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| - On a stretch of dead space on Babcock Blvd, Hal's definitely delivers. My Girlfriend and I met some friends here for an NCAA basketball game on a Thursday night. Immediately you are welcomed by a friendly and inviting open space, the bar to restaurant ratio is about 50/50 with no wall separating the two. Neither one over powers the other and I wouldn't feel weird bringing children here at all.
The beer selection is very good, as you would expect with a 6 pack shop attached to the other side of the restaurant, liquor is pretty typical of what you would find at most chain restaurants that have full bars. The service was very friendly and helpful.
The only average part of the experience was the food. It's definitely not bad, just nothing to write home about. We had the Salt and Pepper Calamari, which was a tad rubbery but not so much that it ruined the dish, I found it to be a little salty also, but my GF didn't seem to mind. The chicken wings were very good. We mixed dry rub and wet sauces and they were the stars of the show, crispy and juicy. The meatloaf cupcakes were just ok. They had good flavor, but very dense and the mash potatoes were kind of pasty, possibly from not adding enough cream or butter. I absolutely Loved the Sweet Potato fries, some of the best that I've had.
After we ate our dinner the staff noticed that our group was concentrating intently on our Basketball game and offered us a private room with 3 TVs and couches which was very cool.
Overall, I would recommend Hal's. It seemed to attract a large happy hour crowd, which I assume is contributed to the lack of competition in the area. The food is about what you would expect at an Applebee's or TGIF. It won't disappoint, but won't blow you away either.
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