Chicken fried steak seems like a simple dish: cubed steak dunked repeatedly in well-seasoned flour and beaten egg, fried in hot oil until perfectly crispy on the outside, with a satisfying crunch when you cut into it.
But it can also make or break a restaurant that has it on the menu. Get the dredging process or the oil temperature wrong, and each cut sees the breading slide completely off the steak, impeding the perfect ratio of steak, breading, and gravy on your fork.
I’m happy to report that Jonathon’s Forestwood, open for roughly a month now, doesn’t have to worry about its chicken fried steak. I, however, did have to ask for a second plate so I could move my steak and uncover the rest of my lunch (two eggs over medium, brunch potatoes, and toast), which was hiding under a steak so big it almost overlapped the sides of my plate.
“I’m going to need a to-go box,” I said as my server (who seemed equally surprised at the size of the steak) and I studied the outsized offering she brought to my table.
“I can’t imagine why,” she said, laughing.
We also had the patty melt with a side of sweet potato fries. The perfectly cooked patty was served on toasted wheat bread, topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions, Swiss, provolone, and roasted garlic aioli. The Oak Cliff outpost is known for its perfectly cooked burgers, and that seems to have carried over to the new spot, as have the notoriously large portion sizes.
What we didn’t have (because we lacked bravery, Lipitor, a Tide pen, and a third stomach) was the Pigg Mack—a spicy pork patty topped with pepper Jack cheese, citrus slaw, red onions, harissa aioli, and an over-easy egg and served on a wheat bun. We’ll likely be back for it, this time properly prepared.
And you do need to be prepared for Jonathan’s. It’s both a blessing and a curse right now, but the place was hopping. We thought waiting almost a month would give us the opportunity to let the excitement around the opening die down. We even held off for a late lunch to let that rush end. You should know that this is—for now—not the place you go for a quick in-and-out lunch. There was a 15-minute wait the day we arrived, and we did have to wait a bit for our food to arrive.
But all of that is understandable, too. Its location was once home to the longtime neighborhood favorite Kel’s Diner for years. Having lived near Forestwood Shopping Center at Inwood Road and Forest Lane for much of my time in Dallas, the talk of the neighborhood for almost two years has been Jonathon’s Forestwood. While the area was collectively still mourning the loss of its beloved diner seven years before, the news that Jonathon and Christine Erdeljac, who also operate Jonathon’s Oak Cliff, would open a sister restaurant in that location was a really big deal.
The big “We’re Hiring” sign is also a good indication of why your meal may take a little longer at the moment. But the staff is working to mitigate that—runners were bringing food to tables as soon as it was up. Mindful of the time and how quickly the kitchen could work, our server suggested that we take our Danger Dogs order—four turkey sausage links dipped in pancake batter and deep-fried—to go as a treat at home instead of getting them for the table. She even gave us instructions on how to reheat them in the air fryer and explained that dipping the dogs in both maple syrup and spicy mustard made them off-the-charts good. (She was right on all counts.)
While the menu will sell you on the place, aesthetics were also clearly considered. Old photos of Dallas landmarks hang on the walls, and a neutral paint scheme punctuated with orange and olive tones keeps the place feeling warm and homey. The Erdeljacs put a lot of time into reconfiguring the layout of the former diner, adding a full bar, two and four-top tables, and one long communal table near the kitchen. While Kel’s had taken on that patina that comes with an old-school diner, Jonathon’s is fresher and newer, but still feels like it could be a neighborhood hang.
At some point, the excitement will settle down—it almost inevitably does. But Jonathon’s sits in a location where people have waited for years for a replacement for their favorite lunch and breakfast spot. It has fully embraced the concept of being a neighborhood brunch spot where you can also get a really good burger or chicken fried steak. That bit of alchemy will likely make it a worthy successor to Kel’s Diner.
Jonathon’s Forestwood, 5337 Forest Ln.
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