The Huddle Sports Grill is located on 10th between Idaho and Bannock, which is a little out of the downtown scene. It is located in the space formerly occupied by the Milky Way, and my beloved Sweetwater's Tropic Zone. The Huddle's decor is a vast departure from the bright yellows and oranges of Sweetwater. The paint scheme is much more muted, grays, whites, and splash of red. The Huddle also offers a pretty big array of televisions, to support your sports viewing needs. They have some sports paraphernalia on the walls and by the bar. All in all, the decor was what you'd expect of a typical sports grill.
The beer selection is pretty good, your basic domestics, a good number of microbrews, even a local selcetion from Sockeye brewery (16 tap beers in all, I believe). The beer menu has been inserted into the napkin holders. The idea is great, less clutter, more room on the table, but I found the menu difficult to read and had to tip the entire holder to the side to be able read the selections. TGC
 |
| House Salad @ Huddle Sports Grill |
ordered a burger with ham on it, all of the burgers had interesting sports themed names. I asked the waitress for her recommendation, she recommended the Balsamic Marinated Steak Skewers. Being sucker for balsamic anything I went for it, and ordered a house salad as well.
The salad arrived first, as it should. I was pleasantly surprised by the artful composition of the salad, it is a sports grill. I was disappointed by the lack of carrots (that the menu promised). The salad, while nice to look at, was decidedly boring texturally. I was craving crunch! I hoped the dressing would bring it together. Unfortunately, the dressing was pretty boring, a purchased balsamic vinaigrette, with an awful after taste. I am always disappointed when I order a vinaigrette and it is from a bottle. It takes no time to whip a fresh and tasty vinaigrette (link to a tasty homemade balsamic vinaigrette at allrecipes.com). All in all the salad was pretty dull in flavor, I hoped the main course would save this meal...
 |
| Balsamic Steak Skewers @ Huddle Sports Grill |
Our main courses took longer to arrive than I anticipated based on the number of people in the restaurant (a few tables of patrons, and a table of people I assumed were the owners). TGC says his burger was good, though he declined to have his burger photographed and reviewed here, silly guy. Once again, my dish arrived well plated. I enjoyed the flavor of the grilled red onions and green pepper, they had just enough char from the grill... mmm... good. The balsamic "glaze" was more of a syrup, for me it was over reduced and had lost much of the balsamic flavor. The "glaze," did not add to the flavor of the steak, instead it took away from it. Additionally, it left a funny aftertaste in my mouth, much like the vinaigrette. Which left me thinking, perhaps the problem is the balsamic vinegar the restaurant is using is just of poor quality, that would explain the weird after taste in both the dressing and the glaze. My first bite of steak was pretty good, the char of the grill, with a slice of onion... it was better than I expected. I wish each bite would have been as delicious. There was one very basic flaw with the skewers... the steak pieces were all different sizes. The first piece was cooked to a perfect medium, however, my next piece was well done. Each piece was a different meal, which was disappointing after the first bite.
All in all I was underwhelmed by The Huddle Sports Grill. I recognize they are a sports grill, and are not trying to be a gourmet restaurant. I think that with a few tweaks and attention to detail, the food could be much better. I will probably try them again, but for now my review is:
2½ Whisks
Not bad, not good...
No comments:
Post a Comment