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| - For our first visit to Station Square, we were looking for a place to grab some dinner before a night out at Whim. There is no shortage of restaurants in Station Square, but they're all (I think) chains and franchises and nothing really caught our fancy. I remembered Houlihan's from my childhood back in Michigan, and the menu looked tasty, so we stopped in to check it out.
Boy, is this NOT the Houlihan's from my childhood! A glance at their Wikipedia page shows that back in 2002, Houlihan's revamped their concept from a cozy family restaurant to a still cozy but more trendy restaurant fit for both families and for other groups of folks. It's still pretty casual and we felt overdressed in our club clothes!
They have a large drink menu with some interesting options, like a "martini flight" that lets you try smaller portions of cocktails. I ordered the X-Rated Flirtini which I was a little embarrassed to say out loud, but it ended up being a tasty, sweet, and strong concoction of champagne and vodka with some exotic fruit juices. Unfortunately, our server forgot to bring it out. I did remind him, after our appetizers had already come, and then he went off to get it, but I was disappointed that the whole thing took about 15 minutes. By the time I got it, our entrees were out.
There is a FourSquare deal here for a free order of fries when you check-in, so we took advantage and ordered the Truckstop Fries, which were covered in "chipotle cheese sauce." They were tasty, and we observed that they were less salty than we expected, which was a good thing. I definitely didn't get the "chipotle" flavor, which to me is smoky and rich. They were clearly going for a southwestern vibe, I think there were scallions and such on the fries, but the chipotle flavor was missing.
We ordered some mini-sliders that were tastier than we expected - I think the pulled pork in particular we enjoyed, and we split the Brentwood Chicken Sandwich which was simple but fresh and well-prepared. It was a good amount of food for two people and we were way too full for dessert.
I wouldn't go out of my way to return here, but I feel like this is a good option if you are down in Station Square and need to grab a bite. The menu is creative, you will absolutely find something that satisfies a craving. Even the unhealthy options taste a little more fresh, because they don't overdo the salt. Still, service was a bit slow and forgetful, and the food really wasn't memorable. But sometimes you don't need memorable, you just need dinner.
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