Braving The Conditions, tales from the Watt.

Home of the brave...to surf it is to experience the cold of 45F. Home break- 67th and Holidays, 3/30/2019.
"Innocence to experience. Human nature, baby. Grab it and growl." -Stephen King, The Shining

   Sprung...that's right, we are diving right into the season. No surf yet. Lady Atlantic is way too chilled at 45F. Surf is mellow, but building. Cold front moving in by the end of the weekend bringing better waves for those willing to brave the conditions. Which speaking of, brings me to this week's post. While the ocean's temps were being left to a hopeful future warming trend, we braved conditions of a land-locked nature.
   Alex's Italian Restaurant on west-bound Route 50 as you leave West OC. Built in 1989, for those who may (or may not) remember it, the location was originally Mulligans Sports Bar. Very popular back in the day. Supposedly had been renovated back in the 90's. Obviously, not much in the way of improvements since. Very dated, inside and out. But, this was on my list of new opportunities and we continued to slice our way through 'em. Now, we've passed this place a number of times in days gone by and there always seemed to be cars out front. Upon entering we concluded they must be the employees.

The scene: white pine woodwork, booths, and a lacquered bar covered in old sports trading cards (no doubt left from the Mulligans days), centered in the ceiling of the bar- a dusty fragmented (i.e missing a blade or two) ceiling fan (also from the Mulligan days), a couple of venerable Greys in the corner drinking house wine and munching a calzone...the owner(s), and our grizzled host/bartender who, I might add, was a very pleasant Johnny-on-the-spot with our drinks and orders. There was a young dude, we assumed the cook, who occasionally poked his head out from the back kitchen. And, finally J&J's Pizza next door, that added to the menu with wood-fired offerings. Oh...and us.

LWatt ordered a Spinach Salad that looked the freshest of our choices. Bacon and egg, big mushroom slices, and chunks of tomato. Nothing spectacular, but it tasted fresh. Target and I ordered Old Bay Wings and a BBQ Chicken Pizza. We received Mild Buffalo Wings, which we accepted, and though not crispy, were hot and well cooked. They tasted pretty good, and the sauce had a bit of tang. Still...not crispy. Target will tell you, we like our wings crispy. Even wood-fired should have somewhat of a crisp.

The pizza had BBQ chicken on it, but no BBQ in the sauce. Crust was good, but the base crust was undercooked. It was average at best. Our beer was cold, but my first...a Rolling Rock draft, tasted a bit old...like a skunky, souring taste. In fact, while we value a good dive, this place just felt old and tired. Even the bottles of liquor stacked in the center of the bar area, were covered in a layer of dust. Like a scene outta the Shining. Had to brave the conditions. Doubtful we will do a return visit. The Journey continues.

Alex's Italian Restaurant, 3/28/2019.
THE RATINGS-
Spinach Salad: C+

Mild Buffalo Wings: C+

BBQ Chicken Pizza: C

Beer: D+

Atmosphere: C-

Value: B

Overall Score = 2.08