Of the remaining heritage restaurants in the Twin Cities, Jax Café often seems the most frozen in time. Yet that would be a misimpression. Jax bills itself as a steak house, but there's a very large menu, and most of the food is competent, some of it excellent: the hash browns are some of the best in town, buttery, with a nice ratio of crisp to soft. Jax's food, more often than not, is classic but up-to-date -- ingredients are respected, modern preferences taken into account. And because it's out of the way for most of us, a meal at Jax just feels special. And it is.

• See Second Helping