Did you miss us?
So, yeah, basically we celebrated our two-year WTGW anniversary by taking most of the month of August off. I wish I could say it was some big food-and-drink-holiday collectively sponsored by all of the restaurants we’ve given favorable reviews to (*ahem* hint, hint) – but, alas, no, it was just bad timing of everything in our lives seeming to fall on Wednesday nights for a few weeks. Stupid jobs and responsibilities.
Especially since while we were away it seems summer ended. But, wait, you say … it’s only September, how is that possible? Well, let me tell you: you know summer is over when the fall beers come out on tap at area restaurants. Yep, we’re not even to Labor Day yet, and already the Summer Shandy has stopped flowing.
Let’s take a brief moment of silence for the death of all things citrus and lemony for another year. **sigh**
OK.
The irony here is that while we couldn’t order a summer drink to save our lives, we actually had to sit inside on our visit to Jerzees because it was about 85 degrees with 1397% humidity outside. So, yeah, glad to see all those fall beers on tap now, thanks. We all agreed that the patio looked nice from afar, though. There were lots of TVs over the full bar out there, which of course means it would likely be a great place to check out a game. Or several at once. Whatever.
Wednesdays are steak nights at Jerzees, which equates to spending $8.99 for a steak, side and salad. So needless to say the place was pretty busy. We ended up sitting at a high top just on the other side of the bar area.
Due to the lack of summer beers, Amanda went with the next closest thing, a Blue Moon. I decided to embrace fall (because apparently early September in Ohio now means PUMPKIN EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME) and go with the Southern Tier Pumking. Ted – the man who can pretty much find anything on a beer list that he likes regardless of season – went with the 2x IPA. And last but not least, Shane went for the illusive title of “least manly drink possible” with something called the Jerzee cooler.
Shane tried to defend himself by claiming that he “had to be the one different thing at our table.” Ted was just glad that title didn’t belong to him this time around. Although then he went and ruined it a few rounds later by trading in his beer for something similar to what Shane was drinking … after Shane spilled his nearly full drink and had to order another one. So either he was just trying to make Shane feel better, or he’d actually been insanely jealous the entire time.
Another sign that summer is over: mine and Ted’s beers were actually about the same color. And potency … a fact that crept up on me somewhere into the second tall glass. And I think hit Amanda when she tried to chug a beer like Ted did on his last beer round, and failed miserably.
So long 4.2% alcohol content beers. It’s been a fun summer.
Anyway.
We must’ve been delirious from either the humidity outside or the higher potency beers – or both – because we actually didn’t order an appetizer this week. What? Who are we? Those weeks off have changed us. For shame.
Ted and Shane both right down to business with the steak special, and also split the 25 wing platter. I think Shane’s exact words to the server were “we’ll want to START with the 25 wing platter.” She laughed. And then realized he was serious.
As Shane and Ted decided on flavors for their wing feast, I have to admit to slight flashbacks to a place called Cleats that we used to be regulars at back in Howland, where Shane and I lived long before WTGW was even a glimmer in our eyes. They also had a 25-wing platter, which Shane was well known for ordering and finishing all on his own. Shocker, I know. And surprising that he’ll now share it with Ted, but whatevs. In any case, they had an Erie Island dry rub seasoning that was to die for, and pretty much all Shane would eat there. And rave about whenever we went anywhere else. And dream about once we moved away. You get the idea.
So when we saw it on the menu again here, I thought for sure it would be hand’s down Shane’s favorite once again. They did order it as one of the five selections, along with the hot garlic parm, pineapple habenero, six pepper and Kentucky bourbon. Ironically, it didn’t win out. That title went to the Kentucky bourbon, although not overwhelmingly. In fact, Shane proclaimed the wings in general to be “just average.”
He rated the steak a bit higher, saying it was good and actually cooked exactly as asked. Which if you follow this blog you know he practically pulls out a rare-vs-medium-rare cooking chart every time he orders any type of meat, so that’s a compliment. His only complaint was that the steak was small, even for a special.
Ted said wings good, steak good. That may be an exact quote.
Amanda and I both went the burger route for this visit. I had the Chophouse burger with sweet potato fries, while she ordered the MVP burger with waffle fries and a side of cheese – another throwback to our old days at Cleats back in Warren. One that made me instantly jealous when her food arrived that I hadn’t thought to order the same thing. Seriously, why don’t more places offer a good cheese sauce for waffle fries? It’s just a natural fit, people. And if you’ve never tried it before, well, do yourself a favor and look for it on every menu until you can finally order it. Trust me.
We ended our evening with another thing you should always, always eat when it’s on the menu – our new favorite thing, and pretty much the only reason we actually even look at the dessert portion of the menu at all, funnel cake fries. Because now we just have to try them everywhere on principle. I say that like it’s a bad thing.
When the fries arrived, Amanda and Shane tried them first, and immediately tried to save Ted and I from the trouble by proclaiming them no good. They’re so kind. Unfortunately for them Ted and I aren’t so gullible. Let’s just say that I think those fries disappeared from the table in less time than it took Ted and Shane to decide on what wing flavors to order.
All in all Jerzees was a win in our book – service was good, food was decent and lots of TVs for games and other sports. It’s pretty much your typical cookie cutter sports bar/grill, where families and kid’s sports teams come for dinner after games but serious football watchers also get plenty of space for yelling and beer guzzling. If it were closer to us I could see it being more of a regular hangout for us, but there wasn’t much on the menu that made us say we really had to make the 25 minute drive again.
CAPSULE
Picked by: Amanda
Drinks: Not a huge draft selection. Or maybe it just seemed that way now that all of the lighter summer beers have been replaced by porters and pumpkin ales. The “girly” drinks were a tasty alternative for some of the group.
Food: Typical sports bar menu – burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc. The steak night deal is a decent price, but if you’re anything like the guys in this group you’ll need an appetizer (or 25-wing platter, whatever) to supplement the meal.
Service: Good. Our drinks were full, she gave good recommendations and was quick to bring extra napkins when Shane’s drink took a turn toward the floor.
Overall: Nothing bad, but nothing overly impressive either. A good neighborhood bar – if you live in the neighborhood, that is. Which we don’t. But we can always visit if we happen to be in the area.
Next Pick: Ted
Where To Go Wednesdays 