If there’s one thing the southwestern quadrant of Downtown Phoenix, the portion of the city center dominated by government buildings, has in excess, it is parking garages. Among the amenities the area doesn’t have enough of are retail and residential development. In light of that combination, the low-numbered avenues south of Van Buren Street tend to be busy during the workweek but less active nights and weekends. That has led to restaurants that specialize in weekday lunches, and Crazy Jim’s has been a longstanding presence in the courthouse district.
Crazy Jim’s occupies the ground floor of a city-owned garage adjacent to the track that A trains use to turn around before heading back to Tempe and Mesa, an unfortunate necessity due to the misguided cancellation of the planned extension to the Arizona State Capitol. Because there’s no stop at Third Avenue, the Downtown Phoenix Hub two blocks to the east is the closest station for passengers on both the A and B lines. Bike racks are embedded in parking meters along Washington Street with more across the street at the municipal courthouse.
It’s unclear what makes Jim crazy, but the restaurant follows an approach centered on diner-style food with some light Mediterranean touches. There’s little here in the way of surprises, but the quality is generally good, allowing the restaurant to fill a niche serving breakfast and lunch to the civil servants, lawyers, and jurors who tend to fill the surrounding blocks during business hours. Like the menu, the decor is relatively straightforward with a long dining room facing Washington Street accentuated with some anodyne prints of landscapes.
Morning begins with an array of standards like French toast, pancakes, and omelettes with sides like bacon, sausage, toast, and potatoes available. A sandwich board on the sidewalk outside advertises “real eggs,” which reflects well on Crazy Jim’s, even if it is sad that any restaurant would contemplate using something else. Breakfast burritos add a Southwestern touch, and the occasional presence of ingredients like gyros and feta on the menu foreshadows the Greek influences that become more prevalent as the menu shifts towards midday.
Some of the appetizers reinforce the Greek influences. A dolmas and hummus platter features eight plump grape leaves stuffed with rice and a mound of creamy chickpea dip, along with several pieces of pita. The hummus can also be accentuated with grilled chicken. Salads include a simple but effective Caesar, which can also be enhanced with poultry, and the “no lettuce” Crazy Salad made with feta cheese, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, shredded cabbage, Kalamata olives, slivers of onions, and green peppers with a choice of dressing.
A pasta salad with penne, sundried tomatoes, and olives is served as a side or in a larger size as an entree with chicken. Chicken and gyros are the two principal meats served in pita sandwiches, most of them accessorized with ingredients such as feta, jalapeños, and melted mozzarella. The sandwiches generally come with tzatziki as a dip, as well as a choice of side: fries, a side salad, pasta salad, or a choice of one of two soups: mild curry lentil or lemon chicken soup with rice. The former is a bit too salty, but the latter is an unqualified success.
Subs and burgers are the other types of sandwiches here. The meatball submarine sandwich incorporates slightly sweet tomato sauce, soft spheres of ground beef, and melted mozzarella all combined within a soft roll. Cold subs include meat fillings like turkey or ham and cheese. Burger configurations include options like bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes; mushrooms and Swiss; or a jalapeño burger with sliced hot peppers and a choice of cheese. A listing of daily specials offers discounts on selected salads and pitas from the regular menu on each day of the week.
The sleeper section of the menu is devoted to pizzas. The pies here are unexpectedly good, far better than would be expected at a place where they’re not the mainstay of the menu. The Supreme is a familiar combination of meats. A white pizza features bright tomato flavor with a pleasing crust with just a bit of char. The Ellen pie combines a base of mozzarella cheese with a Greek-inspired mix of chicken, spinach, feta cheese, and olive oil as toppings. All pizzas are available in both 12 and 16-inch versions with the option to customize toppings as desired.
If the pizzas are a welcome surprise, the desserts are welcomingly within familiar diner territory. Near the restaurant entrance, a daily selection of cakes and baked goods are displayed. As would be expected at a Greek-influenced place, baklava is always available in rectangular slabs full of walnuts and honey. Likewise, a moist and flavorful carrot cake seems to be a consistent presence in the display case. Other recent treats have included a straightforward chocolate fudge cake, a limoncello mascarpone cheesecake, and trendy Dubai chocolate cheesecake.
Crazy Jim’s is so attuned to civil servants and a courthouse clientele that it not only closes on weekends, but also on all public holidays, including ones that are not universally observed in the private sector like Juneteenth and the day formerly named for Cesar Chavez. With that in mind, there is no liquor license but instead a selection of sodas, juices, coffee, and tea. There may come a time when the garage that houses Crazy Jim’s is replaced with more productive land use. Until then, Greek-American diner food seems at home on the structure’s ground floor.
305 W. Washington St., Phoenix AZ 85003
http://www.crazyjimsaz.com
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