Sunday at Billy Barooz

On Sunday, Mr. lbotp and I rode our bikes down to Billy Barooz Pub and Grill, the new bar/restaurant at the Village at the Crossing in SW Champaign. Here’s some thoughts:

They obviously spent a lot of money on this place. The inside is very bright with lots of windows. What stands out is the large, plasma TVs that cover practically every inch of the building. The bar area, which is dominated by pub tables, is decorated with banners of Big Ten universities. The grill area, which has booths and normal tables, has photos of old-time downtown Champaign on the walls. I could do without the cigar store Indian chief statue.

The menu is standard pub/grill fare (think upscale Applebee’s), and isn’t too vegetarian friendly, although there are a few salads. I got nachos without the meat, and they were OK. Would have been much better if the guacamole had been fresh and not out of a can. Mr. lbotp got boneless chicken wings, which he enjoyed.

Our service was good; of course they weren’t exactly busy — we were probably her only table.

Overall: I think BBPG will fill a niche. This would be a fun place to come on a fall Saturday or Sunday afternoon and watch a bunch of football games on all the TVs (you can’t sit anywhere without seeing at least two of them). We won’t be rushing back, but we won’t cross it off the list, either.