Conner Station Restaurant & Pub

Wings great!  Meat Lovers pizza too.  Could have much better wine.  Amy was a delight.

Having heard that they're in the process of changing their menu (with input from Chef Brad Gates) and changing their name to the Copper Still, I decided to gather friends here on Saturday night for a mini birthday celebration.  

They were packed on a Saturday night, always a good sign.  It didn't take too long for our party of six to be seated at a large table in the bar.  I appreciate that it's not too crowded, music was there but not blaring, and plenty of TV's around to watch the games.

The beer menu features plenty of local beers (Sun King, Goose Island, Three Floyds) and they also have a full bar.  Beverages were quick to arrive.  Unfortunately, our food took quite a bit longer, and the appetizers came out *after* our entrees!  The manager quickly picked up on the mistake and offered to comp us the appetizers, which was a very nice gesture.

The fried pickles were tasty but waaay too thick of a breading on them, everyone at our table agreed.  Same for the onion rings (served with burgers for a $2 upcharge), tasty but overly breaded.  The pulled pork nachos were superb, with tender shredded pork, diced tomatoes, red onions, jalapenos and black beans and topped with shredded cheese, guacamole and sour cream.  The pile of chips were more of a fried flour style than the usual corn chips, almost the texture of a won ton wrapper, and soaked up the pork juices in a satisflying way.  My only feedback on the nachos is that it would have been nice for the kitchen to throw them under the broiler for a minute to melt the cheese ... but I would definitely order these again!  Everyone seemed to like their burgers, I had a good BLT with lots of bacon, tasty tomatoes (not the tasteless grocery store kind) and thick slabs of white bread slathered with a garlic aioli.  The chips that came with my BLT tasted like they were kettle fried and had a good crunch.  Not made in house, but not the cheap ones either.

There were no "specials" when we dined there, and I couldn't tell what if anything on the menu reflects Brad Gates' influence.  The kitchen needs work (or possibly just more experience to work out their timing kinks) but there were some good flavors coming out of there, so I'm wiling to give them another try, when they're officially the Copper Still.

The food is pretty good here. As somewhat of a beer snob, they could have a better selection, but its not bad. My only real complaint was somewhat lackluster service.

Editing this because they have better beer now. They keep changing the menu, and are apparently owned by new people/under new management. I think they broke a few of the dishes I actually liked and they may have fixed/added some that are okay. The beer selection is fantastic now.