JLB Eatery Old Katy — Restaurant in Katy

Was doing some work near Katy library and decided to grab dinner nearby. I saw the JLB Eatery sign and a “Grand Opening” now hiring all shifts…Banner or similar type banner…which apparently is not exactly the case as the cashier said they have been open about 2 years and you can see a bit of wear and tear…but overall a pretty clean restaurant. Place was empty when I arrive, must have beat the dinner crowd?

Positives:

1. Got their bacon burger with fries and it was a ginormous burger, could easily feed two and then some. Seemed like 1/3 burger patty or more. Meat was tender.
2. The fries are skin on style generally pretty good and well flavored but some were over done and was an ok portion, more than enough though with a huge burger…pretty tasty.
3. Restaraunt tables, floors, drink area pretty clean.
4. They have a lot of entree options on their menu
5. Self serve drink dispenser.
6. Food came out hot and pretty quick.
7. There is a LOT of bacon on that burger👍👏
8. As advertised the bun tasted “fresh made daily” and was very soft but nicely grilled and did not disintegrate under this mountain of a burger.
9. Veggies were pretty fresh iceberg lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pickles.
10. They were playing Christian music for some ambiance and that was a plus for me👍☝️
11. Furniture and seat pads were clean & cushy😁
12. The cashier was sweeping floors and wiping tables in the dining area keeping things presentable.

Negatives

1. Bacon Burger Combo was $16 and I felt the burger seasoning could have been better (maybe seasoned salt or some seasoning with a bit more zing & zest) or a flavored slightly spicy mayo or a zesty thousand island, or brown mustard or maybe teriyaki sauce to enhance the flavor a bit, (maybe they have those options?) but the meat was pretty tender just lacking a bit of flavor and mayo only, and the cashier did not offer any condiment options or adds.

2. A Fork and knife were needed on this burger but they had only marginal plastic utensils available and literally only one unwrapped plastic fork in their utensil bin…but their knives were plastic wrapped…but the lone fork in the bin was unwrapped and seemed like a left over?

Also the bin looked a little sketchy on the cleanliness side so that bothered me. The cashier said they only had unwrapped forks but did not volunteer to get me a new fork nor did she refill the fork bin for the next customer after I grabbed the last one? 🧐🤨seemed a bit odd to me after she saw the empty bin and only one other couple besides my self was in the restaraunt.? Also I am sure she noticed I was not super happy grabbing the last unwrapped fork in their bin.

3. Pickle Overload: they had a lot of veggies on the bacon burger, but because the bun was big and fluffy it hung in there pretty well not falling a part with a huge amount of veggies.

But the downside of the veggie overload was I think there might have been over a dozen pickle chips in the veggie mix, over powering the flavor of everything else. Also a bit too much lettuce which over powered the amount of mayo on the top of the bun, so maybe the meat came off a bit drier than it should have…eventhough I added more mayo and some ketchup…still seemed a bit dry.

It was like they were trying to shove a complete salad in their burger to make it “super ginormous”…but it did off set the flavor a bit, rather than enhance the burger.

I might ask about grilled onions next time as an option…if that’s an option that could be another layer of flavor.

4. Onion Rings are a $2 upgrade to the burger combo. Had not tried them, some reviews said they are real good, but jumping a burger combo up to $18 when I was looking for a quick bite. I passed on the upgrade.

5. Cleanliness on salt shaker that I had was bad. I touched the salt shaker and it was sticky and kind of gritty to the touch. 🤨🫤Not comforting after the utensil bin and lone fork incident, made me concerned.

6. I did not see restroom and could not find the cashier to ask, so I ran into the gas station next door.

I would return & try...

Absolutely the worst service and attitude I have EVER witnessed from a manager in my entire life! We paid nearly $40 for burger combos and asked for them to be extra, extra well done with no pink in the patty. Both burgers came out pink. The cashier immediately said, "Oh no, that is a mistake because I put extra, extra well done. He returned to say his manager said, "Meet her at the counter," which to me was completely unprofessional. However, Lydia (the manager) proceeded to tell me she would not remake one burger because it was not on the ticket (no fault of ours, which she admitted) and then said she would not refund the other. I told her I was not sitting here to eat cold onion rings while my husband sat & ate nothing because she failed to complete his order. Then, I let her know I would make sure to leave a Google Review. She said good, go ahead because I was the only one complaining right now! I mean is this establishment this hard up for $40...really? Her tone was exceptionally rude and it was no way to treat patrons. I am astounded at the sheer shrewdness, arrogance and out right dismissive attitude towards us as customers! We have never been treated and talked to so poorly! For this to be a new establishment, this no way to treat people because the best advertisement is word of mouth and I hope everyone stays away from restaurant! On a different note, at exactly 8:30pm the oh so nice manager, Lydia, turned off the Christian music playing in the background and started loudly saying to staff...cut off the lights so everyone will leave. Now, there were 3 other tables still inside. This establishment pretends to be a nice Christianly place, but I think not. They need to remove every scripture off the walls and small truck fixtures because there's absolutely NOTHING Christian-like by the way we were treated! To add insult to injury, we left at the same time as the other customers at 8:38 and we were the only table they did not greet or say goodnight to. Evidently, they all had somewhere very important to be because at 8:42 they all loaded up in a car & left the establishment. Take your business and money somewhere where you are...

First things first, the burgers are absolutely massive. It will dominate the take out container. I cut mine in half so that it was actually manageable to pick up. For the price, I was very pleasantly surprised that it was such a huge, loaded burger. I believe I had the equivalent of a whole avocado on there, as well. The burger comes with fries, sweet potato fries, or onion rings. I regret not getting the onion rings because they looked delicious, but the fries were good, too. My wife was very pleased with the sweet potato fries. I chose the JLB special, which is a burger with a "spicy" chicken breast on it. I would term it "we'll seasoned", not spicy, but it may be the spiciness was muted by all the other flavors. It was delicious, but it felt like a bit much, and the proteins seemed to compete. This is by no means a complaint, but after giving that beast a try, I am curious to try "just a burger" or "just a chicken sandwich". By contrast, a friend has a Turkey Melt and it looked like simple, delicious perfection. Another member of the group had smothered steaks fries and this side dish should be considered an entree or a shareable. Bottom line: GENEROUS PORTIONS. We placed our order over the phone for pickup and that was a very pleasant experience. The employee was very patient, helpful, and seemed to be in a great mood. Pickup was the same, with the food neatly packaged and ready to go and the drinks safely secured in a cup holder. When you check this place out, bring an appetite, or someone to share with, but do check them out....