
homemade soups on the menu daily, and I chose cream of chicken noodle
($3.29/cup; $3.79/bowl). I like soup served very hot, and this didn’t
disappoint. It was silky and rich with wide, squiggly noodles and abundant
chicken and carrot chunks. Rayme let me sample her ham
and cheddar soup ($3.29/cup; $3.79/bowl), which was a liquefied version of the
classic sandwich, with bits of smoky, salty ham.
Paige,
Chris, and Rayme each had a favorite: the Buffalo chicken
wrap ($8.49), filled with chicken tenders, melted cheddar, lettuce, and tomato.
They opted to order it with Critic’s Sauce (instead of wing sauce), which is a
sweet, sour, and tangy recipe from the original owner. Elsa had her go-to meal
from the kids’ menu: macaroni and cheese with French fries ($4.99). When I
asked her the best thing about it, she unequivocally proclaimed, “Cheeeeese!”
My chicken parmesan
sandwich (with homemade macaroni salad, $10.25), was an ample, crispy,
pan-fried (with panko breading) breast on fresh French bread. Because my
clothing possesses special properties that attract sauces and condiments, I
felt grateful for the relative un-messiness of this sandwich, with a just-right
proportion of both sauce and cheese.
Paige shared
some of her huge slice of homemade carrot cake ($3.95, Knapp’s own recipe) with
me. Very dense and moist with a tangy cream cheese frosting, it stands as a
unique version. For my own dessert, I gravitated to the rice pudding ($3.25).
Creamy, with distinct vanilla notes, it was served in a tall parfait glass with
whipped cream and dusted with cinnamon.
On a
subsequent visit, I started with a crock of French onion soup (available daily,
$4.49). Piping hot, the soup had a well-balanced and rich, beefy broth, with
nicely-browned and melted provolone, tender onions, and abundant homemade
croutons. It avoided the common pitfall of being too sweet or too salty.
The basic side
salad that came before my gyro sandwich ($8.99) was improved by the Greek
dressing with feta — one of eight homemade dressings that Jim’s also sells by
the pint. The gyro itself was hefty, filled with mildly-spiced beef and lamb,
lettuce, red onion, tomato, and tzatziki, inside a lightly-toasted, pillow-y
pita. I finished with one of the best pieces of cheesecake ($4.59; additional
50 cents for strawberry or blueberry topping) I’ve had in Rochester. Firm,
tangy, and ethereal, it is an original Critic’s recipe that Knapp makes with a
secret ingredient she says is “not usually found in cheesecake.”
I don’t make
a habit of having dessert after breakfast, which is served until 2 p.m. But on
my third visit, following my order of homemade corned beef hash — a heaping
mound of corned beef, shredded potato, peppers, and onions — with two eggs
over-easy and toast ($7.95), I just had to immerse myself in that cheesecake
once more.
This article appears in Apr 3-9, 2019.
