Bungalow Joe's in Fern Creek

I'm not certain if anyone has mentioned this place, but this is a new Bar and Grill opening up in the Fern Creek area for people in our neck of the woods. It is located in the shopping center on Beulah Church Rd. Pretty much the ONLY shopping center on Beulah Church Rd. *chuckle*

This looks promising in terms of location for me...it's located within walking distance. And according to their Draft list, they have Falls City and Pabst on Tap. It's like my own little Highlands has finally found its way to Fern Creek.

http://www.bungalow-joes.com/index.cfm/m/1/dn/Home/

[Robin Garr]

they have Falls City and Pabst on Tap.

I've had the new Falls City several times - it's my go-to brew at Village Anchor Pub & Roost. Good stuff!

There was a previous thread. They have on their calender the UL/UK game, I'm not sure if that means they are hoping to be open by that time. I've driven by there several times. They are making progress in construction, I would be surprised however if they can be open by 9/4.

I agree, sounds like a nice place to watch games and it's close to my home also, however, there's no way I will be able to make any connections to get a Highland's vibe.

Maybe some of us out in this area can meet up for some Sunday football when they open...

Drove by there about an hour ago and there is a veritable army of contractor trucks and vans surrounding the place. Looks like they're throwing everything they can find at it to try and get it wrapped up.

I grew up in FC and would love to see it turn into a Highlands-esque area - at least in regards to dining. Bardstown Road has gotten so over populated it almost like Dixie Highway. Still, I hope it can manage to retain a bit of that country charm it had years ago.

I agree. One of the reasons I enjoy living in Fern Creek is the feeling of having space. Some people are better at it than other and able to live in different areas; I just have my preference. It would be great, as you said, for FC to pick up a couple more restaurants other than this one; they certainly have the room to expand.

Word is, they are looking to open on September 11th....I know they have now hired a chef to run the kitchen....it looks to be top notch in regards to bar and grill type food...I, for one, am excited.

As of today, there is furniture on the floor, so definitely progress being made....

And from their Facebook page:

We should be open on the 4th of Sept. with a limited menu. We will have a complete menu by the grand opening on the 10th.

Just to update - they did manage to open this weekend in time for the game. I stopped in Saturday night for a quick beer to check it out, and dropped back in today to try the food.

They're working off a smaller 'training menu' right now, with mostly appetizer type food and burgers, though I did get a peek at the full menu as well. Seems like a good mix of the usual bar food and sandwiches, but with several real entree-type items as well - flat iron steak, a Caribbean Ribeye, and bourbon-glazed salmon come to mind.

Small space, divided into a front seating area with low tables and booths and a bar area at the rear with 8 high tops and a pair of booths plus bar seating. Lots of TV's, all flat panels except the big projection screen at the rear of the bar. Great place to watch a game, for sure - the server manager mentioned that they will have both Insight and satellite to maximize game coverage. There were also tv's visible on the little deck area outside, but I forgot to wander out there to check it out fully.

Ordered an order of the wings as a test item, 12 wings, but the server split the order into 6 'hot' and 6 'bourbon glazed' so I could try them both. Unlike most places, the split order came on separate plates, each piled with fresh cooked chips, some celery, and a ranch on one, blue cheese on the other. Wings were unbreaded (yay), and cooked almost perfectly by my standards (fully cooked, crispy on the outside, but still tender and moist on the inside). The 'hot' sauce was different from the typical wing sauce, with a very noticeable black pepper flavor and maybe 4ish heat on a 1 to 10. Bourbon glazed was extremely sweet and sticky, with just a subtle hint of bourbony flavor. Other wing flavors I remember from the list but did not try were Caribbean Jerk, mild, honey BBQ, and Sweet Asian Chili. My server also mentioned that their wings are fresh, never frozen.

Beer selection seemed pretty good, but I didn't get a listing - since I had not yet tried Falls City and I knew they had it on tap, I kinda zoned in on it. Me likey.

Service was a little flaky, but nothing horrible and definitely understandable, since it was day 2 - nothing more than a longer than usual wait for a beer when my server picked up a couple tables in the front section with a bunch of people. I had Buzztime to keep me occupied, so it was a tiny issue.

Definitely a step up in the Sports Bar category for the Fern Creek area - probably not going to win any awards for gourmet meals, but that's not the intent. They will get game day business from me for sure.

I concur, great and understandable review.....I'll have to stop by.

I stopped by on Sunday night and liked the layout of their divided room. At least it gives a chances for those wanting to "dine" at a booth and still watch TV the choice while others may sit near the multitude of hightops on the other side. I walked in and proceeded to seat myself according to the sign at the door at one of the hightops near the bar.I ordered a tall Falls City Beer for $4.50 and Cheese Fries; I think it was about $6. Service was a little shaky at first ; probably because it was a game night and seat yourself type deal. However, once I tackled a server (kidding) , they were very good at helping me with anything else I needed for the rest of the night. TV's were EVERYWHERE; a sports lover's dream. They had Flat panels on every wall and a huge screen directly on the large wall opposite the bar. I had whiplash after leaving trying to keep track of all the games! But it was a good thing...

The beer was fine, but I wasn't a fan of the cheesefries. They tasted ok, but seem to enough cheese and bacon on top. Plus, it didn't seem the portion was that plentiful for the price. However I'm a stickler for cheesefries because it's my thing...I'll definitely return and sample some of the their other dishes.

I believe your concerns have been addressed. I was in for lunch, my burger was absolutely cooked perfectly to a medium rare. I got the loaded cheese fries, and they were flowing over the plate. I salute a place that will listen to our concerns.

We were watching volleyball at Fern Creek High and decided to grab a bite. I remembered this post and thought why not? We asked several Ferncreek "fans" where it was and nobody had heard of it! We finally found someone to give directions from the high school.

They DO NOT have the complete menu yet. We started with Stinky Chips - pretty good but the cheese was not melted, just sprinkled on. I asked, and the server said it was supposed to be melted. I'm sure if they were done right they would be REALLY good - fresh kettle chips w/ cheese, bacon, ranch and green onions.

It was a lot of chips, so we decided to each get a cup of seafood bisque and split a fish sandwich. No such luck - both of these are not available just yet. So we decided to split a Reuben - good choice!
Tender, with a hint of "smokey" corned beef on marble rye with caribbean cole slaw. It was very good - we both liked it a lot. But the hubby - the ever-wanting-a-fish-sammich man, couldn't believe they would open with a limited menu. I told him "look around- Tuesday night, 7:30, pretty good good crowd". They pretty much have a captive audience - the only other places in that strip are Puerta Vallarta and Win-On Chinese. It's a great place to watch any game or get together w/ friends if you live in the area.

But I will go back just to try the fish sandwich and seafood bisque - the owner talked to us about both and I have to say, I'll make the trip - hand dipped to order beer battered cod and a sherry based seafood bisque. I want to try both

That's my concern too. They need to find 'fine' cheese in order for it to melt at their current setting. The cheese they use right now is too thick for an oven or warmer before burning the product on top or underneath.

As far as I know, only the app dishes had always been available; something about wiring in their kitchen getting figured out. A couple more weeks is the bar word. And bar word is LAW.

Do you really want to call them "Stinky Chips?" I mean, I'm all for kettle chips smothered in cheese, but I'm pretty sure "stinky" moves me on to the next item on the menu...