Last week my husband and I were in the mood for a casual place to eat that offered fun, food and a friendly atmosphere.  We found all three at City Pub Bar and Grill.  We were lucky enough to be there on balloon night.  For every drink you buy you get a balloon to pop with a prize inside.  Prizes range from ‘sorry, out of luck’ to free drinks, appetizers, and t-shirts.  My husband’s usual luck got him the ‘sorry, out of luck’ ticket but I won a free appetizer. Selecting an appetizer was not an easy decision since there are 15 different appetizers to choose from.  My  husband decided to order the potato skins and I opted for the tower of onion rings.  The tower is big enough to feed two or three  people easily.  The rings were dipped in a light batter and fried to a golden brown.  They were served with a horseradish sauce and a sweet and spicy pepper jelly sauce that added a great flavor combination to the onion rings.  The potato skins were loaded with gooey cheddar cheese and bacon and came with a side of sour cream.  Both were great choices.  Mozzarella sticks, chicken and grouper fingers, coconut shrimp, quesadilla, mussels, and clams are available along with several other items.

Although owner Ralph Picariello was not available the night we were there, we were lucky enough to sit and talk with his wife, Sam.  They opened City Pub in August 2004 and have enjoyed being part of the Deerfield community ever since. They offer something for everyone including smokers.  Their motto is, “your butts are welcome here!”  Happy hour on  Monday and Tuesday night offers discounts on domestic beer and wine and well drinks from 5 - 8 p.m.  Tuesday night is also “in the biz” night for anyone in the restaurant, bar or hospitality business from 8 p.m. until closing.  On Wednesday you can enjoy a stroll down memory lane with doo wop music from Joey Dale & the Gigolos.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the  house band, Synthesis, rocks the room. On Sunday you can enjoy the cool, relaxed sounds of Jimmy Cavallo.

For dinner our waitress, Bonnie, suggested that my husband try the ribs, a house specialty.  Since I was in the mood for a burger, I chose the four mini burgers as my entree.  To my surprise they were much larger than I had anticipated and could easily have been shared with another person.  My companion’s ribs were “fall off the bone” tender with a BBQ sauce that wasn’t too spicy or too sweet.  The ribs were served with your choice of coleslaw, macaroni or potato salad or fries. Cornbread also came with the meal and it was wonderful.  It was on the sweet side and very moist and flavorful.  It really was some of the best cornbread I’ve ever tasted.  The menu was much more inclusive than I had expected. There are chicken wings, soups and many salads to pick.  NY strip steak, mahi-mahi, ribs, coconut shrimp and chicken are available.  If sandwiches are more to your liking, you may choose from burgers, patty melts, steak or chicken philly, french dip, chicken breast or dolphin for a hot lunch or dinner.  Turkey club, roast beef, ham and cheese, tuna and more are on the deli section of the menu.

City Pub offers a barbeque at Memorial Day, an anniversary party in August and a big New Year’s Eve party.  Other events are also held throughout the year.  Be sure to read your Observer to be aware of the next upcoming event.  Newcomers and regulars always feel at home at the City Pub Bar and Grill.  As the song from the television show, Cheers says,  “You want to go where everybody knows your name.”  City Pub is just that place.

City Pub is located at 956 S. Federal Hwy., Deerfield Beach.  Until we eat again...

Becky Coffy