By Maryilyn Otterson
Correspondent

Brothers Family Restaurant has a big menu featuring all kinds of pizzas and calzones, Italian and Greek specialty meals, hometown favorites, plus appetizers, sandwiches, burgers and meal-size salads. In addition to a neat and pleasant dining room, there’s also a bar/pub with TVs tuned to sports channels.

We stopped for lunch recently and were pleasantly surprised by the luncheon specials posted on a chalkboard. On the day of our visit, we could choose from fi sh and chips, chicken quesadilla, green mustard chicken sub sandwich or pork chop with garlic mashed potato for $7.99, most served with a choice of homemade soup or salad and pita or French bread and butter.

Luncheon patrons could seat themselves, and we chose a comfortable booth up a few steps from some of the other booths and tables. Most of the upper-level booths are next to windows, and each had vertical blinds that could be adjusted. A good idea, we thought, because we could then enjoy our lunches without being blinded by the midday sun.

The only less pleasant aspect of the dining room was a pervasive scent of cigarette smoke from the bar, although it was not as strong as it is at some restaurants that allow smoking.

Our pleasant server brought our beverages quickly and then returned to take our orders since it took us a few minutes to read the large menu. I ordered one of the specials, a pork chop luncheon, and rather than a side salad, opted for one of the homemade soups from a choice of Greek chicken-egg-lemon, Italian wedding, beef and vegetable or clam chowder. My friend ordered a grilled chicken Greek salad from the regular menu.

Our bread and my soup arrived quickly. My choice, the chicken-egg-lemon soup, served with crackers, was hot, smooth and good, with plenty of white-meat chicken.

The entrees followed, nicely timed as I’d just fi nished my soup. My friend’s salad was big and consisted of a large serving of iceberg lettuce, chopped onions, tomatoes and green peppers, with a few black olives, feta cheese slices and a red wine vinegar and oil dressing subtly fl avored with oregano. The salad was topped with a large serving of hot, sliced broiled chicken breast. This was a very attractive salad with fresh components, and somehow my friend managed to eat all of it.

My pork chop was on the small side, about ½-inch thick, but tender and grilled perfectly. I had chosen a baked potato rather than the garlic mashed, and it was served with sour cream and butter. This was actually a real baked potato, not a damp, microwaved substitute as served in some other eateries. Decorating the plate was a colorful serving of fresh mixed vegetables, including broccoli, green beans and baby carrots. This was a very attractive luncheon and a good value for the price. We both enjoyed our lunches.

If you take the family out to eat on a Sunday, you may want to stop in at Brothers. With the purchase of one adult entrée, Brothers will provide two of your kids age 12 and under with a free meal from a choice of kids’ pizza, hotdog, hamburger or cheeseburger, spaghetti, ziti or grilled cheese. Sounds like a good deal, especially in a restaurant with lots of moderately priced dinner choices.

Brothers Family Restaurant is located at the corner of South Willow Street and Queen City Ave. It is open daily for lunch and dinner. For more information, call 668-7333.