Jackson's, a Lounge With a Friendly Spirit

In the back of Jackson's Mighty Fine Food & Lucky Lounge (11927 Democracy Dr., Reston; 703-437-0800) hangs a large mural depicting the pint-size stars of "The Little Rascals" gathered around a table. Watching over the familiar faces from the left background is a beaming man in chef's whites, Bill Jackson.

The lighthearted painting fits neatly into the nostalgia-inducing dining room, where the overhead chrome lights bring back the art deco era and the servers sport bowling shirts that remind us of "Happy Days." The art is also a salute to Jackson, who spent 18 years with the locally owned Great American Restaurants and died in March after a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. He had been the company's corporate chef.

Every restaurant introduction has its challenges, says Randy Norton, GAR's chief executive, and "it really helped having Bill in our minds" as Norton and his staff plotted the menu and design of Jackson's Mighty Fine Food & Lucky Lounge, which opened this month as the company's 10th place to eat in Northern Virginia.

The new concept includes a number of dishes that will be recognizable to regulars of Coastal Flats, the company's seafood restaurants in Fairfax and McLean: crab cakes, grouper fingers and chocolate waffles, among other choices. But Jackson's menu sets itself apart with the likes of steak frites and sushi rolls -- significant departures for the company, Norton says.

He initially frowned on the pretense of the former and worried about the ability of the kitchen to quickly execute the latter. A full-time sushi maker was brought in to focus exclusively on the rolls, however, and to shave five minutes from the original eight it took the research and development team at GAR. (Our spicy tuna roll wouldn't be mistaken for what you might find at Washington's high-end Japanese restaurants, but we liked its kick and texture.)

About that mural with Jackson, which also squeezes in the faces of his wife and three children: Norton originally nixed the idea of putting his chef in that particular scene, believing it to be "too hokey." But he changed his mind after a visit to Jackson's home. The restaurateur discovered that his longtime employee was a fan of the vintage comedy team, so much so that Jackson displayed pictures of them and watched their films to unwind after work.

Entrees, $15-$25.