By Teri Bayus
I grew up in the high desert of Nevada. Real cowboy food is something I know and love.
Up on the Nipomo Mesa adorning the intersection of fields and golf courses is comfort cookin’ with a smokin’ attitude at Tanner Jacks. Tanner Jacks is well known for award winning beef tri-tip, tasty barbecue ribs, generous portions and a comfortable atmosphere. It is a family business and every plate is made with the same care they offer to treasured kinfolk.
We met Chef Michael for a dinner and he seated us in a cozy booth. The western décor reminded me of Virginia City, and the waitress, Anita, treated us like part of the clan. Michael told us how he moved with his wife, Kelly, from Michigan to the Central Coast when Tanner Jacks opened in the summer of 2006.
While working as the chef at Tanner Jacks, they opened Palo Mesa Pizza. In 2008, they became owners of Tanner Jacks and celebrated the birth of their beautiful daughter, Michaela.
They are a hard-working family with the recipes of Tanner Jacks and Palo Mesa Pizza coming straight from the heart.
We started with a wedge salad with blue cheese, iceberg lettuce with carrot ribbons.
The plate was cold keeping the salad the same and the simplicity of this reminded me of meals in the wilds of the high dessert. The house made biscuits came with a barbecue bacon butter that was savory. It was hard not to fill up on this yeasty indulgence.
We sampled the soup of the day, that was aromatic and chocked full of meat and mushrooms. It was clear this was a neighborhood restaurant, as everyone knew each other by name and the bar was resplendent with “How was your day?” “How’s the job going?” and “Tell the Mrs. hello!”
Next was the meatloaf and it was not my mama’s meatloaf (which was a slab of cheap meat, stale Wonder Bread and catsup squirted on the top). This mountain of meat was wrapped in bacon, had cheese laced in the middle and was moist and tasty. It came with garlic mashers that were comfort food personified. The other side was creamed corn.
Gary said it was delicious (I didn’t even try, because with meatloaf, I have not recovered from my mother’s cooking). Gary had the tri-tip and rib plate that came with a baked potato and macaroni & cheese. Everything was cooked to perfection.
We returned for Sunday brunch, with many delectable entrées and side dishes to choose from.
They had an omelet station, where the chef will cook it up anyway you want. They also have a waffle station, and my favorite was the bacon waffle, until I tried the tri-tip biscuits and gravy, and that stole my country heart.
Tanner Jacks provides catering services for almost any size event. Chef Michael doesn’t just do great barbecue, he can prepare any menu to please your palette.
They are open from 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 8-9:30 Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tanner Jacks is located at 2796 Halcyon Rd., (up on the Mesa), or call them at (805) 473-8485.
