Time Out

Upon the referral of 4 different individuals in the last couple of weeks, I decided that I would do that, take a time out...and go to Time Out.

Time Out refers to the new bar and grill that now occupies a corner of downtown Janesville on Main and Milwaukee Streets that used to be a bank and a music academy. Owned and operated by a successful business person who owned an icon of a restaurant (also in downtown Janesville), my expectations were high, both from the rave referrals from the 4 individuals I spoke with, and from the reputation of the previous establishment and their quality of "supper club" fare.

Entering this place, it was interesting. Half subterranean, lots of windows, an open floor plan, and a very busy bar, the ambience was nice, still bedecked with the white 70's style tile flooring that transitioned nicely in the updated environment. My mom and I seated ourselves at a table looking out along Milwaukee Street, which was a great spot to people watch.

Unfortunately, this was where my intrigue for this establishment ended. Furthermore, I needed to take a "time out" to reassess what my thoughts were.

It was busy, and immediately a cheerful server came and gave us menus, and took our drink orders. Glancing at the bar and the booze on the top shelf, I was impressed. But alas, I ordered beer instead, brewed by Janesville's finest (and only) brewery. The drinks came while we were perusing the menus. I was looking for something that would be unique, unusual, and something that I would be craving to have. And all I found was ordinary: ordinary sandwiches, ordinary salads, ordinary appetizers, ordinary specials, etc.

After ordering our food, it became quite crowded, with many people standing waiting to be seated, as this place is now "seat yourself." Eventually our food came. We both had burgers, with my mom opting for onion rings, and I opted for sweet potato fries. However, when we received our orders, the burgers were placed with the wrong sides (easily fixable). I ordered a bleu cheese burger, and that's literally all that was on it, a burger between two buns with some crumbled bleu cheese on it. Again, very ordinary, and with my culinary accuity I could have easily accomplished this culinary feat with both hands tied behind my back. To top it all off, the fries were cold.

Usually when I eat french fries, I eat them last- and yes, I can imagine one would think that they wouldn't be hot like they would if I would eat them first. However, to the contrary, I tried one even before I ate the burger, and they were cold even before we started.

By the time we had gotten our food, both my mom and I needed another round of drinks. The time that it took the server to bring them to us, I was beginning to wonder if they were waiting for the brewery to whip up and ferment another batch of beer. Then I noticed that there was only one bartender for about 60 people, and only 2 servers, which probably explained the cold food and the less than stellar bar service.

The food was just, well, ordinary. It certainly wasn't anything that I would go out of my way to come up with an excuse to frequent it often. But compared to what I know the owner of this establishment is capable of doing, it was a SEVERE disappointment. Furthermore, the other disappointment is the fact that this bar and grill shares a public bathroom with other tenants in the building. Hmm.....given my particularity for WC facilities, this is again a drawback and disappointment.

Finally, the lone bartender (someone I know and like, mind you) was anything but friendly, and after waiting about 10 minutes to pay my bill for the ordinary meal that was served, I would probably have second thoughts about coming again. While the bill certainly wouldn't break anyone's bank, the meal that I paid for can be likened to your average American Idol contestant singing just an average song. Unfortunately for this palate, the food and service received tonight was like forgettable music, and, well, just ordinary.

Next time I would probably want to take a longer "time out" and look at other (and far more attractive) options before going to this place again.