Last week I had a serendipitous moment when calling Oskee’s Sports Pub to see if they were open yet, and I was told that they were in their soft opening and would not turn away customers. Bingo! New food, there we went!
The interior of the restaurant has been updated with orange and blue everything — an argyle-patterned wallpaper with a feature wall of the lyrics to the song from which the pub takes its name. The foyer area was also upgraded from its Homegrown days.
Our server, we found out later in the meal, was the food and beverage manager. She was absolutely on top of everything, from familiarity with the menu to keeping our drinks filled. I was pleased to see the menu has a broad range of price points and truly something for everyone.
We started the meal with an appetizers of the loaded kettle Irish nachos.
The nachos ($12) were really delicious and could easily have served as a meal. They were smothered in a beer cheese sauce that was among the best I’ve ever had, topped with braised beef and bacon bits. (And green onion, but we had them hold that.) The portion was easily enough for four people to share as an appetizer, which made it a nice bargain, too. I will absolutely get these again.
We ordered three different entrees: the Ol’Smokey burger, the Midwest burger, and the chicken and waffles.
The Ol’Smokey ($15) was described as two all-beef patties, hickory-smoked bacon, crispy-fried onion tanglers, and smoked gouda with tangy barbecue sauce. All sandwiches came with kettle chips as a side, but our diner upgraded fries. The burger itself was very good and definitely filling. The bacon was thick cut and added a lot of the salt and smoke to the sandwich. Not overcooked, the fries were coated in a seasoned batter and were crispy.
The Midwest burger ($12) had two beef patties topped with the aforementioned fried cheese curds, and the beer cheese sauce from the nachos. This was delicious! We upgraded sides to an onion stack and macaroni and cheese (upgrades were $4). Truthfully, I could eat just about anything draped in that beer cheese sauce. My only wish for the burgers had to do with the patties themselves. They were not seasoned much, and the exterior had an almost dry texture to it that would probably not be pleasing on its own.
The onion stack was not what our diner had expected, and he was ambivalent about them. The pieces of onion were small enough that it ended up being a lot of breading and less onion.
The macaroni and cheese was supposed to come with a crunchy breadcrumb topping but arrived naked. We didn’t think any more of it after we dug in. The beer cheese sauce made a return visit to this ultra-creamy dish of elbow noodles. The pasta was cooked perfectly, too.
The chicken and waffles ($16) were presented very attractively: two Belgian-style mini waffles and two thinned chicken breasts with syrup on the side, so we can add our personal preference of sweetness. The chicken’s breading was nicely seasoned and crunchy from the addition of cornmeal, something we don’t often find in the Midwest. The waffles were crisp on the exterior but not so overcooked as to be dry, something we’ve experienced when ordering this at other restaurants.
We were all too full from dinner to do dessert, but I’m anxious to go back and try the mini whoopie pies ($5), the dessert shooters ($6), and probably the cake pops ($5 for 2) too. Another nice point: the refillable drinks were $2 each. The prices at most restaurants seem to be creeping toward $4 each.
Our server was delightful and told us she had worked at the two previous establishments at this location as well. She took extra time to interact with my kids and even warned my son they were running low on grenadine, and there was only enough for one more Shirley Temple. She had no way to know, but that child is on the spectrum and struggles with disappointment, so her telling him was truly a gift.
As this is a sports pub, the televisions were plentiful and massive. Happily, they didn’t boom the volume on them, so they weren’t early as overwhelming as at some establishments.
In addition to the menu items we sampled, there are salads and wraps, flatbread pizzas, a handful of other sandwiches and burgers, and four or five substantial entrees, including fish, pork, and beef options. They also had a small brunch menu listed for 8:00 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The most expensive item on the menu is $26, but the majority are between $12 and $16.
Oskee’s Sports Pub
2560 S Stone Creek Blvd
Urbana
M-F 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sa+Su 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.