When one of our friends suggested we make a visit to Kickstart Grille at Coach's Tavern in Willowick, it didn't take a lot of convincing for me to go. A new place with fresh bar food in a casual environment? I'm in.

So my wife and I and another couple visited on a recent Saturday, and it wasn't until we pulled into the parking lot that we realized Coach's Tavern is the former site of Buffalo Wild Wings. That, of course, is long gone, but none of us had been there since it left.

Actually, it didn't completely leave. The layout of the place is similar, with the kitchen distinctly separated from the bar, the way all BW3s seem to be set up. If you forced me to wager, I'd say that the formica-topped high tables and stools that populate the dining room are also holdovers.

Coach's is in a lot of ways the prototypical neighborhood bar – on the dim side, not too big, quite a few flat-screen TVs. But not-so-typical is the food part of the equation. Kickstart Grille arrived in January, and is not fully integrated – at least not yet – into the whole place. For example, we ordered and paid separately for food and drinks.

Lake County native Dennis Blakeslee is the one who has brought Kickstart into Coach's, which was without a kitchen for some time and is now open for lunch. He takes pride in using only fresh ingredients throughout the menu, which is dotted with the description “disgustingly delicious.” And a fair amount of bacon.

Read more at Correspondent Mark Koestner's review: Dining Out: Kickstart Grill at Coach's Tavern in Willowick is a kick.

It had been years since I'd been to the Players Club at Lost Nation Sports Park, the sports bar and grill that's housed inside the large sports complex in Willoughby. Recently, however, my wife and I were in the area, and we had heard they'd made some changes, so we stopped in.

We walked into the rear bar - the place is split into front and back areas, as well as a patio - and being a Tuesday evening, it wasn't exactly hopping. There were people playing darts and the Indians were on some of the many TVs. We sat ourselves at one of the high-top tables near the large bar. It was a laid-back atmosphere.

I'm typically a little nervous about places where you seat yourselves, as I tend to think we'll get overlooked. But someone came from behind the bar almost as soon as we sat down, and we were actually provided very good service all evening.

Read more of correspondent Mark Koestner's review at Dining Out: Players Club at Lost Nation Sports Park in Willoughby scores with tweaked menu. 

If you've ever lost your favorite bookstore, a mom-and-pop grocery store or a good local restaurant to a big chain taking over, you know how regrettable it feels.

But what happens when it's the other way around?

That's what my wife and I and a few friends set out to discover regarding the Happy Moose Bar & Grill in Mentor, which recently dropped its affiliation with the Cleats chain and re-opened this past winter as an independent.

Read more of correspondent Mark Koestner's review at Dining Out: Cleats is gone, but Mentor's Happy Moose has comfy feel.

You might remember it from its long-ago turn as a Ground Round, a family-type restaurant with reliable sandwiches, salads and steaks on the menu.

In the days since its 2005 closure, the building on the east end of Shoregate Shopping Center in Willowick has housed several eateries, often with very similar menus.

But, a few months ago, the space re-opened as The Garage Grill & Bar, and I’m here to tell you that someone has gotten it right.

The building was gutted and recreated as a single-room space, with a huge bar in the center and plenty of reminders of the restaurant’s name, with corrugated metal on the walls and a shiny cement floor that, with a little bit of daydreaming, could easily bring to mind visions of the greasy rags and rolling tool cases that you’d see in repair shops nearby.

But there’s no confusing your whereabouts once you crack open the menu and find some creative choices.

Read more in Laura Kessel's review: Dining Out: The Garage Grill & Bar at well-known Willowick spot gets it right.

It has since become a fixture in Lake County’s dining and entertainment scene, but there was a time when Redhawk Grille was a fledgling business.

It was about 20 years ago, when it first opened, that I first ate there. My in-laws lived (and still do) nearby, and we gave it a try. Since then, we’ve been back dozens of times — but only during the summer to eat out on the fantastic patio.

So until a couple weeks ago, it had been nearly two decades since I had eaten a meal inside Redhawk’s actual walls. I figured that a re-opening after a fire closed the place for four months was as good a time as any. Redhawk opened again in December after sustaining mostly cosmetic damage in the August blaze.

The most obvious changes made post-fire are on Redhawk’s bar side. It’s definitely more modern, with a new bar, stone surfaces and updated fixtures, and it features more seating than in the past. It’s got more of an upscale, lively feel to it.

Read more in Mark Koestner's review: Dining Out: Concord Township’s Redhawk Grille soars since reopening following 2012 fire.

Brindaliers in Willoughby Hills combines a lot of activities under its roof.

That’s a lot like its name — a combination of the nicknames of Cleveland’s three big pro sports teams.

Now you get it! When I first heard it, I didn’t get it either. When you see it printed on the menus, you’ll understand it even more, because each section of the name is printed in the font you’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the years in connection to each team. There’s the block letters for the Browns’ BR; the script of the Indians’ IND; and the upper-case script of the Cavaliers’ ALIERS.

Read more on Laura Kessel's review: Dining Out: Brindaliers in Willoughby Hills team-ing with interesting menu options.

This weekend I tried Branding Iron Cookhouse for the first time. I immediately liked the Southwest atmosphere of the bar and grill, with cowboy paraphernalia and photographs covering the walls from floor to ceiling.

The staff was nothing short of friendly, and the manager even spent some time talking with my party and ensuring we were enjoying ourselves. I don't remember the last time I had such good service -- especially from our server, who remembered each of our drink orders and exactly how much ice we wanted in them when she got our refills.

My group ordered chicken wings, pulled pork and a chicken sandwich, and we all got onion rings. The food came out a little slower than I would have wanted (our server explained it was because the wings took a little longer to cook), but it was hot and tasty when it reached our table. The chicken on my sandwich was cooked perfectly, and I really enjoyed the side of honey mustard dipping sauce that came with the onion rings.

The thing I might remember most about my experience there was the special touch that came with our meals: The sandwich buns were branded.

And if you go there for your birthday, you can sit on a horse, wear a cowboy hat and have a picture taken. Those pictures fill the walls in the front of the restaurant.

Branding Iron Cookhouse
8450 Market St. (Route 615)
Mentor, OH 44060
440-266-0000
Open at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays)
Happy Hour 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday

-- Cheryl Sadler