J was not for Nostalgia

1000 Ann St is further than I thought it was…

On Saturday I went to Johnny Rockets at The Emporium which, as you may have guessed, is at 1000 Ann St in Fortitude Valley. I caught the train in and walked from the Valley Train station to said destination, thinking it didn’t look that far. I was only a little bit wrong. It took a bit longer than I was expecting, and, as always, the walk back seemed to take less time than the walk there.

What I was expecting

I remember Johnny Rockets from the mid 90’s. A white and red diner type place, that I imagined had been modelled on Grease and Happy Days. I remember red vinyl booth seats and have a vague feeling of 50’s decor. I don’t recall that bit 100%.

I remember going there with friends, sometimes, and eating fries there and getting chocolate coke spiders. All in black, we would stick out against the red and white. I don’t think any of us cared, we were there because it made us laugh, sometimes at it. I sometimes felt like I had stepped out of the 90’s and back into some 50’s scene, where people would all start dancing at the right musical cues. I am pretty sure a lot of people I know, including myself, may have picked on it but all of us loved it and I am surely not the only one with fond memories of it. I don’t remember the food much, because I was usually broke and only had the fries, or occasionally a coffee.

This was what was in my head as I strode towards The Emporium. Waitresses in long skirts, a juke box and red vinyl booths called to me from the mid 90’s.

Where they still were.

Not here, not  now, but then.

What I found

I could see the interior from the outside as I walked around to the entrance, I saw a lot of wooden tables, and seats. Less white and red, it was there but was battling the wood for dominance. The tv on the wall had an NFL game playing, and none of the staff were in long skirts. There is a large tablet on the wall for music selection. Most of the patrons here looked like they were just here to eat and then they were going to leave, no one just hanging out.

The place was packed.

I was impressed.

The lack of nostalgia didn’t deter me. I walked in and ordered. I looked at the menu, no hotdogs. Damn it. I love hotdogs. They had a Jalapeno burger though. I ordered a Jalapeno burger and some pickle fries.

The Food

The Jalapeno burger was actually pretty good. There was no real spice to it for me, but I wasn’t expecting any at a place like this. That is not a bad thing, I am just getting use to eating spicier food. The burger was still pretty good. The meat patty tasted like a real meat patty, and not cardboard, fat and salt. The tomato, lettuce and jalapenos all had the texture of things that were freshly cut.

It was a good burger. I have to admit I was expecting plain, and it was better than plain. Not fantastic, just good.

The pickle chips were just slices of pickle/gherkin battered and deep fried. As far as I am concerned, there is not much else to say about this. They were exactly what they claimed to be. I like pickles/gherkins so these were pretty good.

Everything else

As there wasn’t a lot of variety to what I was eating, and not really a lot to say about it, I thought about what I wanted to say about Johnny Rockets.

What I want to say is, go. It’s pretty good, it’s pretty popular. The staff were nice. There were hardly any seats when I got there, and as soon as one was empty, it filled pretty quick. You don’t have to wait very long.

The place is comfortable, and at no point did I feel like I should rush. As I was finishing up, the person who cleared my table asked could they get me anything else. It was a genuinely nice experience.

If you just feel like a burger and fries, maybe some chicken wings go. It’s a little more expensive than hungry jacks, but it’s worth it.

Have fun.