Bar Louie Westlake

Bar Louie is a poor option in Crocker Park. Want Applebees level food at a higher price? Ok, check out Bar Louie. Otherwise, skip it and go to one of the other chain options (with better food). Went here for lunch today, a Monday, with my boss.

I haven't been to a Bar Louie since a random drinking binge barcrawl in 2005 as a grad student at Illinois - and I probably should have kept up that streak.

Pros:
- Service was fine. Nothing special, but OK.
- The dining room is nice. Great garage doors that open up in the summer and probably make it a good place for a happy hour beer or two.

Cons:
- The food was passable, but at $10+ for a burger and side, I expect more than a pre-formed frozen patty and some basic toppings.
- My side, black beans and rice, had obviously been sitting around for a couple days. After raising the issue to the server, she took it and subbed a side salad, but I could tell the rice was dried out and reheated at a glance. Should have never even been served.
- The side salad was a joke. It was a handful of cruddy lettuce, a few tomato bits, and a few cucumber bits. Not fresh, not made up - just thrown together haphazardly.

Overall, it's a subpar restaurant with bleh food at high prices. Check out somewhere different and save some cash.

Not as bad as some of the others make it out to be. Maybe I had a more competent server, or was just there on a "good night." It helped that we had a table saved (high top of about 10 seats in the bar area) and that I was being treated to a night out by our company owners. The food was nothing great -- just ok. The chop chop salad had an overly "lettuce-in-a-bag-that's-been-open-for-a-day" taste. The veggie flatbread was ok, as was the cheese quesadilla (spicy cheese though).

Like I said, not awful, but I might have felt differently had I been paying, as some stuff seemed way overpriced.

Bar Louie has your typical "bar style food." I went here for $1 burgers last Tuesday and was impressed. With the purchase of 1 drink (they have $3 drafts, $4 glasses of wine and $5 martinis on Tuesdays), you get a burger with lettuce for $1. Additional toppings are 50cents, but include things such as cheese, sauces and vegetables. I had cheddar cheese and jalapenos which were extremely spicy, but added good flavor to the burger.

I also heard that they have $1 beers on Wednesday nights so I'm pretty sure i'll be going back again soon!