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Bar Review
Tickets Pub & Eatery
Pub just the ticket for good grub
Friday, September 12, 2008
Extras
THE TICKETS PUB AND EATERY restaurant is located at 7 W. Main St. in Fairborn.
Tickets Pub & Eatery
- WHERE: 7 W. Main St., Fairborn [Map]
- KITCHEN HOURS: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a limited menu offered from 11 to 11:30 p.m. and noon to 9:30 p.m. Sundays. The bar will continue to stay open if there are people in the bar after the kitchen has closed.
- SPECIALS: Tickets has daily lunch and dinner specials and homemade soups, so be sure to check the board before you make your final ordering decisions.
- STILL HUNGRY?: Try a sweet treat from Lisa's Ice Cream Shop located inside Tickets. It offers the standard ice cream shop fare in addition to some specialty Greek desserts.
- HAPPY HOUR: There's no real happy hour to speak of except for early in the day during the weekend, but the drinks are priced low enough that happy hour is whatever time you want to make it.
- MORE INFO: (937) 878-9022 or www.ticketspub.com
- MORE: Reader ratings, complete profile
It's not often that you happen into a golden ticket. Getting the best seat in the house — whether it's for a concert, movie, game or magical chocolate factory — requires that much-coveted and highly sought after piece of paper.
The Lounge Lizards have located a hot ticket of our very own, but no ticket is required to get into this downtown Fairborn pub and eatery that offers a little something for everyone.
Tickets Pub & Eatery is a bar, restaurant and all-around comfortable hangout rolled into one. If you're looking for the pub, enter through the door on the right. Ticket's pub side is accommodating and spacious with a pleasant mix of televisions and familiar beer advertising signs adorning the walls. A large bar area anchors the space and is surrounded by numerous combinations of tables and chairs. Choosing a high-top table near the window, the Lounge Lizards were ready to explore.
Greeted promptly by our server Melissa, we ask about the beer selection and settled on a gin and tonic ($3.75 for well, $4.25 and above for premium). In addition to mixed drinks, the bar offers the usual assortment of standard house wines, bottled beers and a few beers on tap available by the glass or pitcher.
Our well-mixed, generously proportioned drinks arrived promptly. Watching platters of fried appetizer bar treats being delivered to other tables prompted us to order up some of our own.
Visitors to Tickets will notice several unusual items for a pub menu clearly influenced by owners and brothers Peter ("Tike") and Johnny Zavakos and their Greek heritage. With the assistance of our trusty server, we ordered the Greek Hot Plate for one ($9.50), an assortment of gyro, souvlaki and chicken meats accompanied by helpings of rich feta cheese, hot peppers, olives, tomatoes and pita bread. It was a moist and juicy assortment of Greek meats that was certainly worth ordering.
If you're not ready for a Greek feast, a standard gyro ($5.85) made with a tender, flavorful mixture of lamb and beef served on a pita garnished with tzatziki sauce, tomato and onion may be a better choice.
Another unusual appetizer offering and Tickets winner was the "Balls-O-Fire" ($6.45) appetizer. The slightly spicy mix of ground chicken lightly breaded and served with a mustard sauce was a home run. Don't let the word spicy stop you from ordering this zesty treat. This is an appetizer worthy of driving in for.
Other pub grub menu items worth checking out include the reuben ($6.25), a traditional presentation that is moist, tender and tasty; the juicy charbroiled bacon cheeseburger ($5.95), which arrived piled with crunchy bacon and is worthy of a top burger rating; and the footlong garbage dog ($4.95).
Wings lovers, be sure to check out the honey gold sauce ($6.95 for 10). A mix of large wings and drummies come topped with a sweet honey sauce left us licking our fingers to get every drop of sauce.
It was clear from our time at Tickets that others are hip to this fantastic Fairborn stop. Don't be surprised to find a sign greeting you asking that you to wait to be seated and don't let that stop you — this is a Ticket that's worth the wait.
