Brittney Snell
Staff Writer
The Penguin is a restaurant in Jackson with a sizable reputation. Many alumni who hear the name envision a spot that is very different than the one that stands today. They recall a simple hot dog stand serving the local community many years ago.
Now The Penguin is known as a formal dining restaurant, catering to a different clientele and offering more high priced choices including steak, pastas and specialty dishes. With the average price of an entree $18, the prices are a bit steeper than the typical JSU student would want to pay.
The Penguin is located on the corner of Dalton Street and One University Place. Though the proximity is a plus, the price of the food served in the evening is somewhat overwhelming for a student on a budget so it is best to visit during lunch time hours.
The prices, in my opinion, do not match the overall quality of the food. For $20, you can get their Tilapia in the Delta, which comes with mac and cheese along with greens. It was my favorite of the night and I would consider reordering if I ever was to revisit. With that being said, for the price, I still expected better. Anyone could get the same thing for half the price at a regular family owned buffet and have the added benefit of getting seconds.
Another thing on the menu was the Tiger Burger. It is a good burger that comes with the typical fries, nothing that I did not expect. It is something that I would recommend trying especially with it being in the lower end of the price range.
For an appetizer, I tried their crab claws. They were slightly disappointing almost reminding me of fried shrimp instead of crab. Of the three dishes, this was surprisingly the least satisfying and the most unexciting.
The overall atmosphere of the place was slightly confusing. Their mix between sports bar and formal dining was unusual, seeing as there was no division between the two mediums. The service I received there was a high point of the evening. The waiter was polite and attentive, and the staff greeted me at every turn.
My experience there was not amazing, but it wasn’t terrible either. The restaurant is overpriced as a whole and that may keep many students from visiting. The food is good and the service is good, but the restaurant is not anything extraordinary.
When compared to restaurants in a similar price range it is subpar and lacking in some aspects, like decoration. If you don’t care about the prices, I recommend trying it out, though I feel your money may be best spent elsewhere. JSU SuperCards are also accepted there as a payment option.
Brittney’s Bites is a weekly feature spotlighting various restaurants and food vendors frequented by JSU students. The opinions expressed in this review are those of the writer and not that of The Blue & White Flash.
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