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!

The Mucky Duck: Drink Don't EAT!

Now, I went to the Mucky Duck about a month ago, so maybe things have changed since then, but I doubt it because things haven't changed too much since it opened.  This place used to be Bobby Joe's Beef & Brew, which was primarily an upscale restaurant that had a good bar, but after Bobby Joe passed away and the place became the Mucky Duck, it has sort of flip-flopped:  It's a GREAT bar that has something vaguely resembling restaurant food.  The best thing I can say about MD's food is that the drink prices are very reasonable....  I've eaten there like 4 times, and it has been BLAH or BLEAH every time.  I had french onion soup that had been made with RED onions, and they asked me what kind of cheese I wanted because they were out of Swiss and Provolone.  The fried pickles were giant wedges that resembled marital aids, and they weren't fried enough-- the center was just lukewarm pickle. A grilled tenderloin sandwich had the blandest, least-seasoned meat I've ever had.  The lackluster food quality is strange considering that the Mucky Duck is owned by the same people who own nearby JT Johnston's restaurant, which has great food!

The good news, though, is the Mucky Duck is a great place to drink-- the drink prices are really quite reasonable, the comfortable corporate boardroom-style decor of the old Bobby Joe's remains, and the Duck has expanded on BJ's original outdoor patio and tiki bar which overlooks a fairly large man-made lake.  The staff, too, is really friendly and their service is EXCELLENT!  Except for the cook, of course.
Price: $$     Service: *****   Food: **    Overall: ****

UPDATE: 09/08/12-- Went for drinks out on the covered patio because the weather was so nice.  The special was $3.50 for a 32 oz. draft Coors Light, which I thought was a pretty good deal.   I ordered the Pub Fries for $6.75-- waffle fries in a baking dish, covered with melted cheese and chives, sour cream on the side. The quantity of food was very good, but it could've used just a little seasoning, even just salt & pepper.  Still, it was passable.