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| - Came here on Sunday night around 6 because downtown Gilbert was packed. Never heard of it before but the menu looked interesting. I'm not gonna lie, it was just OK. This place has serious potential, but it's not living up to it. Nice clean strip mall sports bar type place. A little too TV focused for my taste. I prefer cool music in my pubs but whatevs. Nothing fancy, not overly nice. It's a little like a new car. Not quite lived in yet, but if they make it, will be a cool neighborhood joint. You can tell they spent some money putting it together, which is why it's surprising that they miss on some basic stuff.
I'm a beer guy, but didn't have any this time. The local brews on tap are nice, but there aren't many of them. The bottle selection is laughable. Guys, get yourself over to the Handlebar in AJ or HOB and see what a beer selection looks like. IF they could get to that level, plus get the food on point, they could stake a serious claim. With literally thousands of amazing brews out there, there is no excuse. Sacrifice a couple of tables and some wall space and put in a killer beer cooler. The liquor and cocktail section of the menu seems to be covered pretty well. There's a moonshine section which is neat. Not clear on whether the moonshine is made in house or not. I assume so. They should highlight that. I didn't see one thing about it. This being AZ, homemade tequila would be a nice addition. Moonshine and whiskey flights are available. Very cool.
Had water to drink this time. From a place that is trying to be somewhat upscale gastropub, it was surprising that it came in a cruddy plastic cafeteria type cup. No lemon, no lime, no refill. Come on guys, pint glasses? Mason Jars? Based on the menu and the vibe of the website, I was expecting cloth napkins wrapped around the kind of silverware that I can't afford. Not picking off that paper sticker like Denny's. Boo.
Super plus : The menu is varied and interesting. It's the kind of menu where you're just like, ok, yeah I want all that, bring me everything. They hit all the major categories with lots to choose from, meat eater or not. Long list of interesting side dishes. The grilled veggies were excellent. There is a cool grilled cheese section, but surprisingly no grilled cheese on the kid's menu. Speaking of which, $4.50 for a tiny bowl of kraft mac n cheese grinds my gears a little bit. Just sayin'. The kid menu is pretty basic and not featured on the website. Room for improvement there, especially at those prices. You can tell it's not a focus, but it would be just as easy to make it cool and interesting and fun. Sometimes I'm a family diner, sometimes it's just the grownups. This place *could* and should be a destination for both.
Burger selection is nice. I had a hard time choosing. Had the scorpion burger. I asked about getting it with no bun, the waitress said definitely, we'll do it protein style. Sounds good. What I got was maybe a 6oz burger on literally one tiny flat piece of lettuce, one tomato slice, and a tiny amount of red onion. The spicy sauce and stuff on top was tasty and interesting but minimal. Should have been piled high. Extra $1 for a pretty puny pile of sweet potato fries, which were actually quite good. Folks, when In-n-Out and Carl's do a better low-carb burger than you do, you better step up your game. Fast.
The menu looks cool when you show the price of the burger as 9 1/2, but if you're starting your burger at nearly $10 you better come with a half pounder loaded up. Bun or not, I should be picking up your burger and stuffing it in my face with juicy saucy goodness running down my arm. Fireworks should be going off with my head exploding from the flavor insanity. Instead I got sad trombones. Womp womp. A killer huge basket with a homemade moonshine pickle on the side would be something you talk about at work the next day. If food is something you're going to be about, you've got to kill it top to bottom. If you're new and kinda out of the way, it is that much more critical. They missed on this for me.
More plus - it seems pretty family friendly, with a second dining area separated from the bar. The tables have trivial pursuit cards which is a nice way to pass the time. Our waitress was nice enough. Not particularly engaging, did one check back from about ten feet away then went back to her sidework. Meh. I never did get ketchup. Didn't feel like asking for it. No killer house sauce options?
I'm happy to pay premium prices for quality independent restaurants. We don't have enough of them. I really like what they're trying to do here. This is the kind of place I would come ALL THE TIME. But with a lackluster beer selection and middling food in poor presentation, it's not likely. It is clear to see where they're trying to go. SO frustrating to see it come up just that short. I'll be back at least once more probably. Definitely worth a try. Hopefully they get it together before it's too late.
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