Red Hawk Grill - Painesville

I grew up near the Red Hawk and always remember the food being really good.  I am sure my standards have changed and maybe that is why this trip was so different.  We started off with a couple apps I forgot to take a picture of.  We got the fried provolone and the artichoke dip.  Both were really good.  This is probably a good time to mention the server was my brother's girlfriend so of course we had good service. The manager walked around and never did anything.  We had our server ask him to turn the lights up on the patio since it was 10 at night and we could not even see the menu.  He said ok and rolled his eyes but it was so dark the hostess could not see the seating chart they were using so he should have turned the lights on much earlier.  I did not like watching him just walk around while the servers and bartenders were running around busy.  But, back to the food... I ordered the cedar salmon with a mushroom risotto and broccoli.  The salmon was very over cooked and dry, the cedar plank was actually charred.  The risotto was pretty well cooked, it was a little dry but defiantly tasty and not mushy or crunchy.  The broccoli was steamed nicely, not over buttered or too hard.  My mom got the penne rustica which had bell peppers and sausage.  It was actually very spicy and she did not eat the whole thing.  The pasta was cooked well, and there was a good amount of sauce.  The other 3 people at the table got burgers.  They were all cooked med well.  We all know how TBG feels about med well, but in case you don't let me just say it puts him in a sour mood.  The guy who ran the food out was very nice and had the kitchen refire the order.  The firecracker burger was pretty hot as well.  The fries were really good, soft and with some batter like Arby's curly fries.  We sat out on the patio and the atmosphere is very nice.  There was a band (rather one guy with a guitar) that was entertaining.  The outside bar is big and there are cornhole pits.  The prices were average.  The bar was also average, there was only 1 kind of Sam Adams (Summer Ale) and no Jerimah Weed vodka.  I did not even look at a wine list, so I am not sure if that was good or not.  On a side note, I went back a week later with a group of girls.  The food was slightly better and service was still good (we had a server that I did not know).  A few of us got the mac & cheese, the sauce was tasty but the pasta was mushy.  Someone ordered the pasta diablo and it was almost tastless.  There were big pieces of shrimp in it, but the sauce just tasted like oil and chicken broth.  I would not reccommend this place unless you want to hang outside and listen to music.

Service____ 7 Chipps

Food____5 Chipps

Atmosphere____6 Chipps

Beer List____5 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____5 Chipps