Tag: Sous Vide

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Sticky and Overly Sweet: Chicken and Waffles

Sous Vide Chicken and Waffles from Hangover Pub on Green Street in Worcester, MA

The Hangover Pub is a place where we heard you can get bacon. Bacon on sandwiches, bacon in the drinks and bacon included in most meals. So with that kind of rumor going around you can imagine how much we were looking forward to our Foodies visit.

It’s a nice sized bar when you walk in and a few side tables; it was bustling and energetic as we made our way to the back room for our party’s seating. The local art work on the walls was excellent and I really admire and enjoy when the local restaurants take the time and effort to have local artists work on their walls – so they get extra kudos from this artist for that!

The menu did not disappoint – we saw bacon everywhere. But my eye caught the pork belly and goat cheese rangoons with fig drizzle. And I am glad I went there, as they were fantastic and the drizzle just added another layer of goodness. I really enjoyed them and would order them again.

But that is where the love stopped for me. I ordered the Sous Vide Chicken and Waffles with great expectations. It came with a bourbon bacon maple reduction covering the crispy chicken and it all sat on top of an onion waffle. It was a nice sized portion and so I dug in. All I could taste was the sticky and overly sweet syrup. The whole thing was covered in this and it made the waffle soggy. I like a little crisp there, and it overwhelmed the entire dish. I could not help but think I should have ordered this reduction on the side so it could have just been dipped in occasionally. I could not even taste the crisp on the chicken with the glaze dripping absolutely everywhere. I tried to scrape it off and most of the fried chicken outer layer went with it. I could not taste the Bourbon or the bacon in there at all. And if the waffle had caramelized onions in it I could not taste them. I was simply disappointed.

Our group had two servers and they were friendly and expedient – which is awesome and I enjoyed our interactions with them all night long.

I think that I would certainly go back and try something else here, drinks and appetizers are worth going for and I would try again and again. It was a fun night and the service and owner were very charming.

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The Foodies’ Hangover (Pub)

Hangover Pub on Green Street in Worcester, MA
CIDER BRAISED STATLER CHICKEN from The Hangover Pub on Green Street in Worcester, MA
CIDER BRAISED STATLER CHICKEN: Sherry cream, apple, bacon, Yukon gold potatoes, Brussel Sprouts

While nutritionists believe in the power of potassium, encouraging people to eat bananas to resolve a hangover, The Hangover Pub is scratching that off the list and ensuring that everyone knows: Bacon is king, partly because of its versatility in elevating the flavors of almost any dish. The Hangover Pub is capitalizing on this.

Wooden half-wall panels are painted a deep red on bottom and chalkboard black on top allowing for handwritten menus and quirky messages throughout the front room. A huge bar, the catchy eye piece centered in the front of the entrance, runs along an entire wall, each shelf lined with some of the great craft beers and liquors to accommodate any menu item. In the front room, customers can sit at the bar or choose a casual high-top pub table and rave with friends about their common love of bacon. The back dining area, which accommodates 20 easily, extends the funky atmosphere from the front room with metal-framed tables and walls that explode with eclectic local artwork, each piece a great conversation starter.

The Hangover Pub's Bacon Manhattan
The Hangover Pub’s Bacon Manhattan

At The Hangover Pub, Executive Chef Michael Arrastia smokes and cures all the bacon used on the menu in-house. Then Arrastia and his staff use all their creativity to keenly prepare and artistically serve incredible bacon-themed dishes. Consider the Porchetta, roasted pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon, drizzled with local honey, mascarpone polenta, pan jus, and green beans; Cider Braised Statler Chicken (2), a sherry cream, apple, bacon, Yukon gold potato dish served with a half chicken breast and Brussels sprouts; the Wagyu Burger, a Grey Hill blue cheese, baby kale, bacon-onion jam, brioche burger served with house fries and smoked sea salt or the Sous Vide Chicken and Waffles (2), chicken and bourbon bacon maple reduction over a caramelized onion waffle – three dishes giving a glimpse into the culinary skills of Chef Arrastia. There are also bacon infused drinks like the Bacon Manhattan and even bacon-themed desserts like Chocolate Stout Cupcakes. Filling every inch of inner lust for bacon flavors, The Hangover Pub may change the minds of nutritionists everywhere.

Not a bacon lover? No worries, the menu also has many items that don’t include bacon like a huge house salad or a Catch of the Day seafood special. And all menu items are priced between $5 – $15 making The Hangover Pub an affordable option no matter what the occasion.

SOUS VIDE CHICKEN AND WAFFLES from Hangover Pub on Green Street in Worcester, MA
SOUS VIDE CHICKEN AND WAFFLES: Bourbon bacon maple reduction, caramelized onion waffle