chop shop

the butler did it!. i've been to the chop shop twice, once for lunch and once for dinner. so i've had a pretty good representation of their food. it's sit right on main street in downtown butler pa.

everything i've had has been really good... for lunch i had the cheese burger soup - pretty good, midly cheesey, creamy with ground beef. the deep fried peiorgies with bacon and scallions in a smoked cheddar sauce. the peirogies were very good. the hot roast beef with smoked gouda and grilled onions with au jus. the meat was excellent, the cheese gooey and very smokey. large sandwich .it was a winner.

for dinner i had a the hare tacos; the shells with crispy, filled with home made salsa, cilantro and coffee rubbed grilled rabbit meat. they were excellent. i ordered the thai grilled shrimp wrap - stuffed full of shrimp, cilantro, thai coleslaw and peanuts. it was crunchy and delicious.

the only thing i am not happy with is the coated fried - they are the ordinary coated fries everyone seems to be serving. order another side. i think the chop shop should go the extra step w/ fresh fries or anything but the coated fries. fruit cup even. they must be inexpensive because it seems everyone is serving them now. the rest of the meals were awesome.

thisplacehas an eclectic atmosphere and friendly servers. the food came out quick, hot and as described.

well, sure would love to try thisplacebut i've never heard of a restaurant that is closed on saturdays and sundays!!! who does that!?!?

dark & cramped & don't get what the fuss is about.... first off, theplaceis dark..not ambient dark, just dark as in my eyes hurt when i stepped back outside..

as another poster mentioned, it is also cramped. if you are not a person who feels like you are dining with the entire restaurant and prefer your own 'space', then you may feel cramped and a little uncomfortable.

the food is...different..and to me not in a good way, but a weird wonky way, and i am pretty open to trying almost anything.

the staff seems nice enough, however we have been there twice and neither time we were not checked in on how things were or if we needed anything.

seems it has a cult following and it is one of those places that either you will 'get it'and really like it............or not. just seems there is no middle ground..

bottom line, we do not hate it, but it is not something we would seek out again (both times we went were because a friend likes theplaceso well).

no chance to even try. never had a bad meal here before, but this time didn't even get to try anything. it was a friday night so we waited for like 10 minutes for a table, no problem. then we sat and looked at the menu for another 10 minutes and our server never came by. the hostess came by and said she would take our drink orders and we asked her a few questions about the soup of the day, her response was "i don't know what the soup is", and on some of the specials, which she then told us that they were out of a few dishes listed.

i don't know about you but my pet peeve is items being listed that the restaurant doesn't have.. either mention it as soon as i sit or put a piece of tape over it so i don't get interested in something you don't have.

she brought our drinks back and said our server would be with us in a moment, we had yet to see our server. we waited another 15 minutes and no one ever came by to take our order so we left.

i'm hoping this is just a one time occurance because their food is so good and i was hoping my out of town guests would get to try.


-----19 sep, 2011-----

bestplacein butler!. if only they did dinner too!

thisplaceis great! their bunch is one of the best in the area with roast beef, yummy pancakes, potatoes, and fresh fruit.

their lunch is yummy! sandwiches are always overstuffed and you always leave full for such reasonable prices. the staff and owner are so friendly.

they offer catering too. can't wait to have an event and hire them!

a jewel of a restaurant!. very happy to have thisplacein butler. i thought i was gonna be doomed to boring bar food in this town forever! the food is unique and you can tell that the person coming up with the dishes knows what they are doing!! went there for dinner this past friday and the shrimp bruschetta was out of this world!! love this place!!

just two words...(to begin). funnel cakes. anytime of the day. love it. the menu is creative, playful, and thoughtful. the food is fresh, delicious, and generous. the decor is way cool for butler. for a little town going to hell in a handbasket--thisplaceis really leading the way with a freakin' klieg light showing what is needed to save butler. no joke. young people in the arts, restauranting, and shopkeeping...

they now have dinner service on friday and although i have not been (yet)--the menus they are publishing on their fb page are super awesome.

a great little restaurant. go there.

a gem in butler. is thisplacereally in butler?

i dig it!

their menu is hysterical. sausage wallet....haha. so good.

food is delish! we have ordered chop shop for lunch a handful of times--each time i order something different and i'm never not completely satisfied. love the chips w.boursin cheese!

since i've only ever had takeout, i can't comment on the shop itself or atmosphere but i look forward to going soon.

most interestingplacein butler. thisplaceis really unique and i can't believe it's in butler. the menu descriptions are hilarious! i went for breakfast and had the croissant french toast - very yummy! will definately go back for lunch and their new sunday brunch sounds good too. would like to see some better salads and maybe some healthy or lite fare on the menu, but definitely a keeper for this area. it's about time!
update: went back for the sunday brunch and the chop shop did not disappoint! still shocked thisplaceis in butler. you gotta check it out! they had delicious made to order omelettes, stuffed french toast, waffles, pastries, spinach salad, fresh fruit, ham, roast beef, andouille saugage gravy and biscuits, bacon and sausage, etc. everything i tried was yummy! i'll be back for lunch:)