Michaela Handke/ Winonan

Jefferson’s Pub and Grill used to be a freight house for the railroad in 1885. After, it was turned into a restaurant called Zach’s on the Tracks. In 1994, it had changed its name once again to Jefferson’s Pub and Grill.

Many have heard stories about the old freight house that Winona now calls Jefferson’s. Maybe there was a bat when you ate there, maybe it wasn’t too clean, or maybe you had an amazing time and the food and atmosphere was great. In my opinion, based on past and present experiences there, the atmosphere is a bit dingy and the service isn’t always the best.

On the other hand, the food has always been good.

On Monday night I went to Jefferson’s for the two-for-one burger special. After some confusion as to where we were supposed to sit, our waitress, who was less than attentive, came and gave us our menus. There was no mention of the specials in the menu, and nothing was posted or said about what specials were offered for certain days. We had to ask in order to get clarification that we were in fact getting a good deal for our meals.

After deciding what to order, I chose the mushroom Swiss burger with fries. The burger, in my opinion, was very good. I would definitely order it again. The burger was done nicely, and it came with a large amount of fries. I was very surprised at the amount of fries I was given, I couldn’t even eat them all. I had to share them with my friend.

The appetizer I ordered was very skimpy. They were called onion strings, and they were most definitely strings. The taste was great and served with delicious zesty sauce, but we only got a handful. For the amount I paid I was a bit disheartened at the small amount.

The atmosphere was nothing to be desired, yet it wasn’t horrible. It had a rustic charm, but was a bit dingy. The lighting was a little dim, and the walls looked like they were decorated with the original wallpaper.

Though our waitress wasn’t the most attentive, she was very friendly as well as the other waitress who seemed to be working very hard.

Overall, I would order a burger from there again but not an appetizer. I would probably eat at the establishment again because it is a local place and the food is good. You just have to know what to order and what not to order when going Personally, it isn’t my favorite place to eat, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. It could just use a few improvements on the décor and appetizers.