Clancy's American Grill
2191 S. Harbor Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92802
I have been pretty lax about trying to find the best spots to watch football this year. It is not that I do not love the sport, but it is hard to get motivated when you know that your team is going to lose every week. My beloved Jaguars started off the season miserable, and as the year has gone on, they have become even worse than that. Before our recent one-game winning streak, we had lost eight games in a row, and thirteen overall games through the last two seasons. Not enough to get me motivated to roll out of bed on Sunday mornings.
There is, of course, fantasy football, which is my saving grace this year. For the first time in recent memory, all three of my teams are pretty competitive, and one of my teams is actually in the lead this late into the season. Very rare for me, as I usually do not even have to check my teams past October because they are usually decimated by injuries. So we headed to a sports bar that we have wanted to try for some time now. I went to Clancy's knowing that my Jaguars would lose, but I was just hoping my fantasy players would put up some good numbers.
Clancy's American Grill is located in the middle of the Anaheim resort district, just a couple blocks away from Disneyland. Some might think this is an odd place for a sports bar, but after dealing with the long lines, horrible food, and all those tourists at Disneyland, park-goers might just want to unwind from the happiest place on earth by having a few cocktails and watching some sports. I know I'd rather avoid Disneyland, even if I had to watch my horrible Jaguars play.
We got to Clancy's right around 9:45 on a recent Sunday. One problem, they don't open until 10. This is a pet peeve of mine because we like to watch the pregame shows, and scout out the best seats to view the games. Luckily when they did open the doors, we had our pick of places in the dining room, as most people headed straight to the bar. We grabbed a seat in the middle of the room, which had a good view of about seven TVs. Clancy's was never more than half full during our three-hour stay here, and they were very accommodating about switching games on for people, including the one guy that wanted to watch NASCAR. The atmosphere was pretty quiet, which can probably be attributed to the restaurant is only half full. About halfway through the first quarter of the games, we ordered food. I was hoping that Clancy's food could be a distraction from watching my team throw another interception. Let's see how it all worked out for us.
Katie wanted to start out with something light, so she had the Hot Pretzel ($5), which she shared with Richard. This pretzel was served with a cheese sauce for dipping. I'm not into pretzels, but both Richard and Katie liked this pretzel enough that it was gone in a matter of seconds. Katie actually thought this tasted pretty fresh, and it was baked recently.
If there's one thing I have learned while taking pictures for this blog, it's very hard to get a great shot of a burrito. This was the case at Clancy's as well, but at least they cut it in half, so I could photograph what everyone always cares about while eating a burrito, the insides. Both Katie and Richard ordered this Breakfast Burrito ($10) which starts with a base of eggs, potato and cheese, then you choose between bacon, sausage, or chorizo. They both went for bacon. Is there something I should know about you two? They both thought this was a pretty average burrito, which was filling but did not knock their socks off. Richard felt it was kind of boring, which is funny since he loves flavorless Chipotle burritos so much. You would think he would be used to boring burritos by now. Sorry big guy, could not resist taking a shot at your Chipotle fanaticism.
Not content with the breakfast burrito, Richard attempted to awaken his taste buds with the Half Pound Clubhouse Wings ($5). At Clancy's, they offer eight styles of wings, and Richard tried the Mango Habanero version. He seemed pretty pleased with his choice. These started out sweet, but then the habanero kicked in to provide some heat. Not overwhelming, but just enough to make its presence felt. The wings were pretty good-sized, and the fact that these are sold by the weight, you get about four wings per half a pound. Keep that in mind when ordering these wings at Clancy's.
You probably thought I was too disgusted watching my Jaguars to eat, but you would be wrong. I used this Farmhouse Burger ($12) to distract me from the onslaught that the Colts were giving us. This burger came with a lot of my favorites on it; fried egg, bacon, tomato, and mayo. I ended up really liking this burger. The fried egg had a good amount of yolk, which always makes every burger better. The bacon was nice and crisp, the meat was seasoned well, and the bun was pretty soft while maintaining its structural integrity. I would have liked some cheddar incorporated on his burger, but it was a pretty good hamburger. The fries were your average run of the mill style fast-food fries. Nothing too great.
So how does Clancy's rate when it comes to becoming our ultimate Sunday football hangout? If you remember from our other football-related posts, we have three criteria that we look at when judging places for the Sunday football experience; ambiance, service, and food. Clancy's did a great job with service. Our waitress was right on top of everything, and even though she left midway through the games, her replacement filled in admirably for the remainder of our visit. The food was pretty good, but nothing that really rocked our world. My burger was above average, but the breakfast burrito needed help here. They do have a pretty extensive menu, so it might be worth exploring it in depth on future visits. The atmosphere was just okay here as well. The restaurant was half full, but no one was really making a sound, other than what appeared to be the regulars at the bar. I'm not saying that I want other bar patrons yelling in my ear, but I'd like to have more of a stadium vibe going on. This was almost like watching the game at home. So it's off to another sports bar to see if they can become our ultimate Sunday football hangout. First, though, I need some time to recover from watching my woeful Jaguars.
Out of five police badges, (because of the Simpson's, Chief Wiggum's first name is Clancy), five being best to zero being worst, Clancy's American Grill gets 2.5 police badges.
For more information about Clancy's American Grill, go to their web site here: http://clancysamericangrill.com/home.html
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