April '15 Bartletts

Last night Brian and I went to Barletts for dinner.  It is located in Burns Harbor on Hwy 12.  I would have never gone there if it weren't for a recommendation from a coworker, because from the outside it looks like all the other dive bars that bikers frequent on Hwy 12.  This place is a bar and grill, and it does indeed look like a dive.  It is super small and all the tables are very close together.  This, on top of the fact that it was packed, made for a very loud restaurant.  This was a little bit of a turn off.  I couldn't really enjoy a conversation with Brian, and I could barley hear our waiter.

When you start looking at the menu, you quickly realize that this is no dive bar.  They have a full menu with some pretty fancy items on it and the prices are comparable to many of the fine dining restaurants in Valpo.  Our waiter (all the waiters were middle aged men which I thought was strange to see) was very kind and very helpful.  He was probably the most attentive waiter I have ever had.  I told him I had it narrowed down to a few things on the menu, and he started talking to me in detail about all the things I mentioned.  He really knew his menu.  One of the things I had it narrowed down to was the chicken schnitzel.  As the waiter was talking about it he said, "It's topped with capers and I will take every opportunity I get to eat capers."  In my head I was thinking what the hell are capers?  They must be good.  Well, come to find out I HATE capers.  My chicken was good.  It had a really nice crunch to it, but I couldn't eat the part that had the capers on it even after I scrapped them off because the taste lingered and come to find out it is one of the worst tastes I have ever had.  Having said that, we had hot wings for our appetizer, and Brian and I both agreed that they were some of the best wings we had ever had.  They had a ton of meat on them and had just the right amount of spice to them (I don't like a lot of spice).  Brian had venison chili and pot roast.  He said he would have given his meal 9 or 9.5 stars.  So, I think the food was good, I just ordered wrong.  Next time I go I will try something like the meatloaf or fish and chips.

Overall, our experience was OK.  From the looks of the outside of the place what we found inside was unexpected, and what we found inside was a super nice waiter, a place where you can't have a comfortable conversation, and really good food minus the capers.

Overall Experience: 3 STARS
Price: Make your boyfriend pay