It's difficult for me to get out to new restaurants because of our family's schedule, but a weekend brunch is a pretty easy one to pull off. The only thing better than brunch is a boozy one, so I was stoked when I heard Chappy's was starting weekend brunches. Craft beers would be a great change from the usual mimosas that accompany that not-quite-breakfast meal.

My sister, my Dear Prudence and I embarked upon Chappy's that day with big hongries (and some thirsties for cold ones). I'd been daydreaming about the praline bacon, and the order is around half a pound (it's actually considered an entree). It was a bit difficult to find something on the smaller side to go along with that as the menu is limited, so I opted for a biscuit & gravy. Both the other gals went for chicken and waffles, one with regular syrup and one with spicy syrup. All of the food was amazing - but for a sissy like me, the gravy was too damn spicy. I've never seen red pepper used in gravy before, and I grew up eating biscuit & gravy every weekend in two different households (my own and my grandma's), as well as occasionally at friends' homes, but never encountered it. It was just too much. The biscuits were great and the gravy had a good texture, but it was inedible for me. Also,  it's nearly impossible to take an appetizing photo of sausage gravy - so I won't subject you to it. Just trust that it's as big as advertised.



The praline bacon was a great balance of sweet and salty, and a level of doneness that would appeal to anyone - not chewy like bubblegum, not super crispy (probably due to the saturation of the sugars).


Just perfect. It was big enough that someone with a small appetite could easily get away with ordering just that and an egg or two.

Our waitress was top notch (never had bad service there) and she knew all about their beer choices, even recommending a few beers that taste great when mixed half & half together. So many brunch options are popping up around Dayton, but I'd definitely do another brunch here just to order my own chicken and waffles. And if you're a fan of spicy, their Big A** Biscuit and Gravy is right up your alley.


4.5 out of 5 sporks!

Two of my favorite ladies and I decided to head to Chappy's Tap Room in West Carrollton last night for our not-nearly-often-enough girls night. I'd heard pretty good things about the place, but never seemed to get around to going even though I work less than two miles from it.

We got there around 9pm and there was still a wait for the dining room, which I consider a good sign, since people must be enjoying themselves. We were seated in far less time than the hostess had proposed, and we'd all snacked so we wouldn't be ready to tear someone's face off when we ordered dinner. Our server was super friendly and wasn't annoyed by me playing 20 questions with the menu. While debating the menu, we ordered some drinks and a half-order of their loaded kitchen chips.

I'm pretty sure these are house made BBQ chips, and they're loaded with cheese, bacon, sour cream, green onions and tomatoes. The half order was just enough to nom on while we chatted over cocktails and waited for our food.

I have a big weakness for anything beer-battered, so it was really tough for me to pass up their beer-battered chicken dinner. My sister decided to order that, so I invited myself to have a bite of hers once it came to the table. She'd eaten there before and said they're chargilled burgers "taste like summertime," so I was really struggling with what to go with. After a solid 20 minutes of perusing and a lot of questions for our server, we finally decided on our orders.


I chose the smothered chicken, Ginger picked the battered shrimp Po'boy and Skillz opted for the beer-battered chicken. Once it all came to the table, everyone's dishes looked plentiful and delicious, but between the size of the fillets and the wonderful smell it was producing, we were all drooling over the chicken in front of Skillz. We all dug into our own food until we were offered a bite of the beer-battered goodness, and WHOA. Gin & I instantly regretted out own orders and wished we would have gotten that instead. Don't get me wrong, our food was great - but this chicken, which clearly had malt vinegar IN the batter - was nothing short of perfection. The camera had Sasquatch eye again, so you'll have to forgive me for not quite honing my shutterbug abilities with the ten million damn settings on this thing.



The sides: We all ordered the mashed potato casserole at our waitresses suggestion. It didn't look impressive when it arrived, but it was a delight. They whip their potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese, then top it with cheddar and scallions and bake it.

The dranks: They have a wonderful beer selection here - somewhere between a dozen and 20 beers on tap and a bottle selection that's four pages long (including two gluten-free beers). Their wine selection is a bit limited, but if neither of those float your boat, they have a full bar and make a mean bloody mary.

I hadn't had that much beer (yet), so I had no problems cleaning my plate, and no problem announcing to our server that I don't need a box like those other two jerks because I'm awesome. After our meal, we headed over to the bar area where a local musician was playing a nice acoustic set. We'd joked beforehand that it was probably going to be awful like most Friday night cover bands playing in a restaurant, but the guy was actually really good. I wish I could remember his name to give him props here - but I can't recall to save my life. He wasn't hard on the eyes, either (I'm spoken for, not dead) - and apparently he plays there every Friday night.

I'm sure all of their food is excellent, but when I go back, I'll definitely be ordering the beer-battered chicken and I suggest you do the same. And trust, I'll be going back soon.


5 out of 5 sporks!