The Cheesecake Factory - Easton

Friday night at the Easton Cheesecake Factory with a table of six. Impossible, right? No, 30 minute wait. I know, I was as shocked as you were. Maybe the opening of the Polaris Cheesecake Factory has helped with the amount of people needing Cheesecake on any given night.

I only have two exercises to express my issues with tonight's meal:
• Please say aloud, "Chicken Bellagio" and now say, "Chicken Madiera". Did those two meals sound alike? No... they don't taste alike either.
• Now say, "To Go" and "For Here"... Again, don't sound alike, right?

I think our waitress needed a hearing aid. *sigh*

California Pizza Kitchen - Easton

UGH! Can I tell you that we have been going to the California Pizza Kitchen since before it left California, and this one experience might ruin it for me. It was a beautiful June day (I realize it is July... give me a break) so we decided to sit out on the patio... Probably red flag right there. We all know about my bad restaurant mojo... so I should have known better than to sit on the patio. So back to the review... we are seated on the patio, by the door and there were a bunch of other people seated outside as well. I thought, "we'll be fine. There are tons of people out here, we won't get forgotten."

We ordered our drinks and chatted. The waiter was somewhat friendly and joking with us, another sign that I thought we would be fine. We ordered our pizzas and I asked if they could bring some bread and butter since I was starving. The waiter said he would be right back. Drinks arrived with no problems except for the fact that Brian (the husband) got water poured on his leg. 10-15 mins later, still no bread, and we had empty glasses. A food runner drops off a salad to my friend. We didn't have silverware, but the runner had already run off. 5 mins later, we finally track down a waiter (not our waiter) to get some silverware. Finally our waiter stopped by and refilled drinks and dropped of pizza.

Needless to say, the service was terrible, but the food was decent as it always is. Again, probably attributed to the fact that I was at the table, but still... sit at the patio at your own risk.

Luce Enoteca - Powell

In an attempt to revitalize GNO - Girls Night Out, we went to Luce Enoteca up in Powell. It is a bit off the beaten path, but worth the drive up north. We arrived around 6pm and got right in, which made me a little worried about the location. Hopefully it'll hang around because the food was delicious.

The restaurant does not fit in to the strip-mall-laden Sawmill Parkway area. It looks like an Italian villa with a big patio featuring lots of folage to add privacy. The day we went to Luce Enoteca was about 95 degrees so we opted to sit inside. The decor indoors is beautiful. They have bar seating as well as restaurant seating. Since there were few customers, the noise level was low, but I could see it getting pretty loud if it were a busy night.

We perused the menu and opted for a glass of wine and the artisanal cheese plate. The menu has a few options of small hot plates and small cold plates as well as pizzas and pasta. The cheese plate is lovely with a variety of hard and soft cheese with fruit, bread and nuts to accompany the cheese. I highly recommend the cheese plate. It comes in two sizes - two cheeses or all four.

We also ordered the bruschetta trio. Six pieces of bruschetta arrived, two pieces per flavor: Steak, brie and fig jam, shrimp with boursin and mozzarella with roasted red pepper. I was not impressed with the bruschetta. Maybe you will like it better, but I am not a fan of it. The shrimp was huge, and overpowered the rest of the flavors. On the other hand, the flank steak was overpowered by the fig. There was an arugula salad in the middle of the bruschetta that was loaded with salt for some reason. Eh... I would pass on the bruschetta.

Finally, we ordered the brie and pear flatbread. This flatbread was good, but had alot of potential to be great. First, the pear was diced, which led to a scattering of pear on the pizza. If they had sliced the pear, there would have been a better consistency and more of a chance to get all the flavors in each bite.

We couldn't leave without dessert. We opted for quantity and got the sampler. The sampler includes lemon curd, s'more, panna cotta, semifredo. This sampler was a nice mix of flavors and textures. Lemon curd is very refreshing, s'more is super rich (and I don't usually use that word), panna cotta is creamy and light, and the semifredo is nice and sweet. I think semifredo means melty ice cream, but it is very delicious.

I am highly recommending Luce Enoteca. It seems pretty fancy, but I doubt there is a dress code. Check out their website for events they are promoting. For two glasses of wine, two appetizers, flatbread and dessert sampler, the bill came to $70.

So I am trying a new rating system: Gold Spoon (excellent), Silver Spoon (good), Bronze Spoon (average), Plastic Spoon (terrible).

Decor: Gold
Atmosphere: Gold
Food: Silver
Wine: Gold
Service: Gold
Price: Silver
Location: Silver
Overall - Silver

So I have determined that I am just not a good blogger. I will continue to work at my posting, but wanted to publicly admit that I am just not a consistent blogger. 

We haven't been going out too much either, or at least to anyplace new. 

BJs Restaurant and Brewhouse - Polaris

I thought I had already reviewed BJs Restaurant and Brewhouse because we have been there a number of times, put it on "the list" and then went back like the unimaginative lemmings we are.

So, its Friday night and we are trying to get the group out for dinner. If you have ever tried to go to dinner on a Friday or Saturday night in Polaris, you would be hard pressed to get a table without waiting for at least an hour. So places with call ahead seating or reservations have become a mainstay with our group of six. For some reason chain restaurants in the Polaris area do not accept reservations and I will NEVER understand this. But I digress, BJs does have call ahead seating, however, its not a fool proof system to not wait more than an hour for a table. We called ahead a few weeks ago and still waited 1.5 hours for a table. Let me tell you, the food isn't good enough to wait that long. This time we called ahead a hour before we were planning on arriving and they told us that you can't call more than 30 mins before, which, let's be honest, doesn't really help the situation. A typical Friday night produces an 1.5 hour wait, calling ahead 30 mins, you are still waiting an hour. So, we beat the system. We called an hour ahead, and then called 30 mins later with another name. When we went to the restaurant, one name had an hour wait, and the other 20 mins! HA. Take that BJs.

So on to the actual review. Like I mentioned before, we have been to BJs many times and the food is at best okay. Nothing to write home about, but evidently not so bad that we won't go back. They have a very diverse menu including giant baked potatos, burgers, pasta, pizza, a selection of sandwiches and soup and salad. You shouldn't have trouble finding something to eat there. As evidenced by their name, they are also a brewery. They have a nice selection of beers ranging from your light pale ale to a dark stout. I tend to opt for the Pear or Berry Burst Cider, both of which are delightful. Since I have been to the restaurant a few times, I have ordered a lot of different things off their menu. Their pizzas are probably what they are most known for. They are deep dish so very doughy with very little sauce. I have asked for extra sauce in the past because I am a saucy pizza gal. Last night I opted for the Scampi Pasta which has shrimp, roma tomatoes and garlic tossed with angel hair pasta. I got a side garden salad added to that for a few bucks more. The garden salad was not all that good. Iceberg lettuce and cabbage with two cuke slices and two tomato slices. Pretty sad excuse for a salad. I chose this meal because it seemed to be somewhat healthy. I don't know if I am accurate or not because BJs does not have their nutrition information posted anywhere. (Which is annoying, I might add). The burgers are big and looked really good, coming with steak fries. Their dinner salads are huge and I am partial to the Field of Greens salad, but its always way too much food as was my dinner last night. For a burger, fries, 3 ciders, garden salad and scampi pasta, our bill came to about $52.

We did not get dessert last night, but they do boast a pizookie which is a cookie cooked in a deep dish pizza pan served warm with ice cream.

All in all BJs hasn't been put back on "the list" because of food or service, but the wait is ridiculous on a Friday/Saturday night. Be aware, but if you are familiar with going out on these days, you are used to waiting anyway.

The Montgomery Inn - Cincinnati

We traveled to Cincinnati today. The main reason for the trip was to go to IKEA, but we couldn't leave until we had dinner at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, The Montgomery Inn in Montgomery, Ohio. Lucky for all you Columbus people, The Montgomery Inn is expanding to Dublin and is slated to be open in the Spring of 2009. The countdown is on.

Obviously, this was not the first time I had been to the Montgomery Inn, but I feel compelled to write a review since there will be one in Columbus very soon.

The Montgomery Inn is know for their ribs and barbecue sauce. You can actually buy the ribs and sauce at grocery stores now, but I recommend going to the restaurant. It is so much better. This is not a restaurant for those of you wanting/needing to watch your waistline. This is a restaurant you save up calories to go to. There are probably some healthier options on the menu, but I can never get passed the ribs section of the menu. If anybody stumbles upon a healthy option, please let me know.

Tonight, after a long afternoon of IKEA shopping we started with an appetizer order of Onion Straws. Very thinly sliced sweet onions, battered, fried and served with warmed barbecue sauce. The menu says it would serve 2, but it truly had plenty to serve 4-5. Had I noticed further down the menu, they have an appetizer called "Straws and Chips" which would include the aforementioned Onion Straws and the Saratoga Chips, which are delicious homemade chips also served with warm barbecue sauce.

Our 2nd course was salad and they were huge; much bigger than I remembered. Romaine and iceberg lettuce, shredded carrot, tomato, cucumber, croutons, onions and dried cranberries. The dried cranberries, while are a favorite of mine, did not belong in this salad. They just didn't fit.

On to the entree. I wisely ordered the petite order of ribs, which was about 4 ribs. Each entree comes with a choice of side: onion straws, saratoga chips, baked potato, baked sweet potato, broccoli, veggie of the day, mac and cheese, fries or some sort of Mediterranean salad. Since I had already eaten my fill of onion straws, I opted for the baked sweet potato which comes with cinnamon butter. The ribs fell right off the bone as usual and were smothered in sauce. The potato was also very tasty. Other orders around the table were the Order size ribs which is about 8 ribs, Ted's Platter which consists of pulled pork, sliced brisket and about 5 ribs and finally the Ribs and Chicken which is a 1/2 roasted chicken and about 5 ribs. Everyone else absolutely rolled out of the restaurant completely satisfied and overstuffed. I, on the other hand, was nice and full, but not uncomfortable. Just enough.

Needless to say we did not get dessert tonight. Maybe some other time.

My only other comment about tonight's meal was the service. We walked in off the street at 6pm and had to wait about an hour for a table which we kind of figured would happen and were fine with since they have a fully functional bar that occupied our time. However, the table service was VERY slow especially for four people who were famished. Our drink glasses sat empty too long between refills, and just ordering in general seemed to take too long. It seemed as though our server was gone for long periods of time before we would even see her in our part of the restaurant. It was very strange. Typically service at The Montgomery Inn is impeccable, however, tonight was not the case. I can only hope that this is not a trend for the Columbus branch.

When The Montgomery Inn does open in Dublin, I do hope you all give it a try because the food is never a letdown. Just be sure to wear the official rib bib so you don't show the world where you ate that day!

Elevator Brewery & Draught House - Downtown Columbus

So two posts in one day! I know, its crazy and probably shouldn't be expected, but I did go to two places today that I had never been before. So here it goes.

The gang proposed dinner tonight at Elevator Brewery and Draught House downtown on High Street. I had never been there before, so I was interested of course. Although it didn't seem like we needed to, we made reservations. This is rare for our group, we tend to decide at the last minute where we are going and then have to wait forever for a table. So, big steps were made today!

Anyway, two of us arrived early and ordered a few beers. I ordered the Heifer-weizen complete with a shot of raspberry liqueur. It was good, but pretty sweet. I don't mind sweet beers sometimes, but I know that doesn't fair well with true beer connoisseurs. My partner in crime ordered the Procrastinator Dopplebock. If you like Guinness, then the Dopplebock would be right for you. I took a sip and it was good, but polar opposite from my Heifer-weizen. Two more of our party arrived and ordered the Dirty Dick's Nut Brown Ale and some sort of Bourbon beer that I can't remember the name of. No one was disappointed except for the 5th member of our party who mistakenly also ordered the Dopplebock and didn't like it. So, I ended up finishing that one for him. So after what seemed like a millennium, the waitress came and took our order.

These were the orders around the table: Bott Burger, Calamari, Champagne Brie, Vegetable Strudel, Thai Grilled Tenderloin Salad, Aztec Chicken Chowder, Cornbread Stuffed Chicken. The appetizers (Calamari-2 orders and Brie) didn't come out together. The Calamari was very good and had some sweet and spicy chili sauce tossed on it. It wasn't chewy or rubbery at all. The brie was average. There was a lot more "salad greens" and phyllo dough than actual brie. So far, I haven't had a brie appetizer any better than the one at Eddie Merlot's. So on to the review of the main dishes. The burger was big, but according to the consumer, "didn't have much taste." I didn't hear anything bad about the Vegetable Strudel. The Thai Salad was a bit on the salty side. The Cornbread Chicken was nothing to write home about.

All in all, the beer is better than the food. The food is overpriced for what we considered to be average at best. I hear the desserts are tasty, but we didn't indulge this particular evening. So, in summary, go to Elevator Brewing for the beer and dessert and eat dinner somewhere better.

The Pub - Polaris

I had lunch at The Pub at Polaris today. The Pub advertises itself as an authentic British pub, ironically the parent company is right out of jolly old... Cincinnati? Anyway, the decor looks authentic and the food seems to be British-y enough. The servers all wear kilts... men and women. Of course the womens are far shorter, which is probably a good thing. My server was very friendly and we chatted about the kilts, he said he didn't mind wearing it. He offered up some menu suggestions. Since it was a lunch with people I work with, I chose to forgo the alcohol drinks. I will have to go back to review that part later. They do have an extensive beer and single-malt scotch list. They do have a happy hour from 3-7 weekdays and Quiz Night on Monday nights with 1/2 off fish and chips. Sounds like fun. The server told me that last week's quiz night ended up in a three-way tie and the winner was determined by arm wrestling. An important detail to note, they do not serve lunch Monday-Wednesday, they open at 3pm on these days, and it didn't look like they had a separate lunch menu.

I arrived at 11:30 and was seated right away, so quickly in fact, I thought business must be pretty bad right now since the place was mostly empty. I was seated far from the door, which, if you have read past reviews, is a good thing. I have a theory that the first seat inside the door is the WORST seat in the restaurant: poor service, drafty, etc. So, so far so good.

I ordered the Roast Beef and Cheddar Toasted Panini, it came with a small on-plate mixed green salad with viniagrette and chips (or steak fries if you are from Ohio). It seemed like the food took a while to get to us, but everything was hot when it arrived. The sandwich was delicious! Other orders at the table were the Bronzed Fish sandwich, Pub Wings, and Chicken and Chips. Everyone raved about the food. There must have been four servers waiting on us. We never had an empty glass and dishes were cleared very quickly. By the time 12:30 rolled around, the restaurant was nice and crowded.

I definitely suggest trying out The Pub. Its up at Polaris by the new Barnes and Noble and Cheesecake Factory. If you are used to eating in the Polaris area, you will not be shocked by the prices; its not the cheapest place to eat, but the food is good and the ambiance is also nice. I assume once spring/summer hits, there will be a nice patio to relax on.

2009

Well 2008 is over and I ended last year with a less than stellar blog performance. I vow to do better this year. In fact, I will be eating lunch at The Pub at Polaris today. A review will be posted shortly. 

Barcelona - German Village

So my tour of German Village continues. We did Girls Night Out at Barcelona because I had heard they had a really nice patio. Once we got there I found out that one of my friends hadn't had a good experience there in the last four times he was there. The building was very interesting, as we passed through to go to the patio. A thought we should have re-thought since it was so hot and buggy out there. We sat down and ordered a nice red wine. The waiter started off very friendly and offered us bread service. We chatted while drinking wine, eating bread and swatting gnats. I wanted to try the crab flatbread appetizer and got a salad as well. A filet with potato puree and green beans and a caesar salad and the fish taco appetizer were ordered by my dinner companions. The waiter walked away and a busser walked by and cleaned up the bread plates. The waiter came back to ask my friend how she wanted her filet cooked. Strike one according to her. She ordered it Medium. The waiter came back and said he was sorry about forgetting our bread service (although he hadn't). Strike Two. It was becoming pretty clear that we were not a priority. The entrees arrived and the filet was served well done. My flat bread was soggy which makes me think it was done first and waited on the filet meal to be overdone. They did make an attempt to bring another entree to replace the overcooked filet, but at this point, we had written the place off. The waiter turned a bit snarky by the end of the meal. So, we left with a bad taste in our mouths and with one of us saying, "I told you so." The evening wasn't a complete wash, since we stopped at Denise's ice cream on the way home.

All in all - Barcelona isn't worth the money. Maybe go for the wine only and the ambiance of the dining room only. But I highly recommend Denise's Chai Tea Ice Cream. We should have just had ice cream for dinner!

Lindey's - German Village

I went to Lindey's on July 13th with my family to celebrate my parent's wedding anniversary. Lindey's was my brother's choice, but I had actually been to their location in the Polaris Mall (which is now gone). I hadn't really eaten an organized meal at Lindey's, but instead, had eaten off of appetizer-type buffets. Luckily we had made reservations for Saturday night, and I would suggest it if you go as well. There are a lot of tables, but they filled up quickly. Parking was a pain as well, but if you are used to the German Village, you will probably be fine with it. Lindey's does have valet if you get tired of driving around in circles.

We sat, ordered drinks and heard about their daily specials. I ended up with a tomato salad and the Caribbean Shrimp Pici Pasta. The pici pasta is made fresh daily per the waitress. I was very happy with the salad, but how can you mess up tomato wedges and fresh mozzarella. The pasta had a lot of shrimp, more than you usually get at restaurants. The pici pasta I was not wild about. For those of you who don't know what Pici pasta is please click here. If you took the minute to read that link, my pici pasta was not like this description at all. The pasta looked like a little kid in the basement was being paid to make "worms" out of dough. The pasta was tough and chewy and very hard to eat with a fork or spoon. I finished my dinner with a piece of Key Lime Pie that was delicious. Some other entrees that were ordered that night were the chopped salad, Honey Glazed Duck, Portobello Mushroom Ravioli, Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes and Sauteed Veal Medallions. While no one really complained about any one thing, the biggest issue was the quality for the amount of money. The service was very good for us. We did see a table get doused with water though. Maybe it was the guy's first day!

All in all, I would go back to Lindey's. I would not write off the restaurant because the pici pasta wasn't so good. Definitely give it a shot.

Mezzo - Gahanna

Wow! I obviously hadn't been to downtown Gahanna in a while. The new Creekside development is very nice. Mezzo is only one of the new restaurants that has taken up occupancy in Creekside, but it happened to be the one I visited. We sat inside due to the rain that evening, but they do have a nice covered and uncovered patio. The menu had something on it that I think everyone would like. While we waited for the rest of our party (side note: who never showed up by the way) we snacked on some bread with balsamic and oil for dipping. The balsamic prompted us to order a nice red wine. My dinner companion ordered the La Casa Insalata, while I ordered the Caprese. Her salad was delicious, the spiced walnuts were fantastic with the apples and dressing. Definitely a salad I will get next time if I can tear myself away from the Caprese which is my ultimate favorite and I was not disappointed by Mezzo's version. For our entrees we ordered the Pollo Marinato and the Grigliata Mahi Mahi. Both came with polenta which I forgot how much I liked. My dinner, the Mahi Mahi, was just enough food, while the Chicken was two breasts and offered my friend the opportunity for leftovers. For dessert we opted for the Jeni's ice cream even though the menu had a bunch of desserts worth ordering!
Everything was so delicious that time flew by. I can't wait to go back!!

Northstar - Clintonville

This will be a really quick review. I headed to Northstar last week. I have heard alot about the place - mainly that it has the best veggie burger in town. Their menu isn't very vast, but what they do have they do well. They have a really nice patio although the gnats were very annoying that night. I had a flatbread - the Spicy Chicken flat bread to be exact. It was delicious. I even ended up taking some home. My friend with me has had the basil chicken burrito which has become her favorite. The place has a "hippie" reputation, but I didn't even smell a hint of patchouli in the air. I wouldn't let that reputation keep you from Northstar. Its a keeper!

Eddie Merlot's - Polaris Parkway

I have been dying to go to this place since I saw the sign posted during construction. Although I am searching for that ultimate cool little locally owned place and not a chain, Eddie Merlot's was an exception. Merlot's is a small chain out of Indiana with only four locations. The building went up pretty fast and has been open since Mother's Day. I finally got the group to go tonight. We headed over at 5:30pm, and the wait staff was still arriving which makes me think that they are not open for lunch. They have complimentary valet service, but it looked like no one was taking advantage of it. I went there straight from work which was a good option because the place is pretty swanky. There isn't a dress code as far as I could find, and two friends of mine showed up in shorts, t-shirts and sneakers and were not turned away. The building is quite deceiving; it is actually quite big. There are many rooms that can be set for large groups and closed off if necessary. I would imagine that they are banking on lots of business from the newly built Hilton right next door.
Okay, on to the meat of the review...no pun intended. We were seated right away in the back of the restaurant (first good sign). We perused the menu, and even though I had been studying it for two days online I was still torn on what to get. They have an extensive wine and martini list of which I sampled a delightfully sweet Reisling. I was anxious to order the Brie en Croute. The brie arrived within puff pastry and was served with fresh raspberries, sliced apples, crackers and spiced walnuts. I can only say - delicious. We also order the Beef Carpaccio which I didn't think I was a big fan of but it was very good. Finally, we sampled the Blue Cheese Potato Chips - again...delicious. Since I knew I was filling up on the appetizers, I didn't think I wanted to order a "real" dinner. Like most good steakhouses, everything is a la carte. The sides, we were told, are big enough for two people, but in actuality could be split among three people. I ordered the French Onion Soup, which was HUGE and again, very good. I also ordered the Lobster Mashed Potatoes which can only be described as decadent. I cannot gush enough about this place. Other orders placed at the table: Lump Crab Cakes served with jalapeño sweet corn, Double Cut Pork Chop (the thickest pork chop I have ever seen!) with Macaroni and Cheese on the side, Prime Filet Mignon with Eddie's Potatoes on the side and a Caesar Salad. There were no complaints about any of the food. I was able to sample most of the items. Even though we were completely stuffed, we HAD to try some items from the dessert menu. S'mores, Warm Apple and Peach Crisp (with Cinnamon Ice Cream) and Berry Crepe arrived at the table. Even though I "couldn't possibly eat anything else" I had to at least take a small bite of each item, and I was not disappointed. All in all, the service was impeccable and quite patient with our tardy and indecisive group. My very picky friend noted that Eddie Merlot's was definitely in his top 10 of best restaurant experiences, which is saying a lot. I ended up so stuffed and felt as though I was waddling out of the restaurant two hours later.
The food was stupendous and service impeccable. Since the whole menu is a la carte, it can get quite pricey, but the food and experience are well worth the money. Like I said before, I cannot say enough good things about this place. I just got home uncomfortably full, but can't wait to go again and try some of the other things on the menu that I didn't get to tonight. Plan a nice evening with friends or pop in after work for appetizers and drinks. Eddie Merlot's should definitely be on your list!

TGI Friday's - Polaris Parkway

Good grief! It has been a while. Sorry about that, my friends and I went on a Rusty Bucket jag there for a while, and otherwise were not going to places that were new or different than ones that were already posted about. BUT, on Sunday night, my suggestion was TGI Fridays on Polaris Parkway. A quick note, the Cleveland Avenue location was banned awhile ago and actually the Polaris location was also banned, but those damn Guy Fieri commercials finally got to me. We headed over on a Father's Day evening which could be problematic, but good for us, we got in just fine. Their menu has been expanded with a collaboration with Fieri and the Food Network. Two people in my party ordered the Ahi Tuna Sliders. Typically Ahi Tuna is pretty rare, but these were fully cooked. The funniest part of the evening was that the waiter kept calling them Aha! Tuna. I ordered the Cedar-Seared Salmon Pasta which oddly was only 500 calories and 10g of fat. (yes I am still on the health-kick). I was truly pleased with the food at TGI Fridays during this visit, but the waiter was a space-cadet. He had a hard time remembering what we all ordered, and then when it was time for our bill, that was a fiasco. I wouldn't discount this location right away due to this trip's odd waiter, but be aware of this when you go. I would imagine the chance you get the same waiter is low, but if you do, I hope you have some patience.

Rusty Bucket - Polaris

Saturday night my husband and I headed to the newly opened Rusty Bucket on Polaris Parkway and Cleveland Avenue. We tried going last week on Sunday for lunch, but the after-church crowd hindered our efforts. Since the restaurant/bar is new, we anticipated a wait for a table on a Saturday night, and we waited about 10 mins. The restaurant and bar are open pretty late during the week and weekends, and its open until 9pm on Sundays. The Rusty Bucket has a decent menu complete with burgers, salads and lots of beer on tap and in bottle. My husband ordered the Italian Torpedo complete with french fries which is a fancy way of saying Italian Sub. In addition to the usual cold cuts that are found on an italian sub, the torpedo had a sausage patty. I asked if it was good, since he ate it in about 30 seconds, so I guess you can believe his "yes". I ordered the Shrimp Primavera. Big shrimp with broccoli, mushrooms, onion and penne pasta in a creamy garlic wine sauce. It wasn't super creamy, but there was a lot of garlic. It was very good. Our server was excellent and gave great suggestions for our meal. He was a big fan of the Reuben and the Nickel Salad. He also told us a great secret: You can order any of the their salads as a wrap. I made a mental note of that for next time. Each day they have a "blue plate special", but I couldn't tell if there were any happy hour specials. As I mentioned before, they have about 12 beers on tap and a huge handful more available by bottle. We saw the bartender making a mojito-ish type drink and was actually smooshing fresh fruit for it. Additionally, for you hairy buffalo fans, they have a huge container of pineapple soaking in some top-shelf vodka. I didn't try any Saturday, but plan to on my next visit. The Rusty Bucket advertises themselves as a sports bar, and with six flat-screen HDTVs in plain sight from our table, I would agree, but there is also a dining room that isn't in the bar and a great outdoor patio filled with fresh flowers right now. All in all, the Rusty Bucket was a great experience. I am looking forward to going there again.

Adobe Gilas - Easton

We went to Adobe Gilas on Saturday night, not by choice, but by necessity. Please know that we were well aware that we were going to Easton on a Saturday night trying to find a table. We were originally headed to the Cheesecake Factory. I waited in line to put my name on the list for 10 mins. That should have been a clue (seriously what is up with that place...they don't take reservations, WTF!?). The wait for a table for four was 1hr, 15mins to 1hr, 45 mins. I had to come back in 30 mins to get a pager. I left my name because we were prepared to wait 2 hours. So, we headed somewhere to have a drink in the meantime, and found ourselves in Adobe Gilas. We stood at the bar to order our drinks when a server walked up and said that a table for four was cashing out and we could have it when they left. We were sat and drink order taken in 10 mins. While we waited on drinks, we reviewed the food menu. Don't get me wrong, the food is at a very different level and there isn't a 15-page menu to peruse, but we did get a table within 10 mins of arriving. Expecting to only see fried, bar-type food, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw they had wraps, taco and burritos (along with the bar-type fried food). We ordered the spinach dip as an appetizer which was excellent! They had Magic Hat #9 on tap so that made half the group happy and Miller Lite which made the other half happy. I ordered the chicken veggie wrap (I am trying to eat healthy. I'm in a contest.. its a long story that doesn't belong in this blog). It was delicious. Lots of veggies that were cooked, but still crisp. The wrap was IMPOSSIBLE to pick up and eat, it was way to messy, but I managed quite well with a fork. Another member of the group ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad, which arrived in a fried tortilla bowl, which was odd, but I heard no complaints about the taste. The Grilled Chicken Sandwich was another order that turned out delicious. Their menu is limited, but hey, they are a bar. What do you expect? All in all, even though it was our second choice, it was great! I recommend it. Just don't go on Friday night when Chris Logsdon is there, unless you are a fan of cheesy guys who sing over a backing track.

Fado Irish Pub

After dinner at the Kobe Japanese Steakhouse (see previous post) we decided to hit a bar. Brio was out of the question seeing as how some school's prom was Saturday and while that crowd wasn't filling up the bar at Brio, they were taking up every available space in the lobby area. The stench of jailbait and rented tuxedos forced us to head to Fado Irish Pub. This place is tiny. Its no wonder you can't get a table here easily. Lots of nooks and crannies to tuck a group into and be forgotten about by the wait staff. We chose to hang at the bar in clear view of the 'tender. The music was a bit of a downer, but the bartender was attentive and the Guinness was cold. We didn't stay long, and obviously didn't eat, but its my understanding they have a decent menu. They have a really great patio, again, that would be nice when the weather gets better.