Basshole Brews — Restaurant in Lakehead-Lakeshore

(post made summer 21; edited 2/23 for autocorrect errors)

Oh. My. GODS. This FOOD. This PLACE. I'm writing this from the parking lot before I leave because I want to make SURE I write this, and at 9PM with a 7hr drive ahead of me that's not a guarantee.

I dropped in to get dinner "to go" on my way to Portland, and was lucky enough to squeak in just before a half hour till closing (I hate being That Person, but there's N O T H I N G on the way up north from here that's open at night). Even this late, they were gracious enough to not make my request feel like a problem, which, a half hour to closing? Yea, that's rude of me, and I would deserve a dirty look.

(Do Not Come In A Half Hour Before Closing Here. Not Even Though I'm Saying They Were Nice About It. Don't Be That Person.)

It was pretty slow - a few patrons here and there, both inside and out, with the feeling of a place where everybody knows each other, even if you're a stranger just passing through. The staff are all deeply friendly and helpful. The gentleman who took my order advised me on what would be best to eat in the car, since from the menu I could tell my usual query of "So what's best?" would be meaningless - EVERYTHING sounds amazing! I ordered the roasted Brussel sprouts and the French dip, and neither were at all what I was expecting... because they were BETTER. The Brussel sprouts hit you hard with what tastes like maple syrup up front, and then fade to a somehow deliciously burnt taste that takes the intensity off the sweetness. The French dip didn't come with dip (likely as a nod to my intent to drive while eating), but instead is almost more like...barbeque? The meat is tender and not at all stringy, the cheese adds a nice subtlety, and as promised, the sandwich is NOT drippy at all! The fries also are delightfully crunchy, holding that crunch long past the point most fries sag into sogginess.(See photos attached!)

I got a beer during the VERY short time I waited (local microbrew, Farmers something, a light beer? but somehow still decent!), and chatted a bit with the staff and a few other patrons (and the owner, I discovered halfway through a discussion about beer!). I also got to try the blackberry blonde on tap, which was DELICIOUS. Since I'm passing through and have been traveling a fair bit, plus I have a kiddo, I was mostly keeping my mask on in case my kiddo gave me something to "share," but even though I was the only person masking nobody gave me a hard time about it, which I'm grateful for (I've heard some Not Great stories about people being sh*tty to folks still masking this far into the pandemic). It was a very nice way to spend a bit of time before the ridiculously long drive, and I'm REALLY glad I found this place on Google. Going to have to make this a regular stop on my...

My partner and I stopped in to Basshole on the way from WA to SoCal, a 2-3 day road trip with everything I owned and two cats in the car. After 9 hours of driving that day, we were exhausted and got to our airbnb late, meaning the Food Mart was our go to for dinner that night. Once we walked over, Google hours were wrong and we were preparing ourselves to walk back to the car and hope to find a fast food place open somewhere around. Luckily, we spotted the open sign at Basshole and although thinking it was a bar, we popped in and asked if the kitchen was possibly still open. Tim, the GM, greeted us right away, told us not to worry about food and he would talk to his cooks so we got fed. By the grace of God, by partner and I were able to get a proper dinner (smoked tri-tip was AMAZING, done once a week by the GM himself!). The atmosphere was great, bar seating, tables, comfy couches and an updated JukeBox made the whole place seem like the spot to hit after work, a long day, or really just a community chill spot. There was a table of ladies playing cards in the back, a few people shooting pool, but the real kicker of the evening was just shooting the shit with Tim, bartender Shay and a waitress we didn't grab the name of. For out of towners, we were treated like family and stayed for 2 hours to chat and share stories. We were properly fed for the night and left with an awesome feeling of community. This little town is now for sure going to be our spot for the night when we travel back up to WA shortly--they are simply put, just good people. We were in Lakehead for less than 12 hours and this dinner was the highlight of our trip. You won't regret stopping at Basshole, whether you're a Lakehead native, tourist looking for a yummy brunch, or nomadic travelers like my partner and I looking for a relaxed late night drink and grub. 5/5 to both Tim, the place, and...

We went in to have lunch and I We waited standing by the bar for a good little while so we decided it was a seat yourself kind of place decided to go sit outside on the back patio. After 20 minutes outside nobody had come to greet us or provide us with menu's. I had to go back inside and ask for menu's and water. Finally when our order was taken the waitress sat at the table to take our order and for me it displays a trashy work ethic and a degree of unprofessionalism. Our food was brought out by different individuals and the orders were wrong. The things asked not to add to our order were added and little particulars that we made a point to clarify were overlooked. Like for instance the person I was dining with said they didn't mind cheese on their burger and any kind of cheese except cheddar would be fine. Please do not put cheddar on my burger. And cheddar was added to the burger. Plus the burger was burnt so burnt it was not edible. When we brought to the servers attention they looked confused and didn't know what to do. I asked for no onions or mayo and onions were on my burger. At that point we were a little disappointed about the whole experience and didn't even feel it was worth it to complain about. When we left my friend accidentally left her wallet and didn't notice till she got home back in dunsmuir. The place was closed by then so she went back the next day and of course no wallet was found. She asked to see the video footage and had to wait hours for the footage to be available. The footage looks cut and doesn't make sense. But of course it doesn't show her leaving the wallet or anyone finding the wallet. Cuz pieces of the footage are missing. Seems suspect if you ask me. The video is attached for...