If a taqueria has a taco-plate deal on Wednesdays, you can bet Chow, Baby will stop by on a Thursday to hear all about it. If a homecooking joint prepares their deliciously tender pot roast with cute little carrots and new potatoes only on Fridays, you’ll see Chow, Baby there any day but. Never fails. Except that the other day Chow, Baby finally got the serendipity thing down and happened in at Jerry’s Italian Bistro (7012 Blvd. 26, Richland Hills) on its almost-never-happens Lamb Chop Special night. Yes! Yes!
Not that there’s anything wrong with Jerry’s on a non-lamb night. Jerry’s is one of our Neighborhood Italian Gems, family-owned and family-friendly places that generally inhabit an aging strip mall or a renovated fast-food hut in a quiet, lower-middle-class neighborhood. Their complete lack of outside charm makes their insides a sparkling surprise: real-cloth tablecloths, convivial service, Dino-on-the-Musak, and reasonable (read: low for what you get) prices. A typical dinner of stuffed mushrooms, chicken Jerusalem, and shared tiramisu will set you back maybe $20, and you’ll have enough leftovers for lunch the next day. These diamonds in the rough are scattered all over town: Fortuna in Como/Ridglea, Prima Pasta & Pizza in Wedgwood, Palermo’s on the Near South Side, Bellisimo in Colleyville, Niki’s in North Richland Hills and Keller, Café Bella in Westcliff, and of course Chow, Baby’s own neighborhood go-to, Mamma Mia (3124 E. Belknap St. at Riverside Drive), in an area that only real estate developers and the neighborhood association call Scenic Bluff. That’s merely a sampling; feel free to write in if Chow, Baby deliberately and meanly left out your personal favorite.
Like its gem brethren, Jerry’s dinner entrées (most $9.95-$12.95) have three main components. First, a remarkably fresh, flawlessly prepared main ingredient, such as tender sautéed veal, perfectly al dente pasta, or glorious grilled shrimp that glide right out of their shells. Second, the color-and-texture details: caramelized onions, broiled portobello mushrooms, sautéed peppers, capers, whatever. Third, and most important, the housemade flavor-and-glamour sauces. Naturally Jerry’s has the gem-ubiquitous “pink sauce,” here an exceptional blend of fresh-made marinara and rich Alfredo. But even more gem-typical is the infinite variety: chunky marinara sauce, sherry wine sauce, sherry wine cream sauce, white wine sauce, white wine lemon sauce, cognac sauce, honey glaze sauce, marsala wine sauce, basil sauce … just to name a few. Of course, your neighborhood fave will also stuff you with hearty manicotti ($5.95 lunch at Jerry’s) or a classic “white” pizza ($8.95 personal size).
The one consistent menu variation among our Neighborhood Italian Gems is also a jewel of a hallmark: diverse and delicious nightly specials, based on what looked good in their respective markets that morning. Jerry’s can be counted on for a few fantastic rotating specials (usually $14.95-$19.95): beef filet in cabernet demi-glace, panko-crusted tilapia, pork tenderloin in cranberry sauce. But the big one (for Chow, Baby) happens on those rare occasions that owner Jerry Tairi finds lamb chops to his liking, grills them up just to medium-rare, finishes them with a rosemary-port wine demi-glace, and then plops seven or eight meaty chops on a bed of risotto for an expertly prepared, incredibly savory dish ($21.95). Maybe Jerry’s isn’t unique, but dishes like this make it a pearl of a place.
Contact Chow, Baby at chowbaby@fwweekly.com.
