If you are feeling really hungry and looking for somewhere to fill the bellies of your family, Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern (also known as J-FAT), have dishes you can share, and they even have a Large Plate section on their menu. A few months ago we went to a menu tasting in Dana Point, but they have locations in Brea, San Diego, Woodland Hills, and a new one in Santa Monica. The food was as good as it looks. Here are some dishes I got to try.

STARTERS & SHARES

If you like meatballs (I know I do), their BBQ Buffalo Style Meatballs ($14) was served in a spicy wing sauce with a side of honey garlic ranch dipping sauce. It is pretty good as is without the dipping sauce. Another great option is their Spicy Ahi Poke ($15) which is raw ahi tuna tossed with avocado, scallions, yuzu, serranos, papaya, and sesame served with Crispy Wontons. Our server checked on us often and sent out more crispy wontons when we ran out.

ENTREES

The two entries we tried from their Large Plate menu are big enough to share, but you don’t have to if you are super hungry.. Their Buttermilk Fried Chicken is one of the best I’ve had in a while. It comes with two generous pieces of juicy chicken breast with gravy on a bed of yummy garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. It is so good, and I had leftovers! ($22)

Their Grilled Double Cut 14 oz Duroc Pork Chop has a honey balsalmic glaze, and it is served with bacon-maple Brussel sprouts, whipped butternut squash, and mashed potatoes – Delicious! ($32)

This is what the mac and cheese on the children’s menu looks like. I like that they served it with a green salad even though my kids usually don’t ask for salad. I forgot what the other options are.

DESSERT

We were completely stuffed but if you saved room for dessert, they have something called a Bananageddeon. You’ll need help if you’re going to try it. It comes with fresh bananas, pecan blondie crumbles, butter pecan ice cream, salty caramel sauce, candied pecans, shaved white chocolate, and whipped cream. ($12)

PARKING AND RESERVATIONS

As mentioned, we went to their Dana Point restaurant which is in a shopping center with limited parking so the parking was getting scarce so I recommend going earlier than later or valet your car. We saw a lot of families with young children so we felt comfortable being there with ours. It is a bit dark inside but you might catch a view of the marina earlier in the day. For more information about their menu or to make an online reservation, please visit their website at http://j-fat.com/.

J-FAT LOCATIONS:

• BREA -Village at La Floresta Center, 3325 E. Imperial Hwy., Brea, CA (714) 733-1310
• DANA POINT – Dana Marina Plaza, 25001 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point, CA (949) 388-8900
• SAN DIEGO – The Promenade at Point Loma, 4990 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA (619) 226-2103
• SANTA MONICA – 1733 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA (424) 292-5222
• WOODLAND HILLS – The Village at Westfield Topanga, 6250 Topanga Canyon Blvd. Suite 1550, Woodland Hills, CA (818) 369-0005