village anchor and pub: review: 4 stars

[Robin Garr]

Do you think either of these guys are going to walk into a restaurant north of the aforementioned and get BAD service or the questionable cut of meat ?

It sure as heck happened to me at Wasabiya, Steve!

You have a good point, though, which is why I've long since given up the absolute assumption that I'll be "anonymous" in a dining situation, and I expect the CJ has done the same, although I don't know if they've disclosed this.

What I do - and I'll leave it to Marty or his editors at Scene to speak for themselves - is maintain as low a profile as possible. There are a variety of simple ways to handle this, and I'll refrain from excessive detail in an effort to keep my tool kit cleaned up.

I will say this, though, if forumite Alison doesn't mind being used as an example: When they had AJ's Gyro in Floyds Knobs, I went over, had a pretty good time, and wrote a decent review, with a couple of fair nits to pick. It turned out that they DID have my picture hanging by the cash register ... but the server didn't make the connection.

It should also be noted that neither Marty or I got into Village Anchor Pub & Roost without being spotted by the eagle-eyed April. April already knows that the best way to cause me NOT to review a place is to know me and suck up to me and roll out the red carpet. There's one prominent, no-longer-extant establishment that played that game, up to and including complimentary desserts. I smiled, and thanked them, and never wrote that review.

Anyway, Marty seemed blown away by the Anchor and found no flaw. I liked it a lot, too, said many good things about it, and also dinged them for greasy frying. I suspect something similar was going on at Wasabiya, but again, I can't speak for Marty.

Threads like this don't do anyone any good. There are way too many agendas in this forum to be objective 100% of the time. Have people had issues there? Sure. Have people had amazing times there? Absolutely. I think we all should come to our own conclusions and not let some sour posts dissuade our opinion.

Rob, if using threads like this don't do anyone any good you're in the wrong place. Almost every restaurant that is discussed here has people that like it and those that don't. That is due to any different factors some of which are time of day, the server, items ordered, etc. By reading what others say we can get a feel for a restaurant but as you say we still need to come to our own conclusion. I don't really think anyone has an agenda as you put it! Instead they just bring up the points that made their visit good or bad. There's nothing wrong with that and as a matter of fact it's good for the restaurant to see where they need to make improvements.

Yes, we didn't have a wonderful experience. Will we go back? Sure we definitely will because there were things that were great and the problems we had could be corrected quite easily. Would we take friends from out of town with us? Not after our first visit but again I certainly don't rule it out after a future visit if we have a better experience.

Everyone look for something different in their experience at a restaurant or most anywhere else. That's what makes everyone a unique individual!

Call me the lone dissenter, but this menu does not entice me to take the long trek to Anchorage. Reubens, meat loaf, fried chicken? No, my brilliant grandma taught me that. I prefer local produce, and delicious fare which is healthier and lighter. I am surprised that they don't offer a quirky vegetarian entree. Oh well, we have Frankfort Ave and the Highlands.....

[Robin Garr]

Call me the lone dissenter, but this menu does not entice me to take the long trek to Anchorage. Reubens, meat loaf, fried chicken? No, my brilliant grandma taught me that. I prefer local produce, and delicious fare which is healthier and lighter. I am surprised that they don't offer a quirky vegetarian entree. Oh well, we have Frankfort Ave and the Highlands.....

It's "comfort food with a twist" - the Reubens and meatloaf burger aren't quite what you'd expect from the Cottage Inn - and the full menu also includes the more pricey "Captain's Log" with dishes like pistachio-crusted sea bass ($34) and steak with Bourbon demiglace ($36).

This place sounds good. I'll try it the first chance I get; hopefully on a less crowded evening.

I'm with those who contend that the "new" needs to wear off a bit and they get thier sea-legs before I venture in for a meal, although I'm dying to see the place. Long ago when it was empty and "condemned", I ratted around in the building....much to dismay of the Anchoridge PD.....but that's another story for another time after a few cocktails.

With impending schedule conflicts that might preclude us from the offline, we just couldn't wait and took my mother to Village Anchor Pub and Roost this afternoon for her birthday luncheon.

If our experience is any indication, the opening jitters have worn off and these people are firing on all cylinders. Our meal and visit was near perfect.

We started off with the Fish Tacos and Onion Rings. The Onion rings were HUGE, delicious and not the slightest bit greasy. The onions were ensconced in a thick, tasty batter and served with a tangy mustard. The fish tacos were hefty and featured subtle, mild flavors. They were served with an incredibly fresh pico and house made flour tortilla chips (like I make at home!)

We ordered three different sandwiches and after sampling from each plate, lamented that we could not eat all three apiece! Mother had the Meatloaf burger which was superbly cooked (most meatloaf is grey with no trace of life or flavor, in my experience) and rich with flavor. She opted for the mixed fruit side and it looked beautiful as the fruit was fresh and delicious! My wife ordered the Steak Sandwich which was, once again, perfectly cooked medium rare and served on a steak hoagie roll. She opted for the sweet potato fries instead of the house pub fries. The sweet potato fries came with a vanilla dipping sauce that reminds me of what you drizzle on cinnamon rolls as well as a smoky BBQ sauce. Both sauces complimented the fries perfectly (and the vanilla sauce also worked exceptionally well with the fresh strawberries from Mother's fruit plate...) I ordered the Double-Stacked Reuben with the house's rosemary pub fries. The Reuben was easily one of the best I have ever had. The corned beef was tender and flavorful and the sandwich boasted a jalapeno sauerkraut, which much to my delight was not marred by a need to be overly spicy (an obligatory mistake any time "jalapeno" is inscribed into a recipe), but instead featured bits of tangy jalapeno woven into the kraut to provide just a hint of zip. While my fries lacked a robust rosemary presence, they were not the worse for it. Very good, crisp and crunchy fries that did not need the ketchup side car that accompanied them.

For dessert, we attempted the Banana Pudding, a mountainous affair that requires an extra bit of time to prepare as it is topped with a 4-inch high meringue. It was more than enough for the three of us. I'm not a meringue fan, but I have to admit, it was very well prepared. If there was a quibble, it was that the amount of pudding was disproportionate to the overachieving meringue, but in light of everything else, that is something I was ready to overlook.

We will definitely return to Village Anchor and we will be bringing more friends. Mother was very pleased with our choice for her birthday luncheon and we called the day a complete success!

[Robin Garr]

have we decided when the offline will be? date and time?

Keep watching the posts "stuck" to the top of the forum. Gayle was going to hold off until the 10-day period for the poll ran out. Last time I looked, Sunday Aug. 8 seemed to be the clear winner, but Gayle is the boss of this.

Robin, I don't mind being used as and example at all It think Joe, Jay and I are gong to attend depends what time on the Sunday it is ie lunch or dinner.