Scotty's Brewhouse: An Indiana Favorite

Scotty's Brewhouse is a restaurant unique to Indiana. In fact, it's even better known for being found in Indiana college towns. For that reason, what kind of experience you will have at "Scotty's", as it's more commonly known in the mid-west, is all about what time of the day and week that you will be visiting. There is a very sports-bar like atmosphere there during later nights and especially on weekends. But the restaurants are also open on a more traditional schedule for lunches and dinners. It's not uncommon to go into Scotty's and see a mix of people having business lunches, families eating dinner, and college kids having a beer, no matter what the time of day.

I've visited the restaurant's Muncie location most frequently. The food is always tasty, but there aren't a lot of options for health-conscious diners. Of course, most people don't go out to get diet food. Most people go out to dinner to indulge or celebrate. Scotty's is well known for their beer selection, but also for their waffle fries. These fries are a good example of most of the food on the menu in the fact that they're quite good, but also very greasy.

I have to be honest when I tell you that the wait-staff is very hit and miss. There's a tamer version of the ideology behind, "Hooters" going on at Scotty's. There are lots of not-so-clever t-shirts about beer, some with no-so-clever innuendos on them. It's all very renascent of, "Joe's Crab Shack" when it comes to the merchandise. Most of the servers are women, (Not a thing wrong with that, I'm a former waitress myself.) but they are wearing short shorts and short skirts during the entire year. I don't know if you've ever been to Indiana in February, but it might as well be Alaska. So the intent is obvious.

Most of the servers there are college-aged people, but as you'll find with most restaurants, some are good and some are terrible. So again, nothing too out of the ordinary. In all honesty, every time I've gone to Scotty's, the server has forgotten something from my order. They always seem overworked and spread too thin, causing them to be forgetful and take a long time in between visits to the table. This is usually because they're waiting on large parties, which seem to be a common occurrence there. So don't go if you're in a rush. This has always been the case with me, but that doesn't mean it will definitely happen to you.

One of the best things about the restaurant is the environment though. If you get a good waiter, which is about half the time, and you don't mind the calorie-high food, (A la the tasty waffle fries.) then you'll likely enjoy the environment. The mid-west doesn't have much to offer in the way of independent restaurants, so it's nice to be somewhere that's not a nationwide chain. There are high ceilings and plenty of flat screen televisions, but it's not tacky enough to offer anything like karaoke or obnoxious lighting. There's a very "renovated industrial" feel, and I typically enjoy that style of restaurant.

All in all, I'd say it's worth a visit every few months if you live nearby. It's definitely worth a visit if you're in Indiana to see friends, family, or visit the college kids from your brood. The food is better than a nationwide chain (such as Chili's or Applebee's) and it's a great place to watch another Indiana favorite, college basketball. Also, if you're in town for a meeting, it's a nice place to grab a working lunch. If you're in town when it's warm, there's some highly pleasant patio seating that you should definitely take advantage of.