February 23rd, 2009 By Justin Williams
Newburgh Review: Beef ‘O’ Brady’s
Given that our resident food editor has moved to China for the duration of 2009, it’s up to me to review restaurants now. I hope I can live up to her extremely high standards
Being in Newburgh to visit the family, we decided it was as good of time as any to check out Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, the new Irish themed restaurant next to Showplace Newburgh. O’Bradys is a small midwest and southern centric chain with another restaurant nearby in Owensboro.
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is located in the left edge of a small strip mall that was recently built in the area. The large green sign is designed using Celtic fonts giving the impression that it might be an Irish restaurant similar to Ri-Ra downtown, but that appears to be only in the branding.
Upon entering O’Brady’s, you’ll notice two things: the leprechaun green walls and over a dozen high definition televisions mounted on the walls. While I was there most of the TVs were tuned to the Nascar race with one on each side also showcasing the decor of the stars on Oscar’s Red Carpet.
The green walls are filled with local sports jerseys for Boonville and Castle to give it that somewhat local vibe.
One thing I was taken aback by was just how bright the lighting in the restaurant is. It’s possibly one of the brightest restaurants I have ever set foot in. There was no mood set by the lighting whatsoever, save for my desire to want sunglasses.
In terms of the food, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s doesn’t keep with its Irish themed name. The fair is more akin to Buffalo Wild Wings with its chicken wings, wraps and sandwiches.
My parents split the O’Bradys wing basket which came with 10 chicken wings, fries and coleslaw. The wings come in a few different flavors. There are the traditionals like mild, medium, hot, honey bbq, etc. O’Bradys also has a few sauces unique to them with their garlic parmesan, chipotle lime and sweet jalapeno. They opted to get half teriyaki and half garlic parmesan.
The wings were drenched in sauce when they arrived, similar to what you would get at Buffalo Wild Wings. They were both big fans of the garlic parmesa wings and went on about how good the sauce was. They were not that into the teriyaki feeling that there was better teriyaki wings elsewhere in town.
The wing basket also included fries and slaw. The french fries came out cold, but were promptly replaced with piping hot ones. My dad loved the cole slaw. I was waiting for him to beg for the recipe.
I am not one for fried food, so I opted for a salad. I had the Asian Mandarin Chicken Salad. The salad features teriyaki chicken (fried or grilled), almonds, rice noodles and mandarin oranges on a bed of lettuce and red cabbage. It’s served with pan-asian dressing straight from a plastic packets like you’d get at McDonalds or Ritzys.
The chicken on the salad was warm and delicious, and the salad overall was about on par with what I would expect from a place that specializes in greasy food. It wasn’t the best salad I have ever had, but I have had far worse. I would have liked the dressing packets to be replaced with little cups instead. If I am at a sit-down restaurant, I’d like a better presentation.
The service at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s was average. Our waitress was friendly and prompt to take drink orders, but disappeared until our food arrived leaving my dad with an empty beer pint. No one likes to have an empty beer pint.
Overall I’d rate the experience a C+ overall as the experience was just about average. The food was fairly good, but the atmosphere and service left a little to be desired for me. If you’re a fan of AppleBee-esque themed restaurants, it’s probably fine for you. I’d go back if my family wanted to, but I don’t think I will be adding Beef ‘O’ Brady’s to my list of frequently visited establishments.
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is located at 8177 Bell Oaks Dr. Suite A. (812) 490-9464. Sunday – Thursday 11am-10pm. Friday – Saturday 11am – 11pm.
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I have been frequenting the Owensboro location for the past two years, and have yet to have an unpleasant experience/meal there. Perhaps the management in Newburgh is less experienced?
Oh, thank god we have another restaurant review!
Your experience is spot on with what we saw and ate from there. The food was good but nothing was really special about it. The portion of fries(hot)were massive so no complaints there.
The whole atmosphere was very disappointing to me. I was expecting a little more ambiance given the name that was displayed out front.
I would probably go again but I’m not going out of my way for it. Evansville has more to offer.
As a frequent customer at the Beef O’Brady’s in Newburgh and a regular visitor to this website (currently being removed from my favorites) I am thoroughly disappointed with this review for several reasons. Beef O’Brady’s is a family-style Pub offering a unique family oriented restaurant experience with an emphasis on sports. The establishment is not a saloon, drowned-out disco, tavern or 5-star restaurant with filet mignon and servers as stiff as their Dickies. I do not feel that your review legitimately reflects the values of the “Beef’s” franchise, more specifically the benevolent features easily skipped over by invariably bleak food-goers. Such aspects of an ever-changing industry, that lives or dies on customer service and satisfaction, serve as justifiers that Beef’s Newburgh is a new face-in-food with great potential to out-perform and rise above the rest. Here are my primary issues with this article:
1) The website is “ItsEvansville” not ItsNewburgh. Although often considered the same city they are not. Newburgh is a growing city with small-town values, a major influence on the restaurant business. This market rewards loyalty and Newburgh citizens expect it when choosing a restaurant that may call them a “regular”. If you would spend one week at Beefs the most consistent theme you would see would be the regular customers and the feeling of family they share with the employees.
2)As a retired food critic, I am disgusted with your neglect to efficiently research a restaurant prior to exploiting what you find to be flawed. Mis-steps such as these could turn very sour for your seemingly successful website. (FYI-I hope you received permission to use their trademarked logo or they reserve the right to sue-just a thought to help an un-educated food critic).
On a final note…I highly recommend you re-evaluate your review and try visiting Beef’s again to better understand what they are about. Also, there’s a number of free websites that offer editing services…while I’m not perfect, I’d invest in one if I were you. Lastly, when does your original critic return from China? I look forward to their review in comparison to yours.
Good luck Beef’s…you deserve more credibility than provided in this article.
I look forward to anyone’s comment on this issue.
Thank you for your time.
i think you all need something else to do in your free time and should stop whining. i thought the food was great. my kids love it there and i love that the place is smokefree. football season rocked. they even let me watch my detroit lions get whacked every week. i thought it was really cool that lori may bartends there. she gave my son some kdq chapstick and a pen. ill be back or my kids will kill me.
phil: sorry for the delay in reviews and general site content. Jenna going to China coupled with my new, insanely busy schedule has left little time for me to do work on the site lately. Should get a bit better in a few weeks.
phillip:
My statement about it being “midwestern centric” is centered on most of their stores being in the center section of the country. Never did I say where the home base was. I stand by my review 100%. The restaurant was average. Not bad, not great. Average. It sounds like you have a personal or emotional investment in the place, which is fine, but don’t expect everyone to agree with your choice of restaurants.
Also, if your disagreement with a review posted on the site causes you to unsubscribe, good riddance. I’d prefer to not have narrow minded readers who aren’t open to other opinions. That’s what the Courier & Press comments are for.
kara: I don’t think I whined at all. I wrote an honest review. If you and your kids enjoy it, go back by all means. As I said in the review, I’d go back if someone else wanted to go, but it’s not going to be on my list of frequently visited establishments.
Phillip: as the m.i.a. food editor for this site, I read the review before it was posted and think it is fine. I know what kind of food/restaurant tastes Justin has, and while this article reflects that, his personal preferences to not interfere with the review. Even if this restaurant has only been open since October, it is now nearly March–that’s nearly 5 months. In 5 months a restaurant should be able to work out its kinks with lighting and waitstaff. I don’t think there was any expectation of this being a saloon, drowned out disco, or tavern; however, there are certain expectations that come with the fact that name and logo are splashed with Irish themes. First–where is the beef; second where’s the Irish; third, while being “local-family friendly” is great for the Newburgh market…..well I don’t know. I wouldn’t expect to walk into a so called Irish restaurant to eat wings next to a Booneville jersey. Also, the reason this review was done, despite being in Newburgh is that yes, this is an Evansville website. Many people who live in Evansville work in Newburgh, many people who live in Newburgh work in Evansville, and many people cross the lines for family and friends. That is why we establish where the review is.
Quite honestly I was expecting an Irish type pub when I first visited Beef O’Brady’s but was pleasantly surprised to find more of a place akin to Bennigan’s, one of my all time favorites. Beef is sort of a cross of Bennigan’s and Scotty’s (IU & Purdue). I loved all of the big screen tv’s with most tuned to the Cup race, and also one tuned in to cartoons. My wife and I ordered the wings and were quite impressed with those. Quite a bit better than Bdubs. The wings were meaty and cooked to perfection. There is a nice selection of sauces as well. The fries were outstanding, hot and salty. The cole slaw was to die for. I was thinking about begging for the recipe. The waitress was quite attentive and kept my Bud Light thirst quenched. Another nice touch was the manager coming around and asking if everything was okay. I love that. My only knock on the place is I think it is a bit over lit. They need to turn down the lights a tad at night. I will be going there more often since I live in Newburgh and it is closer and better than Bdubs.
Jerry! When did you become a food reviewer! Bravo! :)
Dear Phillip,
Get over yourself. It’s a simple opinion based food review on an online blog type site…not a restaurant review in the Zagat’s guide or the New York post. Thanks Justin…love the site and think you do a great job! uh buh bye Philly!
My wife and I ate at Beef O’Brady’s a couple of weeks ago for lunch. I have to agree the place is way over lit. The food was better than expected, and quite a good selection. I don’t get the Irish theme, but will be back. Justin is correct about the dressing packets, if it’s not homemade dressing, buy in bulk and serve on the side.
Phillip seemed to miss all of the positives in the review, maybe he is just looking to whine.
I went to Beef’s sometime last month. Like Justin said, I thought it was just average. The food was okay; however, it was not anything out of the ordinary or outstanding. As many others have said, I do remember the lights being quite bright. I might stop by again the next time I am nearby, but it is not an establishment that I would go out of my way for.
jenna
only one e in boonville
Evansville needs more locally owned/operated establishments. The downtown stadium should bring a rush of new enterpriser’s downtown! Justin, i think you should start a thread which contains dialogue about downtown revitalization, listing new business openings and announce when new permits are applied for which will foreshadow coming enterprise! The heck with Newburgh, it will be annexed soon enough!
Yeah, I always mess up the spelling of Boonville for some reason, always add that extra E–one of those habits I can’t rid myself of!
em: I’ve long wanted to do some downtown dedicated stuff since I moved down here last October as my east side bias has shifted down this way. There are a few restaurants I need to try and write up here plus maybe some local businesses that are opening.
I am happy to report the lights have been dimmed at Beef. I was there last night and it was nice. Enjoyed my dinner and libations.
Looks like as much as they complained and moaned about the review, they apparently needed the advice from it.
My boyfriend and I ate there this weekend. I had the garlic roast beef sandwich with fries and it was tasty. He had the reuben with steamed broccoli. He said the sandwich was ok. The problem was his broccoli. Half of it was barely steamed and the other half was raw. Unsure if he will want to go back.