Tag: Worcester Foodies LXII: The Hangover Pub

Having just opened, Hangover Pub on Green Street in Worcester has already made an impact in the media for its use of bacon—from appetizer to entree, from cocktails and dessert. While the restaurant’s initial concept was to create meals to cure the hangover caused by whatever liquor a patron over-consumed, they have evolved to a concept that is simple: creating great food that cures you from the hangover of life.

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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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Bacon and Bourbon! Yes, at the Hangover Pub

Steak Frites: Watercress cilantro chimichurri, truffled house cut fries, shaved pecorino from Hangover Pub in Worcester, MA

The Hangover Pub (named because of the hangover meals it was intended to provide),  at 102 Green Street in Worcester, MA, is just down the street from the Dive Bar. You’ll know the place if you are a local. It has a city parking lot right next door which is very handy. It’s pretty small and tucked away with several other businesses. When you walk in, theres a very sizable bar and several hightop tables. When I arrived, the restaurant was already full—and it was only 6pm on a Tuesday night! That’s a good sign.

When we came in, the hostess immediately knew we were with the Foodies group—probably because I didn’t have a beard and skinny jeans on and was about twice the age of most everyone in the bar. She took us to the back room where our party was seated. Our waitresses came over right away to take our drink orders. I had the Bacon Bourbon Manhattan. A very delightful cocktail garnished with a giant piece of brown sugar/maple glazed bacon.

Our party of 18 mingled for a while and then sat down to order. First I ordered the “Man Candy,” no it wasn’t some sort of hunky dude with a beard and fuzzy chest. It was a glass of thick cut bacon that was covered with brown sugar and a maple glaze. Yes, I did share, but I could have eaten them all myself; it was a wonderful way to start off my meal. Then I ordered the Steak Frites with watercress, cilantro, chimichurri and truffled house cut fries with pecorino. The fries were a hit right away. I love truffled house cut fries and shared with my friends who enjoyed them very much. The steak was sliced and I had asked for it to be cooked medium rare. It was cooked perfectly, although I suspect it had sat waiting before arriving with the other meals as it wasn’t as juicy as I’d hoped (but, it is hard to plate and serve a party with so many people at once, especially since it’s a pub and not a full service restaurant, but, I enjoyed it nonetheless).

Our waitresses were on the ball and were there to help us out in any way. Even Jay, the owner, came over to chat with us and thank us for our patronage. He was very charming and helpful, stressing that “anything you need, just ask.” We all found that to be nice and a fun challenge!

All in all, I found it to be a fun pub to go to for its trendy hipster attitude and bacon flair. It would definitely be a great place to stop in for a couple of drinks and apps with friends or for a quick bite if you are in the mood for some bacon.