Mountain Jacks Steakhouse — Restaurant in Lafayette

I really wish I would have taken a picture of my food. The moment we walked in the door, there were three hostess. All very kind, however, we noticed one of the guys that was already dining taking pictures towards the hostess stand. Once the ladies moved, one of the hostess has a skirt on that literally showed the bottom of her butt cheeks. I was shocked, because as we know typically they will "dress to impress," it was inappropriate. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a full supporter of wearing what makes you comfortable; however, you're a hostess of one of the "classier" restaurants in this area.

Regardless, we didn't wait long for our table at all, and were sat quickly.

We ordered calamari, which was amazing, the caesar salad and the bread was also very good.

We ordered our food and once it was sat in front of me, I knew something was wrong. I have NEVER sent food back. And I mean have absolutely NEVER sent food back. I ordered the Angus top sirloin medium rare with mashed potatoes and green beans. The green beans and mashed potatoes were fine. Lacking in flavor and warmth but honestly still fine. The steak....ummm I don't even know how to describe. There were three different cuts of meat that they tried to form into what looked like a top sirloin. One piece (the larger piece) was cooked so much on one side that it was dry and the bottom was burnt but the top was completely raw. The piece that was on top of that was brown (as if it was bad) and definitely not a sirloin cut off meat. I don't even know where that kind of cut would come from at all. And that piece smelt foul. The other piece (smallest of the three) was cooked so long it was hard to cut and dry and honestly didn't look like steak at all. I truly thought it was a small piece of meatloaf.

I showed the waitress and she was extremely kind, took it to her manager, and apologized. (It's obviously not her fault) She was so kind and checked on us frequently given how busy they were. The manager, also very kind, offered to get another steak. I declined just given I thought maybe the piece of meat was bad. She offered a different meal so I got the shrimp tempura. Not a huge fan of that meal but it was good. She also offered a free desert.

Honestly, we will not be going back. That was the worst meal I've ever gotten from there and given the prices, I was hoping it would have been better. It wasn't our first time there but I quite literally brought a friend to show her how good the food was and that was her...

Our week had been a rough one with three deaths, an older friend and mentor, a younger cousin that cancer claimed at the age of 45 and lastly my mother. My wardrobe had needed updating such that my girlfriend had no idea that I truly did know how to dress outside of my trucking occupation and motorcycling hobby. My formal wear choices impressed her so much that she asked that after all the grieving had passed that we dress up and have a nice date together to which I agreed needed doing. The Mountain Jacks in Lafayette, IN to my knowledge had closed when the chain fell but the local owners had bought the menu and reopened almost without otherwise being noticed. On the way home from my mothers funeral it dawned on me that there was no time like the present to honor my girlfriends request. Without reservations we were told by the hostess that our wait for a table for 2 would be approximately twenty minutes which would have been very appropriate for a Friday evening at 7:00 PM. We were seated in the bar at a nice table in half that time. I should add at this point that my girlfriend is a medically retired server of over 25 years whom in her employment at the most renowned Catfish Restaurant in Indiana developed an International following and was very much requested by Racing Teams and Sports Dignitaries as they passed through Indianapolis over the years. We both are often dissapointed at the professionalism in serving having become almost a lost art. Our server was a woman named Julie that was very much on her game. We started our meal with the Crab Stuffed Mushrooms which were as good as any we have ever enjoyed. We both ordered different sized portions of Prime Rib with mine being the "bone in" choice. We both also opted for the tableside salad with loaded baked potatoes and steamed green beans as sides. As I mentioned previously, Julie was well on her game with her timing being flawless. Our entrees were to perfection with the prime rib being so tender I had trouble keeping it on my fork while dipping bites in the aus jus and horseradish. We followed our meal by sharing a piece Chocolate Mousse Pie which was exactly as rich and filling as promised. Neither of us consume alcohol any longer so our bill came to a tick over $80.00 and for the first time in a long time it was pleasant to leave a generous tip. All in all a wonderful way to end a very hard day and an...

Let's start with the Good 🔴 Owners were present they were kind and opened up a seat for us without a reservation on a busy Saturday evening. 🔴 Salad wheel is unique and delicious customize your 🥗 with a variety of items that your waiter hand crafts for you at your table. 🔴 Sides all cooked properly and tasty 😋

The not so good 🔴 Outside of the owners the staff that we associated with were rude! The greeter was clearly incompetent which is how we met the lovely owners and my server unbelievably rude! If it weren't for the owners and the big poster up front ( I'll get to that) we would have left.🔴 Big poster up front claiming the steakhouse was in the top 10 in the state. I've eaten at most of them, and throughout the country ( Elmo's, Jeff Ruby's, Mortons, Eddie Merlot, Ruth etc.) While the food here is not bad it is a far cry from any where near top anything and I feel misled. 🔴 THE STEAKS we had a party of 5 (I'm Guy in the red shirt1/6/23 approx 5p.m.) 3 of our steaks were served raw like completely.... and we like our steaks rare/ med rare these were inedible. Instead of remaking our steaks they were stuck back on the grill and cooked into beef jerky. My steak which was cooked too perfection but the flavor was hard to find and bland. 🔴 Desert four of us ordered the chocolate mousse cake which was good but was not thawed I had to use my steak knife to cut it. The wife ordered the carrot cake and said it was delicious. 🔴 THE RESTAURANT- You enter to find a nice warm fire burning and Frank Sinatra playing in the background, The entry is nice and inviting, there is a coat check and in general everyone was nicely dressed, as you proceed to the seating you notice that the walls are covered in very dated pink wallpaper, their photos of Mallards and pheasants all over the wall I'm not sure it's been updated since the '70s. However it was clean and tidy And while dated it gave off a old school classy vibe.

In closing - everyone is entitled to a bad day And I will give this restaurant a try again. It wasn't a bad meal outside of the steaks that were served raw and then cooked to dust. But If you're looking for a high-end steakhouse as their advertisements suggest this would not be the place. The owners were very kind, and gracious and I hope next time my family and I are in town we get a...