Charlie’s Pub Review
Say “Uncle?”
Charlie’s Pub & Eatery
A Restaurant Review
Things change.
But that doesn’t mean I have to like it!
Me, a graduate of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (Don’t ask how long ago!), I just can’t conform to calling it by its new moniker, PennWest Edinboro.
Ick!
Same with another Edinboro institution: Charlie’s Pub & Eatery.
To me—and I’m sure a lot of others feel this way—it’ll always be Uncle Charlie’s Pizza & Pub (At least that’s what I think it was called years ago.)
Even though it moved from the Edinboro Mall maybe 30 years ago, it still maintains its welcoming environment: great air conditioning for the hot day I visited, dim lighting and oddball signage that made it feel charming.
Charlie’s is kinda a restaurant and it’s kinda a tavern. The people who were sitting belly up to the bar looked like “regulars.” Maybe this place is a nice haven for “townies,” away from the places that students can walk to in Edinboro, since it’s now located a few miles outside of town in a plaza where the Giant Eagle flew the coop a couple of years ago after too much competition from the Walmart just off I-79.
For old-times sake, I had the Steak & Fry salad consisting of fresh mixed salad greens, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, tender grilled and thin sliced steak,(kind of like Steak-umms meat), with curly fries and smothered with shredded cheese.
A bigger platter than I remembered, I finished it all and had room for more, so…
We ordered a namesake sandwich, a “Charlie,” an open-faced Italian hoagie with ham, sandwich pepperoni, lettuce, tomato, provolone, onion, banana peppers. The spicy pepperoni and banana peppers mixed well with the lettuce and tomatoes, making it a tasty, glad-I-ordered-it sammy.
Choosing another namesake sandwich (Where else are you gonna get it?) my companion and I decided to split a Charlie Burger. It was imposing. A full half pound of lean beef topped with provolone cheese, grilled onion, and banana peppers. More spicy food, but not overwhelming; we both enjoyed the sizable burger while doing some people watching. I was somewhat hoping I’d see someone I went to school with here, but no. I guess life isn’t like the movies, right?
All in all, Charlie’s is a nice place to meet with other locals on a hot day. Tasty original food and cold beer.
But try as I might when describing the place to a former EUP’er that I went to school with later on, I kept referring to the place as “Uncle Charlie’s.”
“But isn’t it just ‘Charlie’s’ now?” she asked, having looked at its website while we were gabbing.
“Sorry, honey,” I told her. “Twist my arm when talking about the place, but I’m always gonna say ‘uncle!’”
Eat Your Veggies, Dearies!
The Lunch Lady
Charlie’s Pub & Eatery is located at the Sunset Plaza in Edinboro. For more information, visit their website or call 814-734-1715 for more information.
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