What to Order at the Pioneer Bar and Grill

The menu at the Pioneer is long enough that a first-timer can stare at it for a while. The restaurant describes it as a wide variety of appetizers, crisp salads, juicy burgers, amazing sandwiches and famous homemade pizzas, with something for everyone whether you need a quick snack or a big meal. Here's a practical walk-through for deciding what to order, using the prices as printed on the menu. Prices can change, so confirm when you call or stop in.

Start with the smoker

The kitchen likes to throw meats and cheeses on the smoker, and that shows up all over the menu. The House Smoked Wings are $12 and come with your choice of BBQ, Buffalo, Stingin' Honey Garlic, Desi Sauce, Sweet Chili, Garlic Parmesan or a Dry Jamaican Jerk Rub. That's seven options, so a table of four can order one basket and cover several flavors if you ask how the kitchen handles splits.

Other appetizers worth a look: Cheese Curds with Ellsworth white cheddar and ranch for $11, Mac and Cheese Bites, homemade, breaded and deep fried, for $12, and the Combo Plate with onion rings, cheese curds and mac and cheese bites for $13. The Sidewinders, crispy potato spirals with house seasoning and Pioneer sauce, are $8. If you want to feed a group before the main course arrives, the Nacho Grande at $13 comes loaded with chips, onions, tomatoes, black olives, jalapenos, cheese sauce, your choice of chicken or beef, sour cream and salsa.

The homemade pizzas

The Pioneer calls its pizzas famous and homemade, and they come in 12 inch and 16 inch sizes. The Pioneer Special is the classic loaded pie, and the Taco pizza swaps tomato sauce for a queso base.

• Pioneer Special: pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers. $20 or $26.
• Taco: queso base, seasoned ground beef, lettuce, onion, tomato, black olives, picante. $20 or $26.
• BBQ Chicken: Desi sauce, smoked chicken, cheese, onion, Alabama white sauce. $20 or $26.
• Meatball: homemade meatballs and pepperoncini. $20 or $26.
• Vegetarian: $18 or $24.
• Cheese: $13 or $17.

Cauliflower crust is available on any 12 inch pizza for $3 extra. One reviewer pointed to the pizza as awesome in a recommendation that also mentioned the smoked wings and the pretzel bites. For a table of hungry vacationers, one 16 inch pizza and a basket of wings is a decent opening move.

The burgers

The burgers are hand pattied in house with Certified Hereford Beef, house seasoned, and served with chips and pickles. Turn any of them into a platter with fries and coleslaw for $3 more. The lineup has personality:

• Pioneer Burger: bacon, American, Pioneer sauce, lettuce and tomato. $13.
• Long Lake Burger: BBQ, Swiss, bacon and an onion ring. $13.
• Mushroom Swiss Burger. $12.
• Patty Melt: sauteed onions, Swiss and American on sourdough. $12.
• SOS Burger: a hand pattied smoked smash burger with razor thin onions and American. $12.
• Hank the Tank Burger: the kitchen's twist on the Jucy Lucy, stuffed with house smoked Muenster. $16.
• Pionator: double patty, six pieces of bacon, four slices of American and homemade bacon mayo. $18.
• F Your Diet Burger: double patty with pickles, Pioneer sauce, lettuce, onion and American. $17.

If it's your first visit and you want a single burger that tells you what the kitchen is about, Hank the Tank is the one to order. The smoked Muenster inside the patty is the signature move. If you're coming off a long day on the water and want a big meal, the Pionator is built for that. For something more modest, Erin's Pionator is a single patty with three pieces of bacon, American and bacon mayo for $13.

Sandwiches that earn their reviews

Sandwiches come with chips and pickles. The Prime Rib Sandwich is house slow roasted and served with au jus at $14, with Classic and Philly versions at $15 and $16. The Cuban uses smoked pork, double smoked ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard on pressed French bread for $12, and one Google reviewer specifically recommended the Cubano. Others on the list include a Grilled Chicken Sandwich at $11, a BLT at $12, a Meatball Sub at $12 and the Big Papa at $12, a breaded provolone patty topped with a meatball patty and marinara, all made in house.

Then there are the specials. Another reviewer drove fifteen minutes from Birchwood for a pulled smoked ham sandwich with Carolina BBQ sauce and Widmer's cheese, and called it smoky, sweet, tangy and gooey in every bite. That sandwich isn't printed on the menu, so treat it as a special and ask what's coming off the smoker on the day you visit.

Salads, sides and dessert

If someone at the table wants something lighter, the Caesar Salad with grilled chicken, romaine and Parmesan is $13, and the Fall Salad with romaine, craisins, Granny Smith apple, bacon, blue cheese and candied pecans is $14. A House Salad is $5, with chicken for $3 more or shrimp for $4. For something different there are Shrimp Skewers with roasted vegetables and a quinoa blend for $14. Finish with a Chocolate Chip Cookie or a Cocoa Crispy Bar at $4 each.

The bar and grill is open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily according to its Google listing, so lunch, dinner and a late-night basket of fries are all fair game. Questions, or want to check hours before you go? Call (715) 354-3500.