Hello to everyone out there on the interwebz and welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues! Since I’m finally recovering from the crazy Super Bowl weekend, this will be a relatively short post. Actually, it revolves around a restaurant/bar that I tried in downtown Chicago that apparently is one, or perhaps the, sports bar to watch Chicago sports or any event for that matter. I’m talking about Mother Hubbards located at 5 W Hubbard St Chicago, IL 60654.
I had actually never been to this place until someone suggested that we should check it out for Superbowl Sunday. Naturally, I am always down for a new adventure, so we made our way over to the establishment. As soon as we walked in, I could see what all of the hullabaloo was about. The walls were figuratively made of televisions, but it was definitely a good sign that I was not going to have to jerk my head about like a goon to catch a good view of the epic match-up between the Ravens and 49ers. Since I didn’t feel too hungry, I decided to go with something on the lighter side of the menu. I saw that they have the typical bar food like ribs, burgers, and Chicago hotdogs, but the “make your own grilled cheese” option seemed to be more fitting for my appetite at the time. There were so many options that I felt almost like a manically giggling Xzibit on Pimp My Sandwich, but I repressed my foodie urges to not scare our waitress.
“Yo dawg, I heard you like grilled cheez sandwiches, so we put grilled cheez sandwiches in your grilled cheez!”
I ended up choosing Chihuahua and Pepper Jack topped with Guacamole and fresh jalapenos on grilled rye bread. Plus, it came with a side of fries and a cup of homemade chicken vegetable soup.
When it finally came out, I was a bit underwhelmed by how small it seemed to be. It didn’t really seem to have the bombastic presentation of a previous grilled cheese restaurant we visited (See The Big Cheese). However, I was not planning on judging a sandwich by its crust. In reality, I found the sandwich to be a great fusion of Latino flavors with an American comfort food staple. Starting with the bread, it was pan-grilled to golden perfection, and the fleeting caresses of the caraway seeds provided an extra je ne sais quoi. The cheeses were plentiful but didn’t have very strong flavors. I know that the two aforementioned types of cheese aren’t blues by any means, but I would have appreciated a little more pop from the Pepper Jack. As for the guacamole, I’m not sure what separated it from the avocado option on the option, but it just seemed like they mashed up an avocado for my sandwich. There weren’t any discernible onions, tomatoes, and/or lime flavors that I am accustomed to tasting in any standard guacamole. It wasn’t a terrible spread but merely average. The jalapenos, on the other hand, were very fresh rings of seed packed flavor discs. They were crunchy and nipping my taste buds like a herd of feral Chihuahuas. Plus, I found that even though there was a generous helping of the guacamole on top of the jalapenos, not once did I fear for the safety of my sandwich. Normally these types of sandwiches with slippery spreads fall apart very quickly when you’re on a feeding frenzy, but Mother Hubbards makes a tasty and well-constructed bite to eat. As for the fries and soup, the fries were pretty tasty since they were golden and crispy and barely greasy. The soup was naturally the perfect side for the sandwich, and the hearty chunks of chicken and fresh carrots and onions fortified me against the bone-chilling Chicago winter gusts I encountered after the game. The entire dining experience was enjoyable, and the wait staff was very attentive throughout the game. Even though my team didn’t win, I felt I scored a mini-victory in choosing a tasty menu option.
So if you’re looking for a solid sports bar to watch your favorite team or a place to hold a boisterous get together with equally loud flavors, then come on down to Mother Hubbards!
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