I admit it, I was a little disappointed when I walked into Cheers Sports Eatery and no one called out my name, a la "Norm!" in the popular sitcom with which this Holland bar shares a name.
I got over it quickly. This place is no '80s TV rip-off - a good thing, really - but there is plenty to enjoy that's decidedly old school, from the Centipede arcade game in the game room to the newspaper clippings from the sports section hanging in the bathroom.
Tucked away in a strip mall off Airport Highway and ironically placed next to Weight Watchers, Cheers is full of pleasant surprises. This is a sports bar with the requisite televisions and occasional live music … and a kids menu. It's a place where adults can choose between such vastly different items as a chicken pasta caesar salad ($7.50) and cheese enchiladas ($5.49 for three).
Me? I chose the soft pretzel ($2.49) simply because I could. I was rewarded with fluffy, hot, salty goodness that tasted like it came straight from the oven, even if it was a bit softer and sweeter that what you might get off the street in New York. (But who cares? This isn't New York.)
The homemade salsa that accompanied warm chips ($2.99) was even better. Perfectly fresh, its balance of sweetness and spice would make it worth buying at a store.
Every other fried appetizer you would expect is there too, from mozzarella sticks to chili cheese fries. The spicy, bite-sized globs of breaded pepper jack cheese ($4.75) were particularly addicting.
And that's just for starters. The rest of the menu is unexpectedly broad, making you wonder if this is a sports bar or a more ambitious restaurant posing as one.
There are six different salads on the menu, including a cranberry pecan chicken salad ($8.99) and the Mexi Mess, a melange of refried beans, rice, and taco meat smothered with other goodies ($7.25).
It's hard to guess why there are so many Tex-Mex items on the menu, but that's no reason to complain. The Lone-Star-state-sized Texas Burrito in particular is worth noting. It's deliciously crammed full of rice, beans, cheese, and taco meat ($8.99), but you can substitute chicken or steak for $1 extra.
Cheers even manages to put its own mark on some of the more common menu items. The chicken chunks ($7.50), for example, were particularly crispy, adding a wonderful crunchy texture to an old favorite. If only they had been more liberally coated with sauce.
Other issues were small: The homemade chili ($2.75 a cup) tasted a bit too strongly of tomato for me, and the server never asked how to cook the Black and Bleu Burger ($7.99), which arrived a little more well done than desired but amply topped with tasty bits of bacon, bleu cheese, and mushrooms.
As for the rest of the menu, not only does it feature a multitude of pizzas - savory and certainly adequate by bar standards - but stromboli ($6.79 for three items) makes a welcome appearance too. Add to that a host of hot grinders ($8.95 for a footlong sub, although mine seemed even longer) and a rotating selection of homemade desserts, and there's not much more you could want.
Except maybe Ted Danson behind the bar.
Contact Bill of Fare at: fare@theblade.com.
First Published May 27, 2010, 1:14 p.m.
