HOGANSBURG — There's a new restaurant at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino on the rez in Hogansburg called Sticks.
Actually it's billed as a sports bar and restaurant. Oh great, a sports bar and a casino — two of my least favorite things.
So I stroll up to the casino with my digital camera and snap a few shots of the exterior. To get to Sticks, you've actually got to enter the casino and it's right there on the right. So I snap a shot of the Sticks sign over the restaurant entrance.
Out of nowhere, two bouncers the size of side-by-side refrigerators appear next to me. One says, "I'm sorry, sir, but there's no picture-taking allowed in here."
So now I figure I'm in a heap of trouble. I'm not in the United States and I'm not in Canada and I don't have my only Native American friend on speed dial.
But as it turns out, the big guys were just on their way to get a bag of burgers at Sticks and get back to work, and laid some friendly advice on me along the way.
Whew.
The room is new and bright and clean and smokeless, even though there's a separate gambling room filled with smokers not too far away. Despite a very high ceiling and a tall brick wall behind the giant bar, the noise level was quite tolerable.
Flat-panel TVs tuned to soundless sporting events lined the walls. You could still hear the din of the slots from the main gambling hall over the music on the overhead sound system.
We might have gotten off to a bad start by asking our smileless waitress for sparkling water. She really didn't know what that was, so she covered by mumbling something about how we could get bottled water by pushing a button on the Coke machine.
Appetizers are the same old freezer-to-fryer fare you can find most anywhere, but boneless chicken wings ($9.95) piqued our interest. A dozen long, thin pieces of breaded chicken that tasted just like chicken tenders but were shaped differently had a good tang to them for medium. Good blue cheese dressing. Nicely garnished plate, too.
Nachos ($5.95) were topped with a big blob of tasteless refried beans that smothered and softened the tortillas underneath. Melted cheese and pieces of green onion on top couldn't salvage it. Sides of guacamole, salsa and sour cream helped a little, but not enough.
Salads don't come with dinner entrées, so we got a house salad ($4.95) just to give it a try. It was very good, though no bigger than a side salad, with fresh greens, bright red tomato wedges, croutons and large slices of red onion.
French onion soup ($3.95) was also good, a nicely balanced, not-too-salty stock that sported a small amount of chopped onion with a rye crouton floating on top, crowned with melted provolone.
The menu offers casual food (salads, sandwiches, burgers) alongside a modest selection of more formal entrées (steaks, ribs, chicken, seafood).
We were still working on our appetizers when our waitress showed up with our entrées. We made room the best we could as she began indiscriminately plopping dishes in front of us.
Philly cheese steak ($8.95) was tasty, with an ample amount of shaved beef, sautéed peppers and mushrooms, and melted cheese on a toasted hoagie roll.
Seasoned fries accompanied.
Salmon filet ($16.99) was lightly seasoned and charbroiled. Actually, almost burned on the bottom. Somehow, the rest of the salmon was still moist and flavorful. A colorful medley of previously frozen vegetables could have been hotter. Same with the out-of-a-bag red-skin garlic potatoes.
We ordered the 10-ounce New York strip steak ($19.95) medium-rare. It arrived rare, which was OK with us (better undercooked than over), a nice piece of meat char-grilled and served with the same lukewarm — no, make that cold — sides as the salmon. I'd be a little worried if those mashed potatoes had been sitting around the kitchen at that temperature all night.
A pleasant surprise was the Cajun shrimp Alfredo ($12.95). Seven or eight shrimp were sautéed perfectly with a good snap to them along with nicely sautéed whole button mushrooms. A lightly cheesy Alfredo sauce with the addition of Cajun seasoning give it just the right kick. Lots of the flavorsome sauce covered a bowl full of linguine.
When our server stopped by to ask if she could get us anything else, I came very close to saying, "Yes, another waitress."
Desserts ($5.95 each) were commercial and right out of a box. One still had a piece of the paper separator attached to it.
They were OK, but nothing special, especially for the price. Snickers pie was interesting. Carrot cake was overly sweet. Cheesecake a little dry. Chocolate decadence, complete with mini chocolate chips dotting the icing on the outside, would satisfy any chocolate lover (who doesn't like chocolate?).
Total tab came to $114 before tip. I'm pretty sure there was no New York state sales tax or Ontario provincial tax added, but couldn't be sure. The next paragraph will explain.
Our waitress really detracted from the dining experience, but she'd probably be perfect in the buffet restaurant down the hall. Straws for our water glasses flew with good aim from her apron pocket to the table. Forks for our desserts were plopped in a pile on the corner of our table. Appetizer dishes were still on the table during dessert. She was unable to retrieve an itemized copy of the dinner bill for me after she processed my credit card. Smiles never did materialize.
And I don't often comment on restrooms, but we're still trying to figure out the reason for the sign on the men's room door: "Please Do Not Put Hypodermic Needles In Regular Trash."
You can contact Walter E. Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.
Sticks Sports Bar & Restaurant
Awkesasne Mohawk Casino
Route 37
Hogansburg
1 (888) 662-1155
A new restaurant in the casino serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Worth a try if you're going to be there anyway.
HOURS: 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week
RATING: 2 and one-half forks
