Anything with the name “grandpa” in it seems like it’s not going to be what’s happening now, but I kept hearing about bands getting gigs at Grandpa Eddie's , so off we went.
I thought we’d find it at the former location of the Three Chopt Sports Grill, a split room in a strip mall on Three Chopt near Cox Road that kept the band on one side and the drunks on the other. But it wasn’t there. It was on the west side of Cox in a brand new brick building. We arrived at 9 p.m. on a Friday, just in time for the band, but long after the dinner crowd had cleared out.
The restaurant, which moved to the Far West End from its original Goochland location, is positioning itself as the Tobacco Company of the West. Most of the places on the West End that host local music are not known for their food. Grandpa Eddie’s wants to be all things to all people, a place to eat as well as linger after dinner. Bands play Friday and Saturday nights from 9 to midnight. The restaurant’s great looking website has the line-up posted.
Jack Taggart, who books the music, says, “There’s nowhere in the West End to play that is totally geared around the music. We need to find those pockets of people. It’s a long way to go downtown for West Enders, so to get a place established out here would be great.”
I like clubs where you don’t have to stand, clutching your beer. At Grandpa Eddie’s, you can sit with a clear view of the band from just about every booth in the place, as well as the bar, which is behind large glass windows, and also serves to separate the smoking area from the non-smoking dining room. The room is a warm, cozy copper color and the acoustics are, in my sound tech husband’s estimation, “dry,” i.e., reverb isn’t bouncing off the walls. Grandpa Eddie’s politely turns off the wide screen TV above the band, always a nice touch. There’s no dance floor. If you get happy feet, you’ll have to dance by yourself next to your table.
Our food arrived before we could even settle into the booth or finish the baby cornbread muffins served as a free appetizer. That was fast! Everyone has their own opinion of barbecue, so we won’t argue that here. The menu is online. We had a sandwich, “Kansas City’s Famous Burnt Ends,” with slaw and fries, and a rack of ribs with collards and slaw. For dessert, we split the donut sundae, a glazed donut with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a cherry. That was just odd. Doughnuts are not easy to negotiate with a fork or spoon, so it was a dessert that fought back. With soda and tea, our bill for two was $33.55. The house dessert is peanut butter pie.
Where does used restaurant ketchup go? Everywhere I eat, the bottle of ketchup at the table is always brand new, even at Arby’s. How can that be?
Back Alley Hoodoo was playing that evening. They also have a good website and if you Google them, you’ll find links to videos on YouTube, too. They are older, seasoned blues musicians, as are most of the bands currently on the schedule. No loud kid bands for Grandpa Eddie.
I’ve never understood how you can play the blues as a band. Something like “Red House,” which Back Alley Hoodoo covers, sounds more poignant when wailed by one solitary guy and his acoustic guitar. If you’ve got enough buddies for a band, you shouldn’t have the blues!
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