Search Previous Happy Hours

Monday, November 25, 2013

Mad Mex - the History and Allure of the Gobblerito

THE BEAST
Somehow, I've never had a Gobblerito. Sticking an entire Thanksgiving dinner in a burrito seems counter-intuitive, but I have to admit it was delicious. As you can see from the picture, this thing is a real beast. My dining companion did not finish her Gobblerito.

The Mad Mex Gobblerito consists of turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing and a fine slathering of gravy. They also serve some mediocre cranberry sauce on the side! I enjoyed the presentation and I felt that the ingredients were well proportioned. Personally, I would have enjoyed less potatoes, but I also seem to be the guy who has the least potatoes on his Thanksgiving plate. I'm sure others would find the proportions appropriate.

 Based on some very brief internet research, it appears that these things are only available in Pittsburgh. This does not shock me as we are a very fat city obsessed with portion size. Urbandictionary.com credits Mad Mex with the creation of the Gobblerito and also offers this secondary definition for the term.  "Gobblerito" The action of jizzing into a borritto before tricking your friend into eating it. Example: Mr. Feeny pissed me off so I gave him a Gobblerito. Well, that sounds neat. Thanks Urbandictionary.

Never surrender.
This is how much of the Gobblerito I was able to consume before I was full. However, I went on to house the entire thing. Two hours later, it would be an understatement to say that I had buyer's remorse. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, this concoction was invented by Mad Mex's Kitchen Manager, Matt Glick. Here's to you Mr. Glick, thanks for the diabetes!


Mad Mex on Urbanspoon

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Buckhead's Saloon

POTACHOS
For quite sometime I went to Buckhead's every Tuesday night. They used to have this remarkable special where you could order twelve-ounce draft beers for twenty-five cents. They would only let you order three at a time, so we devised a scheme. Five of us would rotate ordering drafts and rotate bartenders. We'd hide our beers out of sight in the back of the bar until we amassed roughly 80-100 beers. Needless to say, they eventually caught on and ended the special. It was the first time I played a part in ruining a bar special. The dream is now dead. I'm relegated to spending a dollar-fifty on Blue Moons at 1311 on Tuesdays.

In all my days drinking at Buckhead's, I never tried the food. I think I may have had some cold chicken wings out of a chaffing dish once, but I'm pretty sure I never ordered anything. I genuinely expected to have to write a terrible review of a menu item that was simply listed as, "potachos." Imagine how shocked I was when they actually turned out to be a rather delicious snack.

Fresh cut potato chips slathered in bbq sauce and nacho cheese with a fine dusting of bacon. While I'm not exactly proud to admit that I consumed this dish, it was pretty damned good.  The textures and flavors worked together harmoniously. Exactly the type of snack you would want if you were attempting to consume 80-100 twelve-ounce draft beers or if you love NASCAR or hunting. My main complaint is that the kitchen fan must not have been working because my jacket smelled like potacho grease and hot trash for at least five days following my visit to Buckhead's.

Buckhead's can be a fun Pittsburgh bar to visit. They host all sorts of events, there's tons of space, they have all sorts of dead animals on the walls and the bartenders are cute. But there's something about the vibe of Station Square that makes you feel like you're trapped somewhere between the 1990's and 2004.

Buckhead Saloon on Urbanspoon

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Fanattics - Squirrel Hill

TACO PIZZA

The crazy lady bartender at Fanattics told me that they want to close Fanattics and turn it into a fancy craft beer bar. (I'd like to note that they chose to spell the word fanatic as fanattic and I am a learned man.) I used to like craft beer bars. Now I realize that there are just too many of them popping up and I really don't like many of the beers they offer anyhow. When did dive bars and juke joints go out of style? Why do I need fancy beer when I can get Yuenglings for $1.50 each at Fanattics? That's roughly four to six Yuenglings for the price of one cheap craft beer.

At a craft beer bar I typically expect a bunch of dumb shit on an illegible menu written on a chalkboard like wraps, some dish containing the words "thai" and "salad," and $26 hot dogs. You know what I don't expect to see at a craft beer bar? Motherfucking taco pizza. This grilled taco pizza was exquisite. A great cheese blend, plenty of meat and a nice grilled crispy crust.  Taco pizza is in fact so good that it has an entire Facebook page dedicated to its resurrection. Hey Pizza Hut, Bring Back Taco Pizza

Find me one Facebook page dedicated to bringing back craft beer bars. I dare you. 


These are arguably the finest chicken wings in Squirrel Hill. Additionally, they are some of the only chicken wings I've had in Squirrel Hill. I thought the wings were obviously better than Silky's or the Squirrel Hill Cafe. Very crispy with some interesting sauce choices. I went with the spicy triple cheese and I adored them.

I don't want to go overboard with my disdain for craft beer bars. I'm just saying that if they continue to reproduce at this alarming rate there will be nowhere left for me to smoke a ton of indoor cigarettes and drink $1.50 Yuenglings.

EDITORS NOTE: Fanattics no longer exists. It is now a beer bar called the Independent. 

Fanattics on Urbanspoon