Valley Bar & Grill
★★★★☆ 4.2 (27) • $$
"Alyssa & I have made this one of our favorite All-You-Can-Eat Friday Night Fish Fry's in the 5 years we've been coming here. Since it is so far out there for us, we don't get by as often as we would like. In thinking about another get together with fellow Yelper, John O, this place came to mind. It wouldn't be too far for him to travel. Plus, we'd be going to one of our favorites! I asked him about it and John knew of this place because he had been to it several times before. We set a date and made a plan. After a couple of days, I thought about how much fun it was dining with Yelpers Jenny & Sam. I had a feeling that John would think kindly of them, too. I asked him if he wouldn't mind adding a couple more to our table. He thought the more the merrier & even asked them himself. Jenny & Sam were down with it! So, now we had an evening planned with more Yelp friends!We had a couple of errands to run in Hudson before our meet up time of 6. When we got them done, we were hoping to stop by & try out a new Brewpub in Hudson. But we were in that time frame where if we do that we'd be late for supper & if we went straight to The Valley, we'd be there early. We opted to be early. From Hudson, we took Highway 35 South to Highway E. That dumped us out onto Highway 10. Which we traveled for less than a mile West to find The Valley all lit up in the great big darkness of this country. The Valley is in the middle of nowhere, right off of Highway 10. But for being in the middle of nowhere, somehow people find this place. Parking lot was packed with 4x4 trucks. The clientele inside fits those 4x4 trucks. Camouflaged mesh hats. Throw in blaze orange vests & snowmobile boots and that sums up the dress code. Very local. When you enter the place, you're walking into the bar. There is a surprising tap line. Around 12 choices? South Shore Nut Brown Ale was a welcome sight. Things are wide open in here and you'll find your way around easy. Alyssa, Pheona, & I found a table that would fit our group. I searched out for a highchair. I found a stack in a corner by the restrooms. I got Pheona all set up, while Alyssa got us some drinks. There isn't table service here. After Alyssa came back, I went up to pay for our suppers. They have a cash register set up in front of the buffet line. It is a cash only business, however, they have an ATM just across from the register in case you forgot. I was lucky and no one was waiting to pay, so I just walked right up. There are times where we have waited in a line 20 deep. I paid and told the lady we'd be up in a little bit. She said just to tap her & she let us go through. I went back to our table and sipped on my beer while Alyssa decided to go up and grab some cold salads for us and Pheona to share. She came back with a delightful looking plate. Potato Salad, Tuna Salad, Three Bean Salad, Cut Veggies, Pickled Herring, and Coleslaw. We munched on those until John arrived. After getting our hellos in with him & directing him to the ATM, Sam & Jenny show up. Now that we all made it, we took turns up at the Buffet line. With all the cold salads they offer up, they have a decent amount of hot items, too. The hot items are served in those big white crock pot warming tubs. Just like at a church function. Baked Beans, Au Gratin Potatoes, Skin On French Fries, Ham, & of course Beer Battered Cod. Everything is homemade and portioned well. I got a plate of everything but Ham. The Fries were crispy, crunchy, and super fresh. I feel like they hand cut these in house. The Au Gratins are very homemade. Perfectly hearty for a cold winters night. The Baked Beans aren't typical. They look like they are, but when you bite down. You're met with a snap. It feels like maybe they weren't soaked enough the night before to soften them up. Flavor was good, but texturally, different. Now for the Star of the Show. The Beer Battered Cod. Holy BeGeezus! It's Perfection. Light, crispy, golden brown nuggets of love. The fillet is moist and flaky. Wonderful white insides. Squeeze lemon on it & I don't think there is any better Cod out there. They offer Tartar at the end of the buffet line, but there is no need to use any. This Fish stands out on it's own. They keep the portion levels for the Cod spot on. That way, every time you go up, the Fish is fresh from the fryer. They also offer water, milk, and coffee in the price of the Buffet. The milk is served in one of the old school stainless steel lift up handle like thingy. The price is $11.25. For the quality & quantity, it's just the right price. There is a sense of community here in the middle of nowhere. We love that. We also love getting together with Yelp friends. Thanks for coming along John, Sam & Jenny!"
"I am so thankful my husband insisted on a slight change in plans to include a stop here! They have a huge menu selection (especially for a food truck) with great, unique options. I get excited for California burritos and carne asada fries- few places here have them and they bring me back to living in SoCal. They have so many variations on California burritos (all have French fries as a Cali burrito must). Their original would arguably be not 100% authentic as it has "cowboy pico" not regular pico, but is authentic otherwise. My husband had the San Jose and it ROCKED! And it comes with cheese sauce??! I had the puffy tacos- also rocked and would get them again in a heartbeat. Love the fried tortilla and the toppings. Their chorizo and their pastor both were great. My only complaints, obviously not enough to detract from a great rating, but there is room for improvement:- The puffy tacos only had one small piece of pickled onion, I wish there was a bit more as it was a great topping and I could barely taste it. - The biggest thing is that I wish they had a calendar on their website so I could plan to get their food. Instead, they only post where they will be the day of on Facebook. If they posted a calendar online, I would absolutely plan around it and therefore be more likely to get their food and with friends/family."
"They have so many options on the menu- something for everyone! We got the sunnies and pickles for appetizers and they were both really flavorful. Ordered the R Social burger and others I was with got the lobster grilled cheese, tuna salad and all looked so good. The service was great- food came out quick and the drinks were refilled consistently. The seating is comfortable and it wasn't too noisy even though it was pretty busy."
