Lunch Adventure Dejope Gaming

Sometimes we find ourselves in odd places where a trip to the deli for a decent salad isn’t possible, and situational constraints require creative action to avoid eating out of a vending machine. Other times we just need to escape the stuffy confines of traditional restaurant dining, so we embark on Lunch Adventures.

Dejope Gaming (4002 Evan Acres Road, 888-248-1777)

Why you’re really there: If you’re a degenerate gambler, the relatively small Dejope Gaming center, which boasts only slot machines and video poker, can actually keep your addiction in check. It’s not like you can recreate 21 or Rounders here. Instead, you’re there to slowly throw away your money on slot games with themes like graveyards and motorcycles. Matching wits with the one-armed bandit can be time-consuming and leave your tummy grumbling, so you may have to turn to the only option, the Gamers Grille.

You won’t find this in most restaurants: A pervasive musk of cigarette smoke hangs heavy in Dejope’s Gamers Grille. This really sets it apart from every other restaurant in Madison, which has had a well-publicized, hated-by-our-current-governor smoking ban in place for years. Smoking isn’t technically “allowed,” but also, being that you’re on Native American land, it’s not prohibited either. It’s like being in the international waters of restaurants, except instead of watching unsanctioned boxing matches or eating a dolphin, you’re able to enjoy a Marlboro indoors. Also, there is gambling.

Delightful discovery: The only restaurant in Madison with an older median age than Gamers Grille is a nursing home cafeteria. Maybe it’s because The A.V. Club went at noon on a Monday, but it appears the average clientele at Gamers Grille voted for Nixon. Twice.

Signature selection: Gamers Grille pleasantly surprises with its food selection. The A.V. Club expected a Golden Corral-esque buffet, at best, but the menu was made to order, and included a bunch of reasonably priced bar food. We went with a pretty okay hamburger (for $5.50) and fries, and a side of chicken strips (for $3). The food won’t garner Gamers Grille a Michelin star, but it’s actually not that bad. At the very least, it can drown the sorrows of losing to a computer program that is engineered to prevent you from ever winning substantially.

Chance of return visit: If you’ve developed a taste for gambling, and for $5 cheese curds, then you’ll be back. But if you’ve decided to live like Philip Baker Hall in Hard Eight, you’re better off going up to the Ho-Chunk casino in the Dells. At least that location has more than slots.