Staying in Ames recently, very near the hotel I was staying at was a place that I'd seen before on visits to the area but had never been to - West Towne Pub. I decided to have a closer look at the place before I left the area that particular day.
West Towne Pub is a sports bar that also features a number of eclectic beers on tap and in bottles. It's owned by Bryan Kinneer - a former sales rep in the medical industry who decided that he wanted to get out of the sales racket about 8 years ago and open up his own sports bar - and his wife, Shelley. Along with Kinneer's brother, Kevin, they also own the nearby Perfect Games family fun center that features bowling, laser tag, video games and a pizzeria, Kingpin Pizza. Both businesses are located in the West Towne development on the southwest side of Ames. (see map)
Walking into West Towne Pub, you immediately see a ton of flat screen televisions throughout the place. The decor is decidedly industrial with exposed support beams and duct work on the ceiling. A cold slab concrete floor is on the main dining level while a step up bar area overlooks the dining room. It was early and they had only been open for about 30 minutes when I stopped in.
I was greeted by a young lady who led me to a booth along the glass-walled south side of the sports bar. She gave me a menu and told me that my server would be with me in a moment. Not long after, a young lady by the name of Emily showed up. They had a pretty impressive line-up of beers at West Towne Pub and I ended up ordering a Boulevard Pale Ale as I looked through the menu.
The food at West Towne Pub is typical of any sports bar - the usual deep fried appetizers and chicken wings, a number of sandwiches, a few entrees including a pasta dish, pork chops and ribs, and a handful of hand-pattied burgers that West Towne Pub claims are 25% bigger than most places. Even though I was thinking of getting Thy Reuben - their take on a reuben sandwich - or the Cuban sandwich (but I've yet to find a good Cuban sandwich outside of Miami), I ended up getting the Towne Bacon cheeseburger - called their signature burger on the menu. It said that they spent a lot of money with consultants coming up with the burger's name, but I think that borders on hyperbole. I had my choice of cheese - American, Cheddar, Swiss or Provolone. I got the Swiss cheese to go along with the apple-smoked bacon. A side of West Towne Pub's "Brew City" French fries came with the meal.
The burger came with lettuce, onions and tomato slices. The Swiss cheese was melted over the bacon and the burger patty. It looked damned good.
The burger was, indeed, huge. The bun was thick and I was worried that it would be a little too much bun for the burger. But the bun was airy and collapsed easily when you put your fingers into it.
From the first bite I knew this was a winning burger. It made me go, "Mmmmmm...." as I savored my first bite. Juicy and flavorsome, the burger patty was cooked with a little pink in the middle - exactly how I like it. The Swiss cheese had a wonderfully complementary taste to the burger without being overpowering. And the applewood-smoked bacon was a great companion taste. And the bun stayed together with all that was on the burger. The key to a good burger is a good bun. The bun on the Towne Pub cheeseburger was very good.
The "Brew City" fries were crispy on the outside and moist inside. They were good, but it was going to be all I could do to finish the large Towne Pub cheeseburger. And as good as the burger was, I knew I wouldn't be eating many of the fries.
Many sports bars that I've come across in my travels usually have just OK bar food. They just figure that if someone is going to come in and watch sports, they'll probably eat just about anything that the place puts on the menu. But I could tell that they cared about the food at West Towne Pub. The burger was excellent - one of the best I've ever had at a sports bar. The fries, too, were very good - even though I didn't pay much attention to them. The beer selection was good and I thought Emily's service was top notch. I would have no problem returning to West Towne Pub for another burger at some point.
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