Got together the other day with an old friend, who suggested eating here. He has been here once or twice with his son, and they had enjoyed it.
I was coming off 4 straight days of migraines, 4 straight days of the heavy-duty medication I take to alleviate those migraines (it stops the headache pain, but wipes me out physically), so my unenthusiastic, zombie-like response was, "Yeah...ok...whatever."
(My usual funny diversionary story...well, I think it's funny; that very morning I had stopped at the Walgreens to pick up my renewed migraine prescription. In front of me on the line was a pleasant young woman who smiled and said, "Hi!" "Hi," I said back, unused to such friendliness from total strangers. "Y'know," she continued, "You look like Steve Bannon." Aghast, I sputtered out, "Ah...that's not much of a compliment, but...thanks...I think." Worried that she might have unintentionally engaged an aging, volatile psycho, she said, "Oh, no, you're handsome, it's just that..." Trying to recover myself, startled by that surge of prickly adolescent vanity that I thought I had buried down deep within my psyche decades ago, I smiled shakily and said, "Well...I guess he'd look ok if he didn't dress like a bum, and if he shaved, and lost a few pounds, got a haircut, took a shower...." To my sudden chagrin, I realized that described not only Steve Bannon but me too. Perfectly. As soon as I got the prescription, I raced home, showered, shaved, set up an appointment for a haircut. Not sure what I'm gonna do about the extra pounds, but we'll see...)
Taphouse Grille is a big place, located in a strip mall across the street from the Shop Rite. On entering, we were asked if we wanted to be seated at the bar. I don't mind sitting at the bar if it means I don't have to stand in a long line waiting to be seated, but as the restaurant was virtually empty, I thought it was unnecessary. Too, my friend is a recovering alcoholic/drug-addict, and the last place he needs to be seated at is the bar.
(At one point, years ago while returning from a Ramones concert, he drove into a telephone pole, and had to have his face surgically reconstructed. No one else in the car was hurt, but they kept the guy sitting in the back seat in the hospital overnight, as his heart was beating like a trip hammer. They thought it was overexcitement from the accident, but it was more because he had been hoovering up cocaine all night. After several more years of nearly killing himself, my friend sobered up. The other guy is still alive but suffering from stage-4 liver failure as I write this. Sorry for that grim detour down Memory Lane. Anyway...)
We got a seat in the back, away from the bar. The prices weren't cheap, although not so exorbitantly expensive as to make a meal in this place untenable. I ordered the TG Burger (wasn't until I got a full night's sleep and recovered somewhat that I recognized the TG stood for "Taphouse Grille"). It was a substantial burger, cooked right, with caramelized onions, aged Irish cheddar (never heard of that before, but it seemed an appropriate accoutrement for an aged Irish migraine sufferer), bacon, and mushrooms. I enjoyed the burger; every once in awhile, I get a yen for a burger, but I abhor the "fast food" versions. This one hit the spot. I was less enthused about the French fries, which were more like "shoestring potatoes" than they were French fries that I'm used to.
I also ordered a side dish of "Cheddar grits." Every once in awhile, I get a yen for grits (I developed a taste for them when I was a kid and my father would drive the family down to Florida for summer vacation; we'd stay in southern motels, eat at the motel restaurants, and grits were a staple). Never had "Cheddar grits" before, but they were delicious and creamy; I can taste them even now.
My friend ordered a chicken dish, but expressed a wish that he had ordered what I had ordered. Not to say that he didn't ultimately enjoy what he had on his plate.
Down side? The prices aren't cheap, the "french fries" aren't terrible but they aren't great either, and they play pretty bad music on their sound system, although not as distressingly awful as what they habitually play in supermarkets across NJ.
We didn't stay around for dessert, but...overall...I like this place. I'd come here again. The waitress was pleasant and efficient, the food was tasty and satisfying, and it seems like a relaxing place to spend time with friends and family.
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