Cheap Eats: Gooch's Grill

(Credit: Andi Berlin/Special to Metromix)

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Cheap Eats reviews

A meal for two under $20

What we ordered: a dozen wings ($6.95), a Ketch’s favorite cheeseburger ($7.95) and a chili dog ($5.95) for a total of $20.85, just passing our Cheap Eats goal of $20 for two people.

Comments: It takes guts to name a restaurant after a man’s private part. Fortunately, Gooch’s Grill on Sixth Street is more of a bar.

And to be honest, the name probably refers to a person rather than the space directly between his gender’s legs. But judging by the sheer amount of porn stars plastered on Gooch’s Myspace, the double entendre might not be a coincidence.

He doesn’t have to worry much, though, because this place comes with a built-in fan base. The bar and grill opened up mid-August in the space formerly occupied by the UA watering hole Belushe’s, right by Arizona Stadium. The building has gone through many incarnations (before Belushe's, it was the Rhino Pub), but this venture seems promising…

Food: The menu here consists mostly of typical bar foods, with section titles like “Goochatizers” and “Goochwiches” as well as a Goochburger on a fresh-baked, poppy seed bun.

We started out with a dozen buffalo wings after a heartfelt recommendation by our waiter, who praised them for not being breaded. It’s important to note that you can only order wings by the dozen here, which makes it harder to nosh on some before your meal. But no matter, the wings were extremely plump and perfectly heated, and tasty with the medium sauce we ordered. We did get some of the vinegary “atomic” sauce on the side, which might have been even tastier.

For the mains, we picked out a Ketch’s favorite (also someone’s name?) and a decently sized chili dog. The chili dog looked how you'd expect, but it tasted outstanding, with a deep brown chili sauce and a soft bun. The cheddar cheese on top was sliced into small pieces instead of being shredded, giving it a clunkier texture when consumed. Although the menu said that the dog came with tomatoes and sour cream, we saw none on the plate.

The Ketch’s favorite sounded like the best thing on the menu, but fell it short of expectations. The dish was basically a burger topped with green chile, pepper jack cheese and a Southwestern cream sauce. When the waiter left before asking me how I wanted it cooked, I took it as a bad sign. The burger came out, and the meat was in a perfect circle like it was one of those prepackaged kinds from the supermarket. They could have just prepared it that way, but the meat was extremely bland and tasted cheap. It’s a pity, because the other ingredients were good together. On the bright side, the beer-battered fries that came with both plates were extremely crispy and delicious.

Service: The man who took care of us was talkative and friendly. Even though it’s a bar, they have waiters taking care of the tables.

Bar: This might be Gooch’s selling point. The place has 24 beers on tap, including favorites Pin Stripe and Shock Top. They also have hard liquor.

Bottom line: If you’re searching for some decent food after a game, this is a great place to look. It’s not exactly my idea of a Friday night but, then again, I’m not a sports fan. I do like the concept of Goochwiches though, so maybe we can work something out…

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