McGillicutty's

Last Weekend for McGillicutty’s

December 22, 2018 By Lisa Grigsby

The Kash family has been running McGillicutty’s on Whipp Road since 1994. Before that is was a Noble Roman’s pizza joint. Over the years Cutty’s, as it is affectionately known, cultivated a following who play in their dart leagues, show up for trivia, paint nights and Sunday night Karaoke. And while the beer is always cold, the drink specials affordable, it’s probably best known for it’s hot spicy garlic wings, Lisa Kash’s homemade meatballs, the pizza, killer bloody mary’s and oh, those breadsticks!

It’s the kind of place where no one leaves McGillicutty’s a stranger. It’s a friendly place and welcoming to all. It was one of our favorites stops in our Dive Bar series.

Yet early this am Lisa Kash posted this on their facebook page:

Lisa & Kevin Kash

“It is with a broken heart that I am writing this. First off I want to thank my employees, who are really more family than employees — I cannot thank all of you enough for everything you have done for me and with me over the years. There are no words!!

Secondly, to all of the people who have come into the bar for all of these years — I have been blessed to have met all of you, become friends with you and some of you are more than these four walls— we are family!! I can’t thank all of you enough for your support, your friendship and all of the great memories that we all have.

That being said— we will be open all weekend, Christmas Eve and Christmas night.. at 2:30, I will lock the doors for the last time!! There are no words for what is my heart right now except thank you all for the great times and all of the wonderful memories I have with all of you!! Merry Christmas to all of you and your families and God bless you all!!”

Lets’s all be sure and send them off with a packed house and big thanks for all the great times we’ve had their over the years! Best of luck to the Kash’s on the next chapter.

5 Secret Spots to Watch the Ohio State/Mich and Bengals/Browns

November 22, 2018 By Dayton937 Leave a Comment

There are 2 big football rivalries this weekend..

Michigan at Ohio State Saturday Nov 24th at Noon and

The Browns at the Bengals Sunday Nov 25th at 1pm

You love to go out and see the games, but tired of crowds?

We have some tips on places to get good eats and watch the games without wrestling people for tables or a decent seat.

We call them our secret places for Food Adventures during popular sporting events ….

Get to the restaurant about 20 minutes before the games start and you should have no trouble grabbing a “primo seat.”

1) BENNETTS PUBLICAL in MIAMISBURG:

Sriracha Sweet Wings at Bennett’s Publical

67 S Main St, Miamisburg, OH 45342
This undiscovered gem, continues to amaze us. From their 7 bean soup from grandmas recipe, to their gorgonzola topped local beef steaks, this is a PERFECT place to catch the games. Plenty of TV’s and plenty of bottled and draft beer choices, this place features a full cocktail bar and a full menu that impresses. Other must eats are the wings and the fish platter. We love this place!

2) LOCK 27 in CENTERVILLE
1035 S Main St, Centerville, OH 45458
Sit at the bar or not and enjoy the games on this gastro pub’s TV’s. Some of the best local beers will also be at your fingertips. Their menu is a unique collection of memorable appetizers and sandwiches. There should be no problem finding a seat, and an afternoon of good day drinking and plush food. Must Eats are the smoked wings and any of their sandwiches. Enjoy the atmosphere !

Sticky Burger – loaded up by Big Ragu

3) ARCHERS TAVERN IN KETTERING’S ENCLOSED PATIO AREA
2030 E Dorothy Ln, Kettering, OH 45420
The enclosed patio area is a little known spot for seating under a couple of TV’s. There are also televisions in the bar area. The bonus here is a strong beer list and an affordable family friendly menu. Archer’s has spread its wings into Kettering and is a great spot to catch these games. MUST EATS: The Sticky Burger, Margherita Pizza and Wings with Sweet n Sexy Sauce.

4) THE DAYTON BEER COMPANY DOWNTOWN
41 Madison St, Dayton, OH 45402
Belly up to the bar or sit in the bier hall type atmosphere under the TV’s. This should give you a great spot to enjoy the games with the greatest selection of Ohio beers in town. Hungry? Try the Second Street Pizza window inside the establishment. Craft Beer and Pizza Pie with brutal rivalries? You can’t go wrong here !

At the Dayton Beer Company Bar

5) MCGILLICUTTYS on WHIPP RD
1980 E Whipp Rd, Kettering, OH 45440
Grab a “Mega Mug” of your favorite draft beer. This restaurant has some TV;s and even an old school projector screen. The bottom line is you can watch the game and enjoy some great eats. The bar is huge and has lots of domestic, national favorites. The food is some of the most underrated in the area. Must Eats are the breadsticks (they are seriously the Worlds greatest) with garlic butter or nacho cheese dip. Also, the pizza is terrific.

There you have it. 5 spots to hit up the game while you eat, drink and be merry.
Whether your team wins or not, you will have had one heck of a Food Adventure.

Check out our feature articles each and every week here on Dayton Most Metro.

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Lock 27 beer at the bar

Lock 27 wings

Mcgillicuttys Pizza

Sriracha Sweet Wings at Bennetts Publical

Inside Dayton Beer Co.

The greatest breadsticks in the world are at McGillicuttys

Pizza from Mcgillicuttys

Bennetts Fish Dinner

2nd Street Pizza

Lock 27 Turkey Panini

Food Adventure

Mega Mug At McGillicuttys

The Quest For Dayton’s Best Dive Bar Continues

December 29, 2016 By Lisa Grigsby

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the colloquial use of the word dive to describe a “drinking den” or “other disreputable place of resort” comes from the fact that these types of establishments were originally housed in cellars or basements, into which “frequenters may ‘dive’ without observation.

The Urban Dictionary defines a Dive Bar as

“A well-worn, unglamorous bar, often serving a cheap, simple selection of drinks to a regular clientele. The term can describe anything from a comfortable-but-basic neighborhood pub to the nastiest swill-slinging hole. You don’t need to dress up; we’re just going to the dive bar down the street. “

The August 2010 issue of Playboy magazine described a dive bar as:

A church for down-and-outers and those who romanticize them, a rare place where high and low rub elbows—bums and poets, thieves and slumming celebrities. It’s a place that wears its history proudly.

Our own Mixologist Brian Petro has been leading the team on the exploration of Dayton’s Dive Bars in 2016 and over the past year there’s been some serious exploration of these bars, as well as some even more serious discussion on what defines a dive bar. We do agree that most dive bars serve very affordable drinks and are most likely to be populated by folks in their neighborhood. From there are opinions were about as different as the establishments we visited. Guess we’ll just have to keep exploring and chat more.

“It’s hard to define what makes a dive a dive, but you know it when you see one.”

Here are the places we’ve visited in 2016. Click on the name to read more about the experience we’ve had at each of these places. They are listed in the order that we visited.

Miami Valley Sports Bar – the addition of Tillie’s Tap Room make elevate this out of the dive bar category

Dog’s Breath Tavern – look for the $2.42 specials on Tuesday evening and food trucks are welcomed

Phone Booth Lounge – food and drink prices priced right

Sure Shots – a nice selection of music on the juke box, and the soft glow of a Jägermeister machine

Time Out Cavern – throws one of the best Derby watch parties in town

Diplomat Lounge– this is a place where darts appear to be king

McGillicutty’s – extensive food menu and some of the best wings in town and just 50 cents on Monday

Mack’s Tavern – got national buzz for leaving coupons on cars that stayed park and cabbed home

Adrienne’s White Rabbit Lounge – intimate and welcoming

Dr. Doodles Lounge – hard to find, but easy to feel comfortable here

Dark Horse Tavern – closed in July reopened in November

As we roll into 2017 what dive bars should be on our list to visit? How do you define a dive bar? Make your suggestions in the comments below:

Dive Bar Tuesday: McGillicutty’s Pub

March 15, 2016 By Brian Petro

Welcome to McGillicutty’s!

When the biggest bar holiday of the year comes knocking, you sit down with your team and have a serious conversation about the bar where you are going to celebrate. A lively discussion commenced and the finalists were chosen. The finalists all had certain merits in the dive bar designation. The Final Four bars we decided on were Flannigan’s Pub, Harrigan’s Tavern, Mack’s Tavern, and McGillicutty’s Pub. We look forward to visiting all of them in good time, but the one we went for this week just ahead of St. Patrick’s Day was McGillicutty’s Pub. It has been a staple in the community for over twenty-two years, and ready to go for a celebration of all things Irish.

What struck me first about McGillicutty’s Pub (1980 E Whipp Rd, Dayton, OH 45440) was their lack of pool tables. It is officially the first dive bar we went to that did not have one. But they did have one of the biggest virtual golf games I have seen, and plenty of electronic dart boards to spend some time with. There are plenty of televisions as well, perfect for coming in over the weekend and watching your bracket either slowly rise to the top or crumble into a thousand pieces as the Cinderella teams start to emerge. It is off the beaten path enough you should be able to find a seat with your twenty-two ounce beer without a problem.

Carolina BBQ Hot Damn Wings at McGillicuttys

So. Good.

The food menu is extensive. There is something for everyone, and it is all made to order in the kitchen. There is a wide variety of specialty pizzas, small appetizers, sandwiches, and wings. We did not get a chance to sample everything, but we know some people who did. The pizza was delightful, but I do not want to take anything away from the wings. The wings were delicious. The award winning Carolina BBQ Hot Damn Sauce was amazing. On Monday nights, the wings are $0.50 each, and we could not get enough of them. They were good enough to get one of our party that will not eat meat off the bone to dissect a wing so she could enjoy it. The sauce is on the spicy side, but not so spicy they will make you miserable. Even if they were, there is enough to drink to cool off your mouth.

The beer and cocktail menu…well, does not really exist. The beers they have on tap lean as far as this bar goes to the craft side of the spectrum: Blue Moon, Fat Tire, and some seasonals. They also have some classics on tap like Yuengling, which they were offering for $3.50 for thirty-four ounces on Mondays. They have tried offering more craft beers, but as we found out from our server and co-owner, the regulars like to stick to the basics. They have quite a few bottle offerings as well, including twenty-two ounce bottles of Bud Light for Sundays. Cocktails are more bespoke than anything else. They have their own unique specials, including a punch that sounds like a throwback to punches of yore: a variety of rums and available fruit juices, served so the whole table can enjoy such delights at a fair price. If you are there on Sunday, ask for their award winning Bloody Mary to get you through the morning.

Just getting started…

Is this an Irish pub that will be doing Kegs and Eggs? No. If you really want one you can start off your day there on Thursday (10 A.M.) with an Irish Breakfast. Then you will be ready for green beer and specials on some of their more Irish fare. The Reuben sandwich and pizza will be discounted, and there will be an Irish stew added as a special for the day. The staff will also be working hard on their specialty cocktails like the Shamrock and Lucky Charm for those that may need to switch it up from beer for a drink or two. It will be busy on Thursday, and with some luck, their large patio will be available for all the revelers clad in green.

McGillicutty’s Pub is decked out in green and ready for St. Patrick’s Day, but it is a place to come and enjoy some camaraderie any time of the year. Everyone we spoke with was very friendly and willing to answer any question. Their Facebook page is the place to go to find all of their specials and to keep up with the events going on at the pub, like their drop in dart leagues (Saturday night) and karaoke (Sunday night). And if you are looking for a challenge, there is a record for drinking their thirty-four ounce mugs. One bold patron was able to consume eighteen in a day, with help from a friend to get him home after the feat was accomplished. While we will definitely be back for the wings and the light atmosphere, we will leave that record for someone else to break. Sláinte!

McGillicutty’s: The Greatest Breadsticks in the World

July 25, 2015 By Dayton937 Leave a Comment

The Best Breadsticks in the World are at McGillicutty’s, but get a side of garlic butter for dipping

The waitress brings the overflowing basket of breadsticks to the table, still steaming…. Then the look….. you glance at the others at the table. Should you grab a piece and risk being seen as rude? Do you pause and risk not getting one of the best breadsticks in the world? These are the kind of problems you will face at McGillicutty’s.

A popular Kettering icon, McGillicutty’s has always been known for their food and libations. Let’s face it, it’s bar food, and McGillicutty’s has some of the best in town. Whether it is Tuesday Night Trivia night, or lounging after a Softball game, it is the perfect place for a laid back Food Adventure.

For decades, the Food Adventures Crew has been hitting up McGillicutty’s for good eats, and here is the full scoop on this pub.

HERE’S THE SKINNY:

The Mega Mug at Mcgillicutty’s – They had ’em first !

— The Kash family has been running McGillicutty’s since the early 1990’s, and are some of the friendliest hosts around.

— The location at 1980 E. Whipp Rd. was a former Noble Roman’s restaurant in the 1970’s and 80’s

— The smell of pizza dough hits you as you walk into the door, and the low key atmosphere is great. We know it is a family friendly tavern, but we prefer slinging back some drinks and grub with the adult crew.

— A solid group of regulars support the place from dart leagues to Tuesday Trivia (the best in town), and Sunday night Karaoke.

— They dont use deep fryers, they use pizza ovens to bake their menu items. The result is some inventive and delicious ways to enjoy various traditional favorites.

— Known for festival involvement, another big day for McGillicutty’s is St Patricks Day ! They go bananas on that holiday….

What is the best of this extensive menu? We’ve got the answers after years of research. Without further delay, we present our patented MUST EATS of McGillicuttys !

MUST EATS:

— PRETZELSTICKS (BREADSTICKS): When we say must eat, we mean it here. These are the best breadsticks we have ever tasted. Here is secret #1. They are called pretzelsticks on the menu, which means they are lightly salted. Secret #2 is that you must try them with the garlic butter sauce or the cream cheese sauce. Sure the nacho sauce is good and so is the marinara, but the garlic butter and the cream cheese are the top 2, no doubt. You won’t see these tips anywhere else, because nobody else knows about them, except you. Aren’t you glad to be our partners in food?

The Pepperoni Pizza from McGillicutty’s is where it’s at

— THE PEPPERONI PIZZA: The pizza is the key. Thin crust, square cut Dayton style pizza. The sauce give McGillicutty’s it’s unique taste as does the cheese and the taste of the crisp dough edges. Deluxe pizzas are great, and loaded toppings are wonderful, but for some reason we keep coming back to the basic Pepperoni as our favorite. WARNING: the pizza is served ultra hot and we fight the urge and still burn our mouth from time to time. So.. beware !

— THE MEGA MUG: Long before Mexican restaurants or any other bar had the huge mugs, McGillicutty’s had the MEGA MUG. These 34 ounce mugs are perfect for ice cold draft beers, and MEGA MONDAY’s means they are only $3.50 for domestics. No matter what day it is, get a Mega Mug of draft beer with your pizza and breadsticks. So good, so cold, so thirst quenching…

Teezers are Long Tater Tots Stuffed with Jalapeno Cheese

— THE TEEZERS: Tater Tots with spicy cheese inside. A perfect opening to a McGillicutty’s visit. We have had others, but not like these. Maybe it is because they bake them instead of deep fry them. Maybe it is jalapeno cheese inside. Whatever the reason, we can’t stop eating these bad boys with a side of cream cheese!

— THE ITALIAN STEAK SANDWICH: Served in a basket with chips, you can get a half or whole sandwich. It is a cube steak with cheese and pizza sauce. They added onions & banana peppers, all on a hoagie bun. For some reason the combo is a perfect sandwich after a Softball game, or for watching a sports event.

— THE WINGS: These are broiled, not fried, so they may be an acquired taste. Still, get them well done and get the Buffalo Hot sauce and you should be good. Different enough to try, and good enough to keep ordering. The Buffalo sauce is the best option here. We order them extra crispy, plain and dip the wings in the hot sauce.

The Philly Cheesesteak from McGillicutty’s, this is just a half, order yours whole with extra mayo

HONORABLE MENTION to the PHILLY CHEESESTEAK SANDWICH at McGillicutty’s. It s nicely flavored shaved beef on a hoagie roll. Asking for a dash of extra mayo is the secret to this one.

Did those peak your interest?

Next time when you are hungry and thirsty, try McGillicutty’s on a warm summer day, and even enjoy their parking lot patio. Casual drinks, casual grub and a sports tavern atmosphere is the appeal here. And you must order the GREATEST BREADSTICKS IN THE WORLD ! You may just even see the Food Adventures Crew inside with a Mega Mug and a pizza!

Want some more inside scoop on Dayton area eateries? Then join Chef House, The Big Ragu and Hungry Jax on Facebook HERE ! We are not food critics, we just love to eat ! We visit a restaurant many times before we write a feature article. We don’t go to a place one time and then rate it, that’s an insult to you, the reader. No stock photos here. Look for the most reliable, complete and informative reviews from Dayton’s fave foodies, Food Adventures!

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