J. Gilligan’s Bar & Grill

J. Gilligan’s Bar & Grill

400 E. Abram
(817) 274-8561
www.jgilligans.com

Located on Abram, between Collins and Center.

J. Gilligan’s World Famous Irish Nachos

The ‘Best Dressed Chest’ is a grilled chicken sandwich w/guacamole on a kaiser roll.

J Gilligan’s is a restaurant, a draft house, and basically the party place for Arlington. Famous for their Irish Nachos, the restaurant has also won “Best in Arlington” for its cheeseburger. This place ain’t fancy, that’s for sure. It looks like a road house. But the atmosphere is relaxed, the staff is friendly, and the food is good and reasonably priced.

You can choose to eat in the restaurant (non-smoking) or the bar (smoking) which is decorated with neon beer signs, plus a pool table, a video games. There’s also a stage in the bar area for live music (check their Web site for upcoming performances).

So what exactly are Irish Nachos? Served in a skillet (full order $6.29, 1/2 order $5.29), the cottage fries are naturally cut and toped with cheddar cheese, bacon bits, chives, onions, tomatoes and jalapenos. Go ahead and splurge by adding grilled chicken for $2.99.

The burger menu ranges in price from $3.69 to $5.99 depending on whether you order 1/3 pound or ½ pound. I suggest the Gilligan’s House Special (the vote-winning cheeseburger) because the price ($4.99 for 1/3 lb) includes fries or onion rings or chips.

There’s a pretty good variety on the menu, not just typical bar food. Sandwiches include: Philly steak, hog heaven, chicken fried steak, hot turkey, hot ham, buffalo chicken and club. Entrees (with Texas toast and two sides) include chicken fried steak or chicken, hamburger steak, rib eye, grilled chicken or chicken strips.

Reasonably priced overall, the most expensive item on the menu is the 10oz Ribeye Steak for $10.99. I suggest any of the menu items with chicken, whether it’s the grilled chicken dinner, “Chad’s Chicken Choice” salad, or my favorite—the “Best Chest in the West” chicken sandwich. Go ahead and upgrade to the “Best Dressed Chest in the West” ($6.29) for only 30-cents more because you get a generous dollop of guacamole. The “Best Chest” chicken sandwiches are served on a Kaiser roll.

Lunch specials are Monday thru Friday, 11am to 3pm. The Kid’s Menu includes a Blue Bell ice cream cup.

J Gilligan’s is also a great place for groups/families visiting Arlington to hold their special events, whether it’s a birthday party, youth sports teams, reunions, wedding receptions, banquets, or holiday parties. A private room can accommodate groups of up to 200 people and you can also ask about hiring a dee-jay, live music, or a juke box.

Groups of 40-or-more can choose a Buffet menu to cut down on costs. Choices for the buffet are: beef/chicken fajitas; cheeseburger/chicken strips/grilled chicken (served with Irish nachos); or chicken fried steak/chicken fried chicken/grilled chicken & steak.

Party trays (whether your party is at J Gilligans or elsewhere) are available and cost only $25 to $45 depending on the menu item (e.g., wings, fajitas, cheese sticks, Irish nachos, quesadillas, meatballs, chicken strips, etc.).

They can also set you up for an off-site party because they rent tents and sell ice. Call Randy Ford at (817) 980-4255 to ask about planning an event.

By the way, Thursday nights at J Gilligan’s is Bike Nite from 6pm-9pm with drink specials.

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Bobby V’s Sports Gallery Café

Bobby V’s Sports Gallery Café
4301 S. Bowen (half block north of I-20)
Daily, 11am to 2am
(817) 467-9922
bobbyvsports.com

Bobby V’s is on Bowen, just north of I-20.

For dessert, the banana-caramel chimichanga.

The best collection of sports memorabilia in town (other than Legends of Game Baseball Museum @ Rangers Ballpark) has to be here at Bobby V’s Sports Gallery Café. Come to think of it, for sheer volume, this place has the museum beat. Every square inch of wall space is covered by sports memorabilia or large-screen tv’s (over 50 of ‘em). But guess what? The food is good, too! It’s not just a few menu items typical of some sports bars. This is a full-service restaurant and you’d be surprised by the large number of families with kids who were here at 7:30pm on a Friday evening. For the locals, this is a family restaurant. Of course, this place stays open every night til 2am, but serves the whole menu late-night, not just bar drinks. ESPN voted this place the best sports bar in the Metroplex.

The namesake of Bobby V’s is, of course, Bobby Valentine. The long-time baseball manager (most recently for Chiba Lotte Marines in the Japan) was the Rangers manager from 1985-1992. He also managed the NY Mets (’96-’02) and played 10 seasons in the majors for the Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Mets & Mariners. He obviously has tons of friends in sports who’ve contributed to the collection on display here at the cafe.

The memorabilia will keep sports fans entertained. Each table has dozens of baseball/football cards laminated in the table tops. The central area of the dining room is surrounded by ropes like a boxing ring. Tons of sports magazine covers are framed on the walls, many of them autographed by the athlete. Sure, there are tons of Texas Rangers featured. But also autographs from baseball’s best like Bob Feller & Willie Mays. Heck, there’s even a Rusty Staub autographed Colt 45s jersey near the entrance.

The sports-theme is not limited to baseball, and the sports phrasing makes it fun to read the menu. There’s the “Yao Ming Chinese Chicken Salad”, “Mia Hamm & Cheese” sandwich, “Ty Cobb salad”, “Super Bowl of chili”, “Slingin Sammy salmon”, Rollie chicken Fingers”, “Dimaggio Stix” (fried cheese sticks), and “TO’s Touchdown tilapia”.

The Major League Burgers are all ½ lb charbroiled freshly ground beef on sesame seed or wheat buns. The baseball theme is prominent as you choose among the teams that Bobby played for or managed including: Dodger (classic cheeseburger, Chiba Lotte Marine (Bobby’s Japanese team), the Seattle Mariner (jalapenos), San Diego Padre (mushrooms/bacon), NY Met (bacon), Anaheim Angel (mushrooms/guacamole), or Cincinnati Reds (bbq sauce). What is the Texas Ranger burger? Chili & cheese, of course.

Oh, Bobby V’s also serves Irish Nachos, fully disclosing on the menu that the recipe is stolen from J Gilligan’s Bar & Grill. In addition to a full slate of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, nachos, and Tex-Mex, the dinner entrees include pork chops, catfish, chicken fried steak, shrimp, and chicken parmesan.

The restaurant’s Web site www.bobbyvsports.com lists the full menu, but I recommend the Bacon, Avocado & Tomato Pasta ($7.49), but go ahead and add the blackened chicken (additional $2.49).

I also highly recommend saving room for dessert ($4.99 each), especially the banana-caramel chimichanga (my favorite). Also for dessert: Snickers Pie, Peanut Butter Pie, and cheesecake.

Call the restaurant or check on-line for events. Bobby V’s has NTN Trivia daily trivia games, plus Texas Hole ‘Em events.

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