Gibbie's Pub & Eatery

Though Gibbie's Pub & Eatery is one of my favorite places in town to get a nice drink, I am learning a newfound appreciation for their food, as well. Gibbies is located on High Street, so park at your own risk. During the day, this small pub features your typical pub dishes - like chicken fingers, fries and nachos. Wings, sandwiches, wraps, burgers and salads are available, as well as entrees - like steak, lasagna, and fish and chips. In the evening, this pub gets a little more nightlife flair, with drink specials every day of the week, and fun activities, like team trivia, karaoke, bands and comedy hour.

I went with a friend on a Wednesday night, when I knew a friend of mine would be performing stand-up comedy. We made a night out of it. I parked in a nearby parking lot, and we walked inside Gibbie's. Sometimes with bands or other activities, a cover is charged. We walked inside at about 6 p.m., so we didn't have to pay a cover charge. We just found a booth near the stage and sat down. The restaurant is split up into two sections, the right side has a bar and booths, as well as a stage. The left side also has a bar and some tables and chairs. A waitress spotted us and asked us if we were there for drinks or dinner. We came at an in-between time, so we opted for dinner AND drinks. The waitress brought us over a menu, and I looked over it.

Sometimes pubs just really get me in the mood for fish and chips. Maybe it's the British in me? I don't know, but that's what sounded good. I put my order in, as well as a water to go along with my meal. My meal came with a salad, which came out first. I chose French dressing, which came in a packet - "Ken's Country French." The bowl of salad was pretty fresh for what I was expecting. It was crisp, and cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes were plentiful amongst the lettuce. The packaged dressing even wasn't bad - my mind isn't blown with creativity, but it was a decent salad.

My main dish came out next, and I was very surprised. A huge plate stacked high with fries was topped with a huge plank of fish. What? What happened to the nice little strips of fish and a few fries? This was slightly overwhelming, and thank god I was with a close friend who didn't mind me looking barbaric diving into this dish. It's difficult to even cut the fish with silverware because it's on a bed of fries. I asked the waitress for some tartar sauce, and she brought out a cup. It was a mild sauce, light on the relish, but had a thick mayonnaise base. I bit into the fish, and it was good. It was battered and deep fried. So the outside was crispy, while the fillet inside was hot and flaky. The quality was great - mild flavor, combined with the creamy tartar sauce was pleasant. It didn't have a strong, fishy taste, like some fish does - maybe like herring or anchovies. This fish had a cod taste - light and fresh. The fries were salt and crunchy and added another element to the dish.

The dish was large, a bit overwhelming in its presentation - I really would have preferred smaller pieces of the fish and less fries, but this is a pub, and that's what you get. Smaller pieces would have been more manageable, but I didn't leave hungry.

Grade: B