Football Frenzy #8 Rudy's Pub and Grill - CLOSED

Rudy's Pub and Grill

26772 Portola Pkwy.

Foothill Ranch, CA 92610

Okay, I admit I have been pretty lax on trying to find the best sports bar to watch football on Sunday mornings. It has been a crazy fall for me, but I think the real reason is that my favorite team the Jaguars, stink. I know that this is not a sports blog, but they get rid of their quarterback four days before the season, they have a coach who makes some questionable decisions, and they do not play their star player nearly enough. Ugh, it makes me not want to watch football, but I am a true fan, so we headed out to a sports bar I have never been to before, Rudy's Pub and Grill.

I guess I should clarify that I have never been to this location of Rudy's. Their other location on the peninsula in Newport Beach used to be my old stomping grounds. My friends and I used to hang out there, even before they added the retractable roof, and got rid of the pool tables. This location opened in 2008, far away from the hustle and bustle of the Newport location, in the quiet suburban spread of Foothill Ranch.

We got to Rudy's just before kickoff, and lucky for us our friend Richard had saved us two seats at a high top table in the back of the restaurant, where our game was playing. The place was packed with spirited fans, that I was surprised to see in this quiet community. They have lots of TV's, but they seemed too high. The place was also very warm inside. After watching my team give up a touchdown in the first five minutes, I was ready to order some food.

Katie will start us off with her breakfast, the Huevos Rancheros. At Rudy's, this traditional Mexican breakfast was served with black beans. Katie called this, "better than expected". She also felt that the black beans gave this dish a smokiness that really stood out. She also ordered a side of hash browns, which looked, and tasted very similar to those served at McDonald's.

To be honest, I have no idea what Richard was thinking when he ordered this Egg Dipped Bagel. Maybe he was not hungry or did not read the description of this right. Anyways, this bland-looking dish was just called okay by our good friend Richard. I had a feeling Richard would get something off of their lunch menu later on.

This colorful dish belonged to me, the Southwest Scramble. This scramble included eggs, cheese, chorizo, potatoes, onions, and chili. With all of these ingredients, you would expect this to burst with flavor, but the opposite was true. This plate was dry, the eggs were unnoticeable, and Tabasco did not help this dish in the least.

As I predicted, Richard, of course, had lunch here. We had smelled the brisket cooking on the back patio all game long, and I was glad when Richard got it, so I could try a bite. The brisket was cooked perfectly to a nice medium rare. The sandwich was good sized and came with guacamole, lettuce, and tomato. It was good, but the meat could have been more tender. The bun was decent and held up to the contents of the sandwich. Not bad, but I am not sure I would order this sandwich the next time I was here.

Rudy's was an okay place to watch football on Sundays. Our criteria are great food, great service, and great atmosphere. The service was the only thing great while we were here. Our waitress kept coming over and asking if she could get us anything else and refilling our glasses on a regular basis. The atmosphere here is just okay. The restaurant is loud, and the fans are a little more on the rambunctious side. The food is really what does this place in. The breakfasts that we had did not satisfy, and the sandwich was average. Just like my team's lackluster performance this Sunday, Rudy's matched it with a lackluster breakfast.

Out of five leprechaun's, (because the movie Rudy was based on a Notre Dame football player, and their mascot is a leprechaun), five being best to zero being worst, Rudy's Pub and Grill gets 2 leprechauns.

For more information on Rudy's Pub and Grill, click here: http://rudyspubandgrill.com/