Happy Hour of the Week
Picks and Pans at Cafe Nell
Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 16, 2010 at 01:00PM
16 Comments
Remember in those old Warner Brothers cartoons when Wile E. Coyote would almost catch up to the Road Runner—right before the latter took off in a blinding burst of speed that left the road aflame? Well, now you have an idea of how fast I want to get out of the office today. The sun is out, there’s a beer fest going on, and I still have to iron my cargo shorts.
Since brevity is the soul of wit, I will recap my Happy Hour visit to Cafe Nell by describing its various components as either rocking or sucking. Besides, our analytics indicate that in the kingdom of short attention spans, it’s best to get right to the point.
IT ROCKS: Happy Hour eats are varied, inexpensive, and plentiful. Particularly applause worthy was the herb omelet and french fries ($4); the tangy barbecue bacon slider ($2.50) and the fried onion and pickle slider ($2.50). The head-on collision of spicy mustard, crunchy onion slice, and dill pickle was totally Einstein.
IT SUCKS: The Old Bay Peel and Eat shrimp ($5) had all traces of the sea boiled right out of them. Anyone for packing peanuts?
IT ROCKS: The Tom Collins (gin, lime juice, and club soda, $4) was perfectly executed. This old lady staple was tart and bitter, and it absolutely annihilated a Sahara-like thirst. It’s brawnier brother, the John Collins (same except bourbon instead of gin, $4) was surprisingly genteel, and equally well crafted.
IT SUCKS: A cute little cocktail called the Kozy Kitten (vodka, peach puree, maraschino, vanilla, and soda) was one of the all-time worst beverages I’ve ever sampled. A tablemate described it as “vanilla toothpaste” and I can’t improve upon that. For all we know, it’s still sitting on the table, three-quarters full. Poor kitty!
IT ROCKS: The service was speedy and super efficient. A waiter who can gather up a deluxe load of dirty crockery and take a complicated drink order at the same time is a real pro.
IT SUCKS: My contempt for Happy Hours that end at 6 PM are well documented.
IT ROCKS: It took the bartender a while to change the keg for a pint of Ninkasi, so they treated us to a plate of lamb skewers with red bean puree (normally $6). The tender, succulent meat was cooked to a turn and the puree was so flavorful we started dipping our fries in it. This is the sort of consideration that inspires customer loyalty.
IT ROCKS: The four of us ordered a barge full of food and drinks, including a whole pan-fried trout with french fries and coleslaw, and we escaped with a bill that came to less than $20 apiece. Despite my fondness for dives, Cafe Nell is a quality dining establishment with bountiful, expertly prepared entrees that are worth every nickel. If you can find a way to avoid the adorably named Kozy Kitten, you will most definitely stumble home stuffed and satisfied.
Tags: Happy Hour Cheap Eats
If I’m not mistaken, this is the place my wife and I tried to visit for brunch on a recent weekend morning, only to discover that it wasn’t open yet. As we’re not super-early weekend risers, we’re used to having the opposite problem, i.e., lines out the door. Clearly happy hour is when we should be making our way there.
Whoa, Nellie! Thanks for the guidance.
Maybe they should let the pour kitty retire and employ the Snake in the Grass instead: 1 part vodka, 1 part creme de menthe, and top off with lemonade. On the other hand, if they insist on something feline related—how about a fancy little thing called Satan’s Whiskers? 1oz gin, 1/2oz grand marnier, 1oz dry vermouth, 1oz sweet vermouth, 1oz orange juice, and 2 dashes orange bitters. As a side note, my spam filter words are “the exodus”. Clearly it’s time for a drink somewhere. That office will keep until Monday.
Maybe you can visit a few more times to weed out the IT SUCKS items before I cross the river and try to park in NW Hell. Recession-pricing in the city-proper is something to see!
Maybe you can visit a few more times to weed out the IT SUCKS items before I cross the river and try to park in NW Hell. Recession-pricing in the city-proper is something to see!
Maybe you can visit a few more times to weed out the IT SUCKS items before I cross the river and try to park in NW Hell. Recession-pricing in the city-proper is something to see!
Uh, I thought I was blowing the “captchas”, so now you have my comment in triplicate. Perhaps I’m actually blowing the legal limit!
Those lamb kebabs are the real deal — totally with you on that, and the Tom Collins. And thanks for telling me what NOT to order when I go there next!
I’m going to start a new fad of literally applauding food.
@SP: I think most dishes would appreciate a big hand before being stuffed into your piehole.
The Kozy Kitten is an homage to a massage parlor/brothel, housed in the building now inhabited by Cafe Nell, during the neighborhood’s down-trodden days in the 70s.
The massage parlor was named THE KOZY KITTEN.
Thanks for dining with us and thanks for the comments.
Van
What’re they called again? Dude, I feel like something ‘ovid the top’…
Here I lie, who played with tender loves, Naso the poet, killed by my own talent. O passerby, if you’ve ever been in love, let it not be too much for you to say: May the bones of Naso lie gently.Blog needs more references: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetarians
@Van: Interesting story. I didn’t know your place used to be a brothel in the ’70s. @Landon: We appreciate poetry here. @Jim: Wikipedia? You bring me wikipedia?
Parking is super easy at Cafe Nell – - they have a parking lot and there’s almost always a spot available. I love their breakfast, the Green Eggs are amazing. I took some out of town guests for breakfast a few weeks ago and they can’t wait to go back!!
We used to love Nell’s until the night my fiance’ attempted to order a cocktail called a “milkshake” and the bitchy waitress told us we should try the Denny’s by the airport! After we pointed it out on the menu she said she didn’t have the ingredients to make it because it was a brunch drink. Okay, I can understand that, but the attitude? Sorry Nell’s, you’ve lost our business.