Restaurant Review: City Grille

City Grille, 216 S. College Ave., has a pleasant dining atmosphere. Large screen televisions allowed us to watch the Olympics from several different vantage points, which we appreciated. \nWe also enjoyed the other decor, including a city scene on a wall and street signs sprinkled around the dining area.\nOur service was fairly good. Although we had to wait for refills once or twice, our server was friendly and helpful as we made our food selections. He also warned us away from the dessert; we appreciated that candor, and later realized we should have listened to him.\nAppetizers\nWe sampled two of City Grille's many appetizer options. The first was garlic provolone cheese sticks, served with homemade red sauce. They were average cheese sticks available at most restaurants, but the red sauce had a nice, zesty taste.\nWe also tried the Jamaican loaded potato wedges, topped with cheese, bacon and scallions. The bacon had an excellent flavor, but overall, the wedges were somewhat bland. The serving was large, and the wedges were the perfect size for snacking. But something seemed missing, such as a sour cream dip, which could have improved the flavor.\nEntrees\nCity Grille's sweet and spicy smoked chicken is only for the hungry. The entire half-chicken is served with a choice of two sides; it might be enough for two meals. The chicken is prepared in a glaze of orange juice, peppers and molasses and certainly made the skin of the chicken tasty.\nUnfortunately, that excellent spice didn't flavor the meat itself; it was slightly bland. The side of garlic mashed potatoes, skins included, was excellent.\nThe Big Red Fett, a fettuccini pasta with red sauce, tasted a little better than the pasta available at local Italian fast food locations. It was served at the perfect temperature, and the side of garlic bread was delicious. The bread had the perfect amount of butter and garlic, and was not too hard around the outside edges.\nDesserts\nWe were disappointed by the small selection -- only three different types of pie. We ordered the cheesecake and the Mississippi mud pie, both of which were mediocre in flavor and not at all worth the $3.50 price. But we did appreciate our server's decorative whipped cream attempts, which were a nice gesture.\nOverall\nCity Grille offers a decent, quick bite to eat. We found the food to be average, but the restaurant is a hometown alternative to grills such as Applebee's or Chili's. If you're in the mood for a casual dinner, City Grille is a good fit.