Champps Americana coming to Oxmoor area

We used to frequent Champps when it was an "indie" in Minnesota and it was awesome...It was sold a couple of years back to a group who took it "national". (I've been -hoping- they would locate here). If a visit on a recent trip back to Minnesota is any indication, it hasn't suffered from the change in direction. They still do a nice job of drawing a more "upscale" clientele as opposed to your typical grunting frat-boy sports bar crowd. The food was still a full notch and a half above your typical sports bar, the beer selection was reasonable with a little something for everyone's tastes and the atmosphere was great with an effort being made to separate the serious diner from the "let's go watch the game" patrons. Definitely a worthy addition for the local scene bar/restaurant scene

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/ ... cal%20News

Menu: http://www.champps.com/menu.aspx

Completely agree.

One of the better "sports bars" there are around with solid food much better than typical bar food and per my memory of one I used to visit in Houston, excellent TVs for viewing.

One thing I never get about places like BW3s is how poor their TVs are for viewing. While the screens are large, the resolution is terrible, so I would never consider watching games I cared about at that place, yet they market it on ads like it is Valhalla.

Anyhow, Champps will be a great addition, though I hate the location where it is (Bravos and Chuys there as well), and that might have helped lead to demise of Fox & Hound.

Anyhow, Champps will be a great addition, though I hate the location where it is (Bravos and Chuys there as well), and that might have helped lead to demise of Fox & Hound.

Can't disagree with ya there...A somewhere-off-the-Snyder location would have been much more in keeping with what I have observed to be their typical outer-tier-suburban-game plan.

Steve, the menu does look somewhat interesting but doesn't have any prices. Who would you say their prices are comparable to locally?

Burgers are $8.99-11.99, most entrees $10-15 (tho go up to maybe $21-22), appetizers very high (at least in the Cleveland and Chicago burbs).

On the other side, portions are HUGE. Chicken breast entree will have 3 breasts, around 5-6 oz each. Any salad can serve two, appetizers 2-4. If we split an appetizer and each have a sandwich, no way can we even try dessert.

BTW, the ones I've been to will only do burgers medium well or well done, a pet peeve of mine (if they don't trust their ground beef, why should I trust the rest of their food?)

I'd compare calories, prices, portion sizes to Cheesecake Factory, but with decent bar and LOTS of very good tv's (and a good staff who will change any tv if you want a particular game they aren't showing).

Also: if you join them on-line, they have very good e-mail promotions almost every Monday and most Tuesdays!

Burgers are $8.99-11.99, most entrees $10-15 (tho go up to maybe $21-22), appetizers very high (at least in the Cleveland and Chicago burbs).

On the other side, portions are HUGE. Chicken breast entree will have 3 breasts, around 5-6 oz each. Any salad can serve two, appetizers 2-4. If we split an appetizer and each have a sandwich, no way can we even try dessert.

BTW, the ones I've been to will only do burgers medium well or well done, a pet peeve of mine (if they don't trust their ground beef, why should I trust the rest of their food?)

I'd compare calories, prices, portion sizes to Cheesecake Factory, but with decent bar and LOTS of very good tv's (and a good staff who will change any tv if you want a particular game they aren't showing).

Also: if you join them on-line, they have very good e-mail promotions almost every Monday and most Tuesdays!

Thanks for the information! The comparison to Cheesecake Factory certainly doesn't make it very interesting for me! They try to overwhelm you with quantity hoping you won't notice the quality. I certainly agree with your comment about how they cook burgers.

http://www.champps.com/Portals/0/menu/p ... nemenu.pdf

Indy menu with pricing.


I've been to the downtown location in Indy one time and everything was mediocre. By everything I mean the burgers, wings, service, atmosphere, and beer list. I found it very close to Fox and Hound, but with an highly inferior beer offering.

It sounds like a run down mcdonalds is being replaced by a newly remodeled hardees with more tvs and less soft drink choices. Kfc played by bw3s is breathing a sigh of relief.

http://www.champps.com/Portals/0/menu/pdf/onlinemenu.pdf

Indy menu with pricing.


I've been to the downtown location in Indy one time and everything was mediocre. By everything I mean the burgers, wings, service, atmosphere, and beer list. I found it very close to Fox and Hound, but with an highly inferior beer offering.

The "Champps" we frequented in Minnesota was their "flagship" (original) location and has it's roots in the original independent concept. So who knows perhaps they hold that particular location to a higher standard. I've never been to any of their other locations since they became a <gasp> chain. <shrugs> so perhaps things are as you say. I believe I'll wait and make my own determination.

[Robin Garr]

Indy menu with pricing.

Kobe Beef slIders*
Three melt-in-your-mouth Kobe beef patties

No. Not Kobe. This is a lie. Kobe is not available outside Japan.

Indy menu with pricing.

Kobe Beef slIders*
Three melt-in-your-mouth Kobe beef patties

No. Not Kobe. This is a lie. Kobe is not available outside Japan.

Ehhhhhhhhh....yes and no Food Fellow. Yes, REAL "Kobe" beef is only available in Japan. No because "Kobe" is not a variety of Cattle (any more than "Copper River Salmon" is a variety of Salmon). Kobe beef are in reality "Waygu" cattle and Waygu cattle -are- available outside of Japan (My current favorite steak is a Waygu Sirloin from Greg Norman farms, available at Jungle Jim's). American style Kobe beef are (typically) a cross between Waygu and Black Angus. I suspect American restaurants use the word "Kobe" simply for recognition/marketing purposes much in the way restaurants use the words "Copper River Salmon" for recognition/marketing purposes.

No. Not Kobe. This is a lie. Kobe is not available outside Japan.

...Annnnnnnd if you want to get into menu "lies" I could fill a notebook. It's one of my pet peeves. Seafood items seem to be -particularly- prone to abuse....That and I'm wondering just where in the hell the top-secret-mother-load-farm is where all of these restaurants are getting their "locally raised greens" (etc, etc)...I'll tell ya where SOME of these places are getting them...they're not, they're lyin the ass off.


http://www.boston.com/business/specials/fish_testing/

[Robin Garr]

Ehhhhhhhhh....yes and no Food Fellow. Yes, REAL "Kobe" beef is only available in Japan. No because "Kobe" is not a variety of Cattle (any more than "Copper River Salmon" is a variety of Salmon). Kobe beef are in reality "Waygu" cattle and Waygu cattle -are- available outside of Japan

Steve's Wacky Persona, I don't use a wacky persona. You know my name. Please use it.

As for "Kobe" beef, before you start showing off your amazing knowledge of food and food lore, you might want to get your facts straight. Here's a good recent three-part article in Forbes to get you started:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmste ... -beef-lie/]Food's Biggest Scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie[/url]

Ehhhhhhhhh....yes and no Food Fellow. Yes, REAL "Kobe" beef is only available in Japan. No because "Kobe" is not a variety of Cattle (any more than "Copper River Salmon" is a variety of Salmon). Kobe beef are in reality "Waygu" cattle and Waygu cattle -are- available outside of Japan

Steve's Wacky Persona, I don't use a wacky persona. You know my name. Please use it.

As for "Kobe" beef, before you start showing off your amazing knowledge of food and food lore, you might want to get your facts straight. Here's a good recent three-part article in Forbes to get you started:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmste ... -beef-lie/]Food's Biggest Scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie[/url]

Actually...Robin...Me thinks that rather than attempting to make clarifications about what is and what is not Kobe Beef (and I DO stand by what I said in that regard...Your link proved nothing), that you are simply taunting me with phrases like "showing off your amazing knowledge of food and food lore, you might want to get your facts straight". This in the hope that (A) by doing so will you will lure me into one of your patented What ? Who me ? confrontations where you appear the "victim' and I appear the "aggressor" and (B) That by doing so you will generate some excitement (and in the process ad revenue) on a dieing and increasingly irrelevant forum. (sorry about that last part, just saying what others are thinking)...I also think that C) I shall not play along this time. If you want to argue my statement I shall not participate but rather permit you (and perhaps others when the "cool kids"come to your defense) to turn this sub/topic into some kind of a food-masturbation session (Now THERE is a mental picture)... .

Anyway...I'm really sorry if you were offended by the "Food Fellow" thing...Really I am. I'm sure if I could somehow master this attention-defict-short-can't-read-for-sh**(That was for you Matt F) problem I'm dealing with that I could come up with a MUCH more appropriate moniker...The problem finding a word that goes along with "Sanctimonious".

[Robin Garr]

Actually...Robin...

Are you drunk, Steve?