Helen Fitzgeralds

Helen's is a south county institution. Hard to believe it's been around for over 20 years, but it has endured with a basic formula: a good location with a huge bar area that's big enough for bands, dancing, and big groups such as work happy hours, bachelorette parties, etc.  They book well known local music- pop DJs, pop bands- and have great happy hour pricing.  Sexy bartenders, shot girls, you know the drill.  The food is your most basic bar food- lots of choices but average in quality.  For most of the packed crowd in here each weeknight and weekend, food is not the priority, so there is no impetus to offer anything but the most basic fried apps, wings, sandwiches, and a few dinner entrees.  
I work in Sunset Hills and occasionally wind up here for lunch.  It's not my first choice, but it does the job.  I had a decent burger a few visits ago, but the fries were undercooked and mushy.  My last visit I got a buffalo chicken sandwich that was overcooked and dry, plus light on the cheese and sauce that was supposed to accompany.  I got house-made chips as a side, and those were tasty, much better than the fries.  Lunch service is fast and friendly- they cater mostly to the business crowd for lunch so understand the need to get in and out quickly.  
There are a lot of people in my nearby office, and Helen's is one of the few places that we can actually have an impromptu work event.  In planning events, we often reserve a space to accommodate our large size.  Either that or pack ourselves like sardines into a smaller place while making every other patron hate us while also going drastically over fire code!  Helen's is a great, nearby alternative for us that we use all the time.  
I also appreciate their being an independent, local spot in a sea of mostly chain places out in the county.

Aside from mealy tomato in my Cajun Caesar Wrap and a waiter with attention deficit disorder I got nothing worse to say about this place.

I ordered a cup of their house gumbo that never made an appearance.  When next our waiter appeared with our lunch I just said " I guess we'll just forget the cup of Gumbo".  A side from respiration and clearly breathing on his own, the only reply was " oh yeah,  sorry about that"  and off he trotted.

The place is what it is,  a Syberg restaurant and a relic that has seen better decades.  I'm sure it has it's following with the bar and live music but I seriously can't imagine why I'd ever go back short of perhaps a wake. I can only sum up my experience as leaving me in a state of indifference that makes CJ Mugg's look like a 4 star.

Helen has been around for ages and she is starting to show her age. It's probably been 8 years since my last visit and things haven't changed at all.  I'll take that back, on the menu there was a couple items marked with a shamrock with the word New inside it.

We had an <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FEntertainment.com&s=ecb0d29f4d40db0a3b8df7630f613241e3bc61711a59f1a5f3ca9bd1c8162174" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Entertainment.com</a> coupon for $5 off $20, so we thought we'd give Helen a try.  Arriving around 2PM, we were after the lunch rush so The Grill side was fairly empty. The host asked us if we preferred a booth and we responded, yes. He seated us, asked for our drink order and quickly returned with our ice teas and told us who our server would be. As we waited for our server, I noticed they had a green cup on the table with dice, pencils and score cards. How cool, you can play Yahtzee or Classic 6 while you dine.

Our server showed up, we declined appetizers (watching weight) asked a few questions and requested more time to glance over the menu. When he returned, I asked about the daily special and decided to order it, which was a Turkey Wrap with Fries. The SO ordered a Cajun Chicken Wrap with House Chips.

My wrap had an enormous amount of turkey that was accented by bacon and cheddar cheese. The crinkle fries were larger then most crinkle fries I've experienced and were seasoned well with a mixture of salt and pepper. I only ate half of my wrap, meaning I have the bulk of my lunch for work tomorrow ready to go.

The Cajun Wrap wasn't as good as my turkey.  Nothing can ruin a wrap quicker then a mealy tomato. However, the House Chips in my opinion were better then those served at Llwelyn's or Dressel's. Sliced thin, fried crisp and the right amount of salt seasoning gave them one of my three stars.

The service was lack luster, I think our server must have been worn out after the lunch rush. I was disappointed to see their to go vessels are Styrofoam.  May have been embossed with a pretty design, but it isn't Eco friendly.

When visiting Helen keep in mind, The Bar is a meat market for the young to hook up and The Grill is more for the aged to get a meal with friends. Helen has been around for years and it will be years before I return.