Crossroads Pub & Neighborhood Grill at Steele Creek Crossing next to Bi-Lo in Charlotte is more than a typical burger and wing joint.
That's what we found out when we headed there for lunch, after seeing an ad for the family-owned pub in the local newspaper.
In a shopping center setting, the restaurant is clean and nice with touches like real flowers on the tables. The bar area is large with several televisions for any sport spectator. The room is rich with wood and deep colors, and brightened by natural light from the wall of windows. It's a comfortable setting with background music.
Our server was attentive and courteous, especially considering the menu given to all three of us at a crossroads. He kept having to come back to our table to see if we were ready to order because, frankly, there are just too many tempting choices on the menu. They range from Southern styles and all-American to Asian and British influences. What to choose?
I asked if we wanted to start with dessert, possibly banana pudding, but there were no takers.
I think the appetizers are a good prelude to the rest of the menu. The appetizers run the gamut of fried pickles ($5.95) to the sampler ($11.95) with a choice of four of the following: fried pickles, mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, chicken eggrolls, pot stickers, or spinach and artichoke dip. A unique item among offerings of tuna, oyster, shrimp, nachos and quesadilla is the Sausage Sampler ($7.95) of seared kielbasa and bratwursts served with grain mustard, French bread and veggies.
The rest of the menu follows suit, with old-fashioned overstuffed and deli sandwiches, burgers -- using angus or bison beef -- and specialties like bangers and mashers, fish and chips, sirloin and meatloaf. One of the specialties, Cincinnati-style chili spaghetti, sounded intriguing, and we did see one customer enjoying that meal.
Nothing on the menu (for dinner, too) costs more than $17.50, and that's for Seared Ahi Tuna topped with Chinese pesto sauce and served with dirty rice and mixed veggies. Listings keep it fun and close to home, including the "Catawba Nuclear" wings.
One dish I know is good, because it garnered Best Taste of Charlotte when the owner ran another local restaurant, is the buttermilk-fried chicken ($10.50 as a specialty meal or $6.95 as a sandwich). A friend who ordered that dish finished the plate, not leaving a crumb; he said even the bleu cheese slaw that he wouldn't normally consider trying was scrumptious.
My other friend had the fish taco, choosing sweet potato fries as the side. "It was good, it was different," she said. The fish -- served with slaw, tomatoes and sauce drizzled over the taco -- was good, not greasy at all. She hadn't been sure it would be enough to fill her up, so she had a garden salad, too. She said the meal would have been plenty.
I was drawn in to the crab cake sandwich, thanks to the description of a secret blend of spices and the appetizer description of the crab cakes "made with our signature recipe from the port of the south, Charleston." Believe me, it was all that. The crab cake was the size of a big burger. It was deluxe -- moist and soft. Even the bun was softer than my bed pillow. The homemade chips, dipped in ranch, were great, too.
The meals were appetizing with an appealing presentation. Crossroads also serves breakfast on the weekends, offers daily specials for meals, adult beverages and catering caters.
If you're at a crossroad about what you're hungry for, Crossroads Pub & Neighborhood Grill definitely offers a satisfying variety at a fair price.
