Teschner's Tavern

Found this place by looking at Yelp reviews.  Stopped in last Saturday.  Got a place at the bar and the server guy served us super fast!  They have a decent beer selection and cover all the bases as far as liquor goes.  They also have Keno.  After about 15 minutes we were chatting with servers, patrons and it was like a party!  Very laid back and nice.  Dont get that up in Tremont....the place can be PACKED and people only talk to the select few they came in with.  Why bother to go out...stay at home and drink.  Didnt try the food but will be back VERY soon to hang with these folks again.  Check it out!

Bob and Ann's.  That's what Teschner's Tavern was called, back in the Dark Ages of my drinking life, when a shot and a beer was about as exotic as it got, when Ann flipped burger at the grill, and Bob held court at the other side of the bar, on a stool, and laughed his low, chugging smoker's laugh at any tired joke proffered by one of the permanent fixtures seated on the other side.  Deer heads, dogs playing poker in velvet, sticky floors, but damn, could you drink all night for five bucks.

These days, it has even less charm, locked in the struggle between updating the atmosphere and decor to circa 1985 and saying, "Aww, screw it.  People come here to drink, they will always come here to drink.  Why bother?"

I'm told they serve food here.  Pool table.  Seating/bar/restroom layout that defies logic or explanation.

As a local watering hole, dive bar, cheap drunk place, it gets four stars.  If they would please turn the music down, somewhere below ear-bleed level, that would be swell.  One recent night we stopped in on our way elsewhere to grab a drink.  Two guys at the bar were working way too hard to get the two women working that night to meet them later.  I was tempted to take over bar duties so the four of them could get a room down the road at Terry Point Motel (rooms furnished, or unfurnished, by the night or by the week).  One star off for general creepiness, and young, puffy jugheads on the never-ending trail of tears.  Get me the hell out of here.

We stumbled upon this place on the way to do some climbing at Whipp's Ledges.  We'd planned to grab a bite to eat at Whitey's, but learned that they wouldn't be serving food until 4 pm.  So we took off in the car and ended up at Teschner's Tavern, which looked from the outside to be an absolute hole in the wall.  

When we walked in there was only one other patron, a guy sitting at the end of the bar sipping on a drink.  I asked if the kitchen was open and was told that it absolutely was.  The menus were given to us, and I was quite impressed with the selection of food available.  I asked what was "good o order today" and the bartender told me that I should order the Mac 'n Cheese, and ask for bacon and diced tomato in it.  She told me this was "f***ing good", so I decided with a testimonial like that I should go for it!  This dish was $3.95.  I also ordered a mini cheeseburger which was $1.50.  My boyfriend ordered the chicken philidephia sandwich and onion rings.  After we put in our order, we decided to sit at a table instead of the bar, as it had a direct view of a gorgeous flat screen TV where we could watch the start of the OSU game.  

A few things that kept this restaurant from getting 4 stars were observed as we waited for our food.  1) ambiance- basically this place has none of it, but that isn't really what we were looking for. 2) service- again, not really any service.  The cook pretty much was in the back cooking and occasionally came out, the bartender was chatting with the now 2 patrons at the bar.  We were the only 2 guests.  She did bring my a whole pitcher of soda to the table, but my boyfriend's water never got refilled.  3) the first beer my boyfriend ordered was at the end of the keg.  She gave him that 1/4 pint anyway, for free, but it was kind of gross with a bunch of floaties in it.

But then... came the food.  It was AMAZING.  Nothing at all that I would have expected coming from a place like this.  Everything tasted like it was freshly made.  I felt like I was at my grandma's house.  Flavor, flavor, flavor! My Mac 'n Cheese was so creamy and cheesy and gooey.  The tomato and bacon with it really DID make it f'in good. My "mini cheeseburger" was about the size I would make a regular burger on the grill at home.  And it tasted just like something my dad would have delivered to my plate, like the ground beef had just been pressed into a patty immediately before it was fired up, nothing processed or frozen.  

My boyfriend's chicken Philly was a bit surprising. It was on a regular bun instead of a hoagie roll, and had an actual chick breast on it.  Again, this reminded me of going over to Grandma's and she threw this together with what she had in the kitchen at the time.  The onion rings were also phenomenal.  My grandpa had a fryer when I was growing up, and would slice up some thick onions, bread them, and throw them in.  These tasted just like Grandpa's.  

The lady who was cooking when we were there, Michelle, loves to cook and it comes across clearly on the plate.  Our lunch was excellent.  If I'm ever in that area again, for a walk of for climbing, I am absolutely stopping in at Teschner's for a bite to eat.