The Corner Pub: Only the Name Has Changed, and That's Great!

The Corner Pub, at the corner (duh) of Old Meridian Street and Epler Avenue, used to be the Old Meridian Pub(see post), which was one of my favorites until squabbles between the multiple owners caused it to be sold. I'm happy to say, though, that the new owner has pretty much kept everything the same.  Steve is back in the kitchen where I like everything he cooks but the chili (which tastes good, it's just not my idea of chili, being more like Brunswick Stew).  Most of the other former employees have returned as well as a new one, Esther, who has probably tended bar at more establishments than I could name.  There was a good crowd in there on the Friday afternoon we visited, including a group of firefighters celebrating a retirement.  I dunno if they were 2 or 3 drinks in and just having a good time, or if 20 years of sirens screaming in their ears has left them all hard-of-hearing, but we listened with amusement to 6 or 7 boisterous, bellowed conversations all at the same time.  It made for quite a festive atmosphere, and hopefully this will be the norm for this nicely reborn watering hole.  Cheers! 

Meridian Falls Bar & Grille: Soon to Be a Happenin' Place-- Maybe

Meridian Falls Bar & Grille, on Old Meridian Street a block or so south of Epler Avenue, is in a beautiful building just down the street from the Old Meridian Pub, which is about the best thing I can say about the place at this point, but it had only been open about two weeks or so when we went there.  The building used to be the offices and design center of a company that did major home remodeling, and it still retains the lush carpet and boardroom-style woodwork.  The bar itself is in a room with stone walls, a vaulted ceiling with a large skylight, and four small chandeliers.  A large patio-style sliding door opens out onto a humongous multi-level deck area with three different gazebos (one of which has a leather pit-group seating area), and there is even a little man-made waterfall at the bottom-- WOW! They are advertising live entertainment every weekend, and it looked like one of the gazebos is going to be used as the bandstand. I was told that for now there was a limited food menu but we couldn't see one because at that hour the owner was still printing them out.  Their special that day was supposed to be a hamburger with a fried egg on it.

And that is the end of the good part.  The food, drinks, and service are so far much less than impressive.  Regular beer and drink prices are 'way on the high side for my plebeian tastes:  Well drinks are $4, call drinks are $7, domestic beers $3.25, and crafts & imports $3.75.  The night we went there, the special was domestic drafts for $2.50 and wells for $3, but apparently nobody told the cash register, as our bill did not reflect the advertised savings, but by that time we were wanting out of there so badly we didn't complain.  I'd heard that the POlice had been called to remove someone the night they opened, and when I asked about it one of the employees (who took time out from arguing with the bartender about something) told me it was a disturbance between the owner and one of his "sweat equity" partners, a renovation contractor.  All the staff (and all the clientele, while we were there) had a kind of redneck rough & tumble appearance that seemed to indicate that MFB&G is gonna be one of those combat nightlife places I would have loved to visit when I was 19 years old, but which try my geezer patience these days.  We left and went down the street to Old Meridan Pub, where on that same night well drinks were $2.  Oh!  I forgot to mention, too, that the sliding door being left open several times led to a small swarm of flies in the area of the bar, most of which (except for a couple of  'em that were caught in a long cobweb hanging from the skylight) wanted to land on The Little Woman, probably because she's so sweet!  :-)

UPADATE 11/25/2012:  I've heard that the place closed down, but haven't been by to see.  One of the rumors was that a local neighborhood group persuaded ABC or Excise or someone to close them, but again, I don't know anything definite....  Boohoo(?)

UPDATE 08/29/2013:  The place is now called Private Reserve, a private club.  The sign out front said they sell annual and short-term memberships, whatever that means.

The Quest for a Great Steak Sandwich, and Some BBQ, Too!

Kyler had asked me a while back to let him know if I ever found a good steak sandwich anywhere, and, like the Union Army at Bull Run, what I thought would be a quick and easy quest turned out to be a rather long and nightmarish one.  Seems like when I was younger every little burger bistro and beer joint in town had its own version of the Great Steak Sandwich, but today many either don't offer one or don't provide the appetizing entrees-on-bread that I remember (but back then, everything looked better under the coal-oil light).  So I was pleasantly surprised when Steve the chef at the Old Meridian Pub offered a Wednesday special Prime Rib Sandwich that wasn't normally on the menu.  It was on a kaiser roll, and the slab of well-browned prime rib extended two inches out from the bun all the way around.  It was flat delicious!  Now, I dunno if a Prime Rib Sandwich objectively counts as a Steak Sandwich or not, but I'm counting it.  I swear the OMP folks aren't paying me to say good things about them!  I just love that place, is all.  

After the OMP we stopped in at Robby's Pub at Southport & Bluff, and they had a special on hamburger sliders at 75 cents each(!)  I was stuffed already but couldn't resist, especially after the Little Woman (perhaps envisioning an early life insurance pay-off) encouraged me to have TWO of 'em.  The buns were classic White Castle-sized, but the little burger patties were at least a half-inch thick, seasoned to perfection, and covered with sauteed onions.  My lady almost lost a fingertip trying to snitch a bite of one of 'em before I realized what she was doing.  Ya gotta warn me, dear!  Between the two of us (how could I not share?) they disappeared in seconds.

Finally, we drove the new truck south on State Road 37 to SR 144 and had a couple of brews at Whiskey River BBQ, a rustic little place just behind the Dairy Queen that was so famous for its biscuits & gravy before it closed.  The bar part is pretty small compared to the great big family dining area, but it was full of people that were mostly locals who knew each other. Everyone was very friendly, though, and the beer & drink prices were decent if not quite the deal that OMP has.  I was too stuffed to eat another bite; even a rare truffle morsel would have made me explode like the guy in Monty Python's Meaning of Life, but the guy next to me ordered the (HUZZAH!) Steak Sandwich.  It was smaller than OMP's but looked like a great little piece of meat covered with sauteed onions AND mushrooms.  The guy said it was the best he'd had in a long time, and from the aroma I believed him. We did have what WRB calls Nachos but which one of the patrons more correctly called a tostada (and I din't explode? Hmmmm......).  It was two crunchy tortillas (about taco-size) covered with jack cheese and barbecued pork with a little BBQ sauce mixed in.  The taste was not Mexican but it was reeeeallly good.  We loved our time there, and when we got ready to leave we purchased a pound of pulled-pork BBQ, which was the most finely shredded  I've seen.  It and the sauce (a sweet molasses-type, sort of North Carolina style) were very good but maybe not the best I've ever had, but of course I had not trouble eatin' it!  Oink, y'all.  

Old Meridian Pub redux: Come for the Booze, Stay for the Food!

(Please see earlier post about Old Meridian Pub for more details about the place.)  I had only a smidgen of experience with the food at OMP the last time we were there, so we went for dinner on a Thursday, which is Steak Night:  You get a small filet or medium-sized sirloin and two sides for 8 bucks.  Any misgivings I might've had about eating there were immediately put to rest when I saw Steve, formerly the cook at the Gaslight Inn, come out of the kitchen.  I really don't know much about Steve--  I don't know his politics, whether he likes puppies or long walks on the beach, or any of that stuff, but I do know he REALLY can cook.  I had heard that Steve was working for the Mucky Duck, but alas, I can only assume that the ole' MD is still nearly poisoning its diners as before....  Oh well, MD's loss was our gain, as the OMP's dinner was da BOMB!  My filet was lightly seasoned and cooked to perfection, tender enough to melt in your mouth.  As I've said about some other dishes, I dunno what makes a great baked potato, but this one was equal to the best steak house potatoes I've ever had, and the macaroni & cheese (a potato AND macaroni?  Hey, it was Carb Day as far as I was concerned!), while maybe not the absolute best I've had, was darned good.  The drink specials included a bucket of 5 domestic beers for $10 and my favorite-- their house wine, a Chilean variety, for $2.50 a glass!  (Again, Schneider's take note!)  This was our best trip to OMP yet, and not our last, for sure.

An Update:  An acquaintance of ours went to OMP on a Friday and got the Prime Rib, said it was tasteless, lacked any kind of seasoning.   Although I find that hard to believe, I thought I'd note it for fairness' sake.  Apparently Steve wasn't working that night, but it seems like they would still have his recipes. Hmmmm.....

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Another buddy just told me he went on a Friday and ordered Prime Rib, and it was the best he'd eaten in a long time!  Go figure, but knowing Chef Steve I'd say the one bad comment was a fluke, an anomaly, an aberration, a, a, a, er,  HONEY GET ME MY THESAURUS!

UPDATE, 07/30/2012:  Came to OMP after a disappointing visit to Meridian Fall Bar & Grille (see review) and again was pleasantly surprised.  Well drinks were two, two, two dollars each!  We had the Double Dog Dare, two 1/4 pound chili dogs with chips for $7.99.  The dogs and the chili were delicious (beef wieners and real chili, not coney sauce), although they were on Kaiser rolls which stood up to the massive wieners and chili better than a hot dog bun would, but which were a little more dense and bread-y than I would've liked. I looked around and noticed that the clientele was mostly 35+ in age, although I'm not sure why that is.  OMP doesn't have live music or a dance floor, but it does have great food and drink for a great price.  Cheers!

Old Meridian Pub-- A New Old Standard

The Old Meridian Pub, at Old Meridian Street and Epler, recently opened in the building that for years was Smith & Dale's, then SmithDale's, then Mann's Tavern, although you'd never know it after the complete update it received this time.  The old place was dumpy but small and cozy.  After many years, Smith & Dale's' owner fell on hard economic times and sold out, after which it went through a couple of new owners who each renovated it, but not in a good way as far as I'm concerned:  It went from comfortably well-lit to a dark and grungy little place that you only went to at the the end of your night (see a review of The Green Door for more on this phenomenon).

Now, however, I think I've found my new go-to place:  The new owners are somehow related to famous old bar owner Red Taylor (of several Red's Corner(s) and The Hideaway fame) but apparently don't suffer from Red's cheapskateness (cheapskatery?) and completely gutted the place.  They removed the drop ceiling, tiled the bar area, and carpeted the dining areas so it has a modern, comfortable, airy feel.  The bar area is lit by cool hanging light fixtures that resemble old radio vacuum tubes (ya see, boys and girls, before there were transistors, the radios all had tubes. Huh?  What're transistors?  Oh, never mind!  I'm old, okay?).  The old game room is now an extra dining/party room.  There are 6 big-screen TV's around the place, and the new sound system is GREAT!  They had one of DirectTV's music channels going, and it made the new computerized juke box seem for a time unnecessary.

I'd heard a nasty rumor that the drink prices were sky-high, but they were quite reasonable:  pints of domestic draft (which were good and COLD, other lesser bars TAKE HEED) cost $2.50 and glasses of Santa Angelita wines, of Chilean vintage, were $3.50 (Schneider's TAKE HEED!).  We'd just eaten so we didn't order a meal, but Jeanie the bartender shared her cheese balls & ranch dressing appetizer with us.  It was deeelicious, perfectly cooked (Yes, Virginia, you can screw up deep-fried cheese-- I've seen it done, but not here, thank Heaven).  I really can't say enough good things about this place, although it sure looks like I've tried given the length of this post, huh?  I just hope they advertise and get the word out so all those nice renovations don't go to waste....

UPDATE, 07/21/2014:  Old Meridian Pub closed, dangit, but it has been bought and rechristened The Corner Pub.  The old place had like 6 owners or something, one who was drunk all the time and as I understand it got barred out of his own bar, and as I understand it, the rest apparently couldn't agree with the managing partner on anything. There is just one new owner, so we'll see how she does with the place... fingers crossed!

UPDATE, 08/14/2014:  I'm happy to say the Corner Pub is basically the Old Meridian renamed.  Most of the same employees are back, including Steve the chef, so the food and booze is still good and reasonably priced.  Hallelujah!