Central PA Sports Bars: The Grille of Hampden
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This week's cast of characters: ZJ, Spintrick, Max Power, PJH, and guest of honor The Captain.
This week we took Dallas Cowboys' fan The Captain out to The Grille of Hampden which is home to the Cowboys' Fan Club in the area. What was once the West Shore location for Damon's, The Grille sports different ownership and menu but little else of the layout and sports memorabilia has changed.
TVs/View: 3
The Grille has two distinct seating areas:
- Bar Area - Numerous large screen televisions are suspended throughout the area for those in the booths and at the actual bar
- Dining Room - The large dining room with stadium-style booths has four large projection screens taking up the entire wall
Even though multiple TVs in the bar area were showing the Dallas/Kansas City game, none of them were showing the game in high definition. A distinct separation between seating areas has been added as one of the changes is closing off the bar with frosted glass windows from the large, dining area. However, the most perplexing decision is why they choose to not utilize the large projection screens for televising football games in the dining room.
Beer: 3There was a small and limited selection of draft beer to choose from the drink menu. There are $2 specials for two hours prior to the Cowboys' kickoff each week if you are a member of the Fan Club. Long Island Iced Tea expert Spintrick could tell his drink was off in the mix as it wasn't cloudy enough to be very good. The Captain's Captain and Ginger Ales were very weak until he started ordering double talls to coincide with the Cowboys' rotten play on the field.
Food: 5
For appetizers we decided it was tough to go wrong with their fried items like calamari, cheese half-moons, and chicken fingers. Our actual meals included a wide variety of items like salad, bacon cheeseburger, chicken quesadilla, and steak & ribs. The quesadilla was the best choice we ordered and it came with a tasty mango salsa. The steak and burger were both overcooked, but the ribs were succulent and cleaned to the bone. Along with their regular items, The Grille also offers a brunch menu between 11am and 3pm on Sunday mornings.
Other/Miscellaneous: 4
The bar area was lively with fans during the Cowboys/Chiefs game, but once the game ended the place cleared out quickly. The booths that surround the bar are not built for four grown men or for optimal viewing of the televisions. A positive point is that The Grille has WiFi connectivity; however the signal is spotty at best. The other thing that pissed off The Captain was the presence of Philadelphia memorabilia in what bills itself as the Home of Cowboys' Fans. Our service was good - but we were handled by the bartender, so I'd hate to be a customer if it gets really busy...although they might not have to worry about that.
Overall: 15 out of 40
The Grille has the potential to be a half-decent sports bar, but cramming all the football fans into the bar area makes no sense when there is optimal seating and four large projection screens going unused.
Scorecards to Date (out of 40):
Skybox Sports Bar 31
Dockside Willie's 21
The Grille of Hampden 15
Sam Bucca's 11
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy's Sugar Ball...
I would have to say that this is a generous number given everything that annoyed me that day including how the Cowboys couldn't even beat the Chiefs in regulation. Overtime? Are you serious?
If it wasn't for the excellent company, I could have went back home, watched the game from my leather recliner on my 42 inch DLP and made myself as many drinks as I wanted (and trust me, I could have drank more if it wasn't the fact I was paying for some sub-par drinks).
Fuzzy screen? Various french fries not fully cooked? Sub-par drinks? Sub-par chicken strips? Lack of Cowboys memorabilia in a Cowboys Fan Club bar? Overtime against the Chiefs? 15/40 DSB rating?
This Captain personally gives it a 10. To the Cowboys fans out there, this place is not a winner.
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From the looks of this review, it sounds like I didn't miss much. Well atleast in the way sports bar attending anyways, I did however hear what I missed afterwards. Still waiting for that article to show up here--> ZJ,PJH. See ya this weekend.
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man im glad at I was at the Eagles game according to this write up. Besides as an Eagle fan I dont know if I could have gotten myself to go anyway, ok I could have cause I would have been talking shit and laughing at Tony Romo and the fact that hes a horrible QB and set this franchise back some 5 yrs or was that the trade for Roy Williams, either way does it matter.
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This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! keep up the good work.
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