Jack’s Urban Eats

Definitely one of the lesser pleasing locations when it comes to the food. The portions seem to have gotten smaller and quality is not as good as it was when I went a few years back. Of course the service is still good as it used to be, but that doesn’t make the food portions grow our taste any better. I had Jacks urban fries and tried the their version of the Bahn mi sandwich. The fries needed more toppings as they were lacking. The portion of fries was also lacking, compared to other locations I’ve dined at. Their sandwich was lacking substance. For the prices they’re charging, I expected more. I don’t like spending almost $ 20 for average food and still leaving hungry. Mind you, I’m not a big person, but my appetite supercedes my size as I can eat! This used to be my spot after rafting on the American river, but I have to say, that was more than likely my last time dining there. I would have rated 2 stars, but the customer service earned them 3.

There is the typical American style diner that has sandwiches, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, overcooked low grade steaks and a skirted waitress that last shaved her legs for her fifty fifth birthday party.
And then there’s Jacks. I really like the fast-​casual cafeteria style venue, which works great for lunch. You pick out your food, exactly what you want, pay for it, and when you’re done, you aren’t fussing over a bill. Everything is fresh there. They do tri tip, chicken, turkey and a few other things, and they cook it and slice it right in front of you when you’re in line.
I like their salads. How many sit-​down restaurants give you a salad, and your dressing is sitting on the side? Come on man, this is a restaurant, not the Safeway deli section. Not at Jack’s. You either pick one of their several menu salads, or choose your own greens and toppings, and they toss it all up, and then you can top it with tri-​tip, chicken, or shrimp or salmon, depending on what they have going on at the time. The tri-​tip won’t compete with a top of the line BBQ place but it still gets the job done just fine. Shrimp? They only give you four little ones. Chicken? Decent and tender. Salmon? I’ve had both good and bad experiences, sometimes it’s a bit dry and overcooked, and sometimes not. Just like anything else, you gotta order the right thing. Once you find a combo that works, stick with it.
Sandwiches? Lots to choose from. Sides? Want some Mac and Cheese? Or mashed potatoes? Or soup? That too. I probably come here more than any single other restaurant for lunch. It’s on my rotation.

I just discovered a Jacks in Rancho, yay! I would have known had I looked lol but it’s only the second time I’ve eaten at a jacks which are located everywhere in the Sac area. My first time was in Davis after the birth of my daughter last week then the one here in Rancho because mlady wanted their kale and quinoa salad. I got the BBQ tri tip sammich and urban fries, which by the way are delicious, for us to share. The staff here are really friendly but I guess at least on busy nights can’t or don’t pay attention. My Sammie comes on ciabatta bread, I asked to sub it for a sour dough roll, they even wrote it on the ticket. The order was to go and it was a bit of a wait but again it was busy so I’m coo with that.
I get home and yup, ciabatta bread. Now normally I wouldn’t make a big deal but of all the bread in the world, besides Dutch crunch, ciabatta is at the very top of breads I hate. So I just put the tri tip on a plate and ate it. It was really very good and cooked perfectly. I would have thrown this 4 stars had it not been for that one lil hiccup. But I’ll for sure go back. I will just check and to go orders from now on.

Local counter BBQ, Salad, and Sandwich shop. This local regional chain has decent food at reasonable prices. Some of their cashiers are a lack some customer service skills but overall a good choice for healthy food choices and a nice environment to eat. They are a little on the skimpy side on their protean/​meat portion size, but I imagine this is by design for healthier choices. I tried their Buffalo Chicken salad and intioally was disappointed by two very small bonless chicken wings but on second thought this was probably healthier for me. Overall fresh produce, nice seasonings, and nice presentation. Thank you Jack’s will be a regular.

I’m stuck between an 3 & 4 star review.
I used to come to Jacks a lot back in my college days, back when the first iPhone came out. My memories of Jacks is that the food is savory and the ambiance is cool and hip. The tribe and I finally came to Jacks for the first time since being back in Sac.
The ambiance is still very cool and hip. Big wide windows, the classic light bulb sign, lots of seating. The menu is fairly simple American dishes (salads, sandwiches, and such). The employees are friendly and quick.
I made my own salad, all really good fresh ingredients and a hearty portion. I added tritip. The kids got Mac n cheese and tritip, chicken strips and fries. The food is generally good, the concept is neat, and the prices are decent.
One thing to note: our tritip was DRY. Not the quality id expect. I’m going to throw that to an off day. And this was going to be my main reason for a 3 star. But again– I think that was a mishap and not the standard.

5 Star all the way, this place understands and knows there stuff. Food is delicious, everything is as fresh as it can be, people are nice, always clean, place is extremely comfortable.

Healthy and fast comfort food, great menu and prices!

I have severe gluten and dairy allergies and the staff totally worked with me to make sure I was safe and comfortable — even though I was holding up the line!!!

This is our favorite location and we have enjoyed coming here for years with our friends. We have never experienced a bad meal here — be it sandwiches, plates, that include side dishes, salads including my favorite ‘create your own salad’. The prices on Unilocal show $ 11-​$ 30 per person, but there’s so many delicious items, in all categories for under $ 10. Plus this location has chopped eggs — «my must have on my salad» — Thank You Golden Centre.
i’ve eaten at the Mid-​Town location (20^th & capitol) until i inquired as to where their chopped hard boiled eggs were and received a lame excuse that they couldn’t afford it. SERIOUSLY that location is packed & they cam’t afford to buy eggs!
Also, before my wife was in a wheelchair we were always riding our bikes near the Gold River location. The river is within a mile (or two at most) of the American River Bike Trail. I haven’t noticed a bike lot right next to Jack’s, but I know there are several at this shopping center.
I would like to comment on the 1-​star review given Jack’s regarding the flies experienced in August 2015.
We also ate at Jack’s in August. Plus monthly we run other errands in the same shopping center. Oh, YES there were flies — an oddly large amount of them — but in no way were they limited to Jack’s — they were all around this shopping center from Belair to the Outback — Jack’s is in between. FYI — that oddity only lasted a short time so no more large swarms of flies have been scene, not even a couple weeks ago. Its too bad that person’s first experience at Jack’s was at that rare time, Over the last 30yrs we’ve frequented this center for groceries, meals, errands, etc, that was the only time we experienced anything negative effecting the entire center.
What we’ve repeatedly experienced over the years we’ve eaten at Jack’s Urban Eats located at ‘Gold River’ has been great food served in a clean, friendly environment.

Food was alright. Ordered the chicken fingers and get 3 small pieces and a giant pile of lack-​luster fries.
New to the area and gave this place a shot, TWICE.
Tri-​tip sandwich was eh, and the «crispy» onion strings were soggy and there was barely any BBQ sauce.
The hype was just that – hype.

Great little restaurant spot located right near the American River in Rancho Cordova. This is one of those new «urban plates» type of places with a fantastic menu that will pretty much cater to whatever you’d like. I have had a Caesar salad, a couple of sandwiches and some sides, all have been delicious with the exception of the mac n cheese, it was actually a bit dry… The service here is pretty much average and this particular location can get a bit crowded around lunchtime. Overall, not a bad choice if you’re in the area.
Pros–
Menu
Selection
Tea
Location
Décor
Cons–
Smaller portions
Dry sides
Average service
Slow…

Flies all over the place and specially on the side orders by the cashier.
I used to love this place until I saw flies seating on top of the cheese bread, mashed potato, soups and mac and cheese. Plus the cashier that deals with money, getting with her hands the bread without any gloves.
I reported all of that to the manager and she didn’t seem surprised.
So, be careful when eating there. Maybe the health department needs to make a surprise visit to this place.

I LOVE this place! I usually get the turkey club and the urban fries. The sandwich is always so good and fresh tasting and the urban fries so lovely and spicy — my favorite fries out of all places! The staff is always super friendly and they have beer! I go here often and have never had a bad meal or experience.

When I crave a monster salad, I envision Jack’s.
Ok so it’s a bit pricey, but it’s delicious and consistent. I have tried over half the menu and every item is delicious. I wish I worked closer to this location, but my wallet is glad I don’t any more.
Service is fast and friendly. If you can avoid coming here during the 12 – 1 lunch hour you’ll cut your wait time by at least half.
Try the buffalo chicken salad!

WHY is there twice as many employees behind the counter as there are customers in the whole place, and yet all the customers are standing around waiting FOREVER for their food. YOUR RESTAURANT IS LITERALLY BUILT AS AN ASSEMBLY LINE OF FOOD. And yet 18 employees stand behind the counter with their thumb up their ass, confused that they, you know, are expected to assemble a plate of food. EVERY DANG TIME, JACKS!
…but their salads are good, so I’ll probably be back anyway. Lol

I see why there are not a lot of customers @ this location.
I believe good customer service is vital to the return of customers… I will not be returning.
Every employee here looks miserable to work and does not politely treat their customers. My family and I were fascinated by the new location in Elk Grove and thought the Rancho Cordova location would be of the same quality.
— The restaurant itself doesn’t have much sunlight. For me sunlight is important because it make the place come to life.
— We came in and we weren’t asked «How can we help you?» We stood there too long before an employee helped us.
— They do not have a self-​serving drink area. You have to go up to the cashiers and ask for refills, or get water.
— They do not have freshly made drinks like Strawberry Lemonade, Mango Tea etc.
— The food is not fresh. Our tomatoes for the Kale & Quinoa salad we ordered were dry. Mac n Cheese was dry. Food was not hot enough.
— OH AND OUR URBAN FRIES WERE SOGGY AF!
I’m most dissatisfied for the way we were treated. No one was specifically rude. But if an employee is unhappy with their job… then they should quit.

What the hell happened to the quality of their food? I leave the country for half a year, and come back to a totally different jacks! Maybe it’s because I’m more used to their downtown location? Today was my first time ever visiting this location and not only did the food suck, but the customer service sucked too.
Upon walking in, there was someone controlling their lines and completely stopped me and told me to wait by the door. As I’m waiting, other people enter after me and what do you know?! The girl employee that stopped me, let those people enter to order their food. When I finally get in line to order, that same girl starts letting more people enter and tells them to get in front of me. Wtf?! I start complaining to the guy up front and he just says he’ll take care of it and gives me 10% off my meal. Needless to say, that was a huge annoyance that caused me to wait 45 minutes for a salad and urban fries. Not worth it !
Let’s talk about my order now. I ordered two items: urban fries and a steak salad. When I opened the container which had the fries in it, I realized the downtown location does such a better job at presentation ! The salad contained way too much i onions in it. I still ate it though but after what I experienced today, I definitely won’t be back.

I was pleasantly surprised by this place. I really wasn’t too keen on trying it, until we walked in. The salads looked excellent and I loved how they were fresh carving the meats. I decided on a bbq tritip sandwich and the meat was great, bun wasn’t anything special and the cheese wasn’t melted onto it so it was just a cold slice. Could had been brought up a notch but overall was pretty good. The urban fries were very tasty. We liked the chili oil and blue cheese dressing. Would be interested to go back and try one of the salads I saw others order.

This is my favorite Jacks location but it’s always so packed and the service is very slow. It took almost 20 minutes from when I ordered my salad to checking out at the register. From what I saw, the food was all made and dying on the counter. The back up was at the register. Unsure what was going on but people in line were getting antsy.
However, I think the food here is decent and the servings are larger than at other locations. There was barely any sauce on my urban fries but they were more than happy to add some more when I asked.

My sister got us lunch from here. I got a steak sandwich and she had the make your own salad. The sandwich was really good.
Sonoma Steak Sandwich
Chargrilled tri-​tip, crumbled blue cheese, sauteed mushrooms, grilled red onion and spring mix on a ciabatta roll. Also came with a pickle and a peperoncini.
My sisters salad looked really good too. It came with a piece of garlic bread.
If I’m in the area I will definitely stop in.