Two drinks: Traci's Sports Lounge

Bartender Meagan shows off some of the more than 65 bottled beers served at Traci's. (Credit: Ernest Coleman | Metromix)

Traci's Sports Lounge and Grill, recently opened by former Ben-Gal and coach of the squad, Traci Napier, is all about providing a comfortable place to take in the game.

The atmosphere: Traci's is tucked into a strip mall near Interstate 275 south of Loveland. The bar boasts comfortable stools and chairs and has at least 10 giant TVs to take in the game of the evening.

It wasn't overly packed on a Friday, but there were some people who had stopped in for a drink. The Ben-Gal atmosphere is alive at Traci's with pictures of Napier in her cheerleading attire on the cash register screens and Bengals apparel on the walls.

The drinks: Traci's has a full bar, wine selections and more than 65 bottled beers to choose from, including Beck's, Great Lakes, St. Pauli, Sam Adams and Warsteiner, all for $3.50, plus a list of craft and microbrews. On tap, the choices include various Michelobs, Sam Adams Winter Lager, Sierra Nevada and some more Great Lakes options.

My date decided to start with a Blue Moon ($3.50 bottle). I decided to have a glass of riesling ($5.50).

The food: Even though Grill is in the name, Traci's doesn't have its own kitchen; it shares a kitchen with Timmy's Wok next door and serves Chinese food.

We started off with an order of six of Traci's special wings, mild, as recommended by our server, with blue cheese and celery ($6). The wings, covered in sauce, were a bit spicy for my liking but my date seemed to enjoy them.

We also tried the steamed wontons with sweet and sour sauce for $6.25. The wontons were good, exactly like, well, take-out Chinese.

I decided to have General Tso's chicken while my date chose sesame chicken, $10.95 each. Both dishes came on Styrofoam plates in a basket with plastic silverware and a side of rice.

The food was good, but for the price I expected to get a little more, such as an egg roll.

The verdict: Traci's is definitely mastering the bar reputation with its beer choices and weekend entertainment. However, for the few groups of people I saw leave during my visit, it seems the menu might be throwing off some potential customers.