DAMONS: Ribs for your pleasure

by Kate Westrich and Jeevon Harris
THE POST

KATE WESTRICH:

My expectations were not much. Good food, good company and nothing more.

Despite numerous invitations, I had never been to a Damon's restaurant before. It's not that I had anything against them — I just wasn't interested.

I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in. Damon's looks so small from the outside, but inside there is plenty of room and lots of tables. I loved all of the sports memorabilia on the walls, especially because they included stuff from local high schools as well as Ohio University.

After a 30-minute wait, my lovely date (Jeevon) and I were seated. There is this game you can play at Damon's - maybe you are familiar with it... a trivia game? Well let me tell you, Jeevon and I sucked at it. One of the restaurant employees, Dustin, had to come tell us how to play. Even then we didn't do too hot.

Dustin played a key role for the restaurant. He emceed the trivia game and talked among the guests. Although I think it could get old, always having someone talking on a microphone, it did add a fun atmosphere to everything.

To start off my meal I got spinach and artichoke dip — one of my favorites. The way I judge this dip is to compare it O'Charley's because theirs is divine. Damon's ranked well. It was a little soupier than I would care for, but their chips were better, so it was an okay compromise. Plus, Jeevon got popcorn shrimp that tasted great in the dip.

For my main course, I got a prime rib dip. The bread was soggy, but the ribs were great. Ribs are Damon's specialty and they were good, very tender.

The service got an A+ for effort, and frankly, that is all I care about. Jennifer, our server, was working her hardest to get us everything we need.

The evening was a success and I would go back to Damon's — as long as I had enough cash because Jeevon and I rang up $40 pretty fast.

Thumbs up!

JEEVON HARRIS:

"Jeevon, did you hear that they are opening up a new Damon's? They are the bomb!" This quote comes from my friend Ivory Simms, who is 3/4 vegetarian, so if she says it's good, all I can do is try it.

So I did. Ivory you deserve a shout-out, because woman, you know your food.

This was my first visit to Damon's during my 20-year existence on this plant so I was a little on edge. I went with my good friend Kate (who, by the way, is a woman on this campus with enough common sense to realize that she should not let a good man get by her, and therefore have enough guts to ask him out on a date). We got there about 6:15 and after half an hour we were seated. The waitress, Jennifer, made us wait for no more than five minutes before taking our orders for drinks and appetizers, which took us about 10 minutes to get.

As I waited on my appetizer, I glanced around the restaurant, and to my surprise it was not the little shack that I had always envisioned it to be - it was actually a state-of-the-art establishment. There was a bar for the social drinkers, sports memorabilia, and for the people too smart for their own good, there was even a trivia game while you waited.

To start off, I got the popcorn shrimp and a lemonade. The shrimp were very good - I only took issue with the shrimp sauce, which to me tasted like watered-down hot sauce and leaves.

Jennifer promptly came back after we were finished with our appetizers and took our orders for the main course. I ordered the ribs, which came with a side of shrimp and french fries. The ribs tasted absolutely perfect, adorned with just the right amount of sauce - I didn't even come out wearing any. I decided to take my shrimp and fries home with me, because after I had finished the ribs I was too stuffed to eat anything else.

Damon's had great food, great service and an excellent facility. I would recommend them to anyone, but make sure that you go on payday or take your mom and dad along, because the prices are a little steep. Thumbs up!