Looper's Review

Well, since this blog is called Wild Bill's Food Thoughts, how about a restaurant review? I went to Looper's Bar and Grille at 313 East 3rd Street in Bethlehem PA on Tuesday, March 13, 2007. Noticing that they had Guinness on tap (yum!), I order one and perused the menu. As a fan of burgers, I ordered a Blues Burger, which comes with chips, or for 75 cents extra you can get fries on the side. The burger was ordered medium rare.
While I waited, I looked around the place. The bar occupies the front half of the space, which appears to have been a narrow (<12 feet) storefront at some point in the past. With the bar chairs and the standing tables in front of the long leather banquette facing the bar, I had a little trouble navigating between the chairs and the tables with my girth. My visit occurred over lunch; all the tables (approximately 12) in the back half of the restaurant were occupied, so I took up residence on the banquette at one of the standing tables.
The bar appeared to be well stocked. It appears they are going for an Irish pub / golf themed restaurant (like the name Looper’s wasn’t enough of a clue; however, a looper means something different to the steel industry (more on that later)).
My burger arrived, with about a half pound of crinkle cut Ore-ida style fries (well, they were only 75 cents – fresh cut would have at least cost $1.50). The burger was 1/3 pound of meat, on a Kaiser-style roll that was softer than I expected and made me suspect that perhaps they were baking them on the premises. The burger came with a tomato slice and green leaf lettuce. The Blues Burger meant that it was topped with blue cheese that had been melted on top of the burger and then a Creole blue cheese sauce was added. The chef got the medium rare just right – cooked on the outside, a cool pink on the inside. Verdict on the burger: excellent, if a little small compared to the burger’s I’ve been seeing lately. They do have the Big Bertha burger, which is two 1/3 lb patties. The fries were good, probably just because they were deep fried instead of baked like you would do at home.
Then the bill came; $13.50. I didn’t expect a pint of Guinness to cost me $6.00, but one of the reviews on the internet had said that they were known for their martinis, which were pricey.
Overall, a good experience.

Service: A little slow – 7 out of 10.
Ambience: Cozy – 8 out of 10.
Food: Excellent burger, so-so fries – 7 out of 10.
Bar selection: Good – 8 out of 10.
Price: Food, excellent. Drinks, a little pricey – 7 out of 10.

Note: Apparently, from a little research on the web, a “looper” at Bethlehem Steel was a management trainee who worked their way up from the line.