While Kirk and Cathy are doing important things like working or resting, Ed (from Yuma) is posting today.
Usually, after I've written a post on a place in Yuma, I don't visit again for a while, maybe feeling a little burned out. And when I do visit, I don't bring my camera. So when I had lunch at Crouse’s Flat Top Grill in early March I didn't have my camera with me, so I didn't take this picture of the entrance that day: 
I ordered one of the sandwiches that I hadn't tried, the smoked brisket. When it arrived it looked something like this: 
It was a great sandwich – a crunchy long roll filled with two thick smoky slices of brisket, crowned with abundant sweet grilled onion, and served with a choice of barbecue sauces on the side. Even the potato salad, which I had largely ignored before, was wonderful, the sour spicy crunchy pickle pieces adding true zest.
It was a meal so good that Tina and I have been eating at Flat Top Grill regularly, and of course I've been bringing my camera along.
Although the restaurant has a very modest wine list: 
and a limited number of changing taps, 
I can always find at least one or two interesting beers 
On our most recent visit, Tina ordered an amazing watermelon, mint and jalapeño Margarita: 
The rim of her glass was coated with Tajin, and that lime chili salt added one more level of complexity to the cocktail. Spicy, sweet, sour, cool, and smooth, with a touch of salt and a hint of mint. A real winner.
Since that last post, we have eaten a bunch of different things. For example, we were dining there with friends and they wanted to try the loaded JoJo's: 
That could be somebody's dinner. The potatoes were nicely cooked and there’s bacon, cheese, and sour cream. Glad our friends had their teenage son with them.
Tina enjoys the tri-tip salad: 
The fresh lettuces are nothing special, but the meat is well flavored and she loves the cilantro lime dressing that adds a Sonoran accent.
Of course, we often have sandwiches. Recently, Tina had the hot dog – split in half, grilled, placed atop a strip of bacon, and thickly covered with guacamole: 
That same night, I had the guacamole bacon burger – we must have had guacamole on the brain: 
In the last post, I complained about an overdone burger; this one was on the verge of under cooked, but the flavorful hamburger, ground on premises daily, had excellent flavor. And bacon and guacamole.
My favorite burger is the green chili burger: 
8 years ago I posted about the mutant green chilies found in some Yuma Mexican restaurants, which are always made with beef, usually finely diced or ground. The green chili here is another variation on that theme. The beef is coarsely ground and is the focus of the dish. The chili has some good heat and green chili flavor. It is topped with melted cheese, pico de gallo, and chopped scallions (also with sour cream, but I ordered that on the side).
We have eaten several entrées as well. The Turkey dinner is an amazing combination of familiar and unusual: 
On the left side of the plate, covered with gravy, was first rate red skinned mashed potatoes. The Turkey breast slices, like the ones on their turkey sandwiches, were grilled and pretty ordinary, but the waffle made with turkey dressing underneath was something I'd never seen before: 
Kindof a Thanksgiving dinner like no other.
And yes, during evenings The Flat Top Grill does have good old-fashioned greens as a side dish. I'm talking serious greens, smoky and meaty: 
A little less interesting – though still very flavorful – was the chicken with mushroom gravy. Two thick slices of grilled chicken breast rested on a bed of those mashed potatoes, all covered with delectably creamy mushroom gravy: 
On a couple of weekend nights, we ordered specials not on the menu. Once it was the rib special: 
Wonderfully spiced, deeply smoked, and fall off the bone tender. Though there is barbecue sauce on the side where it belongs, it really wasn't needed. We took the leftovers home and had biscuits, ribs, and eggs for breakfast. The corn was a little tough and flavorless, but I was still happy.
And if you are ever at Flat Top Grill and they are serving chicken and waffles, you should be eating chicken and waffles: 
The waffle was crispy chewy and served with two different syrups, one maple and one spicy. The moist chicken was encased with a flavorful hard crust. Wonderful deep frying technique.
This place is so good it is hard to stay away.
It is next to the Baskin Robbins, shares the parking lot with a 99 Cent Only store and is kitty corner from Beef 'n Bun (I'll have an updated post for BnB soon).
Walk in, stay in line to the right…
order (there are some white board specials to the right)
watch your meal prepared, pay
and find a seat.
The pulled pork plate ($10.49) is a BBQ pork sandwich (sauce on the side; there is some sauce on the meat but I like to eat just the 'basic' sandwich first then add more sauce to the second half) and two side orders (slaw and potato salad here, but also choices of baked beans, macaroni salad and French fries). The BBQ here is "pit' style- slow and low heated oak wood smoking in a sealed above ground oven. The flavor is unique yet familiar. 
However, that was The Mister's order. I was here for my comfort food on this chilly day. The soup and sandwich plate ($8.99) Split Pea soup, made from scratch daily (as is the Navy Bean soup). Carrots and celery and ham and peas. There may be potato in there, but I've never gotten chunks of potato, so if it is an ingredient, it is sparse, smoothed out and used as a thickener.
The BBQ (smoked) ham sandwich. Plenty of ham…warm, juicy, flavorful. The combination of a ham sandwich with soup is just so right. 
