Dam Bar and Grill
at 2:01 pm on Monday, 18 June 2007
I decided to try out the Dam Bar & Grill today for lunch. I have driven by it several times on Hwy 6 while on my way over to Lexington (map) and it always seems to have a good crowd. Other than that, all I knew about the place was that it had a catchy name.
As it turns out, that’s about the only unique thing about the place. Now, there was nothing inherently bad about it, it just isn’t anything different than every other sports bar in America. Since I was there by myself, I took a seat at the bar directly in front of the door and from my vantage point I could see action on six different flat screen TVs. The bartender handed me a menu and I saw all of the bar and grill standards: Wings, wraps, salads, burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, chicken fingers, fried shrimp, fried catfish, and steak. Of course, they managed to work the word “dam” into several of the menu items and I can’t blame them for that. I actually heard a couple of patrons get great joy out of ordering a “DAM Cheeseburger.” So, I did the same.
I don’t want it to come off as though I’m saying this place isn’t good. It just isn’t…different, special, cool, etc. My cheeseburger was ordinary. I’m pretty sure that the $7.59 1/2 pound Angus patty was frozen shortly before it was prepared for me. I can get that at Hardee’s for $3.99. The wing chips I got with the burger were pretty good, but they didn’t have the seasoning on them that most places are doing now.
Overall, The Dam Bar and Grill was average at best. I feel like they are trying to sell an experience much more than the food. Who knows, I may not get any rebuttal from the ownership about that. However, for lunch anyway, the experience wasn’t there either. Often when I drive by in the evenings the parking lot is loaded with bikes of all shapes and sizes, so I imagine that experience would be different.