After having dragged my husband to First Friday, gourmet chocolate shoppes, and frou-frou ice cream parlors, I thought it was time to find him a hole-in-the-wall tavern. I think Grinders fit that bill. (Grinders has been featured on “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” and will be featured on Fieri’s newest, “Roadshow,” this weekend. I found it highly recommended in the eat.shop guide.)
Just to set the scene, the xeroxed menus blare, “Bikers welcome,” but the photo on the front cover features Vespas parked in front. On the back of the menu are these caveats:
- Please don’t litter.
- Please don’t feed the 4-legged animals.
- Please refrain from acting like a complete idiot.
- Please don’t take open liquor containers off the premises. (This includes putting drinks under your coat & sneaking them out.)
The bar and grill at Grinders
What a joint, right?
We loved this place. The Saturday afternoon we were there, the specials were $3 Bellinis and $5 Bloody Marys (the latter being quite good!) And, we were again lucky enough to grab a booth.
I loved the art (for sale) on the wall from the Bluto painting to the “Bitch Kitty.” (In fact, if we had imbibed more beverages, “Bitch Kitty” may have gone home with us.) Someone had tacked a sketched-on napkin on the wall and had stuck a $75 price tag on it as well. It actually didn’t seem too out of place.
We ordered a meatball grinder (which was HUGE) and a small Philly steak sandwich. Both sandwiches were made on Amoroso rolls and this bread was out-of-this world, crunchy and toasted and soft at the same time. The “Trailer Park Tots” were fantastic. We had some plain and some smothered in chili and cheese (but only the “half ass” size.) This was real homemade chili; however, the cheese for the Philly sandwiches was the old standby—Cheese Wiz. In fact, the gallon cans of this liquid gold were proudly on display above the grill. I counted at least seven gallons of the stuff.
On our next visit (and there definitely will be a next visit) we are dying to try the “New York Style Hand Tossed Pizza,” but I think we may stay away from the “Famous Chili Bomb Pie (as seen on TV)”—“Tots, chili, cheese, scallions located in the center of your pie! May need a defibrillator.”
Another interesting feature is the sculpture park behind the restaurant which is available for events and is also a music venue. Beer tastings are held on the second Tuesday of the month (reservations are required). Right next door to Grinders is Grinders West, a companion restaurant that I would describe as Grinder’s take on trying to be more upscale with salads, soups, pasta, sandwiches and a wine list.
This place is definitely on the “Must Do” list as well. Again, we didn’t venture too far off of our path that weekend and Grinders is located in The Crossroads area.
