Jim Gould's

Last night we finally made it around to Jim Gould's in Champaign. It was largely Mike's idea, although I'd been pushing for it for a while now. The short: it was okay, but it should have been great.

We were a group of six and they seated us in the private room in the back corner. We weren't segregated completely from the rest of the establishment but I thought it obvious that they were trying to minimize damage. Now, I'll admit that at times we can be a little loud and uncouth with our conversation, but we do exhibit restraint in the proper atmosphere. Sending us to the corner was a mistake: if you expect better from us then treat us with more respect.

Enough about seating, what about the food? I started off with a stuffed mushroom appetizer that I probably ordered too soon but I got the feeling the waitress was going to rush us to the entrees. Anyway, the stuffed mushrooms came before I even ordered the main course and they were something fabulous. Completely unlike any stuffed mushroom I'd ever had before: they took a bed of mushroom and some other deep fried crust and covered it with a red pepper spread and feta cheese. Wow... just wow. I loved them.

I ordered the Vodka Penne and it was okay although a little lacking in flavor. Becky had some sort of chicken breast and it looked very appetizing. Certainly she devoured one of the breasts, taking the other home for later. Wes ordered spaghetti and meatballs and the meatballs had ?broccoli? inside. Ummm... I don't understand, but spaghetti and meatballs probably aren't something I'd order at a place like Jim Gould's anyways.

Pat Kim and Mike ordered the filet and ?t-bone? respectively. Halfway through our meal the smoke alarms went off for a good ten to fifteen minutes. The waitress told us that it was tripped on the fourth floor in the elevator. Personally, I think it was because they were charring their steaks in the kitchen. Both Mike and Pat thought theirs was almost burnt on the outside although the rest of the steak was pretty good. And Fred... can't remember what Fred had. Maybe some sort of pasta.

Someone later said that they saw a manager walking around to some tables apologizing for the smoke alarm. All we got was a quick explanation from the humorless waitress and the bill.

I'd rank the food on par with Biaggi's but more expensive. And I don't ever remember feeling so snobbed at Biaggi's. For that reason alone I'll continue to patronize The Great Impasta and Biaggi's where I get the feeling they appreciate my business.

Comments

The wait staff was certainly not what I would expect from a place with all that putting-on-of-airs. A comparable restaurant in price and atmosphere in the burbs would have extremely professional staff, which was definitely lacking. If I'm putting on four inch heels, the least they could do is send the bloody manager over to explain the fire alarm problem. And everybody should have had a few dollars knocked off their bill because... that is good service.

Perhaps we should do an experiment where everyone wears suits and ties and only talks about opera and see where they seat us then... jerks.

Also, while my chicken dish was nice-looking, I was not impressed by the actual taste of it. It had potential but they got kind of lazy with the sauce. I was, however, actually pleased with the stuffed mushroom. I basically would expect that much from everything on the menu.

Best places to eat in CU:

Italian - Biaggis
Steak - Alexanders
Pizza - Papa Dels
Chinese - Empire
Mexican - Dos Reales

It was me, my husband, and a friend. We finally decided to try it: Jim Gould's. I can't say it was a good way to spend our weekend, however. Our experience at Jim Gould's was extremely disappointing. I didn't go in with lofty hopes, but I did expect there to be credit where credit was due.

For a place that talks up the beef, we were surprised to not see any prime rib on the menu. It was almost enough to get up and leave. But, we gave other things a chance.

Because of the raves about the stuffed mushrooms, I was settled on that for my appetizer. It wasn't as described unfortunately. The stuffing was bland, the crust barely a crust, and the wine sauce something awful. It tasted like a cheap wine that hadn't been properly cooked off, so the whole dish tasted skunky. I couldn't finish the dish.

When I ordered my entree, the tilapia with crab, I asked about the sides: potatoes or wild rice. Being a wild rice fan, I asked how it was prepared. The waiter said, "Actually, it's Uncle Ben's." I was mortified. Why would a place that touts itself with "fine dining" serve UNCLE BEN'S?? Plus, I was surprised the waiter even told me that tidbit of info, seeing as I asked how the rice was prepared, not where it came from.

My tilapia dish was bland (but at least there wasn't skunky wine), but the potatoes were good, flavorful and not too salty. My husband's amaretto-apple chicken was tasty, but not superb. The flavors were well matched and the chicken tender. The onion soup we all ordered was bitter, over rosemary-ed, and the crouton soggy. When I think of onion soup, I think of that wonderful layer of melted cheese over the top. I think Perkins does it better.

We do NOT recommend this restaurant. It's over-rated. It's trying to cater to midwesterner taste but failing the restaurant scene and fine dining establishments miserably. Get a new chef or close down.

I think the verdict is in: Jim Gould's is only for people who want a fancy atmosphere without quality food. In other words, it's perfect for frat boys trying to impress their dates. But that's about all.

OK, I am tired of all Jim Gould’s ripping; everyone just has it out for the place. I had a great filet and potatoes at Jim Gould’s and no problem with the service. Kennedy’s is the only place I would choose over Jim Gould’s for steak and atmosphere in Chamabana.

I never noticed Mike's list of places to eat, I think it needs some amendments:

Italian - Biaggis (Timpone's is the best Italian and atmosphere)
Steak - Alexander’s (I have had better steak at Jim Gould’s and Kennedy’s, but of course it may have been the cook and Alexander’s ambience is not very appetizing)
Pizza - Papa Dels (no question)
Chinese - Empire (Tang Dynasty in Lincoln square mall is a step up from Empire, but for the money nothing beats Empire!)
Mexican - Dos Reales (after visiting San Antino Dos Reales is like Taco Bell. Real Hacienda and El Toro also beat Dos Reales, they have better cheese.)

I will add one just to be controversial:
BBQ - Hickory Smoke House (Sorry Famous Daves you got pwned)

Italian - Biaggis (Timpone's is the best Italian and atmosphere)

Haven't tried Timpone's. Also heard Minneci's is good, but I haven't had that either. It's going to be hard to top Biaggi's bread though.

Steak - Alexander’s (I have had better steak at Jim Gould’s and Kennedy’s, but of course it may have been the cook and Alexander’s ambience is not very appetizing)

I think the steak at Kennedy's is equally as good as Alexanders, but Alexander's gets bonus points for their skillet cookies. But I have to go with the crowd about Jim Goulds. Just not very good at all. My steak was burnt and expensive, and my pasta was bland. And atmosphere doesn't matter to me at all.

Pizza - Papa Dels (no question)

Yet some people still insist that Papa John's is better. I will never understand. I actually think Papa Dels is better than all the Chicago style pizza I've tried in Chicago.

Chinese - Empire (Tang Dynasty in Lincoln square mall is a step up from Empire, but for the money nothing beats Empire!)

Agreed.

Mexican - Dos Reales (after visiting San Antino Dos Reales is like Taco Bell. Real Hacienda and El Toro also beat Dos Reales, they have better cheese.)

The Mexican I've had down south is much better too. But the reason I like Dos better than the other two places is the cheese believe it or not.

BBQ - Hickory Smoke House (Sorry Famous Daves you got pwned)

I don't see the big deal about this place. Although it seems like everyone likes it but me. It really just doesn't seem like anything special. Their brisket is pretty good, but their ribs are actually pretty bad.

And a new one since I wrote this list a long time ago: Siam Terrance. I tried all summer to find better Thai food in Chicago, but had no luck. I didn't try this place though: http://www.arunsthai.com/home.htm which is supposted to have the best Thai food in the country, because its $75/person.

I just recommended Siam Terrace to someone who really likes Thai food, so I'm glad to see it actually is the best.

Have you guys gone to the Chinese place downtown Champaign? (I think it's Peking Garden) I only went there once, but I enjoyed it. At least at lunch time it seemed like they had fast food chinese prices with real chinese food taste.

Pizza - yes, I like Papa Dells, but sometimes it gets expensive, that's the only negative for me.

Italian - I've only gone to Biaggi's once, and I wasn't impressed. The bread was good, but the portion was horrible. I got the ravioli (which I hear isn't even on the menu anymore) and I think there were about 5 raviolis on the whole plate, which came to about $2 per average sized ravioli.

oo a captcha, did Steve add that or did typepad do it automatically?

I think the best chinese in town is probably from the China Garden in the same strip mall as schnucks.

Timpone is pretty good but their menu has things that are a little different than normal Italian a lot of the time. I took Lindsay there for our first date. She had pumpkin ravioli and I had a seafood pasta with some stuff in it that I was never able to identifty. Good but strange.

Papa Dels is definetly the best pizza around down here but it isn't as good as a lou or a sausage pizza from lou malnatis back home.

China Garden?? Are you quite mad?! It doesn't even compare to Tang Dynasty.

(And oh p.s. congratulations, you!)

The captcha is a TypePad thing. I think I have a preference for making it manditory, but I don't think I can turn it off all together.

There's various things you do to trigger it. One of them is posting comments too quickly. Another might be sudden traffic in an older thread (such as this one). If you login through TypeKey I'm not sure you see it at all.

Getting back to the Jim Gould's review, I thought the food was sub-par at best. Very disappointing. The onion soup had waaaay too much rosemary to the point that it actually tasted really, really bitter. The stuffed mushroom wasn't cooked long enough that the alcohol hadn't all evaporated so it too tasted really bitter. We were told by the waiter that the rice is actually Uncle Ben's!!!!!! Crap, with the money we're paying, I could have a much cheaper side at home for cents. Thank goodness for the waiter's honesty, and the mashed potatoes were actually the only redeeming part of the meal though, again, it wasn't to die for. I ordered the almond chicken - nice, unique sauce but the chicken was somewhat overcooked. My wife's fish dish was overladen with a heavy cream sauce that really needed salt and other spices. Also, the wait staff was very unorganized - we had 2 different waiters take our orders on 2 bills and they had to take time out to figure out the bill. Also, we almost got another table's food which kind of annoyed the other customers. We didn't even bother to stick for desert. If you want my advice, save your money and palate and go to another place worth an evening. The place is all ambiance but very little substance as far as food. I'll never step foot there again.

Places a lot more worth the money because of excellent food:
Bacaro (expensive but definitely much more worth it!)
Radio Maria
Timpone's
B-Won (good Korean food)
Mandarin Wok (good traditional Chinese and they serve Dim Sum!)
Bombay (the best Indian food in town)
Silvercreek (the best sunday brunch)

Bacaro is really good! Small portions though, my ex took me there for my birthday twice. the first time we had to order a second entree a piece because we just weren't full enough...bill came out to about $200, but we had a bottle of wine, appetizer, entree, and dessert...I love the atmosphere, perfect place to go if you want to pretend you're not in Champaign-Urbana (Haha)

Jim Gould's, I've only been twice...the first time for lunch and it was definately okay (I was a little disappointed)

I went for dinner maybe a year later, and it was good...I had the Seseame Tuna...cooked perfectly rare, and some mashed potatoes that was really good, a good glass of wine and great music...it was a good experience.

Timpone's is really good, I've only been once, but I really like Biaggi's I go almost twice a week!

Papa Del's is the best Pizza

Ko-Fusion has really really good sushi!

I know a person who immigrated from Taiwan when he was 19. he said there were only two restaurants in C-U for authentic Chinese food, Lai Lai Wok on campus, and Tang Dynasty. I'm a regular at Lai Lai for lunch, and often it's looks like I'm the only non-oriental in the place. Tang is good, but a bit pricey. Tell them you want your food cooked "Taiwan style."

BBQ places around here are hard to rate because they're so different. Porgy's is Chicago, Hickory River is Texas, and Famous Dave's is just bad.

Jim Gould's lunch buffet is well worth the $9, if only for the salad bowl and adjuncts alone.

The only authentic Mexican restaurant in C-U is El Charro, a tiny grocery with a tiny dining area on Green St. Again, you don't see a lot of non-Latinos in there. Just don't order the "pork mix" filling. It's way too authentic.

Best steak around is at the Long Branch in Gifford.

Hickory River is the by far the best BBQ in Town... Trying Jim Goulds again this weekend. Let you know what I think when I get done!

Timponi's? I haven't went there since they joined the "freedom fry" band waggon.

Anyone that is that culturally retarded does not deserve business.

Anyone that is that culturally retarded does not deserve business.

Boycotting a organization for a simple name decision, by most likely one man, is much more socially upstanding?

I was very disappointed with Jim Goulds and will not go back again.
We went at 11:30 for the lunch buffet and nobody was there which should have been a clue. The staff was just standing around and talking and gossiping. even though we were a large group and we could have been waited on sooner. Terrible service! The lunch buffet was tasteless and not very appetizing. The building is beautiful though.

Best sushi in champaign....?
The answer is there is none. But I guess best of all would be kamakura?
kofusion- way too expensive for the taste.... I can make it better.
You need a new sushi chef!!
Miko- way too expensive as well, not that great.
kitchen food there is really rip off and cheap taste. It's def. not worthy it.

Kamakura- way too much rice in sushi, but at least it makes you full.
I can't say it's great, but it's best out of all sushi places in CU area.

Bottomline, what do you expect in CU,,,,, nothing!

I went to Goulds with friends...the host seemed edgy the table was okay but the food was the worst. No one had anything they enjoyed. The tilapia tasted less then fresh and was overly presented...the prime rib...was indeed the sickest...the chef should have been fired for allowing it to leave the kitchen ...it was thin and watery literally watery tasted like dish water not a natural juice and tough ... I prefer a thick seasoned (not overly salty)prime rib with plenty of flavor this was dish water swimming around a really thin cut of meat. I wanted to write the owner but could not find a web page. The watermelon salad was bitter and nasty ...what can I say ...Ill tell you I spent two bucks on hamburger meat at the grocery store last night and added tumeric, cayanne, pepper,salt , worshire,garlic and a smoky cheddar and had a more gourmet meal...and better meat!