Daddy Jack's ~ Dallas-Fort Worth chain ***CLOSED***

Apr 8, 2022 update: After many different variations, the Daddy Jack's chain appears closed, including their flagship location on Greenville Ave. in Dallas. The last one standing was in Sundance Square in Fort Worth.

Last visit: Aug 2013 (Southlake)

First visit: sometime in 2003 (Coppell)

Every time the RJG travels to New England, I like to frequent a seafood chain from Boston called Legal Seafood. They're famous for clam "chowda", New England styled crab cakes, and baked fishes amongst many other things. Daddy Jack's is clearly aiming for that market. Right down to the red and white checkered tablecloths - which is not strictly an Italian tradition.

So is Daddy Jack's really as good as Legal? Well, no, of course not. Legal has the distinct advantage of having the Atlantic Ocean right next to it. But Daddy Jack's is certainly very good, and one of the best seafood houses in DFW.  More casual and less pricey than Trulucks, which the food is on par with.

Nearly 9 full years ago, we took Mr. RJG's official Mom to the Daddy Jacks in Coppell for her birthday. In doing research for this entry, it appears that particular Daddy Jack's is run completely separate from the locations listed here. Perhaps it started as a franchise entry, and later decided to go solo.

On this visit, I was joined by one of my business partners that we will name for this blog as The Tampa Pound. He's been in these pages before, but we just didn't name him. And besides, he just moved from Raleigh to Tampa, so he gets a new name. It seems seafood is where we tend to gravitate, and since he's the one with the expense account, I let him lead the way on food choice. I just pick the restaurant. The Tampa Pound also arrived with fantastical tales of his recent journey to Alaska, so the setting was appropriate.

And on that topic, that's exactly what he ordered - Alaska King Crab legs. At one point, I asked him how they were, but his face was buried into the claws, and all I could hear was a "hmm-mmm" and his head nodding up and down. OK - so that worked out it would seem... Meanwhile, I ordered the Baked Stuffed Shrimp (which was on the Specials Board). I wouldn't necessarily call it "stuffed". What they do is mix Ritz crackers and crab meat, roll it up, and lay the ball on top of each shrimp. It's a very rich dish, as it all sits in a light cream sauce. It's very good, though again the stuffing aspect of it should be questioned. The flavors didn't mesh as you might expect. We each opened the meal with Lobster Bisque with added claw meat. Super creamy, rich, and delicious.

Daddy Jack's has a fine selection of bottled beers, though nothing on tap. I enjoyed an Anchor Steam and an Alaskan Amber, and the Tampa Pound had a few Blue Moon's.

Not sure why the Urbanspoon grade is so low. This was our first visit to this location, and perhaps they fixed what ailed them.

If I had a complaint, it would be the location itself. This was originally an old southern home cooking restaurant (which sits conveniently on the edge of the Southlake Town Square), wonderfully re-purposed by Daddy Jack's. But the windows face the setting western sun. As such, the interior is extremely bright for the dinner hour especially during the summer. While they do of course have window coverings, I think they might do well to invest in some drapes. I'm not too keen on squinting my eyes throughout the meal.

8/16/13 (new entry)