Benny's Restaurant & Lounge

What a blast we had visiting this bar/restaurant!!  There was a great band on Saturday night and then there's Sunday Funday.  We walked in to friendly bartenders and friendly patrons.  

So I have to start out with the sign outside.  The bar is turning 60 this year or next, can't remember, and the sign looks like it was taken off a casino in Vegas.  Just the first hint of history at this place.  When you walk in you have the bar, some tables, a stage for the band, pool tables, shuffle board, darts and the greatest collection of memorabilia I've ever seen in person.  The pictures on the walls tell the history of this place.  The people who have graced this bar with their presence will make your jaw drop!  I almost felt like I was in a museum.  

It's under new ownership this year (April, I believer) and the new guy seems to be making some improvements.  We saw some flowers planted out back and we were told he was going to take out the wall behind the bar and make a round bar (which should look awesome).  The women's bathrooms are painted pink and the decor is just adorable.

The menu looked great, making it hard to choose just one item, so we ordered 3:  The hot wings, the cream-cheese-stuffed-bacon-wrapped-jalapenos, and a burger.  The hot wings were the typical hot wings but the jalapenos...holy crap!  The first one my hubby bit in to was fine, not too hot.  So then I try one.  WOW!  Very hot, but tasty and I proceeded to eat a couple more.  We ended up taking some of the wings and jalapenos home.  Fore warning - the jalapenos get hotter as the night goes on.

They have a great smoking patio out back with two levels.  Ashtrays are abundant and the service was great on the patio.  The bartenders never forgot about us.  Definitely worth checking out and, since we don't live there, let me know how the bar-in-the-round turns out.

This is going to be mainly a review of their food, since that is what I do on Yelp.  As a "dive bar", the place has lots of character, with chatty and friendly bartenders, interesting "regulars", and a  comfortable set-up.

Now for the food. I have found some really unexpected great food at bars in town. I have also encountered some horrific and greasy-fried bar food as well.

I knew Benny's had a kitchen, and served hot meals, so I ventured in on my lunch hour to check them out.  Their blue plate special for the day was Fried Chicken. I have had some really good and really bad friend chicken at the bars and taverns in town. Benny's unfortunately falls into the "really bad" category. What makes fried chicken bad?  Well, their coating was properly seasoned, but man was the chicken dry.  I don't mean just slightly over-cooked, but the chicken meat tasted like and had the consistency of sawdust. Went through 4 cokes to wash it down. I know it can be tricky to get dark and white meat both juicy, since white meat takes a shorter time to cook, but my three-piece order was all white meat (not that I would have liked a piece or two of dark, but I was never given that option.)

As a bar, Benny's can be fun, not such a great place for grabbing a bite however.

Went here on a Sunday night, great back patio, the staff was friendly, and we ended up playing poker. Man I stink at Poker, but we had a great time.
The shot specials were good, the prices are reasonable, and the menu has a good "bar food" selection.
Seems like a nice hang out.