Paradise Grille

food was very unseasoned and bland, won't be going back.

I was in from out of town, and looking for somewhere local to eat (as in not Olive Garden).

Good food, very friendly, and quick service. They even gave me fresh homemade bread, which was amazing.

We'd driven by this place a million times when in the vicinity of the mall, but we never seemed to find it open at times when we were wanting to eat out.  But last night, a Thursday, we finally hit the jackpot.  (Our waiter told us they are only open during dinner hours on Tuesday through Saturday.)

The place was a lot smaller than I'd expected, but the tables were well-spaced, and so it seemed cozy, not crowded.  There's a bar in the middle and then booths around the perimeter.  Although I'd heard that the place is decorated with taxidermy, I was a little surprised by just how many dead animals they've crammed into that small space!  They also have some really cool-looking modern art on the walls, which made for kind of a weird juxtaposition.

The regular dinner menu is on the short side, consisting of about 12 dishes, but they also have an equally long list of daily specials that they give you on a printed sheet when you come in.  This sheet also includes the list of sides, so I assume they change frequently.  (Last night there were four or five vegetable choices, cream cheese potatoes, and brown rice.)

Apparently Thursday night is $9.95 rib night, so both of my male companions ordered those.  One had the country-style ribs and the other had a traditional rack, and their consensus was that the country-style ribs were definitely better, but both were decent, and the barbecue sauce was nice and spicy.  The rib special came with two sides but no salad.  Meanwhile, I ordered the shrimp alfredo off the regular menu.  It came with a salad but no sides.  I chose the house dressing, which was a passable balsamic vinagrette that was just a bit sweeter than I would have preferred.  The alfredo itself was good and rich, and I could tell that the sauce included a hefty portion of white wine, just like it says on the menu.  My one quibble was that the shrimp was somewhat overcooked.

The other dishes on the menu ranged in price from $10 to $35.  They seemed to center around beef, with a few seafood and fish offerings.  Oddly enough, there was no poultry on the menu at all.

Our waiter was very friendly and attentive without being in-your-face like so many are nowadays, and he was willing to give us his honest opinion of the menu options, which I always appreciate.

All in all, we were pleased by our visit, and although we found Paradise Grille a bit less formal than we'd expected from the outside, that was not a bad thing at all.