Little Cub Eats: Bill Pickle's Taproom

Bill Pickle's Taproom 106 S Allen St.

Ease of Access: 10/10

Just a simple walk down college, a quick turn and you're there!

Lioncash+: Not Accepted

Bank Account Happiness: 95%

My grilled cheese was only $5.99 and most sandwiches range between 7-9 dollars. The burgers are averaged priced. Also, my dad paid, so I technically got free lunch (thanks dad).

Big Group Friendly or Study Spot?

Pickles is a Taproom and gets pretty crowded on nights and weekends as I've seen, so it will be difficult to effectively focus on homework.

The Food

Ok, so this restaurant isn't particularly exotic or different from typical pub food, but in my defense my parents were visiting. And the food was still good!

Top- Reuben, Left- Three Cheese Panini, Right- Grilled Cheese

I know what you're thinking: Kylie, you go to a restaurant with already familiar foods and you order a grilled cheese sandwich? With nothing on it? Yes, I'm sorry, but we all need a good grilled cheese every once in awhile. 

My favorite thing about grilled cheese sandwiches: they're cheap. My favorite thing about this grilled cheese sandwich: the chef used salted butter to grill the bread, adding an addictive flavor to the already stand-out flavor of the sourdough bread. The sandwich comes with American cheese, but don't be afraid to make this sandwich your own and ask for one of the other cheeses listed throughout the menu; I got cheddar instead. And, if you're among the type to think grilled cheese is too bland on its own, ham or bacon can be added for a small up-charge. 

So that was my super exciting sandwich. What must be noted, to give you a reason to choose Pickle's over another for grilled cheese, is the chips. When the waitress asks if you'd like chips or french fries, please, for the love of flavor and your health (Kylie, chips aren't healthy either), get the chips. Pickle's homemade chips are crispy, potato-y, and dusted with Old Bay seasoning. As someone who grew up getting homemade chips from the athletic club my mom used to work at, these were met with perhaps too much fervor. Paired with my salted grilled cheese, they were a little salty when eaten after an already salty sandwich, but the spicy crunch was worth the inevitable numb tongue afterwards.

Now you say, Kylie, there's grilled cheese in the hub for four dollars. Yes, I see you, I acknowledge Grate Chee. As a self- proclaimed grilled cheese connoisseur, I encourage you to take the extra steps and dollar to Pickle's. I've eaten a Grate Chee simple grilled cheese sandwich, and found it was far too large with far too much cheese. I don't know about you, but when there is more than about a centimeter of melted cheese on anything, I get to impatient waiting for the cheese to be sufficiently chewed, and instead end up with a thick lump of cheese lodged in my throat. So. Just go to Pickle's.

On the other side of the table was my mom's Three Cheese Panini. Or as my dad affectionately named it, "Gourmet Grilled Cheese". It's basically what it sounds like, three cheeses on flatbread with a pesto sauce for dressing. There were no complaints from that end of the table. 

Lastly, and least surprising based on the past 18 years of my life, my dad ordered the Reuben. Pickle's Reuben is special, however, in that it is a triple decker sandwich. Per my dad's explanation, "while the corned beef is not particularly piled high, I appreciate the thinly sliced marble rye as opposed to the typical inch-and-a-half bricks of toasted bread." I've never had a Reuben sandwich in my life, which, in hindsight, this could have been my opportunity, but once again there were no complaints from that end of the table.