Placed unassumingly on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and beyond the shadow of the affluent Warm Springs neighborhood, you will find Ben's Crow Inn. A 15 minute back-of-the-Harley-ride from downtown, you will find yourself in the middle of a field at anything but an Inn. What appears as a shanty on the outside transforms into an eclectic mix of old and new perched upon an air of one too many good times had in this nostalgic establishment. We were lucky to dine at this biker bar-esque establishment on the Friday before Valentine's Day, and love was most definitely in the air. A mishmash of paper and cellophane decorations cloaked in film of stale bar air greeted us as we walked in the door, and we breathed it in welcomingly. I knew by the permanent fixtures seated at the bar and the wood paneling that this was right up my alley.
Upon inspection of the menu, I struck gold: there it was - the magical mecca of all things favorite of mine: the not-so-elusive Grilled Cheese. Anyone who knows me knows that I have made somewhat of a full-time hobby out of grilled cheese surveying since birth. Many a happy night my family or friends and I have gone to a nice steakhouse or bistro for dinner and I ask to see the kid's menu for hopes of the bread and cheese combo being present. I take this surveying quite seriously and was excited to rate Ben's GC against the others I have tasted in the past. At Ben's, they give you the option of ordering 1/2 salad and 1/2 fries as a side, which everyone happily jumped on the train for. It makes you feel like you are at least pretending to be healthy before diving into your butter dipped fried meal. When the grilled cheese arrived I knew I had struck gold. I have two requirements: White bread and fake-ish cheese. Both landed from the heavens on my plate and I knew this wasn't about to disappoint. With crispy steak fries on the side, I dove in with a vengeance.
me likey
do not want
Crissie ordered "steak fingers" which I was highly disturbed by. This blogger, never a fan of dead animal, wasnt sure if the phalanges of some poor mammal lay inside the cripy outer battered shell that she was devouring with an evil smile perched upon her face.
Nevermore, I give Ben's Crow Inn 4.5 Dust Covered Forks with a red beer poured over the top of them, which is about as good as it gets in this blogger's book. With wallpaper covered in cougars, deer and cabins from the days of yore, it feels like you've stumbled upon somewhere where a murder or giant party, or probably both, has happened. But not in a bad way.
Spot on!! I couldn't agree more!
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!!!!!
ReplyDelete- Nick
I was there that day, and observed all this that went down. The grilled cheese looked just like momma's and the finger steaks had a sassy spice built right into the deep dark oil-cured coating. I always wonder if things like the fingie steaks come from a bag or are lovingly filleted by hand and run through the batter made with a secret recipe no one can know, but in this case it didnt matter - they are good no matter. my burger was fine picnic style fare and i liked how the fries look so authentic and rustic with the varied cuts and skins still upon them. the crows inn also serves as an excellent beer garden in the warmer months.
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