Food: Grill Masters

Value in casual American dining is a hard thing to define. On the one hand, it's always cheaper to cook your own food; I went to a cookout yesterday and grilled up my own 20 ounces worth of delicious New York strip steaks, which at any restaurant would easily set you back more than $20 (the meat cost less than $10 at Publix). On the other hand, unless you have a butcher next door, you have to go out and buy the ingredients, cook them, and clean up afterwards - time and effort.

"Grill Masters" almost strikes that fine balance between being too cheap and too expensive. The food is good enough that you do feel like you're going out to eat, but an 8 ounce prime rib dinner still costs $10, which isn't too horribly expensive I suppose. The restaurant's stuck in a poor location on the west side of I-75 on Newberry, but it's part of a few places owned by the same family.

I had the catch of the day, a nice grilled tilapia that came with bread, a side salad, and some vegetables for $9. Now, while that isn't exactly a poor man's meal, you spend about that much at a fast casual chain, but this place has comfy booths, a full bar, and an unassuming decor that isn't trying to be something it's not. The only caveat is that it's still not cheap enough given the quality of the food, so I'm going to have to give them...

2/4 stars