related items
The setting
In an unspectacular side of town, in a forgettable strip mall, sandwiched between boring old H&R Block (sorry, H&R Block) and a Rent-a-Center, is Fusion Bar & Grill.
Have I lured you in? Are you compelled? Good. Wait, there's more.
Walking in at noon on a weekday, I was greeted by a dimly lit space, largely empty, save for a few regulars at the bar. The dark furnishings and ample neon beer signage spoke of a second life, one that comes alive after dark. After talking to the server-bartender for a minute, even he said, "Why are you here for lunch? You have to come back at night. It's a completely different place."
Maybe so, but there's something I love about a bar during the day. It's the calm before the storm; it's the time you can actually talk to people. Oh, and there are places to sit. If I wasn't battling a head cold (and in the middle of a work day) I would have tried some of their Fusion Brew for $1.50 a pint all day, every day. Instead I sat down at a table along the wall and tried to forget that one of my top-five least favorite songs, "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" by the Spin Doctors, was playing over the speakers.
The food
The menu is pretty standard for a bar: fried appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and a few livelier entrees. Because this cold had rendered my palate completely understimulated, I needed something that was going to act like little taste bud defibrillator paddles. And that something was wing sauce. I was stoked to find the Buffalo Chicken Burger on the menu for $6.99. The chicken patty, fried and dipped in your choice of sauce potency (I went with medium) is topped with lettuce, tomato and blue cheese sauce and served with fries, chips or pasta salad. I chose fries.
Always fries.
To counter all that midweek naughtiness, I started with a small Fusion house salad a substantial bowl of fresh greens, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, Roma tomatoes, blue cheese and, in this case, a tangy vinaigrette for $2.99 (for a small). Delicious. I ate every morsel. It was healthy and power-packed with flavor. I've had far crappier salads at establishments way "nicer" than this. First impressions were good.
Then the sandwich arrived—with a steak knife driven through its axis. Nice touch. Anyway, the chicken was what Wendy's had in mind with it's Spicy Chicken Sandwich but didn't quite pull off, due to the large production volume and quality control administered by stoned teenagers. Fusion's take was juicy, crunchy and delightfully zippy. The blue cheese, added with a light touch, cooled the heat while the lettuce and tomato freshened it up. The fries were wonderfully crisp and hot, and liberally seasoned with kosher salt, which made them flavorful without that puckering saltiness. The dark bar — with the sprinkling of regulars and ESPN on mute — really surprised me with this meal.
I ate half and got a to-go box for the remainder. That second half never made it out of the car.
The verdict
I love a Buffalo chicken sandwich, and this is one of the better ones I've ever had. It might be a little off the beaten path, but well worth a trip if your craving is intense enough. Yum.
