My girlfriend and I came in for a 'date night'. We sat in the lounge area on the far end. Our server, Clair, came over right away and brought us water and helped my girlfriend decide on a drink order. We both had the rib & chicken combo to eat. I must say, we were both extremely impressed with the food and service. Our food came out in a very reasonable amount of time and the chicken was cooked perfectly. Clair was always friendly and smiling even if she was just walking around between tables. We sat around for a while after eating and Clair didn't make us feel rushed at all. It's getting rarer to see a server that looks like she enjoys her job, but Clair certainly gave us the impression she did.
The only thing I wasn't a fan of was that there was a football game on and the sound was quite loud. Considering I only noticed one table of 2 guys watching it, maybe turn the sound down or even off. Let people enjoy themselves with soft music and conversation. I've never thought of Earl's as a sports bar as I'm sure others don't either.