The Hungry Foodie: Timber's Lounge in Muncie, IN

Rating: Food earns an 8 out of 10 and service and ambiance gets a 6 out of 10 (for smokiness, though expected from a bar)

Address: 2770 W Kilgore Ave., Muncie, IN 47304-4804

Phone: (765) 286-5323

Absolutely delish. I think that sums it up pretty well.

Timber's isn't your run-of-the-mill restaurant. Rather it is a smoky remnant of days gone by. Situated on the corner of Tillotson and Kilgore, one can't miss Timber's with its giant lumberjack standing sentry on the corner with an outstretched, beckoning hand gesture (which actually used to hold an RV when the lot was not Timber's).

Step into Timber's and you are accosted both with a strong smoke smell and a restaurant/bar that is classic bar/restaurant. With one pool table, some pull tab machines and walls filled with sporting and alcohol regalia, you feel nostalgic for the old days when this was what nearly every bar was like. It's just pleasant and homey, albeit smoky.

Most restaurant/bars I have eaten at are not able to boast anything more than adequate "bar" food-chicken tenders, wings, fries, onion rings and so on. But Timbers offers a full menu of fried love.

For our lunch on this particular day, I ordered a Reuben with chips and a pickle spear. This delectable sandwich is representative of how Timber's has set itself apart from the standard restaurant/bar. Timber's uses REAL corned beef, not some processed slop that is clearly inferior. Let me emphasize that once more: REAL corned beef. The kind that you have on St. Patrick's Day if you are Irish or an Irish sympathizer. The kind where you bite into the meat and it's stringy meat fibers follow your lips out like a slinky. The kind that actually has visible fat in and on it. To add to this wonderful surprise, their "1000 Island" dressing doesn't quite taste like your standard bottled dressing. Rather it possesses a special sharp and sweet taste to it that was pleasant. Unfortunately, I have yet to be able to place what that added palate pleaser is, but it's there. And it adds a flare to the Reuben not often tasted.

My lunch partner ordered her favorite Timber's meal: The Cheeseburger. As always the cheeseburger was juicy. Perhaps the lowercase "juicy" doesn't properly express the succulence of the burger. It was juicy enough that one could, conceivably, stick a straw into the meat and get a couple good sips of juice from it before eating. That may sound rather gross, but this is juice, not grease dripping out.

We also ordered a side of fries and onion sticks. We asked for them to be combined onto one plate since we'd be sharing. That may have been a mistake. The fry serving was barely what one would expect as a anything but the serving size of a McDonald's kid meal at best. The side with the onion sticks, however, was plentiful. But these items were clearly the typical greasy spoon, greasy bar fare one tends to get in a...well...bar with a kitchen.

As for the service, our waitress was fast and friendly but slightly hurried, which has more to do with a flurry of people coming in as we ordered, than inexperience.

For our meals, appetizers, a Diet Coke, water, a generous 25% tip and two games of pool our bill topped out at $17.50.

Let's refresh: It is very smoky in Timber's. But it's a bar, so if you aren't prepared to smell like an ashtray for the day, then don't go. However, considering how good and inexpensive the food is, we think it's worth the occasional cigarette smell. The prices, as you can see, are well below market value. Heck, they are about the price food used to be a decade ago. So, apart from the smoke, that alone makes it worth a gander.