It’s hard to know where to look first upon walking into one of Jungle Jim’s two-dozen locations. Nearly every inch of wall space overflows with such safari-themed accoutrements as palm fronts, bamboo poles, colored lights, and a tiki bar. Although the restaurant aims to transport families to an exotic tropical wonderland, the huge menu is stuffed with familiar favorites designed to appeal to nearly every kind of diner. Chicken panini wraps and zesty buffalo wings swing quickly from the kitchen, but for more ceremonious occasions there are also a number of upscale, steakhouse-style options. A favorite is the St. Louis-style Rhino Ribs, a heft half-rack made sticky with honey garlic or barbecue sauce. Alongside such decadence, the special Slim Jim menu showcases entrees with 550 calories or fewer, such as pan-seared tiger shrimp and grilled chicken salad. Kids can dig into smaller portions on their own menu—which, once they’ve decided between alfredo pasta and animal-shaped chicken nuggets, they can fold into a tiki-style mask.
A heaping portion of tender lobster meat tops gooey mozzarella and garlic butter spread on the lobster pizza, a specialty of J’Romes Pizzeria and Diner. Chefs at the casual eatery, located steps from the shore, source fresh-caught seafood as well as preparing sides such as coleslaw from scratch. Their epicurean efforts yield a small army of creative pizza pies, such as the chicken cheddar broccoli, the philly cheesesteak, and The Monster, loaded with meat. The chefs also stuff sub sandwiches and burgers, and pile pasta high to resemble Italy’s most famous tower, a five-story-tall lasagna that da Vinci himself sprinkled with cheese.