Downtown Grill and Brewery

I have been to this restaurant multiple times before and have been nothing but pleased. Granted, both of the previous times I did order the same thing. I will say, here and now, that the tartar sauce they use for their fish and chips is a fantastic concoction and, when ordered, is devoured wholly by myself. The wait staff is very personable and welcoming and, believe you me, you will rarely have to wait for your beverage to be refilled. My glass never got past the half-way mark before being promptly replenished.

On a lower note, the meal I tried today was a bit of a let-down. They had a special this afternoon of a chicken breast stuffed with various cheeses and spinach, wrapped in bacon, and coated in a chipotle sauce. Since I vowed that I would be nice to my self and not my body at least three minutes a day I decided to give this dish a try. When it arrived, however, I was beyond let down. The chicken was minuscule, about the size of bicycle handle. In a more upscale restaurant such meager proportions would have been tolerable, but not in a place where the fish and chips comes with three large chunks of deliciously flaky joy generously coated in batter (did I mention that dish is my favorite?). This strangely shaped handle of chicken was then covered in a chiptole sauce that had the consistency of unhealthy phlegm. The bacon was then strangely absent. If it was present it had somehow managed to meld with the chicken and lose all of its flavor because even when peeling back the sauce layer I could not spot it. The filling was not that bad, though. It was slightly salty but I still ate every remnant of it.

One issue that has reoccurred for me with Downtown Grill and Brewery, though, is the seasoning of the french fries. Every time I have their fries I will have some that are completely bare and some with one side completely coated in seasoning. I am not complaining about the taste of the seasoning, merely its application.

Also, as far as a sports pub this place is sub-par. We were seated on the upper level where we were assured to have metal bars to block some of our view of the big screen. The location of this big screen is also highly inappropriate. There are only about three tables on the lower level that I am sure had unobstructed views of the projected monitor and even then the sound system was more like a drone of noise than defined words. I think I'll stick with Buffalo Wild Wings or Copper Cellar for my sports enjoyment.

Overall I give Downtown Grill and Brewery 3 out of 5 stars