insideWe generally don't go that far north unless we are visiting our Dads (who live in Loveland and Fairfield) so when we met David's dad for lunch last Sunday I jumped at the opportunity to go.
tavern restaurant group customized sugar packetsIf you have not noticed, Mason Montgomery road has mutated and expanded to gargantuan proportions. I'd classify driving in that area as pretty hazardous, as people in minivans and SUV's on cell phones make turns without signaling and drive across three lanes of traffic often.
But despite that, we reached our destination unscathed and took a seat in a booth on the far left. The Polo Grille has a large bar, and a lot of booths and tables. It's fairly large. I saw a lot of tavern restaurant group influence.
We all ordered diet cokes and looked over the menu. They had a limited Sunday Brunch with waffles and eggs benedict, but we opted out of that for lunch food.
David and his Dad got pizzas—David chose the tandoori chicken pizza with yogurt dipping sauce, tomato, onion, olive oil and three cheese blend ($8.45) and his Dad chose the spinach, mushroom and goat cheese pizza. ($7.45)
I wavered between the burger ($8.95) and the club sandwich and opted for the club with bacon, ham, turkey, cheddar, swiss, lettuce, and tomato with avocado mayonnaise on multi-grain bread. ( also $8.95) (Yeah, I know. it was a big sandwich) and a side of tomato scallion rice, since David wanted to try it.
We also got a side of Yucca fries. ($2.95) Because we were curious. What are yucca fries? We weren't sure. But we were up for it.
We received our food pretty quickly, David got a salad which I liked with ranch and bacon.
blurry but delicious saladI got my club, which was gigantic—one of the sandwiches where you have to plan how to eat it without getting it all over your lap—and David and Derek got their pizzas.
monster club sammichI promptly told everyone to "not touch anything! I have to take pictures!" and they patiently waited while I took pictures of their pizzas and my sandwich as well as the fries. (Thank you!)
Goat cheese and mushroom pizza
tandoori chicken pizzaI finished taking pictures and was still determining how to attack my sandwich when David somehow managed to drop his pizza on the table. Oops. Oh well.
Oops....five second rule!We tried the Yucca fries and they are ….interesting. David didn't like them too much, but I didn't mind. They are firmer than potatoes and just a little bit sweet. Other than that, they are kind of bland.
Yucca friesDavid didn't really like his Tandoori chicken pizza, and I really didn't either. It had dill in it and tasted a little like cedar. The chicken was kind of tangy, but all the flavors clashed in a funny way that was not pleasant.
meh.Derek was much happier with his pizza, which he said was very good. He liked the goat cheese especially.
I liked my club. I found it very tasty. I thought it was very good and I would get it again.
I would not get the tomato scallion rice. It mostly just tasted like tomato rice. Once again, meh. I'd rather have the yucca fries.
Our total bill was about 40.00, which was not bad for lunch for three people.
Service was a little slow, but we were there for lunch on Sunday and had some time to kill, so we didn't mind. Because of Ohio's silly liquor laws I could not get a martini (they have 18 different types!) until 1.
Since we had some other places I wanted to visit in the area, I convinced David to come back around 4. I figured that if we were going to drive all the way out here, I would certainly need to scope out the food and the drinks. I submit it's only fair to my readers.
David and I went to whole foods for a while, then to spin again music, and came back to Polo Grille for what we thought was happy hour. On the tables, the menu states "happy hour 4-7 daily) but they neglect to tell you it does not include Saturday or Sunday. Ok. Fine. I was not about to let that stop my research.
Because I am….
a crocodile dundee hat is essential for hunting cocktailsWe went to the bar and I gave David his ee pc netbook—polo grille has nice wifi.
I decided to get the bing cherry martini to start off ($7.75), with three olives cherry and apple vodkas and cranberry juice. The martinis are a little on the small side to be so expensive, and they weren't the strongest I've had. I'd say Polo Grille's strength lies in the variety of the drinks, including lots of Islay and single malt scotches.
bing cherryThey have Strongbow on tap as well as Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale—which the Nicholson's and the pub also have. They also have Hoegarden, Guinness, and a rotating pub ale.
My bing cherry was very pleasant. I liked the apple vodka in it. I made short work of it and ordered my next choice, a Key Lime martini. I think it is hard to go wrong with pineapple, midori and a graham cracker crust rim. It was delicious and it was my favorite drink I tried.
yum!The third was a blue wave with blue curacao, peach schnapps and pineapple …..I really loved the color of this drink and it was very tasty.
I am a total sucker for this color blueI couldn't resist ordering one last drink and got the polo punch. I told David it tasted a little like a flintstone vitamin. He thought it tasted like pretty good screwdriver. It was probably my least favorite.
I like the Polo grille, but we are far enough away I wouldn't make the trip to go up there specifically (like I would for say….Dave and Busters). I'd say that I rate them better than the Ohio DeSha's in tavern restaurant ranking, but below Nicholson's and the Pub. It lacked the personality that Nicholson's and the Pub posses, but I think they are working on it. I'd say that the Polo grille would be a solid place to take someone for lunch. I recommend the club but not the tandoori chicken pizza.
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