Fat Squirrel Pub & Grille

It’s a Pub. I Like Pubs….

March 02, 2010

If only the Fish & Chips were better (the steaks are great)…. But I get ahead of myself.

Pubs are fun. I love them.  Pubs are places where you can get some good food. Pubs are places where you can get some bad food, and anything in between, and the quality is often unpredictable. No matter, Pubs are to be enjoyed with your friends. Watch a game. Scream and shout. Meet new friends. Have fun.

Fish n’ Chips

On our first visit, the food was spotty. We both had Fish & Chips, my Pub fave, and were mildly disappointed. The taste was fine, but the filets were a tad overcooked, overbreaded, and too hard to bite. The overcooking dried them out, too. Chips were fine, slaw was fine, too.

Jane returned several nights later for a Robert Burns Bash, complete with a piping in of the haggis. She ordered the Spinach Salad with Grilled Steak, Walnuts, Gorgonzola, Craisins, Most steak salads simply add steak strips to the top of a salad (boring), but Fat Squirrel’s version adds a large piece of steak cut almost through with many slits to make it easier to slice, and it was cooked to her exact specifications. Tender and delicious. Much better than the F&C we had several nights before.

Fine Sangrilla

You can get shrimp, shepherd’s pie, scotch eggs, burgers, steaks, corned beef and cabbage, Irish stout stew, bangers and mash, and a plethora of pub food here. Salads, soups, bread pudding. Huge beer list (bottled and on tap), including the best of the non-alcoholic versions. And they prepare a very fine Sangrilla, too. Merlot and fruity.

Oh yeah, the haggis. That was the real reason Jane went for this event (she studied at St. Andrew’s for a year and some of her genes got mutated). Sure enough, the haggis was piped in to the drone of a lone bagpipe. Everybody (who desired) got to sample it. Took her back 41 years to Scotland. Great evening.

We will certainly return to the Fat Squirrel. I will probably try the F&C again, and it will probably be great then. Or maybe not. No matter. There’s plenty of other dishes that will lure me back there. Stout Stew. Bread Pudding. Here I come.

Like I said, pubs are fun. Great way to spend an evening. Or afternoon. May be inconsistent, but who cares.

Watch your nuts. Fat squirrels steal them.

Grilled Pub Sirloin (9-oz)

August 11, 2011

We went back tonight (our Friday night dinner out occurred on Thursday this week). Being on a diet, we could not try the Fish n; Chips this time and we both opted for a nine-ounce Pub Sirloin with a red wine and mushroom reduction. This comes with grilled veggies (carrots, onions, sweet red peppers, broccoli) and I had a side of Smoky Apple Cabbage while Jane settled for a house salad with some oil and vinegar.

Smoky Apple Cabbage—a real treat

The steak was perfectly grilled to our exact specifications: medium rare. Juicy, tender and delicious. The mushroom-red wine reduction added a nicely finished taste to a really good piece of choice beef. The side of cabbage was other-worldly delicious. It normally accompanies their Corned Beef and Cabbage, but I luckily chose this since I can not eat potatos or rice.

Corned Beef

I can not fathom a reason for going to one of the chain steakhouses that dot the landscape around here (and nearly every other city I have been in). Their meats are, to me, subpar and loaded with tenderizing enzymes. Ruins the taste and the mouth feel. You know; you’ve been to this movie. Do yourself a real favor and try Fat Squirrel instead.  $12.95 for the neal with sides. Beat that, if you can. Next trip I hope to try the Corned Beef and Cabbage.Or maybe even the Fish ‘N Chips again.

Friday is Prime Rib Night

September 16, 2011

Friday Night Prime Rib

Back to Friday nights again. Prime Rib night. Jane and I both ordered the 10-oz serving of prime rib (hers rare and mine medium rare). Still no potatos or rice for us, so we settled for the grilled veggies and sides of that lovely cabbage with apple. The sides were, as usual, beautifully done. The prime rib, on the other hand, was among the very best I have had in the Duke City. Each slice was about 7/8-in thick, roasted perfectly, and very tender and juicy. Served with containers of jus and horseradish cream.  The outside was coated with salt, cracked pepper, and other goodies, and added that slight crispiness to the outer layer.  With prime rib this good, it looks like the Corned beef and Fish ‘N Chips will be deferred to a weekday night. On Fridays, I recommend either the Prime Rib of one of the steaks (preferably with the red-wine & mushroom reduction.

The service is spot-on. Sit in a booth if you want to have a quiet conversation. Relax. Nobody rushes you.

Fat Squirrel has earned a place on my Friday evening rotation.