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OxfordPress.com

CLUB SCENE

Norton's wins the game

By Angelle Haney

For the Dayton Daily News

Ah, the first full weekend of fall, when a young woman's fancy turns to — well, maybe that's better left alone, but this young woman's fancy turns to football. And from football, it's just a short stagger to sports bars. Sports bars come in many permutations, from the classy and understated (go online to www.DaytonDailyNews.com/clubs to see a Fox and Hound review that ran in GO! on Aug. 26) to the sleazy and not-so-slightly dangerous (see a review yet to come — there's a lot of football season left).

But my favorite sports bar falls somewhere in the middle. It may not have the biggest — or the most — TV screens; it may not have the most memorabilia-collectibles-sports junk on the walls. But Norton's Bar and Grill, 2505 Wilmington Pike, Kettering, is a slice of Americana, or at least Ohio-cana.

Despite any percieved shortcomings, I love Norton's; the beer is cold, the drinks are reasonable and the food is good and cheap. A few big screens, many more small screens and a laid-back vibe that means you probably won't get killed if you happen to be rooting against the team du jour. Because my husband and I don't look like your average football fans, that last one carries a lot of weight with me.

Norton's changed ownership in the last couple of years, but I understand it was bought by longtime employees, which explains the smooth, seamless transition. The only real difference is new menus (the printed menus themselves, not what they serve — the old ones were covered in correction fluid) and the addition of karaoke on Thursday and Saturday nights. Oh, and now the sign out front actually gets updated.

Bottom line, this is an unpretentious sports bar (with outstanding burgers), a place that isn't afraid of a strange face or a stranger hair color. The workers post schedules for the Bengals, Browns, Reds, Nascar and Kettering Fairmont Girls Soccer. So if you're driving down Wilmington and you get an itch for the OSU game and some deep-fried quesadilla rolls, stop in. They'll treat you right.

All ages

In addition to the standard bar games, so omnipresent I refuse to list them anymore, there's a great motorcycle game you actually sit on (Arctic Thunder) and an oversized gun game called Time Crisis II.

Best bet

Wednesday! Ah, sweet, sweet live trivia night! A chance to prove you're smarter than your friends, not to mention winning rounds of drinks at strangers' expense.

Sweet spot

Unlike a lot of (lame) sports bars, the pool table is in perfect position to see the three big-screen televisions at the far end of the building. Makes for a mighty nice way to waste an afternoon.

Bring me food

Norton's may have the best bar burger in Dayton, although the fries are a little greasy. They'll even deliver on weekday evenings; on the weekend call and check. The delivery guy keeps, ahem, erratic hours.

Bathrooms

On opposite sides of the building, both the ladies and the gents could use an extreme makeover (calling Ty Pennington — have I got a show for you!), but they are basically clean and I've never seen them backed up, which is better than most bars.

Angelle Haney is a free-lancer from Dayton who catches Cleveland Browns games in bars.