The downhome atmosphere and no-frills food of Gadwall’s Grill just absolutely agree with me, so it’s easy to understand why I was so excited to introduce a friend to the NLR gem.

We went for lunch and figured it would be a wise move to share several of the menu items.

We started with an order of cheese dip and tortilla chips. The thin, mild, creamy dip paired perfectly with the thin chips, a smart move on the restaurant’s part and one that led us to gobble up the entire appetizer. Thicker chips just wouldn’t have worked well with this dip, and while I’m certainly no cheese dip connoisseur, this version could definitely hold its own with any of the other heavyweights in town.

Next, an order of fries and soaked salad hit the table, followed by a patty melt and turkey sandwich. I requested the fries to be crispy, which they nailed, but, unfortunately, most were tiny, making them kind of a pain to eat. I’m a sucker for a good soaked salad, and while I’d consider Gadwall’s version to be tasty (especially that oil and vinegar dressing), it really didn’t strike me as a soaked salad. Simply put, it needed to be really soaked in dressing.

Fries

Soaked Salad

As for the patty melt?

It tasted every bit as good as the picture looks. A hand-formed beef patty, melted Swiss, and grilled onions rested between rye bread, which was then grilled and slathered with mayo. As expected, the turkey sandwich was pretty run-of-the-mill, but I mainly ordered it so I wouldn’t feel so guilty about the cheese dip and patty melt. Those two items were without a doubt the stars of the table.

Patty Melt

Per usual, the service was outstanding … friendly and attentive with just a nice dose of charm.

Our meal wasn’t perfect but the good certainly outweighed some of the slightly off items. As much as I love Gadwall’s, it’s a restaurant I’m still getting to know. Part of that process will be working my way through the menu and figuring out what items stand out.

And that’s fine by me.