Out over on Avent Ferry Road, near NC State you’ll find a neighborhood of restaurants, businesses and student housing supporting the Wolfpack. You’ll also find long-time favorite, Sammy’s Tap & Grill, a sports bar and NC State favorite. I used to work right around the corner from Sammy’s Tap & Grill but hadn’t visited the place for years once I left Red Hat. But with GroupOn in hand, it was time for a return visit!
From outside, Sammy’s Tap & Grill is pretty impressive! Large neon sign, open front patio with shorn timbers and in back a full dining room and bar. Given the nice weather, we grabbed a seat out on the patio which is filled with TV’s and Wolfpack pararphanelia. It’s a casual spot with plenty of room to spread out in. In addition to NC State, Sammy’s is the sports bar to hit up for Pittsburgh Steelers and W. Virginia Mountaineers fans.
The menu at Sammy’s is pretty basic bar fare with a smaller mix of beers and wines. Choose from wings, nachos, ribs, burgers, sandwiches and more! I go for a nachos starter with chili and queso, we’re not holding back on the calories today. And some baby-back ribs with buffalo bites for my main.
Sammy’s Tap & Grill seems like a pretty popular place for lunch with a busy mix of office workers and blue collar folks. The nachos arrive and they are a smallish plate of chips, chopped tomato, iceberg lettuce shreds, cheese and chili. Tasty stuff but I’ve never met a nacho plate I don’t like!
As the hour passes on, the place slowly fills up and it takes a bit of time for our mains to come out. My main is a lot of food with a 1/2 rack of ribs (your choice of sauce), home-made chips, Texas toast and some veggies to balance the calories out (hah!) Everything is solid on the plate, the ribs are grilled a bit with a good slather of sauce, the parmesan garlic bites are nice chunks of breast meat and fried well. And the sides are all fine making for a satisfying but basic meal.
Service at Sammy’s Tap & Grill is good, they use a mixed team service and the place is big so things might get lost with all the tables. And overall I can see why Sammy’s Tap & Grill is a local favorite. Solid bar food with tons of TV’s in a Wolfpack-supportive environment works perfectly in this location. The food isn’t that exciting, I’d prefer Tobacco Road Sports or Tyler’s Taproom but that’s just my preference. So rock on, Sammy’s Tap & Grill!
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