Grad School

Welcome back folks!  Today we are going to look at a little place downtown called Grad School.  This was an interesting trip for a couple of reasons.  First, we were joined by my awesome mom and second, this review was a request from Mr. Jeff Winters.  We again had our Wednesday lunch and the place was absolutely packed.  It's a small building and every seat was taken when we arrived.  We had about a 10 minute wait and was then seated and ready to eat.

The restaurant is a little narrow building with a bar along the right as you walk in and several tall two seat tables along the left.  The food is actually made behind the bar, right in front of everyone.  It was kind of cool to get a preview of the food as it was cooked while we waited for a table.  Towards the back of the restaurant are a couple booths and a larger room with tables for bigger parties.  It was a bit chilly today, but they apparently have outdoor seating when it's warmer.  So it was a bit cramped, but it wasn't awful.  I don't want to belabor the point, but it is important to note that if there's a wait, you will most likely be standing outside.  We were essentially forced right up against a poor couple's table while we waited.

The menu was relatively small but there was a little bit of something for everyone from sandwiches and burgers to pasta.  The hook of the menu is that in several of the dishes you can choose your protein from beef, chicken, tilapia or falafel.  This adds a lot of variety that isn't there at first glance.  We had the stuffed mushroom appetizer which was very good.  Sarai ordered their turkey sandwich, I had their specialty "Full Ride" burger and my mom had a chicken and rice dish that was very good.  We also ordered the funnel cake for dessert.  Funnel cakes is the only dessert on the menu and we all love funnel cake.  It felt a bit out of place, but it was still awesome.

Overall, this is a good place for lunch.  I wouldn't consider it great and I probably won't be rushing back there for dinner.  The food is good and very affordable.  The three of us got out of there for just a hair under forty dollars.

Of five stars...

Overall experience: ★    ★    ★    ☆   ☆   

Service: ★    ★    ★   ★    ☆ 

Food: ★    ★    ★    ☆   ☆   

Atmosphere: ★    ★    ☆   ☆   ☆  

 

 Justin's impressions: 

I ordered the Full Ride burger off the menu because the server told us that it was the best burger he had ever had. It looked great when we saw it being prepared during our wait so I went with it. It was not the best burger I'd ever had, but I'm someone who is well known for hyperbole so I'll let him off the hook. The burger was good, it had soft cheddar cheese on it that was great, other wise it tasted like a Steak 'n Shake burger with a bit more meat. The fries were pretty much just average fries. Sarai and I differ in our opinions here, but I got the bottom of the fryer so I just had a bunch of little pieces of fries. I really liked the stuffed mushroom appetizer for the most part, however the facon bits they used were a bit too crunchy for the consistency of the dish. I also loved the funnel cake, but who doesn't love funnel cake?

I really feel like Grad School is a very good place to grab a quick lunch but would have a really hard time arguing that there is anything that really sets it apart. I do really like the idea of their menu being very vegetarian friendly. There aren't a lot of places in Springfield that are. There wasn't much of any sort of atmosphere, it felt like any other place you'd go to grab a quick lunch. The service was adequate and friendly, but wasn't spectacular.

My favorite part of the meal was when Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You" came over the loud speakers in it's full completely uncensored glory. 

My last note will be to mention that there wasn't any sort of beer that you could order. This is probably a good thing after being a bit tipsy before two in the afternoon last week.

                                                                    Sarai's impressions

Okay, I really was  trying to go healthy. To be honest with you, I had every intention of ordering something vegetarian. But then I saw the Tur-Reffic sandwich on the menu. This sandwich had a surprising blend of ingredients to include a thick slice of grilled turkey, tomato, lettuce, sliced avocado, bean sprouts,  and (here comes the unhealthy part) bacon with mayo.  Upon first sight, I thought “this could be pretty good.” The actual taste was something I wasn’t prepared for. In a word: Tasty.  I am not sure how they seasoned the turkey, but it was prepared well. The fries were fresh and delicious. The atmosphere? The words "dirty diner" come to mind, but that doesn't mean that it is dirty. It would need a serious remodel if they planned to stay open forever. It was cramped and not very well lit. It's not the best place to dine if you are claustrophobic because the space is smaller and there are a ton of people there.

Over all, I would give this plate a decent rating, along with the appetizer and the funnel cake for dessert (my favorite.) I wouldn’t object to returning for a lunch one afternoon.