Like many other towns in the area, Shamokin is built on the backs of immigrants who came here in the earlier half of the 20th century, looking for opportunity in the coal mines of the area. You can see many links to that area in town, from some mines that are still active to the food served at local church block parties and community festivals. There are some good eats here, from halushki to soupies to some of the biggest and tastiest pierogies around.
The catch? It tastes good, but it's hardly good FOR you.
While the local food available at festivals is pretty good, Shamokin has always remained fairly limited in regards to fully operating sit down restaurants. There are only a handful of restaurants in town, and some haven't always had the best reputation.
There used to be a Bonanza in the outer edge of town, on the border between Shamokin and Coal Township (and locals will tell you that there IS a difference between the two). Being a poor college student, I used to stop there on the way to school for a cheap lunch that usually tasted terrible. Dirty dining area, cold food, unfriendly staff- you name it, it wasn't good.
Imagine my surprise, then, to find out that when I moved here, the old Bonanza had given way to a trendy new sports bar, named Brewser's Sports Grille. In the lobby you will find a local newspaper article that tells the story of two college roommates who decided that they would someday open up a Sports Bar together. Brewser's is the fruit of their labor.
I have eaten there twice in the last month, each experience fairly different.
When you enter Brewser's, you will see that it is, like many Coal Region establishments, a place that sells beer and therefore uses the Coor's Light advertisements to promote local events. If you ever knew what this place looked like when it was Bonanza, the experience is night and day- fairly clean restaurant, nicely decorated, and friendly staff (who are all dressed like they should either be teaching gym or working at Schuylkill Valley Sports).
One thing about the decor- you will see pictures of every legendary NFL Quarterback of the past twenty five years. There's a picture of Saint Joseph Paterno, who despite being 1,239,200 years old, is still the beloved coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. Something's missing for me here, though. Some baseball team that's having the best period of their existence.... could it be the Phillies? Aside from an advertisement saying that beer is $2.50 during all Phillies and Yankees games, you would think this was an area that had no popular somewhat local baseball team. As a Phillies fan myself, I'm a little annoyed. I understand the devotion to the local high schools in the form of uniforms and pennants, but I'd like to see some Phillies love here.
Anyway, enough about the decor- you want to know about the food, right? Well, there's good news and bad news. This place serves excellent hamburgers- big, juicy, and cooked to your wishes. I ordered a medium well cheeseburger that came with bacon and an onion ring- a "grown up" version of the Rodeo Cheeseburger, if you will. Normally when I order a medium well burger, I get a well done burger. Not the case here- there was some genuine pink in the middle. As for the fries that came with the burger, they were nothing special- you've had these fries before. I'd like to see some fresh-cut fries, or something that didn't obviously come shipped frozen from an outfit that sells every other restaurant the same dang fries. They do also have sweet potato fries, though I didn't try them, but I will make a note to do so in the future.
Brewser's also has some decent homemade Barbeque Sauce. Unfortunately, I ordered an appetizer platter that was supposed to showcase this sauce. Why is that unfortunate? Well, I feel like I didn't get enough sauce on either the ribs or the shrimp. You are also supposed to get chicken on this platter, but the night I was there, they were out. They gave me what they said was "extra" shrimp, but I came away feeling like I didn't get my money's worth. I still think they probably gave me some ribs and the normal amount of shrimp they would give anyway, and just called it done.
The same night as Unfortunate BBQ Night, I also attempted to order a "Berry Berry Lemonade". This was also unavailable. I get it, sometimes restaurants are out of stuff. But really, twice in the same night? Perhaps I should cut them some slack, because the restaurant was packed that night and it was right after Hurricane Irene brought some rain and wind to the area. It could have been that they had been mobbed all day with people who were happy to get out of the house after a weekend of being inside. Still, I didn't feel satisfied with this meal.
The Ribs were slightly tough, the shrimp was your run-of-the-mill fried shrimp you can get at many "family" restaurants, and it wasn't coated in enough of that homemade Barbecue Sauce.
My recommendation for this place? You can't go wrong with their burgers, which are excellent and a great value. I don't have a great experience with their entree platters, but I will try something else in the future here. And as for the service, I can say that both times I was served by someone who was attentive and very good at keeping up with my frequent drink refills (I drink like a fish, what can I say).
On Brewser's Web Site, they say that they are better than the average sports bar. Honestly, while they do a good job here, this is the same sports bar you've been in in other towns. Being in Shamokin, filled with corner bars and places that can only be called "dives", it looks like a palace. In any other town, this is simply an average sports bar.
Still, definitely an improvement over the old, crusty Bonanza that once occupied that building. The restaurant is being filled fairly well with local residents as well, proof that they are doing something right here.
Brewsers Sports Grille
839 W. Water St.
Shamokin, PA 17872
(570)648-7122
