Ivan Kalensky
Restaurant Critic
If you’re in a hurry, Jerry’s Jumbo this is not the place to go, but if you want a truckdriver’s breakfast, this is the place.
With a filling, hearty breakfast that has over 50 years of history behind it, Jerry’s Jumbo offers a vast variety of breakfast choices. Their tabloid-sized menu offers omelets, breakfast specials, Belgian waffles, pancakes, biscuits and gravy and great coffee with filling portion sizes.
For the rest of March and the entire month of April, Jumbo’s is offering a 10 percent discount to all ISU students who have a Bengal ID.
Located on Pole Line Road just south of Alameda on the left-hand side, you will find a low-profile building that looks like a café you would find in rural Texas.
Parking at Jumbo’s is dicey. You have to be sure you are parking correctly. If you aren’t sure if you are parked in an authorized place, you can ask somebody inside. There is a cash register at the front and there is usually somebody there who you can ask. If you park at Franz Bakery, your car will be towed.
The wait for a table can be lengthy at Jumbo’s, but there is a reason people wait up to 20-minutes for a table. The food is killer. They have a bench inside the restaurant by the front door so you don’t have to wait in the cold and they turn over tables fairly quickly.
Great food isn’t rushed and Jumbo’s understands that. Everything is made from scratch, meaning everything they have on their menu is made to order. This is not the quickest way to get breakfast, but it makes up for that in quality.
When you get a table, be sure to get a cup of their full bodied coffee that will wake you right up. The coffee at Jumbo’s is strong, but not overly strong, giving it a coffee shop like taste. Coffee is a required part of every breakfast and at Jumbo’s your cup will never be cold or meet the bottom of the cup.
You don’t need a ton of meat to get a hearty breakfast. At Jumbo’s, the Veggie Omelet is one of the best on the menu. With tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and your choice of cheese, the veggie omelet will not disappoint. A huge portion of shredded hash browns comes with each omelet, which you can douse in their milk-based country gravy.
But if you want a little meat in your breakfast go with the Western Omelet. The only different between the Veggie and the Western Omelet is they add ham to the Veggie Omelet to create the Western Omelet.
Now, if you’re looking for a real belt-buster, the 12 oz. Country Fried Steak and Eggs is what you’re going to want. This is not your typical country fried steak as Jumbo’s recipe differs from the rest. The one time I got it, it was so filling that I decided not to get it again. But if you are hungry and you want a surfeit of food, go with the country fried steak.
As a full entity breakfast joint, they also offer Belgian Waffles. You can add berries and whip cream for an addition $2.50.
I think breakfast is the most popular meal in America and Jerry’s Jumbo will give you a good one.
