The Rocket

Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Focus

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Iron Bridge Inn
1438 Perry Highway (Rt.19)
Mercer, PA 16137
(724) 748-3626

Found just five minutes down the road from the Grove City Prime Outlets, the Iron Bridge Inn is one of the seven restaurants in the Springfield Restaurant Group.

FOOD

My guest and I started out with the spinach and artichoke dip appetizer. It was accompanied by toasted pita bread for dipping. The creamy dip was served warm in a skillet and topped with tomato slivers and melted cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. The triangular pita was the perfect size for a few bites. The eight pieces were just enough to use for all of the cheesy good dip.

I wouldn't recommend this dish for a first date. It was a little messy, but so good! If you do choose it, don't forget to check for spinach in your teeth before you smile.

With summer around the corner, I figured I would try to eat a little healthier by choosing a salad. I picked the cobb salad, which came with sliced grilled chicken breast on top of crisp bacon pieces, black olives, a diced egg, cherry tomatoes, Monterey Jack, cheddar and bleu cheese crumbles. Oh, and there was some lettuce somewhere toward the bottom. Not exactly the healthiest choice of salads, especially after I added the side of ranch, but nonetheless a delicious choice. The lettuce I found after filling up on everything else was crisp and cool. I didn't like the bleu cheese crumbles, but that's just a personal preference.

My guest chose the sirloin steak salad, which wasn't any better on the healthy scale. It was served with the signature grilled Springfield angus sirloin over mixed greens and much of the same extras as my salad, only it also came with thick fries that had a touch of seasoning. I was a bit jealous.

PRICE

Iron Bridge offers more than 20 unique appetizers such as the black and bleu jumbo shrimp dipped in Cajun sauces and topped with melted bleu cheese, as well as a few familiar favorites like the chicken tenders with choice of sauce. On average they were on the up side of $6. Platters were a bit pricier but gave a good selection for the whole table to share.

Salads, served in large bowls and accompanied by fresh-baked bread, ranged from $8 to $10. Claiming to serve the best burgers since 1979, all were less than $7 with the exception of Bubba's Junk Burger, which consists of two patties and a plethora of toppings. The large selection of sandwiches was priced between $5 and $9.

Both burgers and sandwiches are served with your choice of fries, homemade coleslaw, homemade potato chips or redskin potato salad and your choice of egg or wheat kaiser bun.

Pasta, poultry and seafood dinners ranged from $10 to $15 with one or two more expensive seafood dishes. All come with bread and choice of soup or salad.

Springfield Angus Beef is a brand of the Springfield Restaurant Group. Hand cut and aged to perfection according to the menu, the dinners were anywhere from $10 to $23. Any entrée is offered with sautéed mushrooms, onions or peppers for an additional $1.99. You can also build your own surf and turf by adding shrimp scampi, lobster tail or jumbo lump crab cake for an additional $6 to $10.

ENVIRONMENT

I thoroughly enjoyed the uniqueness of this restaurant. The outside reminded me of an old fishing warehouse with faded and peeling paint and old rusted signs placed on the outside walls. Inside the old-and-rusty theme continued. Random antiques and artifacts hung on the walls and a few from the ceiling. It's comparable to the interior of a Cracker Barrel, but a bit higher in class.

As you walk in the front door, you are greeted by a huge moose head behind the hostess and the smoking section, which wasn't too bad, but then again, maybe we just got there on a good night. The bar was on the back wall and non-smoking section was off to the side. The booths were partially private but the tables were a little crowded and close together.

SERVICE

We waited less than the half hour they said it would take be to be seated. There was a reasonable wait for the food considering how busy they were. I was a little annoyed though with the how long it took to get the check, as our waitress decided to chat with some customers behind us. However, she was very friendly. She looked almost overwhelmed with all of the tables in her section seeming to be full. But she was very well-composed and handled everything very well.

The manager came to a few tables but only to chat - definitely a good sign of friendly service.

THE BOTTOM LINE

I would recommend the Iron Bridge Inn for any end-of-the-semester celebrations with friends to have a nice meal and enjoy the drink selection or even a great place to take your out-of-town visitors after hitting up the outlets.

Meagan Gribbin is a junior communication major and the advertising manager for The Rocket.

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