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| - First visit to Hal's tonight. Started with 6 garlic parmesan style wings. The wings were excellent - the sauce had some bite, the parm was freshly grated over top and there was enough garlic to clear your sinuses, which is how I like them. They were served with ranch dressing and some celery sticks. Very tasty.
My entree was a half-rack of St. Louis style ribs, and I selected mac-n-cheese for my side. It also came with broccoli. The broccoli was very nice - only the florets, no stems, done perfectly. The mac-n-cheese was pretty good. The elbow mac might have been a little overcooked but the sauce was creamy and thick.
Now to the ribs. The serving was large for a half-rack but the only word I can think of to describe them was "soggy". The meat tasted fine, the BBQ sauce was nice, thick and tangy but the ribs had no crust and the texture of the meat was like a pot roast.. I will be the first to admit that might be exactly how they were meant to be, and maybe that's what their clientele likes - it just wasn't what I was used to. I like a little bark on ribs.
For dessert I tried Fried Oreos with ice cream and whipped cream. The ice cream might have been a second-tier brand. Texture was OK but the flavor was too faint.
The service was good, we had our glasses refilled promptly without asking and our server was friendly and attentive. I would describe the atmosphere as LOUD. One of the loudest restaurants I have ever been in. The layout is one large room, with metal ceilings, brick walls and a hard floor so there is nothing to absorb any sound.
My experience merits another visit as there were a large number of menu items I was interested in - fresh spinach salad with bacon dressing, ribeye, quesadillas, Cuban style pulled pork sandwich and others. I might try a slower night like a Monday or Tuesday to see if it's not as loud.
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