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Y! MyWebBar Review
Jimmie's Cornerstone Bar & Grille
Come for the drinks, but stay for the food
Sunday, January 06, 2008
DAYTON — We weren't looking for the best appetizer in town, but we think we may well have stumbled on it anyway.
This is a joint that has come heavily recommended by readers and friends — Jimmie's Cornerstone Bar & Grille, a stone's throw from Miami Valley Hospital on the corner of Wyoming and Brown streets. It turned out to be what everyone had been saying and more — it's now one of our very new favorite spots.
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The Cornerstone Bar & Grille, located on Brown Street in Dayton, is owned by Jimmie Brandell. 
Paisano pasta chips (foreground), Jack's special sandwich (left rear) and a white pizza (right rear).Jimmie's Cornerstone Bar & Grille
- WHERE: 1001 Brown St., Dayton [Map]
- HOURS: 7 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, 5:30 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday
- KITCHEN HOURS: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday 11a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday. Kitchen is closed Sundays. Full carryout menu
- PARKING: This can be a little confusing to those unfamiliar. The parking lot across the street from Jimmie's next to the Taco Bell is the place to park. There are a few spots behind the bar but those are hit and miss — if you're looking for a sure spot this is the way to go
- MORE INFO: (937) 424-1784 or www.thecornerstonebar.com
- MORE: Reader ratings, complete profile
Let's start with that appetizer, brought to us by a smart, savvy, heavily tattooed waitress who knew her way around the fairly extensive menu (for a bar, anyway) and led us where we wanted to end up. The plate in question? Paisano Pasta Chips ($6.95) — lasagna noodles cut into chips and fried golden brown, served beneath a rich slathering of Asiago cream sauce, sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, onions and peppers and then topped with Italian cheeses. It's billed as "Jimmie's favorite."
And it's no wonder — we didn't even know you could do something so positively palate pleasing with lasagna noodles besides the obvious — lasagna.
But owner Jimmie Brandell did, and when he added a kitchen in the back room to start his family-run restaurant business in October 2006 he decided to include favorite family time-tested recipes like his wife's Italian grandmother's meatballs ($5.95) and those incredible Paisano Pasta Chips from his cousin's restaurant in Buffalo, N.Y.
A sampling of the sizable menu found a running theme: big portions, reasonable prices and fresh ingredients further complemented by great service and atmosphere. The menu is dedicated in memory of Jack Ronda, founder of the Upper Krust restaurants in Dayton where Brandell got his start as a youthful 15-year-old and learned the ins and outs of the restaurant trade.
As to the bar, the Lounge Lizards found the night-time crowd to a mixed bag of urban hipsters to suburban line-workers to the local weather man (seriously) pulling up a stool to enjoy one of the eight beers on tap, more than 50 bottled beers or sipping from their favorite cocktail.
The Cornerstone is a cozy space — only about 40 seats at table-tops — but has an entertainment option lurking around almost every corner to help you pass the time: pool tables, darts, air hockey, video games and a classic pinball table stand at the ready to help one unwind. The fun doesn't stop there ... when you're in the main bar area be sure to look up and check out the unusual choice of ceiling tiles — old board games, a leftover from the days when this bar was the Walnut Hills. While they've faded a little over time, they're a great touch.
Brother Ron: I had "The Cornerstone," their signature sammich, and it was terrific. It's a modified cheese-steak with tomatoes, slaw and fries ON the sandwich, on a toasted hoagie roll. It was dandy, and I was a happy boy. I had a bite of Brother Ray's chili, too, and it had nice zing. This place rocks.
Sister Laura: This is a bar, make no mistake. It's all friendly rough-and-tumble, but the emphasis is heavily on the friendly — they want to know if you've been there before and when you leave, they want to make sure you're coming back. On an after-work stop recently, bartender Amy poured a hefty shot and ingratiated herself by playing great tunes and leading a toast to Miami Valley Hospital workers, identifiable by their bright scrubs and knowledge of tequila. There aren't many places that can pull off the downtown neighborhood feeling to people from the outer environs, but Jimmie's manages. The food is amazing, too: Even the chicken tenders were special, with breading to die for and a taste that shouted, "There's a real cook back there!"
Brother Ray: "Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat." Well, he never had those pasta chips. I am seriously livin' to eat those. They are so sinfully good that they would have made old Socrates say, "never mind what I said. Eat up." I've been in town a long time and those chips are the best, most original appetizer I've had. If I would have gone later in the day, I would have tried a drink. Lizards??
The Lounge Lizards: You know you're in the right place when the server, after being prompted for her favorites, says: "everything here is really good ... it's not like my last job where I had to apologize for everything we served." The My Big Fat Greek Chicken Quesadilla ($6.95) is one of the most memorable adaptations on the traditional favorite we've tried. Overflowing with grilled chicken, spinach, chopped tomatoes, feta, provolone cheese and served with homemade salsa and Tzatziki sauce in a crunchy flour tortilla shell (they run it through the pizza oven first for some added crisp) and finished off with a smattering of Parmesan cheese, it was just exactly what it was billed as.
After the Paisano Pasta Chips you've got to try this one and don't forget to ask about the soup of the day ($2.50 for a bowl, $1.95 for a cup), which was a highlight as well. With a happy hour that runs from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. featuring discounts on drink prices (one of the longest happy hours to our knowledge), an impressive beer, full-bar and list of selected wines by the bottle — all for $12 dollars — it's not that the low-key bar vibe isn't fantastic it's that the food is even more so. The Lounge Lizards came for the drinks, but definitely stayed for the food.
This review was originally published on Dec. 28, 2007.
