THE EATBEAT: Southgate serves up tasty food, fun at bargain prices

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• THE EATBEAT: About Southgate Casino Bar and Grill

Southgate Casino Bar and Grill has entrenched itself as a place where people go for good food as well as bingo and games.

The No. 1 seller is the sirloin tips with mushrooms, onions and peppers. The deluxe version is $11.49 for a small order or $16.99 for a large one. These come with garlic toast and creamy red potatoes. Otherwise, you can get the tips and reds for $9.99.

On the first day of January, I joined a group of friends to visit and eat at Southgate. With a dozen people around the table, there was a variety of orders. When I ordered the clubhouse sandwich with fries, I feared it would be too much for one person.

The sandwich was nicely presented, and the fries were as good as they get — light golden in color and lightly salted.

My idea of a club sandwich is turkey, bacon, tomato and lettuce in a toasted double-decker format. The Southgate version has all of that plus some bland cheese that seems unnecessary. It is good. It is excessive, and so half of it goes home to join other leftovers in the refrigerator. My check was $8.49.

Others in the group were eating Walleye Chunks ($9.99) and Walleye Subs ($10.99). After a discussion, they decided the walleye fillets were preferable to the chunks, which had a heavy coating. In fact, the fillets were rated quite high. The Southgate soup stood up to its standards in the potato dumpling version available.

Customers seem to find their favorites at Southgate. And they wait for the specials that show up — such as the French dip and fries Wednesdays, which is sometimes offered for $1.99. That is, if you also purchase a drink from the bar.

If it’s a dessert you seek, forget it. Southgate doesn’t list any on the menu.

Otherwise, the Southgate menu is fairly complete with burgers, Mexican, soups and salads, chicken, wraps and appetizers and lavosh — along with Southgate specialties. These include the steak sandwich, Reuben, Southgate Philly and a steak or chicken chipotle melt.

Then, there is a “Poutine” item on the lavosh menu. It is described as fries and cheese curds topped with gravy ($16.99).

Southgate is a laid-back type of place where people go for good times and good food at bargain prices.

Our server was Rachel, and she did a very good job of keeping a large group with varied orders happy.

Reach Hagerty at mhagerty@gra.midco.net or call (701) 772-1055.

Tags: marilyn hagerty, southgate casino bar and grill, life, updates, food, eatbeat, columns, homehead