Sundown West

A passable pub. The Sundown is, admittedly, the only real pub-like atmosphere in Ruston. It has a dark room with a pool table, dart boards, and a couple of televisions along with the bar. There's also a more well-lit dining area for the casual lunch-crowd, and an outside patio that's actually very nice when it's not too hot. As a social hangout, it's comfortable and generally friendly, but the crowd is one of two types: older married couples who all know each other and spend their time drinking and making private jokes, or a bunch of twenty-something Louisiana Tech students who all know each other and spend their time drinking and hitting on one another. There isn't much there for the single thirty-something or the newcomer. They do have music sometimes on Friday or Saturday nights, which can be pretty good--but again, the crowd is usually pretty homogeneous.

As for the food, it's decent, but not great. The best items are the burgers, the homemade fries, the reuben sandwich, and the bar-style appetizers (jalepeno poppers, fried macaroni & cheese). But these are no better than most casual pub-fare. The prices are good, and it's all relatively fresh and hot. It doesn't, by any means, compare to the great pub-food that you find in a city like Boston or Chicago.…