Super Jumbo’s Restaurant

Driving down Lafayette Road, I caught sight of a huge, rocket-​ship shaped smoker in the corner of my eye. That was all I needed to know that this non-​descript corner of Lafayette and Kessler deserved a second look.
Super Jumbo’s Restaurant is rough around the edges — even rougher than I initially assumed (and trust me, I wasn’t expecting much). Heck, they don’t even seem to be sure of their name — as the sign on the corner says «Super Jumbo Restaurant» whereas the sign over the door says «Jumbo’s». And no, they don’t seem too sure about what they have, either — as each of the people there had a different answer as to whether they had ribs there today, or ever, and absolutely no one could provide me with a list of sides, even though my question about that sparked a Talmudic discussion regarding the inner-​nature of green– versus baked-​beans.
Still, the rib tips and the green beans (which they eventually produced) were not just good, but great. The meat was tender and deliciously smokey. And the green beans had chunks of potato in them, steeped in some kind of broth. My only complaint about the food — other than the lack of clarity about what they actually had — was the sauce which, in typical style for this part of the country, was nicely spiced, but much too much too sweet.
At $ 30 and the size of a pizza, the Jumbo Burger also looked like it was worth coming back for … but this time, the highlight was just watching the guy flip the burger itself! I asked him where he’d get a tomato slice large enough to cover the thing. He laughed. But as with everything else, he was unclear and unconvincing about whether and when they’d ever be available.
Catch this place while you can. The food is good. And if they ever do start making the pulled pork they promise on the menu, it’s likely to be worth it.