Homestead Rest

We arrived to The Homestead Rest after a quick search of reviews and checking of hours of operation.   It was 10 pm Friday evening and based upon information found on the web and the hours listed on the door they are open till 11pm.  

We walked in to an odd reception. The bar was full.  Several tables were full.  At least one looked like it had just received it's food. There were a couple of open tables available.  

3 different ladies looked at us.  I had to wonder if my makeup had smeared in the excitement of the tricky tray that we had just left.   After a couple of minutes, one acknowledged us by saying she will be with us in a moment after a couple of minutes.  2 seconds later we were told by another young lady that the kitchen was closed.  They had "shut everything off".  

We left hungry and frustrated.  My boyfriends comment says it all:  "If I wasn't so aggravated, I would have told them that this would have been our first time here but it will definitely be our last".

When we got to the car, we all considered eating the seeds in the gardening basket we had won but finally decided upon a diner north on route 23 in Wantage.  I have to say, they were much nicer and their food was yummy.

I live nearby and go occasionally in a pinch. The menu reflects a style of good old American pub food with hamburgers, ribs and sandwiches being at the forefront of their specialties. Recently they have been smoking many of their meat and chicken dishes which has added more flavor to their entrees. The meals still aren't anything special and they have a tendency to provide you with more carbs then one needs in the form of a overabundance of French fries which are good or in the form of oversized rolls. Is this to compensate for nothing else really standing out? They could benefit from improving their beer selection as it is limited to mostly bland major brewery offerings. Wish it could be more of a go to place since I live so close.

We had a great steak here, cooked exactly as it should be.  It was  BBQ Wednesday so we also had the ribs..  They were nicely smoked, a bit to much sauce for my taste.  Sauce was good though.  Really good hand cut fries, the onion rings had a cornmeal crust yum.  I am planning to make this one of my go to places.  Can't wait to try the burger!