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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2015)
Merry Time Bar & Grill D Left: The $5 happy hour burger at Merry Time is seasoned and prepared well. An old-school dive with an awesome happy hour burger Despite a Bloody Mary that comes with a steak, the Merry Time Bar & Grill’s gem is its $5 happy hour burger. It’s one of the better deals — and the best burgers — I’ve found in my short tenure as the Mouth. It’s also em- blematic of the place. The Astoria stalwart is a dive, and that didn’t change when Terry and Todd Robinett bought it late last year. The restaurant is dark at almost any hour of the day. It’s cavernous and carpeted. A mash of old beer adverts and by- gone sports memorabilia line the walls. There are loads of TVs, and they turn the sound up when local teams play. Pinball machines rattle and clink, video lottery slots twinkle, and pool balls clack. Despite its dank, aged veneer, the Merry Time isn’t dingy (let’s not talk about the bath- rooms though). Staff take care of the interior surfaces; it’s necessary because as much as the Merry Time is a watering hole, it’s a place people come to eat — and the happy hour burger has to be a big reason why. 7KH¿UVWFOXHLVLQWKHPHQX%XUJHUVDUH “cooked to medium temperature.” And in case \RXPLVVLWWKHVHUYHUZLOOUHLWHUDWH+RZGR you want it cooked? While allowing that I wasn’t afraid of a little pink, I opted to let the cook decide. What I got was ideal. At $5 the happy hour burger comes a la carte, stacked teetering, held in place with a toothpick. The presentation accentuates the innards — with a slice of tomato, onion and shredded lettuce it isn’t a king’s ransom of ac- coutrements. (For that, see the Merry Monster, $12.) It is, however, well seasoned and pre- pared. The handmade one-third-pound patty ZDV FRRNHG MXVW ULJKW WKLFN MXLF\ VDOW\ DQG just pink in the middle. With it, I added an order of calamari ($3) also from the happy hour menu. (Available from 4 to 7 p.m. every gosh darn day.) They were real, not reconstituted, and though the calamari could’ve been left in the fryer a mo- ment longer to crisp the breading, I’d take ‘em RYHUIULHVDVDVLGHDQ\WLPH2QWKLV¿UVWWULS I had a microbrew (also a dollar-off during happy hour). All together — the burger, the calamari and the beer — were just $10 before tip. I left feeling almost as if I’d gotten away with something. My second trip to the Merry Time coincid- ed with a Beavers football game and, despite the Oregon State team’s sorry stature, a num- ber of logo-clad fans turned out (then mostly tuned out). As such, wings were in order, as well as a Po Boy. As she did each visit, Jeanie, WKHRPQLSUHVHQWDQGHYHUMRYLDOVHUYHUDVNHG :RXOG,OLNHWKHIRRGLQDQ\VSHFL¿FRUGHU" 14 | October 1, 2015 | coastweekend.com I began with the wings. The eight of them ($8), in classic hot sauce, lacked distinction. Mostly supple with occasional snippets of crispy skin, they tended to be small. The sauce was elementary, likely a base of Franks Red +RW7KHEOXHFKHHVHZDVDOPRVWDVZDWHU\DV the accompanying celery. And as the wings come only in paltry orders of eight, I can’t recommend them for a hungry group. They’ll ÀXWWHUDZD\EHIRUH\RXNQRZLW The Po Boy ($9) was another story. On Jeanie’s recommendations I had it with prawns DVRSSRVHGWR¿VKFDODPDULRUFKLFNHQDQG fries. The fries, she told me, were house cut. (The tots come frozen in bags.) In both cases she was dead on. The fries, with skin, reminded of actual potatoes, and the breaded, deep-fried shrimp were a delight. Indeed, I embraced everything about the Po Boy — the slaw and creamy remoulade, lightly crisp shrimp, and the neatly stacked slices of bright tomato and sharp pickle. The tastes came together so well — until they fell apart. The toasted, buttered hoagie was woefully thin, and the innards kept escaping. But when I took the time to arrange the perfect bite, my goodness. I returned once more, needing to experi- A Po Boy sandwich, featuring delightful deep-fried shrimp, is a good meal paired with house-cut fries. Watch out for the thin hoagie roll, though. led jalapeño, green olive and lemon. In the meantime I received the salad, along with porter vinaigrette dressing. The veggies ence that Bloody Mary that came with a steak. — mostly mushrooms, onions and a few red $JDLQ-HDQLHZRQGHUHG+RZZRXOG,OLNHLW peppers — were fresh off the grill, resting on cooked? “Chef’s choice,” I said. “Let them do a bed of spinach and sprinkled with gorgon- their thing.” To the order I added a salad, the ]ROD)RUWKH¿UVWIHZELWHV,ZDVLQORYH7KH Grilled Veggie ($9), which was highlighted GUHVVLQJ ZDV LWV RZQ WKLQJ QXWW\ RQO\ KLQW ing a vinaigrette in the aftertaste. With the both by Jeanie and the menu. First came the drink, which was as adver- mushrooms and caramelized onions it was WLVHG KRUVHUDGLVK IRUZDUG DQ HDUO\ EXW QRW quite hearty, savory and gave the impression overwhelming spice. I appreciated the pint of heavy protein. As I went, though, the luster glass (by itself the drink is just $5), but was dulled. The grilled veggies — and there were disappointed the steak did not come atop as loads of them — were covered in oil, and a garish garnish (but one can dream, no?). In- that oil eventually coated the spinach, giving VWHDGWKHUHZDVWKHXVXDODJUHHQEHDQSLFN the dish an unappealing sogginess and shine. Though the initial dive perked me up, it didn’t ¿QLVKZHOO Finally the steak came. It was bloody, with ULEERQVRISLQNLQWKHFHQWHU$W¿UVW,WKRXJKW I wouldn’t need any dressing, save for maybe a bit of salt. Upon further inspection, though, the top sirloin proved a little bland, and need- ing of a lift. For the most part, the cut was lean, and in tandem with the cocktail it might make a rather compelling breakfast of cham- pions on game day — albeit for a particular kind of champion. 'HVSLWH WKDW SOD\IXO ÀRXULVK WKRXJK WKH Merry Time isn’t about cheeky innovation. It ain’t cute. It’s gruff, blustery and old school. The focus is value — both of cost and prepa- ration. And that being the case, I can’t imag- ine veering too far from that excellent happy hour burger. (Though that shrimp Po Boy isn’t Story and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA • mouth@coastweekend.com shrinking either...) mouth OF THE COLUMBIA COAST WEEKEND’S LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW Merry Time Bar & Grill Rating: 995 Marine Drive, Astoria 503-468-0852 merrytimebar.com HOURS: 8 a.m. to midnight Monday to Thursday; 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday. Happy hour is 4 to 7 p.m. every day. PRICE: $ – Most entrées around $10, but happy hour deals abound. SERVICE: Fun, friendly and prompt VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OPTIONS: A few salads and sides DRINKS: Full bar, soft drinks, coff ee KEY TO RATINGS poor below average good & worth returning excellent outstanding, the best in the Columbia-Pacific region
