My review of Crazy Johnnie's

The BBQ shrimp was excellent — exactly how I remembered it. What I couldn’t recall, though, was whether the old CJ’s used to serve a whole French loaf that you’d tear apart for dipping, or if it was sliced. These days, they bring out about six very small slices of French bread. To their credit, you can ask for more at no extra charge, many times as you would like.

That leftover bread makes fantastic croutons — the same kind CJ uses in their salads. Unfortunately, the salad itself (which came as a side instead of green beans at our request) felt like an afterthought. It was clearly just thrown together, with little care or attention.

The crazy potatoes, on the other hand, were a win. Chunky, buttery, garlicky, and seasoned just right — they really stood out.

Now for the filet mignon poboys — we ordered two and asked for them to be cooked medium. When they came out, both were completely well-done. No grill marks, no sear, nothing to give it that steakhouse feel. Honestly, the texture and appearance made it seem like the meat had been boiled or steamed rather than grilled.

We mentioned it to our waiter, and to his credit, he brought us two replacements. While the meat still lacked a proper sear and looked nearly identical, at least this time the doneness was correct — medium, as ordered. The videos I shared below are from that second round.

But sadly, the experience was still a letdown. The meat was inedible. It didn’t taste or feel like filet mignon at all — it had the texture of a cheap chuck roast. It was so tough that we found ourselves using our hands just to try and tear it apart, which is not something we’d typically ever have to do with a tender cut like filet.

To make matters more confusing, a couple seated near us ordered a filet mignon entrée, and it looked properly seared and well-executed. Another diner at their table had the prime rib, which looked a bit odd — the exterior had a grayish tint — but once cut into, it was cooked to a nice medium.

This is what I have seen posted by others who have eaten at CJ's.

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Unfortunately, based on our one dining experience last night, we did not receive anything remotely that resembled the above pictures.

Video Link 1

Video Link 2

Video Link 3

I'm open to giving them another try in a few months, but I won’t go out of my way again like I did yesterday to support them.