Restaurant Detail

Beacon Bar & Grill, The (American)
2030 NE Vine St
Grants Pass, OR 97526
(541) 472-9375

Overall rating:			(Based on 5 ratings)
Most recent rating:			02-11-2008 09:41 AM
Highest rating:
Lowest rating:
Most Recent Ratings
	02/11/2008	Top Chef
	11/03/2007	Jessi
	10/26/2007	Kismet
	10/24/2007	Prophet Poblano
	09/20/2007	CrazyNewWay
Rating Breakdown
	3
	1
	1

User Reviews

Review Text
I have tried Beacon Bar and Grill four times now. I really wanted to like it. I tried to like. If I were to rate all four meals together I would give it a "C-".

First time was the Cobb Salad. HUGE. Way to huge. When I am presented with a plate that could seriously feed three people, I'm not as impressed as I am concerned. First thing that came to my mind was waste. After I got over that feeling, I dug in. Or tried to. I had to ask for a separate plate as this enormous salad toppled all over that place.

The plate was a huge pile of romaine lettuce. The kind from a bag. I can handle that and I know if helps to cut the cost of cleaning and tearing your own lettuce, but I always feel that you get "seconds" in bags. Most all of the romaine lettuce pieces were the spine or rib of the leaf. Rarely a nice piece of actual green. On top of the lettuce riblets sat huge slices of red onion. The slices were way to big to fit in the mouth. Next to that chicken again in large pieces, chunks of chopped boiled eggs, and tomatoes, UNDERCOOKED bacon, crumbles blue cheese topped with avocado slices. I choose the homemade blue cheese dressing. I'm a big fan of the Cobb, but that bacon was very undercooked and the veggie pieces cute too large. The dressing was decent and the crumble of blue good. "C-"

Next trip, my acquaintance wanted to share the Cobb again. I agreed to give it a try as long as we shared a plate of Onion Rings with roasted garlic ketchup. I was really looking forward to that garlic ketchup. It was ketchup, nothing garlic about it. Sad because the Onion rings were decent.

Then came the salad. Yep it was the same. Huge chunks of veggies and undercooked bacon. I kicked myself for not asking ahead of time to have them crisp it up. Not only that, but the avocado was so under ripe you could not eat it. "C-"

Ok one more chance. I played it safe. Ordered the veggie sandwich. This was a nice sandwich. Nothing to write home about, but tasted good. Served on Rye bread with cream cheese, cucumber, tomato, red onion, avocado, sprouts, mushrooms and ranch dressing. The bread seemed a tab dry but the fries were good. "B-"

Back again. I really wanted this place to work for me. I ordered the house salad and a bowl of clam chowder. The salad was fair, again standard Fancy greens in a bag. The soup was surprisingly good. Hot, creamy, nice tender clams and oyster crackers to top it off. Then off to sit at the bar. I ordered a Bloody Mary. WOW, this thing was a piece of art and a meal in it's own right. Good amount of vodka to mix. Nice and spicy with Tabasco and horseradish, a bit too much acid (juice of lemon, lime and olive juice). Then the garnish. Pickled Asparagus, celery, green olives, pickled onions all place strategically on a rim of salt. Solid "B".

At this point they are moving up my taste bud scale.

New night. Ordered the Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Lightly coated in Panko bread crumbs, with portabella mushroom slices, Swiss cheese, fried onion rings and a smoked bbq sauce on Ciabatta. This was a bit of a disappointment. The bbq sauce tasted vaguely of bbq and more like marinara. The cook must have dunked the breaded chicken breast in the sauce. The chicken was very soggy. I only ate half of this and all the fries. The fries here are great. Hot, crispy and salted just right. This meal got a C-.

The service has been great each time and the place was nice and clean. I commend the owners for cleaning up with old Lantern. I would rate service and atmosphere alone with an "B+".

I'll most likely try again, but further down the line. I had high hopes but so far my hopes are dashed.

Review Text
Had lunch here today with kids041. The interior is very nice, but the exterior could use some sprucing up. It still looks like ol' tavern. The waitress was very cordial, she fell in love with the perfume I was wearing even :).

I had the Spinach Salad, and kids041 had the Greek Salad. Both were enormous portions! My spinach salad was lovely - the spinach was fresh, and there was tons of crumbled hard boiled egg on it. My only complaint was that the bacon vinaigrette was not very flavorful.

The Greek Salad looked delicious and got a rave review from kids041. Hers did not come with bread, so she requested some (mine was listed with bread). What we got was a shared plate of delicious foccacia bread with melted cheese and tons of garlic. It was utterly amazing!

When it came time for the bill, we were charged $3.50 for the bread, which seemed a bit high for a side of bread, especially since there was only just a bit more than enough for 1 person. We assumed when it came that we were sharing my order.

Other than the bread charge, I will definitely be back. I want to try the burger!

Review Text
I was so excited about Beacon that we already went back for a second visit tonight. Unfortunately, based on this visit, I have to lower my earlier rating.

The service was excellent and our iced teas were never allowed to get too low.

We both agreed that the bacon in the Cobb Salad was again undercooked. Also there were avocado slices that were not ripe; they were described by my companion as "hard as a rock." Lastly, the proportions in the salad were noticeably different from our trip a few days ago. For example, there was much less purple onion than before.

The fresh ground pepper offered from a peppermill was a nice touch, but I had to wonder why it wasn't offered on my previous visit. Another inconsistency.

Beacon is already one of my favorite places and I hope to be back soon to try something different on the menu.

Review Text
I tried Beacon for the first time yesterday afternoon and I'm impressed. Based on that trip I'm ready to give them an A. Even though this place is still pretty new you can tell that the owners what they are doing.

On the top of the restaurant is what appears to be an airport wind sock, apparently an homage to the local history. An air strip used to be located nearby. Inside the motif is continued with early 20th century posters and artwork.

I've never been inside the former establishment (the Lantern Cafe) so I'm not able to make that comparison, but inside was very nice. I liked the atmosphere. It has an open feel with a diner-style counter and on end on a bar with a big screen tv. Even though they have a bar we were told there is no smoking anywhere in the restaurant which we appreciated.

I had a hot dog with a Louisiana sausage and caramelized onions. It was really good. My only complaint is that is that the bun wasn't toasted. It was served with fries.

Iced tea was refilled without having to ask.

One other minor irritation was the pepper shaker: I shook that thing and could barely get anything to come out. Perhaps it needs bigger holes.

My companion had a cobb salad. It was huge. I thought it was excellent, although I would have preferred the onion in slightly smaller slices or chunks. My companion was not as impressed, saying it wasn't the best and the bacon could have been cooked more.

I pretty much loved the entire experience and I plan to go back very soon.

Review Text
Good food; appetizers, salads, burgers and sandwiches, kid's menu, casual ambiance, friendly service, full bar/beer on tap.

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