I grew up in York, but moved away in the mid 80's and just moved back full time in 2012. I'd never heard of Jackie Bs until about a month ago, but I understand it's been around forever. Once I found out about the prices I had to try it. Went last night for dinner around 7:30ish. There are two doors from the parking lot, one for the dining room, one for the bar. Our friends were in the bar, so we went there, but found out that in order to get a table, you really should just go in the door marked dining room, because that's where they expect you be if they're going to seat you. Once that very minor point of confusion was cleared up, we were seated and provided with menus in a short amount of time.
I didn't really need a menu, because I already knew I wanted the house special, which is New York Strip steak (8 oz) and 2 veggies for $5.95. Only two of us were eating and my friend ordered the same. We also got an order of fried mushrooms and fried cauliflower. I think they were both about $3.50. The mushrooms were bar food quality, but it was a decent portion and I was happy with it. The cauliflower looked a little bit sparse, because it was a couple larger florets, but a bunch of really small ones.
The food was good and was cooked to order. One of the steaks was ordered medium rare and looked like it was correctly cooked. The other was medium and also was as expected. The baked potatoes were fine, not huge, but served with butter and sour cream. As far as sides go, the options were various types of potatoes and fries, mixed veggies, and applesauce.
I thought the food was pretty good for what it cost. My expectations were met and in some ways probably exceeded. The waitress was pretty friendly and even though there isn't a full wall between the restaurant and bar, the restaurant wasn't as smoke-filled as you might expect from a smoking establishment. Spoiler alert: the bar is exactly as smoke-filled as you might expect.
When it came time to pay the check, my bill was $10.98 for the steak dinner, mushrooms, and a Yuengling lager draft. I would definitely go back again and consider the pizza next time. I believe it was $6.50 for a 12" pie; I don't recall how much extra for toppings. I like a good crust, so that's always a concern when trying pizza at a new place.
Overall, I was pleased with Jackie Bs. Keep your expectations in check, but if you do, I think most people can find something to like about the place. read more