AMEN CORNER SPORTS BAR & GRILL

My husband Jack and I are always on the lookout for casual pubs, and admittedly we're a bit picky about the ones we choose as "regular" hang-outs. At least three or four of our favorite beers must be available (preferably on tap), the seats must be comfortable (meaning whatever we sit on must have a back), the interior must have enough light that we can see the beer level in our glasses and -- last but hardly least -- the food must be delicious.

For all of these reasons, we're singing the praises of the Amen Corner Sports Bar & Grill in Girard, Ohio. No matter how often we stop here, each time I say to myself, "Self, you absolutely must come here more often."

Let me be a bit more specific. First, the atmosphere is very casual; the front door opens into the bar "room," where there are a few booths and tables, a few TV sets and, of course, the bar. Walk toward the back to find a large dining room for those who prefer that option. The decor for the most part is golf-related; golf course flags hang from the walls, and there's lots of dark wood and complementary dark green all around the rooms. Even the menu has a golf theme; appetizers are listed under "Teeing Off," and salads have the heading "Greens."

It's also a popular place; we usually go at off-peak hours just for this reason. Parking can be a bit bothersome as well -- it's really hard to find a spot on the street, but there's a lot behind the pub that has additional space.

As for the food, I could make a meal out of the appetizers with no problem at all. You'll find a few somewhat unique options like fried zucchini planks that come with a very tasty, and little bit zingy, Bistro sauce ($4.99), fried pickle spears ($5.99) and fried pretzel bites ($2.99). Other possibilities include a pound of steamed little neck clams for $7.99 and my favorite, hot banana peppers marinated in herbs, garlic and oil served with Italian bread ($3.99).

The hot peppers come in a relatively small bowl and are rather thinly sliced with lots of pepper seeds. At first bite, I declared them to be on the hot side; Jack tried a minuscule piece, quickly agreed and wouldn't touch another bite. Oh darn, I said, all the more for me! The flavor is wonderful -- and did I mention they're hot?

Another of our favorite appetizers is the Bruschetta, topped with chopped tomatoes, black olives and a variety of cheeses. There are four pizza-type wedges absolutely loaded with the "stuff" on grilled garlic bread -- very delicious and very filling.

If you're not sure what you want, try the appetizer sampler; you'll get onion rings, jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, butterfly shrimp and zucchini planks -- all breaded and fried -- with that spicy Bistro, cocktail and marinara sauces for $9.99.

The wedding soup is quite good here, absolutely overflowing with veggies, greens, shredded chicken and meatballs in a delicious broth -- quite possible the best wedding soup Jack's ever had, he said -- and I tend to agree. But if you want a really terrific soup, try the house specialty sausage chili ($2.50 a cup). It's much like regular chili, but it has a real kick to it. It's packed full of sausage plus chili beans, onions, green peppers -- and it's wonderful!

There are plenty of choices when it comes to sandwiches and entrees, though I do feel compelled to pitch what amounts to a hissy fit over one item I love but, we were told at our most recent visit, no longer is available: Chicken Jambalaya, or chicken and Andouille sausage with green peppers and onions over rice. It is (or should I say was) so good that I rarely ordered anything else; a tasty red sauce peppered with small bits of the sausage and other goodies. It was a real treat for anyone who likes Creole-style foods -- and now it's gone. Please guys, consider bringing this delicacy back!

One of Jack's favorites is the hot roast beef open-face sandwich, with lots of relatively thick beef slices on Italian bread with mashed potatoes and lots of very tasty beef gravy ($5.95). Still another is linguine with clams -- oil, garlic and Italian herbs that comes with a tossed salad or soup for $11.99. The whole thing is topped with at least double the number of in-shell clams he's ever seen on an entree, although there were no discernible clams in the sauce itself. But the sauce is delicious and garlicky. Normally, he eats all the clams and has pasta left over -- but here, it was vice versa: He ate all the pasta and had clams left (of course, I was happy to get "rid" of them for him).

At one visit, I tried one of the daily specials, a 6-ounce char-grilled sirloin with my choice of fried shrimp or shrimp scampi, one side and soup or salad. For my soup, I chose that sausage chili once again; for my side, I picked spaghetti. The main course arrived on a large oval platter with the steak on one end, a bowl of four relatively large scampi in a tasty buttery sauce in the center and the spaghetti -- about the size of two fists -- at the other end, all nicely separated so nothing got mixed in with anything else. The steak was well tenderized and cooked fairly close to my order of medium rare (most restaurants, including this one, tend to err toward the side of medium). Although the spaghetti isn't the best I've had, it was very good, with a thick sauce of finely chopped tomatoes and peppers.

One of these days, I'm going to try the Bourbon Glazed Salmon and the Zing Chicken ($12.99 each); the latter features a chicken breast sauteed with minced hot peppers, onions and shallots in the three-cheese Alfredo sauce over penne and topped with roasted red peppers and minced hot peppers. My mouth is watering just writing about it!

On the sandwich side, there's plenty to choose from as well, including a build-your-own burger section (starting at $5.99 for the basic). There's a pepper and egg sandwich on a Kaiser roll, which also sounds great, as do the lunch specials of chicken or tuna salad on a croissant. When I noticed a fried balogna sandwich on deli marble rye with fries or hot chips, though, I just had to have it. The fries here are not spectacular, but they're good; the balogna had to be close to half an inch thick and the toasted bread was wonderful ($4.99). I will point out, though, that it comes barefoot -- and the only condiments on the table are mustard and catsup. So next time I get this sandwich, and there will be a next time, I'll order it topped with green peppers and ask for mayo on the side.

On that same occasion, Jack tried the Philly steak stromboli, which comes with marinara sauce on the side for $6.95. It had to be close to a foot long, with a soft, pizza-dough-like crust wrapped around a ton of shredded Philly steak, onions, peppers, mushrooms and melted cheese. He was able to finish only about half; the rest we brought home, wrapped and stashed in the freezer, and a couple of days later (thawed and reheated) it tasted as good as it did in the restaurant.

Several varieties of pizza are served here as well, including a Monte Cristo; at $7.99 for a 12-inch, this one is a "white" with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses that sounds delicious. So far, though, the only one we've tried the Brier Hill, with a thin crust (we always add pepperoni), and it's quite good.

Dessert? Quite honestly, we've always been so full after appetizers and/or entrees that we can't even think about it. But for those who crave something sweet to end the meal, check out "Ellie's Homemade Desserts" for $3.75 each (the cherry or strawberry cheesecake and peanut butter pie caught our eye, but our stomachs insisted there was no room.

If you go: Amen Corner Sports Bar & Grill
20 W. Main St.
Girard, Ohio 44420
(330) 545-5694