Wooden Nickel Pub - Mebane — Restaurant in Mebane

Walking up around 12:30, I was a little worried the inside seating was going to be packed, because the outdoor patio area had a decent crowd (maybe about 50% full). Today the the weather was nice, but I am not an eat-out-side/screened-patio guy. Thankfully, the bar only had two other people at it when I walked in, and about half the tables in that room were empty. So far, so good. Ambience: the music was a lot of classics from the 60s and 70s, which was nice. Agreeable stuff that works as background music that most people can appreciate, or at least not be off-put. Volume of the music was also ideal. Loud enough that it could be heard when you weren't talking, but people engaged in conversations didn't have to compete with the music.

Briton (I hope I spelled that right) and Jesse were manning the bar / running the floor. Both very pleasant people.

I started with the Red Hook, a modified Manhattan. I asked Briton about it. He was up front that it and their Beachcomber cocktails were both batch-ready. This tells me it's a popular enough drink that management said "let's just make it in a giant batch, so the bartender(s) aren't burning up a lot of time cranking out 100 of the same drink every night." So I started with that, and it was very good! If you enjoy Manhattans that are a little on the sweet side, it's worth it. I'm an onion ring guy, so I ordered those, and their beer battered broccoli (the fried veggie of the day changes from day to day).

Onion rings - excellent. I don't think these are commercial bought. The batter didn't have the usual panko that's typically found in most commercial frozen onion rings. The kitchen did a spot on job with frying these. The oil was at the right temp. They were not greasy at all, and the crust was crunchy and well seasoned. Even after they cooled off to just-above-room-temp, they were still great. I will definitely get this again.

Beer battered broccoli. This is a chance for self-awareness growth for everyone. I saw this and my brain immediately conjured up visions of tempura-like battered broccoli. I did not ask. I assumed. It was not what my unconfirmed imagination drummed up. I do NOT hold the restaurant accountable for this disconnect. I could have asked. They still tasted great while hot/warm. Once they cooled completely, they did have a bit of a greasy mouthfeel, unlike the onion rings. Will I get them again? If I am by myself, I might get a half-order, so I can finish them before they completely cool.

For my meal I ordered 12 boneless wings in their "Frickin' Nickel Hot" sauce, with an extra cup of sauce on the side (and a third cup later). I LOVE spicy food. So I will try to give an objective comparison here for those who are curious. The closest heat level objective comparison I can give it is the Habanero Tabasco sauce. For me, this is a solid middle-tier level of heat. Flavor was great. They did put a warning on the menu which made me grin, and I get it. Some people are very sensitive to spicy food. They want to reduce possible food waste or other complications.

The chicken was delicious. Perfectly cooked. Tender, juice. Excellent. This was a great departure from the larger "wing" chains where the chicken is ridiculously overocoked either out of fear of undercooking it, or a kitchen so busy that they cant pull a basket from the fryer in time. This made me spring for buying the kitchen a few after work six packs (seriously, it's on their menu).

Side note, the onions rings go great with the Frickin' Nickel hot sauce. My third cup was devoted to using it as a dipping sauce for the onion rings.

My second drink was the Beachcomber. Interesting drink. Very lemon forward, and I think Briton said it was their other pre-batched drink. The rum was rolled over by the lemon and the lingering cherry flavors from the Luxardo. It's a good palate cleanser. If you like lemon forward drinks, it's a good pick.

They also had a nice selection of allocated bourbons....

If I could give zero stars, I would.

Initially, the host very was friendly and polite. However, when we ordered two beers, the server informed us that they could only serve alcohol with a U.S. ID. My partner, who is Honduran but visiting from Germany, offered his Honduran ID, but the server insisted it had to be U.S. issued. We suggested showing his official Honduran passport, but she reiterated her stance. When I asked what to do if someone is visiting from abroad, she suggested “we were welcome to go somewhere else” and even encouraged me to look up ABC law. Quoting her “you can look it up if you want”. Honestly the only reason we stayed is because clearly she did not want to serve us and sent the initial host to take our order. (She was very nice and polite)

I did, and found that it allows official passports from any country. Check out section 5 of ABC NC (https://www.abc.nc.gov/education/quick-guide-retail-permittees/open) This experience felt racist and discriminatory, and we've never encountered anything like it in Mebane.

When we asked for the manager, we were told there NO MANAGER shift, meaning the server's views were most likely her own. I'm not one to usually leave reviews, but it's clear that immigrants are not welcome there. Get your US ID’s ready if you want to order a beer! Even if you are visiting...

It was good till it wasn’t. We’ve been several times. The first few times we were pretty impressed. Food was great with a fun unique menu and causal atmosphere. We can respect the casual vibe and rotation on the waitstaff as I used to work at a place that was very similar. That last time we went, we didn’t have the greatest experience with the food and when we asked the waitress about something that seemed off, she was very dismissive and never came back to our table. We went about our meal and just moved on-they could’ve just been having an off day. We gave it another try last night, and I’ll say we unfortunately will probably not go back. We have a heart for local restaurants and root for them all the way. Our food came out wrong, greasy, and overcooked. After picking off the ingredients that we had asked to be left off-we still found the food to be sub-par especially for the price of $16 per sandwich. The kicker was that the waitresses seemed to just drop our food and never checked on us even though we were visibly not eating our food. They brought the check over and never acknowledged any issue. We paid for our meal but we were avoided even though the restaurant really wasn’t that busy. It was pretty obvious that no one wanted to address any problem. Could be just another off night. Hopefully so, but we won’t...