Prairie Lanes

This is an older bowling alley, it has the usual bar, some video games, a small pro shop, and a grill.
The pizza was decent, not great but one didn’t go to bowling alley for the pizza. There are about 30 lanes (sorry, I didn’t count them), they are all automated and have an intercom to the counter.
The staff was friendly, the beverages were cold, and there is plenty of parking. Only complain, the balls need to be replaced. They have seen better days.
All in all, a nice place to spend a couple of JFK’s with friends on a Saturday.

I received a message from Ross at Prairie Lanes looking to make things right after our less than stellar experience a few weeks ago, so I feel compelled to update my review. One good turn deserves another, and I am a big believer in second chances. Ross has offered us two free games per person in the hopes of winning us back.
We’ll see how it goes the second time around!

I was in my Hometown for the Christmas celebration with my family. My Dad wanted to treat us to an All-​You-​Can-​Eat Friday Night Fish Fry and gave us a couple of places that serve one. It wasn’t hard for me to choose. Prairie Lanes was a place that I spent many hours at as a kid. The Bar & Grill part is all new & refurbished, so I wanted to see the new changes. Plus, I remember there not being a menu because of the limited options they had «back in the day». Now, they have a full menu to offer. We made plans to all meet up at 5:30.
Prairie Lanes has ample parking all around and we found plenty of spots available. They have entrances on the North, South, and smack dab in the middle of the place. The best entrance for the Bar & Grill is the middle. You will find the Bar area immediately. There is a host stand, and they will find you a table or booth. We needed a table for 7 and there was no issue with that. We got a big round one right away. Getting settled in, our server stopped by asking about drinks. I don’t think anyone of us knew what we wanted. She offered waters to us all, which we accepted. When she returned with the waters, only two of us had figured out what we wanted to drink. I asked about tap beers and our server grabbed a table tent off a booth to show me. She said she would be back with the two sodas that were asked for. Most choices seemed domestic on the tap list. Our server brought the sodas and started taking our food order at this time. In all, 3 AYCE Fish Fry’s, one senior Fish Fry, and two kids meals. I also ordered a High Life on tap. The Fish Fry comes standard with Beer Battered Cod, Salad Bar, Soup Bar, & choice of potato. The choice of potato is French Fries, Baby Reds, or Potato Pancakes. I went with the Pancakes. Alyssa did Baby Reds.
I checked out this Soup Bar first which is right next to the Salad Bar. They offered up 3 kinds of Soup. Clam Chowder, Chicken Noodle, & Wisconsin Cheese. They also offer bowls & cups for dishing your Soup in. I grabbed a bowl of Clam Chowder and headed back to the table. Alyssa made her way up when I got back. I put a little pepper in my Chowder & dumped in the little packet of oyster crackers offered. Creamy, Hot & Fresh. But as Alyssa put it. It tastes like it came out a bag. It wasn’t bad. Just… basic. I went up a second time to try the Chicken Noodle. I did a cup of it. The noodles are big and thick. The broth is flavorful. Hardly any chicken in it. Next up, Salad Bar. This is surprisingly solid. They have all the bases covered on this one. Everything was fresh & full. They had an attendant right there monitoring it. Coleslaw is available here, too. It’s something that I didn’t try.
I was a couple of bites into my salad when our dinners arrived. The Fish looked good. Two pieces of Golden Fried Beer Battered Cod. The Potato Pancakes not so much so. When I think of Potato Pancakes, these I didn’t have in mind. They were little McDonald’s like Hash Browns. Or Larger Burger King like Hash Rounds. Take your pick. Tasted like ‘em, too. Straight out the freezer. Slid out the bag. Into the fryer. They tried to make them authentic by providing Applesauce & Syrup to dip them into. The Baby Reds Alyssa got were nice. They looked pan fried. The Cod Loins were cooked too much. Cutting in, they clumped instead of flaked away. Biting down, you knew it. Firm. Not tender. It’s one of those thing where it’s not bad, just not good. Seeming that they only offer one kind of Cod, Deep Fried. They should be able to handle cooking it the right time. Ah well. There’s always the reorder, right? Those were overcooked as well. Not burned, just over done. By 2 or 3 minutes. When I mentioned this later, everyone who ordered Fish thought the same thing. I had to ask for lemon, as for that didn’t come with the supper, but tartar sauce did. It tasted fine, just seemed like it came out the bottle.
Our server was so very patient with us. When we were indecisive of drinks, she didn’t blink an eye. She was always checking up on us. Awesome job by her. The AYCE Friday Night Fish Fry costs $ 11.99 here. Could be worth it, if the Cod is cooked proper. For what we got, it’s a little steep. The menu here is nice. They have a burger that me, living in the Twin Cities, was surprised to see. The Juicy Lucy. While it might not be the way I’d spell it (Jucy Lucy), it sure was a welcome to see. I tried to get someone at the table to order one, to no avail. Probably a good thing. I’ll take ‘em out for an authentic one when they come to visit us.

Their Bar and Grill area was really nice looking, not run down and dingy like most bowling alley restaurant attachments. The waitress was great, she accommodated us with special requests and was very courteous. The food tasted great as well, they have a lot of variety. I recommend the Juicy Lucy!

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME!!! The bowling is Awesome at Prairie Lanes and the bowling staff exceptional at service.
Unfortunately, the restaurant is poorly managed and believes that the bowling customer take priority over those in the restaurant. I have given Prairie Lanes 3 opportunities to prove that they can improve on the service aspect of the business, and this past Friday night, they failed again.
You would think for an all you can eat fish fry, the restaurant would prepare better. We waited 45 minutes from the time we ordered to receive our food… and this is not the longest we have waited. One hour is the record and that record will never have a chance to be broken…
I did speak to the manager on duty and he gave us a 30% discount for our trouble, but had to go out of his way to BLAME the 17 year old hostess… for not telling us it would be at least a 30 minute wait… Blame it on the kids… how does that make it better.
The sad part, this that the food, when not cold, is very good, the portion are exceptional, and the price is fair.
Poor service is caused by poor management and leadership… Thank Goodness the bowlers don’t have complaints. DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME EATING AT PRAIRIE LANES.

Nice Friday Fish Fry, with salad bar AND Soup for about $ 10