Larosa's Restaurant & Sports Bar

Incredibly sketchy looking outside and inside.
Very good food and very nice people go there.
The prime rib is amazing, though to be fair I'm not a prime rib expert.
Awkward location for outsiders.
Had a great time there.
Pretty cheap from my North East experience.

If you decide to seek out this dive bar, you'll probably be taken aback by the appearance of the place. After all, it's a dive bar.

There's not always music nor is there always something on the television. It's a bit dirty. There's not much premium alcohol on the back bar.

But they have a kitchen. And serve lunch starting at 11:00 except for 4:00 on Sundays.

Italian Wedding Soup was a home run with flavorful broth, plenty of vegetables, ditalini pasta and wonderful little meatballs that had flavor. A pot roast dish was melt-in-your-mouth and surrounded by very flavorful gravy. Mashed potatoes are made from scratch!

Even the coleslaw is home-made. This creamy semi-chopped version is slightly sweet and slightly vinegary and just delicious.

The shining star was a shrimp cocktail featuring huge shrimp (these had to be U-11 size; under eleven pieces per pound). The shrimp had been cooked just perfectly and chilled without becoming saturated with water. I tell you they were not rubbery (been down that route at some very fine restaurants) and they were awesomely fresh. Four of these giants served classically in a lettuce leaf with very good red cocktail sauce were only $7.50! We haven't had them yet, but the owner says they use the same size shrimp for their baked stuffed shrimp entree ($13) and we can't wait to try them.

Stolichnaya and tonic is $2.75. Small but a value nonetheless.

Don't go at night when the crowd gets a little rough -- even for our taste! But go by all means. Have the meat loaf, the roast beef, the Italian food -- and certainly the shrimp cocktail.

For dessert, strawberry shortcake was amazing; fresh strawberries marinated in a simple syrup and placed on a nice piece of spongecake atop which sat an embarassment of whipped cream.

Bring cash; they don't take cards. There's an ATM up the street at the gas station, however (I bet you can tell how we found this out).