I’ve been to Arnold’s Bar & Grill many times before, but most of the time I am just there for drinks. Sometimes that’s just for a quick drink with a friend at the inside bar, or other times it’s for several while watching a band play on the covered outdoor patio. I recently had the opportunity to sit down for a meal before going to a concert downtown.

Covered Patio

Thankfully we were seated on the covered outside patio. I like this a lot more than the handful of dark inside tables. We were meeting my wife’s sister and her husband, who beat us there and ordered the roasted garlic appetizer ($9) with feta, olives, and gluten-free chips instead of the standard pita slices. My brother-in-law has recently discovered a gluten sensitivity and was happy to find many items on the menu available gluten-free.

Roasted Garlic

There were two items on the menu that I had a hard time picking between. Fortunately my wife agreed to try these as well, so we split plates. First up is Arnold’s hot brown with a grilled hoagie roll, fries, Mornay sauce, roasted turkey, bacon, and tomato ($12). This was a very filling take on the Kentucky hot brown sandwich. I liked the addition of fries to the mix and the turkey was top-notch. However I felt that the Mornay sauce was lacking a little in the flavor department, perhaps not the right blend of cheese was used. With that said I still enjoyed the sandwich and would not hesitate to order again.

Hot Brown

Our other selection was Marty’s waffles and chicken with fries ($20). This features a Belgian waffle from Marty’s Waffles truck. The fried chicken was drizzled with a delicious buffalo sauce and the waffle was covered in syrup. The flavor combination was excellent. However the waffle was a little tough to cut, even with the sharp knife that was provided. This was a good dish, but not in the same league as Taste of Belgium.

Waffles and Chicken

Both of our dishes were good, but both had slight issues with execution. I would order both of them again, but I do think there is room for a little improvement. With that said, the dinner was still above average and Arnold’s is definitely worthy of a visit or two.