Uncle Jack’s Meat House, opening at 36-18 Ditmars Blvd. on Dec. 4. (Photo courtesy of Uncle Jack’s Meat House)
Nov. 22, 2017 By Nathaly Pesantez
Uncle Jack’s Meat House, the spin off from the national steakhouse chain, has an opening date at last as it prepares to open its doors in early December.
The restaurant, located at 36-18 Ditmars Blvd.,will begin to serve patrons on Dec. 4, almost two years after initial plans for an Astoria site were announced.
Willie “Jack” Degel, a Queens native and founder of Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse and other restaurant projects, developed a design for the low-key eatery—where servers will wear red Converse sneakers—that includes a grill and speakeasy, the latter which is said to be accessible through passwords sent out to the Meat House’s mailing list and social media accounts.
The new American grill restaurant was supposed to open last year, in the fall of 2016, but issues with the Department of Buildings slowed the process, as the single locale was once two distinct buildings, which the city wanted Degel to adhere to. In addition, most of the building’s interior had to be redone, said Robert Smith, director of operations for the restaurant.
Menu items at the moderately priced, casual farm-to-table restaurant include entrees like long bone pork chop, seafood based dishes, steaks, burgers, sandwiches, and other grill staples. Appetizers and sides include mashed potatoes, roasted mushrooms, collard greens, mac and cheese, and a variety of seasonal salads. A custom dessert menu will also be part of the dining experience.
A cocktail menu will also be available, along with a selection of scotches, bourbons, wines, and locally brewed beers.
The Meat House can seat up to 90 people in its 1900s-style dining room and 32 people at the bar with room for an additional 40 to stand. The Roaring 20s speakeasy bar in the basement can accommodate up to 30. An outdoor seating area for 30 is also in the works for the restaurant.
The first Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse opened in 1996 in Bayside, Queens. Degel, who is also the host of The Food Network’s Restaurant Stakeout, opened the first Meat House brand of restaurants in Georgia, which promises to bring quality, prime steaks and meats to patrons in a low-key, informal environment.
The Astoria location is already taking reservations on Open Table, and will initially open for dinner, from about 4 p.m. until around 11 p.m. The restaurant will open for brunch and lunch soon after.
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15 Comments
DOB needs to get their shit together. They work slower than molasses. Delaying this for years and delaying Mothership Meat Company for going on 2 years now too. Its ridiculous. All the while the owners need to keep paying rent. Like opening a business isn’t hard enough. Its ridiculous.
Good. Then I’ll go.
How many meat restaurants does the neighborhood need? I won’t be going.
The more meat the better. If you want to subsist solely on kale and quinoa move to San Francisco.
No neighborhood can ever have enough meat. Get over yourself.
Haters.
Is there an elevator for accessibility to the speakeasy in the basement for patrons in wheelchairs?
People are overly jealous and it’s very very upsetting to see human nature falling to new lows. The man building this had worked smart and very hard and also taken risks which is why he’s successful. The low people disliking your statement have done none of this so far in their meager lifetimes. And no I am not affiliated with this establishment.
Depends what you consider successful. Success to people isn’t always the same, that’s very objective. You can be very rich (successful) in your terms but be broke when it comes to real values in life. You can’t bring money with you, but you can bring a legacy. Money nowadays is a number on a screen. So when you’re talking about success and belittling people who don’t have as many commas in their bank account, maybe they’re richer than you are at heart, because they’re values don’t correlate with yours.
Never in my comments did I belittle anyone with less commas in their account, as I myself an not financially wealthy either. What does bother me is that people not willing to take risks, make sacrifices, and work hard in life criticize those who do. Those are not the values our great country was built on. America became strong and the envy of the world by embracing those attributes and not the opposite. I find it dissapointing and scary these days the fact that young people are so against capitalism and a free market these days. It seems as if so many more people are just looking for a handout these days as opposed to getting out there and getting it. Money may not be everything but it’s good to have it. I don’t think anyone can argue with that…
Oh stfu. Get off you soapbox.
Lmaoo that’s funny. But what he said is true dough
why are there 20 dislikes what is going on !!!!!!
Somebody most likely a hacker created multiple accounts.
excellent food have eaten in their other restaurants – good luck to them