Every once in a while, Henry’s Hat sends out an email to loyal fans, alerting them that the entire menu, including drinks, will be half price for a night. Luckily, my girlfriend happens to be one of those loyal fans, so we set off for that strange area near Universal City to get some ridiculously cheap food.
Henry’s Hat is really a sports bar with a mostly bar-like menu. As someone with an infatuation with bar food, this was great for me. A lot of the food on the menu looked good and some looked fancier than your average bar food. We started off with an order of Aggies’s Chili Con Queso. This was molten cheese and salsa with tortilla chips. And since we were such big rollers for the night, we decided to “Make it Mud.” In doing so, they added black beans, chorizo and avocado and pico de gallo to the mix. Actually, we got the pico de gallo on the side, since those tomatoes and onions would have ruined the whole thing.
The chips were nice and thick, which was necessary for digging into the thick chili con carne. The chili itself was also pretty good, and not too spicy. In the end, I could have used a couple more chips to scoop out the last of the chili, but this was a minor complaint.
For the main course, I ordered The Mission 24th Street Burger. I have no idea where that name comes from, because it does nothing to explain the fire that lies between its buns. This burger has bacon, pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, grilled onions and avocado. A strange mix to be sure, but vastly improved without onions. I started digging in and was quite happy with what I was eating. The burger was nice and juicy, and the cheese and jalapenos added a nice kick to it. Then I reached the middle of the burger and my mouth was set ablaze. I don’t know if they slipped so habaneros in there by mistake or accidentally laced the jalapenos with death sauce, but I started sweating and gasping for water. I have a huge tolerance for spice, but something about that burger destroyed my spice ego. I couldn’t even finish the last few bites for fear of melting.
To be sure, this was a great burger for people who love spicy food. I thought I loved spicy food, but now I am not so sure. Nonetheless, the meat and bun was good, so I know that other burgers that don’t kill my mouth will be good also. For a half-priced meal, we did pretty awesome and I can safely say that Henry’s Hat would also be worth a visit on a full-price day.
