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Charlie Brown's Restaurant and Lounge: Vintage Lexington

You're a good place, Charlie Brown's

Contributing Restaurant Critic

With the end of summer approaching, students are returning to the University of Kentucky. A quintessential hole in the wall and one of the campus neighborhood's longtime landmarks, Charlie Brown's has remained unchanged for years and continues to find success with its cozy couches, dim lighting and simple bar food. Despite all the changes at UK in the past decade, Charlie Brown's, thankfully, remains the same.

Recently I had lunch at Charlie Brown's with my wife and my mother. We had all been to Charlie Brown's as students, but none of us had returned for quite some time. Entering, we felt as though we had stepped back in time - my mom to the '70s, my wife and I to the late '90s. Everything from the couches and the lighting to the books lining the walls appeared the same. Even the menu was familiar, mainly full of burgers and sandwiches, with a few other items from which to choose.

On this day we started with the beer cheese plate. It arrived promptly with crackers and freshly cut carrots and celery for dipping. As a self-proclaimed beer cheese connoisseur, I am hard to please. I will also be the first to say that Charlie Brown's recipe is creamy and cheesy with just the right amount of garlic and spices. My only complaint: The amount of cheese on the plate amounted to about four carrots' worth and should be larger.

For our main course, we all ordered sandwiches, each of which comes with your choice of a side item: fries, cole slaw, salad or soup of the day. While they chose fries, I tried the gazpacho, a chilled tomato and vegetable soup that was light and refreshing and hit the spot on a hot summer day. With quite a variety of sandwiches to choose from, we decided on three different meats: the chicken cordon bleu; Bavarian alpine, with turkey; and the prime rib.

None was spectacular, but all were good. The chicken cordon bleu was a grilled chicken breast with ham and Swiss cheese, classic and tasty. Why mess with a good thing? The Bavarian alpine is Charlie Brown's interpretation of a turkey and Swiss on rye bread -- once again, nothing fancy, just a turkey and Swiss.

As for my prime rib sandwich, I requested it be cooked rare, which seemed to present a problem. Our server was unsure whether this was possible, which defies logic; after all, the only difference is time over heat. When the sandwich arrived, she told me the kitchen tried and got as close to rare as possible. But in my experience, well done is at the opposite end of that spectrum. That said, the au jus provided moisture and flavor, and overall it was still a good sandwich.

The beauty of Charlie Brown's lies in its variety, laid-back atmosphere, and, of course, its libations. (I would be remiss if I didn't mention they make a mean bloody Mary.)

Lunch for three with one spicy bloody Mary was about $30.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Charlie Brown's Restaurant and Lounge

Address: 816 Euclid Ave.

Phone: (859) 269-5701.

Hours: 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m. Mon.-Thu.; 11 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Fri., Sat.; 1-11 p.m. Sun.

Other: Patio seating, Visa and Mastercard only, vegetarian options available, limited handicapped access, full bar.