Unexpected. That’s one way to describe Jag’s Diner, which openedrecently on Lilac Road in Valley Center. Don’t let the word “diner”fool you. There’s not much of the traditional about it. Outside,the place looks like a well-tended roadhouse. Inside, customers canwalk through a door marked “Jaguar Country” into an oasis calledthe Rainforest Patio, complete with a fountain, a running brook andthatched roof.
“We wanted to keep with the diner tradition but then kick it upa notch,” said Gwen Crawshaw, one of six partners in theenterprise. “A lot of families eat out, and we’re just trying tomake it more special for them.”
Technological efficiency and culinary excellence are combined,in keeping with their motto, “Serving a new millennium.” Thewaiters use Palm Pilots to take orders from the extensive menu,which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The menu is chock full of homestyle cooking, from the ChippedBeef Gravy Plate for breakfast, ($3.99 for a half order) to theBrie Stuffed French Toast smothered in a banana-nut maple sauce($8.99) or the Cajun Crab Meat Benedict ($9.99) for brunch.
Lunch selections include sandwiches and wraps, which hold avariety of ingredients stuffed into chipotle or spinach tortillas,or Samuel Adams beer-battered Fish And Chips. There’s ChickenEnchilada Soup or a Chicago Dog — grilled, topped with choppedtomatoes, onions, a pickle spear and coarsely ground pepper andserved with choice of fries, cole slaw or side salad ($5.29.)
The dinner menu offers several kinds of pizza, baby back ribs,blackened or grilled salmon and a fork-tender “Gravy SmotheredSouthern Pot Roast” ($10.99) served with fresh veggies, choice ofslaw or salad and choice of a loaded baked potato, mashed potatoes,fries or rice pilaf.
One section of the menu, called “For Everyone’s Sweet Tooth,”offers the standard ice cream, milk shakes, cheesecake, sundaes andcobbler, but there’s also a killer item called “Chocolate DreamDessert,” made with chocolate Texas sheet cake topped withchocolate ice cream, hot fudge sauce and whipped cream ($5.49). Andoccasionally the chef is in the mood to make an off-menu item, suchas bread pudding. Most desserts are big enough for two people in agenerous mood.
Jag’s is on the former site of the Mizpah Turkey Ranch, in thecommercial strip known as Harvest Farms Village. Built in 1940, theranch was once the largest in the world, shipping turkeys all overthe country. The spacious renovated interior is a heaping helpingof cafe with a soupcon of sports bar. Its colors are vibrantcombinations of teal, black and gold. An exposed ceiling simulatesthe night sky. The desired effect was masculine with a touch offeminine, Gwen said.
The walls are lined with championship banners of the team forwhose mascot the place is named — the Jaguar of Valley Center HighSchool. Check out the photos that line the wall of fame for a lookat local sports lights, including the couple’s son Doug, 17, whoplays varsity football, as did his brother, Jimmy, 19, a formerwide receiver who graduated last year.
“It’s not like we have anything (symbolic) for our town, but wedo have our new high school,” said Crawshaw. “That’s the biggestthing, so we went with that.”
The other partners are her husband Jim, a retired Navy manoriginally from Pennsylvania, along with Rick and Carla Peterson ofValley Center, who helped with the building, and Bill and KatePhillips of Fort Worth, Texas. Gwen’s sister, Trudy Terry of ValleyCenter, is the head chef. Their sister, Lori Doyle, works asmanager with her daughter, Jenny Doyle. The Petersons’ daughter,Sammie, is on the wait staff.
Gwen, who calls herself a Navy brat, traces her culinary rootsto her Texas family.
“My whole family loves food,” she said. “We wake up planningdinner.”
Jag’s interior is divided into several seating areas, includinga side room suitable for meetings or family gatherings. It’sdecorated with classic ’50s-style padded “kitchen” chairs andmetal-legged tables, with the modern twist of an 8-foot-by-5-footbig-screen television that boasts surround sound. Two “smaller”42-inch wall-mounted plasma screen televisions overlook plushbooths in one area and a stainless steel-topped bar in another.
Crawshaw describes Jag’s as a cool diner where the teenagers oftoday would like to go. Friday night is pep rally night at Jag’sfor the high school football team, but it’s always family time, shesaid.
“Jag’s welcomes the young and the young at heart,” she said.
Now Serving
WHAT: Jag’s Diner
WHERE: 29000 Lilac Road, Suite A, Valley Center
PHONE: (760) 751-2252
HOURS: 10 a.m to 10 p.m. Mon-Thu; 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. Fri; 7 a.m.to 10 p.m. Sat-Sun
PRICE RANGE: Breakfasts, $4.99-$9.99; lunches, $6.99-$8.99;dinners, $8.99-$22.99
Contact staff writer Agnes Diggs at (760) 740-3511 oradiggs@nctimes.com.
