By TIERNAN O’NEILL – Web Writer
Herschel’s Famous 34 Pub and Grill opened on Feb. 3 at 320 E. Clayton St. NCAA Football Hall-of-Famer Herschel Walker, the restaurant’s owner and namesake, played at the University of Georgia from 1980 to 1982, winning the Heisman in 1982 and gaining national fame.
Unfortunately, it seems as though Walker has rushed into a new field as a restaurant owner and the result is far from a touchdown. The initial impression upon entering Herschel’s Famous 34 is that the location is a modern, clean-looking space, but after a moment the smell of stale beer and grease comes over like a wave, reminding customers that they are standing in what is, essentially, a T.G.I. Friday’s. The menu itself spans from stereotypical Asian food to Southern classics with a demented twist; it is disjointed, a strange mix of greasy bar food and attempts at fine cuisine.
The wait staff is friendly, however they take the orders on tablets that they have not been taught how to use.
The fried oysters are plated on a bed of wilted, undressed greens and when bitten into, the egregiously over-cooked oysters crumble into a salty flour like substance. The crab cakes, on the other hand, are plated nicely with a curry aioli, however when touched with a fork, the cake falls apart. In a general sense, the appetizers are reminiscent of a 1960s cookbook, attempts at classic dishes transformed into something new and exciting.
As for the entrees, Herschel’s Famous 34 claims to be famous for it’s hot wings. The sweet jerk wings were overpoweringly floral and the teriyaki wings were drowned in sticky artificial tasting sauce.
The so called “Hail Mary Wedge” is a dish consisting of old lettuce and cold fried chicken bits smothered with a thick brown sludge-like vinaigrette. Then came the greatest disappointment of the night, “The Pit Burger”, a rubbery burger patty filled with mounds of depressingly bland pulled pork.
If one is craving sub-par, previously frozen food, then Kroger’s freezer aisle would be a more frugal, and much less disappointing option than Herschel’s Famous 34.
