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F.O.X. Neighborhood Bar & Grill

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By JEFF KORBELIK / GZO

Friday, Jun 13, 2008 - 12:58:37 am CDT

Don Arena wants people to call his new restaurant by its letters: the F.O.X.

My guess is they’ll refer to it as The Fox, which, in my book, is OK because of its similarity to Arena’s other eatery, The Red Fox.

If I was Arena, I would want people to know the two are in the same family.

Story Photo
The new F.O.X. Neighborhood Bar and Grill at 1245 Libra Drive features personal pizzas, bottom right, as well as a Southwestern Salad, back, and a Philly Catch All, left. (Heidi Hoffman)
F.O.X. Neighborhood Bar & Grill

1245 Libra Drive, Suite 110

(14th Street and Pine Lake Road)

Atmosphere: Casual

Specialty: Bar and grill

Payment: Cash and credit cards; no checks

Cost: Entrees, $6 to $8

Hours: 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Monday-Saturday (kitchen closes at 10 p.m.), noon to 1 a.m. Sunday (kitchen closes at 9 p.m.)

Phone: (402) 423-0193

Notes: Parking, alcohol, children’s menu, daily lunch specials, takeout, keno (coming in July), satellite television service, pizza served from 10 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday

* * *

Food: 3 stars

Service: 2 stars

Atmosphere: 3 stars

Vegetarian friendly: 2 stars

The Last Bite: Red Fox owner Don Arena has remodeled the old Slapshotz into a family-friendly bar and grill with good eats.

Rating system: Excellent 4 stars; Good 3 stars; Fair or uneven 2 stars; Poor 1 star

The Red Fox, after all, is one of Lincoln’s best steakhouses, which despite its out-of-the-way West O location has thrived over the years.

The comparisons, though, should stop with the name.

Whereas the Red Fox is known as a steakhouse, the new F.O.X. is a sports bar, with burgers, sandwiches and pizza.

“I would like to think we’re a sports bar with better food than a lot of the sports bars in Lincoln,” Arena said. “I know my food is bar food, but I think it’s better bar food.”

Arena opened the F.O.X. last month in the strip mall at 14th Street and Pine Lake Road. He took over the spot once occupied by Slapshotz.

The F.O.X. looks nothing like Slapshotz, however. Arena remodeled, giving it the look of a small lodge, with its wood booths, fireplace and heavy beams. He did the same thing with The Red Fox when he remodeled it a few years ago.

Since it’s a sports bar, the decor includes multiple TVs, with at least one visible from any seat in the restaurant. Several of the booths have their own TVs, which on the night I visited were tuned in to Disney’s “Hannah Montana.”

That’s right, the F.O.X. has become an immediate hit with families. With its affordable menu and comfy digs, the restaurant is a great place for a clan to chill out for a few hours.

As for the menu, it’s small and manageable, with a handful of appetizers, salads, burgers and sandwiches. Most entrees cost between $5 and $8. The only item topping $10 is the beef tenderloin for $16.50.

One-topping pizzas are available in two sizes: 7-inch personal ($5.99) and 14-inch large ($11.99). Additional toppings are 65 cents each for personal pies and $1.45 for the larges.

Like the Red Fox, the F.O.X. has daily mom-and-pop lunch specials such as roast beef and pork chop dinners and casseroles.  

My companion went with the F.O.X. Special Burger ($6.50) and fries ($1.25). I had the Philly Cheese Steak with chips ($6.50).

Chips come with all sandwiches and burgers. This is a minor complaint. The restaurant should make more sides available and include them in the cost of the entree.

Our food, though, was exceptional. The burger came with bacon, sliced mushrooms and Swiss cheese. My Philly had steak grilled with onions and topped with melted Swiss. Peppers, mushrooms and jalapenos are available for 25 cents each.

We also ordered a personal pepperoni pizza that had a crust similar to The Isles’. That’s on purpose.

“I love The Isles’ pizza,” Arena said. “I wanted to get (the crust) close. That was my goal.”

The F.O.X. is still working out some kinks in the kitchen. My personal pie, a pepperoni, came out as we finished our entrees. Our waitress was apologetic, explaining the pizza oven was in another part of the building.

Arena said he had only three people in the kitchen that night as he figures out his staffing. He expects to have that under control soon, so he can start working on promotion.

“What’s happened is I’ve been working hard on getting this running right,” he said. “Now my mind is switching over a little bit.”

The F.O.X. is a place where I could see myself spending a lot of time eating and socializing. Arena subscribes to a satellite service, so he has Major League Baseball now and the NFL soon.

Plus, like the Red Fox, the restaurant has good food. I expect Arena will have no trouble making a go of it in the new location.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com. 


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No CHIPS wrote on June 16, 2008 8:53 am:
" I am so sick and tired of local establishments serving chips instead of fries with the meal. I know it is a cost cutting measure, but c'mon! Burger and chips? C'mon! "

 JT Hutt wrote on June 16, 2008 5:09 pm:
" Mr. Arena. Call it whatever you want. The Fox is welcome by any name, anytime, anyplace in Lincoln. How can there be a review without mention of icy cold schooners? Someone please tell me they have made the commute from West "O". "

 Good bar food... wrote on June 19, 2008 10:35 am:
" and that is about it. The mini burgers are great! But other than "bar food" they don't offer much. I expected more tasty half way healthy sandwhices but everthing is pretty unhealthy and heavy. Don't get me wrong I love that stuff but I also enjoy eating healthy. I thought the service was good, they were understaffed but they were busting their butts to make sure we had good service. Im trying the pizza next time, looked great. "

 Wanted to like it wrote on June 19, 2008 2:35 pm:
" My husband and I ate there last week. We found the prices high and the portions skimpy. We were still hungry after eating our grilled chicken sandwhiches. We were discussing how we probably wouldn't come back to eat again. I talked my hubby into ordering the nachos to give them a second chance and to fill up. But unfortunatly, they were not great either. They used the cheese wiz stuff. This is a big pet peeve of mine and even worse then serving chips with burgers. Bar owners everywhere --- please use real shredded cheese not cheese wiz!!! It has no flavor and it's kind of tacky. "

 Gave it a Shot... wrote on June 19, 2008 11:12 pm:
" My husband and I tried this place last weekend. The service was great, which is hard to find in this town. However, I must admit that I was pretty disappointed in the very limited foor menu. I had a cheesesteak that was pretty good, but I forgot to ask for the fries and got stuck with the chips... I agree with everyone else, skip the chips and get some decent sides to pick from - if nothing else, at least allow fries as a side with no additional cost. I would definately go back to have some drinks with friends, but not sure if I will bother with the food again. "

 Rachel wrote on June 22, 2008 7:09 am:
" Great, ANOTHER sports bar in Lincoln--just what the town needs. My family moved here from the east coast and this is one of our biggest complaints about Lincoln; basically every eating establishment is the same old same old. "

 Hammer wrote on June 23, 2008 5:07 am:
" What a joke... Chips with a burger... Ummm, wrong. It's fries with a burger. I can not ever remember asking for chips with a burger and I never will. Wake up FOX !!!!!! "

 BEST NACHOS IN TOWN wrote on July 3, 2008 11:41 am:
" PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THE NACHOS. I think the RED FOX has the BEST nachos in town. If the F.O.X's are like it...please don't change them! If I want shredded cheese for nachos I will make my own at home! But I agree fries please! "

 To want to like it wrote on July 8, 2008 3:54 pm:
" You ate a sandwich and chips and nachos and you still were not full?Something tells me you need to trim down your portions. Kinda sad if you ask me. We went there and all it is is bar food, not very good at that. This place won't make it because of the of the location, people on this side of town tend to be a little more picky with their food. They need to add some healthier options also. Won't be going back. Chips and a burger? how crazy. "

 No shredded cheese please wrote on July 9, 2008 12:36 pm:
" Viva the fake cheese nachos! Tacky, my hinder, that's the way nachos were meant to be served. "

 Ron and Kris wrote on August 11, 2008 9:08 am:
" We went as a result of Korbelik's write-up and were very disappointed. The food was good, however, they use canned mushrooms which turns me off as lazy right away. The service was what was the bad part. We had some drinks first, then ate, so we were there a few hours and to be waited on was quite an effort. We several times even had to take our glasses to the bar ourselves for refills. The place was not busy at all and we still had trouble getting service and what service we did get was not "with a smile". One waitress came and grabbed our ketchup from our table while we were still eating and took it to another table without saying one word to us! Also, we missed keno games 3 times because of their lack of "get to the writing machine on time" slowness, even though they were just standing around AND we had been standing at the station since the previous game was over. That is unnacceptable. They really offered no apologies so neither did my party in our gratuity. Don Arena really needs to step this one up service-wise. Even if they acted like they cared it would make a difference. But too late for us. We won't return and neither will the people we tell about our experience. Good food is not all that gets people through the doors, it is the service that keeps you coming back. "

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