Home Away from Home

Sitting in a cushioned leather booth with my hands resting on a tabletop handmade of pecan wood I cannot help but feel at home. Located just a mile off Interstate 20 rests JT2 Gourmet Burger and Ranch Market. It is more than just your average restaurant, it feels like home through the décor, the ambiance, and most of all the people.

Jason and Jolie Taylor dreamed of one day owning a place where people could go and eat true meat, straight off the ranch, without having to pay a fortune for it, thus JT2 was born.

The experience of JT2 began for me as soon as I opened the door to my vehicle, smells that took me back to the backyard cookouts of my childhood wafted into my nose and I was eager to step inside of this cow-colored building that hosts a modest array of greenery right outside the front entrance.

Immediately upon entering I was greeted by a curly-topped cheerful young lady named DJ. In a singsong voice, she walked me through the ordering process and promptly handed me a cattle tag to serve as my table marker, then encouraged me to take a look at the Ranch Market side of the business. This is the part of the restaurant where fresh beef is cut to order and packaged before your eyes. The bright red steaks called my name with their intense marbling and their qualities such as no hormones, antibiotics or preservatives.

I had many seating choices which included live-edge tables made from pecan wood from the ranch, booths made with the same tabletop, or a bar top that was made of age-darkened barn wood coated in a thick lacquer. I opted for a window booth. Sliding into my seat, I allowed my eyes to wander the rest of the establishment. I saw cowboy décor on all the walls including, but not limited to, cowboy hats and lassos. I could hear the sounds of the kitchen, plates clanking, grill hissing and knives chopping, coming when the large swinging doors rushed open carrying my food.

Before me was a massive hamburger made of all-natural beef and stacked high with the toppings of my choice. While enjoying my juicy, messy and delicious hamburger I could not help but notice the televisions showcasing the ranch where my beef came from, not even 20 miles from my current location.

I finished my burger, having to wipe away the warm juices that were dripping down my face, and I head over to the aspect that makes this place unique.

The Ranch Market is a glass case kept at a frigid 20 degrees hosting an array of specialty meat cuts. Denver Steaks, Coulotte, Bavette, and Spinalis are just a few of the displayed pieces. While looking at the marbled uncooked steaks I rest my hand on the cold glass, when I lift it I leave small smudges from the heat differences found between my body and the case.

Behind the swinging wooden door, I saw a cutting board and brown butcher paper. When I walked through the “personnel only” door I am greeted by a small and confined area that hosted a cutting board, the paper as previously mentioned, and masking tape to seal the meat when it is cut and wrapped. I was led to the freezer where it is so cold that it makes it hard to breathe, but inside the dark and very cold room, I am surrounded by hard slabs of meat of all types. The ground beef in 1-pound packets clinked together like tasty hockey pucks.

Chadic began cutting the beef to able-to-sell sizes with a knife that glints in the light and thuds when it comes down onto the thick cutting board. Bright red blood pools on the stark white surface and only gets wiped away when his work is done. The meat was taken out to the public side of the restaurant and is weighed, priced, and displayed.

JT2 is a unique business that focuses on family and fresh beef. Both of which they deliver exquisitely. The atmosphere takes you back to your own dining room and the food reminds you of home. The Taylor family puts forth a daily effort to make their restaurant much more than that to all their consumers.