I ain't Jacking you

Jack's Deli
2350 Cleveland Rd
Sandusky, OH
419-626-3354

Artisan bread toasted, local free range egg omelet

This is a rather amazing little deli, restaurant, late night and breakfast place. This place is open at the crack of dawn for breakfast, and stays open until the last tourist finds his or her way out the door, which could be 1 am or later. This place doesn't look like much from the outside, and it has a big bright, a bit obnoxious, yellow sign that is backlit. I have driven by this place 100s of times over the past decade, and never gave it much thought. I ignored it because it is on route to Cedar Point, and it seemed to be targeting the tourists wanting to go to the amusement park. My assumption was that this deli was offering minimally edible product like so many other tourist traps, but I was wrong. Jack's is a place that take care in sourcing and serving food.

Jack's Deli breakfast is so good, and it serves up local, local organic and artisan food. It has been almost 5 years since I have made an effort to eat locally where ever local may be. 5 years ago, it seemed that eating locally was impossible in Sandusky, OH, yet Sandusky is surrounded by farm land. I had gone to lengths to eat locally while Sandusky by stopping into those farms I see while driving in, and buying directly and cooking in my microwave at the hotel. I no longer have to do that just to have a locally grown ingredient, there are a handful of restaurants that offer wonderful local foods, and Jack's is one of them.

I went to Jack's for breakfast on my way out to another N OH city, and I didn't want to be weighed down by huge portions of food. Also, I wanted eggs, but not those tainted industrial eggs that have been in the news lately. I found out Jack's sells local free-range eggs, local fruit, and artisan bread. I ordered a 2 egg omelet and toast. The plate came out with a nice thick piece of artisan bread that was toasted and spread with real butter, not margarine. The eggs were sourced locally, and had no worries about having bad bacteria. I asked for the omelet to be stuffed with mushrooms and onions. There was also a side of locally grown watermelon that was so sweet and delicious that I ate them all before I could take the photo. I got all this for less than $4. Yup, a mostly locally sourced delicious breakfast for less than $4.

Jack's is focused on selling to the tourists that come through the area because that is where a significant portion of the Sandusky income is coming from. I think that tourists may pass by this little place (much like I did) because they are judging a book by its cover (like I did). It doesn't look like much from the outside. The shame is, I believe the care of sourcing local farm fresh foods and breads is completely lost on the tourists who run in for a quick cheap bite before heading to the roller coasters. Also, the tourists don't build a repeat customer base. None of the virtues of Jack's Deli is lost on me.