by Steve Eslinger » Thu Jun 14, 2018 9:33 am
My wife and I walked to 80/20 last night.
I had high hopes for the place...and I was NOT disappointed. Space-wise, they have outdone themselves. I thought the photos looked great, but they don't do it justice. Hard to believe it's the same place that housed the original Kaelin's.
Neither of us had huge appetites so we split a wedge salad and a three-slider sampler. The salad was quite good for a wedge salad, with tasty chunks of country ham adding a salty counter to the dressing. Of the sliders (80/20, Pork belly-shoulder blend, and chorizo), the real standout was the pork blend. It was almost like making a patty out of pulled pork and belly, but I guess that's because that's exactly what it was. The suprise was how well it worked--a true bbq burger. I will also definitely order the full-sized 80/20 as the slider portion showed a great deal of promise. As for the chorizo burger, it was good. The sausage was highly accented with cumin. Tasty, but I will probably focus on other options.
As far as the food that was carried past our table, everything looked good. The onion rings and fried fish sandwich caught my eye as appearing to be perfectly fried and non-greasy. I'm anxious to see if the onion rings are as good as my current gold standard (Stout, which has replaced the Granville Inn in my rankings).
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't comment about my interaction with one of the owners, Chris Fenton. He gave us a tour of the next phases in their plans, with a walk-through of the soon-to-be opened ice cream parlour, complete with an old "soda jerk" fountain and waffle cone maker. He also showed us the upstairs area to be used as a family-friendly private function space. When I say family-friendly, I REALLY mean it. Just take a look at the upstairs bathroom, and you'll catch my drift. (spoiler avoided)
The place was slammed for an eight o'clock on a Tuesday, and I have a hunch that may become a common sight.