History and Culture by Bicycle: Search for the best Loose Meat

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Search for the best Loose Meat - Jitters

Jitters is a locally owned restaurant that is a combination coffee/doughnut shop and hot food lunch shop. The food ranges from very healthy to good tasting comfort food. They are located on Virginia Street very near to Historic Fourth, just east of downtown Sioux City, about a half a block from the Sioux City Convention Center.

They have 2 versions of a loose meat sandwich. One is called the Jitter Joe, the other the Jitter Dog.

The Jitter Joe is on a hamburger bun that is not to soft or too hard and the perfect size for their sandwich. The well proportioned condiments include ketchup, mustard, pickles, onion and cheese. The cheese is melted over the meat. The meat is very well seasoned with just the right amount of pepper. The sandwich, while it can be ordered to go, is best eaten while sitting, not making it very easy to consume in a moving vehicle without making a mess all over your front. The sandwich I tasted also came with an extra item, not ordered and not meant to be on it. A piece of human hair that was stuck to some of the meat that had fallen out of the sandwich onto the plate. Of course I did not eat this part of the meat. While it is not the end of the world and I am not the type of person to take my sandwich back because of a piece of hair, some people may be really grossed out by this. I am no stranger to consuming things with hair in them, I have a large German Shepherd who sheds all the time, but again some people may be upset by such a thing. This may also violate health code requirements. For this reason points have to be deducted.

The Jitter Dog had no hair in it. It is made with a hot dog bun that was perfect size, not too dry or too soft. The hot dog was flame broiled or grilled which made it very tasty. with the well seasoned Jitter Joe meat added it enhanced the flavor of the Jitter Dog. The well proportioned condiments included ketchup, mustard, relish and onion. Like the Jitter Joe this would not be very easy to eat in a moving vehicle. Best eaten while sitting or standing still.

There were a couple of issues with the inside of the restaurant. While over all clean, there was one table that was not cleaned when I walked in. Most of the tables have a glass cover over them, some have chipped corners that could be sharp. The floor in the dining area is unfinished concrete, with cracks, chips, holes and uneven spots. This makes some of the tables wobble a bit. If the same tile used in the bathroom was used in the dining area it would make the interior perfect for the type of establishment and atmosphere the owner is trying to convey. It does have a very nice outdoor dining area and the back of the property has beautiful prairie grass growing along the sidewalk.

With a score of 93 I will continue to frequent this restaurant and enjoy the both the Jitter Joe and Jitter Dog.