Burger Review: Muggbees Sports Cafe
Posted Wednesday, November 30, 2011Muggbees is a sports bar located in Anderson off Beechmont Ave, tucked back in a strip mall across the street from a Volkswagen dealership.
We stopped in for lunch one cold, rainy afternoon, walking around the prominent bar. The dimly-lit, two-tiered room of dark woods was cast slightly aglow from the myriad LCD screens and neon beer signs surrounding the last of the late-lunch patrons.
Muggbees offers a small, laminated menu of typical bar food: wings, burgers, fried food and a few salads. Urbanspoon photos of Muggbees' burgers had caught our eye. They come with unlimited toppings, and there are curiously healthy-sounding side items on the menu beyond the more standard french fries and chips, like green beans.
The eight-dollar burger was most impressive in size, the fluffy bun beautiful. The toppings I'd chosen --green peppers, mushrooms and swiss cheese-- were tasty and seemed fresh. Unfortunately, the burger itself was fairly mediocre. The meat had a strange, gray appearance to it, as if it had been steamed in a high school cafeteria. No grill marks were discernible, nor was there any of that crusty char, grilled meat flavor one craves from a perfectly cooked burger. Instead, the meat seemed a bit dry with a slight, somewhat metallic aftertaste lingering on the tongue for several long seconds.
When I ordered the green beans as a side, I'd expected to receive them served in a ramekin or similarly small dish. We couldn't hide our shocked faces as the waitress instead presented a burger resting against a massive mound of green beans flecked with real bacon --a hearty accompaniment that nearly overshadowed the enormity of the burger. But for all that bacon, the beans seemed remarkably bland, belying the meaty flavor its presentation promised.
The bar offers the obligatory "Man vs. Food" style challenge it calls the "Muggabeast:" a triple cheese burger with three 3/4-pound patties and two sides, which must be eaten in a predetermined time. It's unfortunately made more challenging armed with the foreknowledge that there are far better burgers in Cincinnati you could be abusing your stomach over.
Muggbees' signature menu item --its burger, needs work. The toppings are great; the side items interesting, but you can't have what should have been the star of the lunch outshined by what's on top of and next to it.
8112 Beechmont Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45255513-474-3600
Rating: 2.0 out of 4
= Outstanding
= Good
= Poor
The best TACO joint in the city. I go there as a treat to myself every Monday. TEX MEX TACOS are delicious culinary treats that look beautiful and taste great. I'm so impressed with this place that I never explore the other items on the menu. If you don't get your taco fix here, you're losing in life.
posted: Tue., Apr 27th, 2021 @ 2:37 PM
My Wife and myself dined at Ferrari’s on Saturday and the Food and service was great/ I had the Butternut Squash Ravioli with misc nuts and sauce and it was the best meal I’ve had there/ My wife had the Fish and Vegetables and was very happy/ I also got a couple of their pizza and olive loaves of bread/ The bread is always a hit at work.
posted: Mon., Nov 23rd, 2020 @ 1:14 PM
@Rick: Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have to remember to give them a try.
posted: Sat., Nov 21st, 2020 @ 9:06 AM
Try Joe's Pizza located at Airway and Smithville Rd. You might like it...That's one of favorite haunts. I definitely think it beats Cassano's.
posted: Fri., Nov 6th, 2020 @ 4:19 PM
Hands down the best Indian in the area. I have yet to find their yellow Punjabi dish anywhere. It is my favorite, and what keeps me coming back time after time. I think I have been here over 100 times. I love this place.
posted: Thu., May 28th, 2020 @ 12:03 PM
I found a gyro I keep thinking about
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tazikis-mediterranean-cafe-cincinnati
their lamb gyro is about 2-3 bucks higher in cost than a gyro elsewhere - B U T - it is made with whole pieces of lamb meat, not the lamb and beef loaf that all other Gyro joints in Cincinnati seem to do
it is a chain. A minus for me, and I suspect for you as well.
But its good.
really, really good
one caveat: skip the baklava as it is not made in-house
posted: Mon., Dec 9th, 2019 @ 12:43 PM
I'll take your word for it, then.....it is fairly close to work so it'll be an upcoming lunch
I also need to try out this little taco wagon near Quatmans in Norwood
posted: Mon., Sep 9th, 2019 @ 6:21 PM
Hi @TJ - We were pretty impressed with the quality of the items, which I think justifies some of the pricing. I really liked the house-made tortillas and their salsas. Chilero offered some extra little touches that were a pleasant surprise. :)
Just by way of comparison...that same week we'd tried the new Mazunte location downtown...and our experience at Chilero beat them out.
posted: Thu., Aug 29th, 2019 @ 10:18 PM
Great food and fantastic atmosphere
posted: Wed., Aug 28th, 2019 @ 8:29 PM
Seems very pricey for a mostly carryout/counter-service joint
posted: Wed., Aug 28th, 2019 @ 5:51 PM