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