Going out for dinner with three generations can be a challenge. The grandchildren will probably be bored at another white tablecloth-and-napkins restaurant, and spending an arm and a leg for something they don’t even enjoy doesn’t seem like a fun thing to do. But the adults definitely do not want to do fast food, so what’s a good compromise?
Believe it or not, a sports bar may be a workable solution. On a recent Sunday, three generations of our family decided to eat at the new local sports bar, Pizza Pie Wing Company, which opened this June at the intersection of County Roads 510 and 512, where the Beef O’Brady’s used to be.
The informality sits well with children, and while the food may not be gourmet, it is decent enough for the adults, so our generational dining experiment had to be judged a success.
We were greeted and waited on by Trey Pettis, a huge former offensive lineman from Florida State University who now doubles as the assistant football coach at Sebastian River High School where his father is the head coach. His championship ring (he got one even though he was injured for the final national title game) was gigantic and we were all impressed with it, especially our 6-year-old granddaughter, Ava.
Pettis is a gentle giant who removed all doubts from our minds as to whether a sports bar is a proper place to take a 6-year-old. He would sure keep any rowdy sports crowd in check – and of course his personal stories added a special element to the ambience of the sports bar.
As behooves a sports bar, Pizza Pie Wing Company has a decent selection of draft beers, as well as bottles, and my son-in-law and I had no trouble finding a couple we liked.
We started off by sharing three plates of appetizers – all at $6.99 – jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, and popcorn shrimp. Ava said the mozzarella sticks were “mmmmm…..” as she quickly devoured five of them (her mother just managed to steal the last one).
The jalapeno poppers had very little kick – not enough to scare anyone, but the cheese filling was extremely creamy. The shrimp were served with both cocktail and tartar sauce and tasted just fine, although a couple of members of our party said they found small pieces of shells in them.
Ava ordered from the kids menu – macaroni and cheese, which came with fries. All her choices were $4.99, and in her first official act as a food critic, she said the mac was yummy and creamy, just the way she likes it.
Her mother chose the calzone – crispy outer crust with a good doughy texture underneath – filled with a nicely blended mixture of ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and served with marinara sauce. The plain calzone was $5.99 and you can get additional toppings for $1.50 each – or for $7.99 you could get a calzone with three different toppings.
I decided to try the daily special – highly recommended by Trey – a bacon cheeseburger wrap at $8.99. I’m glad I did because the wrap gave a different taste to the burger – it blended the flavors more than just a plain hamburger roll would have done.
My partner Christine ordered the chicken tenders basket – all baskets were also priced at $8.99. The baskets come with a choice of fries – plain or sweet potato (she got the sweet potato ones) and a choice of sauces. The garlic parmesan sauce was creamy and garlicky with pieces of cheese in it.
Christine’s son Jeff won the prize for the most attractive plate of all – 20 chicken wings ($15.99) and ordered four different sauces with it – medium, garlic parmesan, Caribbean jerk, and honey barbecue. He declared the medium the best – just the right spiciness, while the Caribbean jerk had a sweet, slightly smoky flavor which he also enjoyed very much. The huge plate came with the requisite celery sticks and blue cheese dressing, all attractively presented.
When Jeff was fishing for a compliment for almost finishing off all 20 good-size wings, of course the massive Trey had to rain on his parade by revealing that he and his father regularly polish off a 50-wing order with no problem, his father the coach accounting for 20 while Trey himself wolfs down 30.
So Jeff had no chance of winning a wing-eating contest against Trey, but hey, we were there just to have a fun meal, so that wasn’t too much of a disappointment.
Pizza Pie Wings Company looks the part of a sports bar; its walls are covered with sports paraphernalia, and 15 large-screen TVs strategically positioned around the place will keep Dads up-to-date on all major sports such as baseball, golf and football as well as some minor ones like bull-riding.
The furniture consists of attractive yellow and black chairs, and the tables are easily wiped after minor spills – although this time it was the Dad, not the little girl, who spilled part of his drink.
All three generations in our party left well fed, and with the impression of having spent a fun meal together. Nobody got bored. And we got out of there for about $80 before tax and tip, which wasn’t bad considering all five of us had consumed generous appetizers, a main dish and drinks.
And don’t ask me who won the rodeo bull-riding that evening. You don’t have to be that much of a sports nut to be able to enjoy a bite to eat at this sports bar.