Greeks Pizzeria moved into the East Side of Evansville over one year ago, but I still don't think to eat there very often.  Not because the food is bad or the service rude and certainly not because of the location, but it's just not at the top of my eat-out choices.  Monday night I met with some friends and I realized why.

First of all there is no atmosphere, where other Greeks Pizzeria locations seem to have flavor, a buzz, a reason to want to be there.  Every time I go into the Evansville Greeks I half way expect to see batteries on the wall, thanks to the previous tenant.

Next, it took forever to get our food.  This becomes less of a problem when there is atmosphere to enjoy, but with a lack of entertainment and general frivolity I was left staring at my watch.  It took 1 hour to get our food after ordering.  This is waaaaaaay too long, especially without an explanation.

Once I did receive my food it was hot, tasty, and sat just fine on top of the adult beverages I had consumed while waiting.  In my opinion Greeks is good, not great, so it seems to live in a restaurant-choosing purgatory.  Greeks Pizzeria's are independently owned, but is there a reason Evansville is still not listed on the official website?

Last night my wife and I had date night, thanks to my parents letting my daughter sleep over.  My wife had been begging me to go see the new Harry Potter and I had been begging her to go out for a beer and burger.  Thanks to the Hollywood Bar and Grill we only had to park once to enjoy both date night endeavors.  Granted Wednesday night isn't the most happening time to go out, I'll give you my break down on the evening.

First of all Hollywood Bar and Grill food was fantastic, my burger was cooked to order and fries were seasoned perfectly.  Also, my wife's ham and pineapple pizza was great and portions for both were adequate for the price.  That being said, don't head off to this grill looking for a lot of choices.  They have plenty of apetizers, but lack in the main course arena of variety.  Lastly, we showed up about 6:00 and were 1 of about 6 people, not couples, but individuals.

The bar tender and waitress were both very friendly and these were the only ones we ran into.  I'm assuming there was a cook in the back, but never did he poke his head out to see if anyone was still there.  And unlike another Evansville Hollywood Bar and Grill restaurant review, I did not see any signs for employee eyes only.

Had our Harry Potter movie not been starting at 7:00 my wife and I would have chilled out with some more beers and listened to the live band.  Every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Eastside Hollywood Bar and Grill they have live music and last nights was Common Ground.

For more information on Hollywood Bar and Grill visit their website, which is part of Showplace Cinemas.

Red Robin of Evansville

My brother and I decided to check out the new Red Robin in Evansville last night.  Overrall it was a good decision, but there are a few things that just didn't set right with my experience.  Allow me to share with you my experience, so that hopefully yours will be more fulfilling.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere in Red Robin was just great, complete with friendly hostess.  It's a wide open building with plenty of booths and tables, depending on your preference.  Also, there appeared to be a full service bar, but unfortunately no drink specials.

Looking back I don't remember any music playing, just the sound of a bustling restaurant.  Plenty of people chatting and generally having a good time.  Not necessarily a place I would recommend going out with a loved one for a quiet intimate dinner.

Service

I think that every restuarant experience comes down to the waitor or waitress you luck out with.  My waitor last night was very friendly, prompt when I needed something, but didn't come around as often as I would like.  This became an issue with me, considering how Red Robin sells their meals.  More on this under the food section.

It seemed to take a little longer than it should have to receive a simple burger and fry meal.  My brother and I waited probably about 20-25 minutes for our meals to show up.  Considering that it was a Thursday night, early, and really not that busy it seemed unacceptable.  No worries though, we weren't in a hurry.

Food

I purchased the Red Robin special A1 Peppercorn Burger on an onion bun.  It was perfect and cooked with a little pink, just as I had requested.  When ordering you have two choices for how you want your burger cooked, 'A Little Pink' or 'No Pink'.  I thought it was funny when our waitor insisted on correcting me when I ordered mine Medium.  "You mean a little pink", he said.  Kind of like a Venti coffee instead of just a large. pfft.

Overall the burger and fries were great and Red Robin has a seductive way of getting you to fall for their $10+ burger meal combos.  Red Robin offers bottomless fries, meaning you can eat as many fries with your meal as you want and they will keep bringing them out.  This sounds great, but when your waitor doesn't visit the table often enough to replenish your fries, what's the point?

Total time spent in Red Robin was probably just over an hour before I was finally asked if I wanted extra fries.  Of course I didn't take any, hell I was tired of just setting in the same place and had plans afterward.  Therefore, in future visits (and I will visit again) I fully intend on asking the server to go ahead and bring out extra fries when he brings the first meal.  That way, when I'm ready for my fries, they'll be there.

Conclusion

I'll eat there again.  The food was good, but nothing to get excited about.  The service was good, but nothing to get excited about.  The way in which you are served, by a place that promises bottomless fries, is aggrevating.  Make sure you get your money's worth and ask for extra fries up front, because the amount brought out with your burger is not enough to justify the cost.

Thanks to Josh for leaving a comment on my blog, I was able to find out about his new website Evansville Intelligencer.  The Intelligencer was launched at the beginning of April and appears to cover most things Evansville.  At first glance the categories covered will be Health and Hygiene, Society and Events, Food and Drinks, Evansville Discoveries, and my personal favorite, Politics.

It's obvious that great articles about Evansville will be published here, mainly due to the sites impressive list of contributors.  Looks like experts on night life, legal studies, and even an MD contributing to the Health of Evansville.

Admittedly I don't get out as much as I would like, mainly because I'm a new father.  But thanks to the Intelligencer's articles I can pick and choose, spending my free time wisely.  However, as for the politics side of things, we may be on opposite sides of the fence.  So I'll tread lightly on upcoming comments and reviews.

Good luck on the site Joshua, Jessica, Anne, and Kelley!