Options plentiful at Weller’s Grill and Bar

Fresh picks Jason Jennings, co-owner of Weller’s Grill and Bar, works behind the bar. Weller’s offers an extensive menu of fresh choices for a reasonable price.

Tricia Peterson

When I walked into Weller’s Grill and Bar, I realized it wasn’t a typical bar and grill. I quickly figured out that these guys focus on the food. Not only do they have wine pairings for most of their entrees, they also make almost everything from scratch, including burger buns.

Upon entry, the bar is the first thing you see with their extensive selection of beer on tap, wine and other liquors and liqueurs. It opens up into a dining room with booths and tables, and televisions typically featuring sports.  The décor is that of regular bars, but the tables and booths give a more “restaurant” feel to the place.

The waitress immediately asked me what I wanted to drink, and let me look over the menu. They offer a wide variety of appetizers including fried dill pickles, green beans and mushrooms. They also have wings of various flavors, which are popular. The appetizers are priced from $4 to $6 which is not bad, but add up quick if you want to try more than one.    I tried the fried dill pickles, and they were awesome. They were fried golden brown and crispy, but juicy in the middle and  served with ranch dressing on the side for dipping. The ranch works with the saltiness of the pickle to even it out and finishes them off nicely. I also really liked the fried green beans, which were breaded in bread crumbs and deep-fat-fried to a nice crunchy golden brown color. These are also served with ranch dressing.

I decided to try the Classic Cheeseburger, not only because it sounded really good but also because they use fresh brisket that is ground in-house for all of their burgers.  the burger comes with a choice of fresh cut French fries, pasta salad or cole slaw. It costs $1 to add onion rings.  I chose the pasta salad because I heard someone tell the waitress it was really good.

At first, it looked like any other tri-colored pasta salad, but the dressing is a surprise. I was expecting an italian dressing, and was wrong when I tasted a thicker, sweeter vinaigrette.  There were red bell peppers that added a crunch of freshness that I enjoyed, so I give the pasta salad a thumbs up.  The burger was juicy and came just as I ordered it, at a medium temperature. It comes with lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion on the side and only at your request. The thing that makes the burger so special is the square-shaped bun that they make fresh daily and grill-toasted to order.  The outer edges of the bun get that buttery crispness that I love with cheeseburgers.

The menu has so many more options I could go on all day, so if you want to check it out they are open daily from 11 a.m. until midnight.  They also have a website, but the menu isn’t posted yet, www.wellersbar.com.  I plan on going back and trying other menu items, and checking out the wine pairings they suggest.