Continuing on the theme of Boilerdowd's earlier post about Purdue making a number of critical lists, a tip o' the cap to reader Brendan for his quality list of "America's Top Ten Drunk College Foods."Checking in at number 8 on the list is the "Duane Pervis All-American" from everybody's favorite weird-o West Lafayette eatery, Triple XXX. Also, is it "Triple X"? Or is it really Sextuple X? Ponder that brainbender for a while. (This is what you get when Purdue athletics are on hiatus -- food and baseball... which really isn't so bad, I guess.)
Interestingly, I've actually had number 9 on this list as well, the "Fat Darrell" from "R U Hungry" on the campus of Rutgers University. Many a trip to or from Atlantic City has included a detour to this favorite of Rutgers alums, many of whom I know thanks to my Jersey heritage. There are actually many "Fat" sandwiches, and most of them are just an amalgamation (look it up) of some of the most awesome foods fat people like me have ever encountered -- fries, burgers, mozz sticks, chicken fingers, etc... all dumped onto a hoagie roll and served as sort of a sandwich. I know a lot of guys who ate two or three of these things a week in college (what couldn't we eat in college?) but now, in our 30s, when you eat one, you can almost feel your heart gagging. Sorry, heart.
Getting back to Purdue foods, I always enjoyed going to La Bamba's after a night of drinking. In fact, I think I had a regular, sober lunch there once and it was really weird to be in there without dozens of drunks. I also remember thinking that La Bamaba's (burritos as big as your head!) had to be the place whose food was thrown up the most. Right? Regardless, I always ordered the steak torta with cheese... chopped steak on a grilled bun with cheese melted into it.
Any other favorites?
36 comments:
J, not sure if you know this, bu La Bamba is closed. The night I found out, I wept.
IU fans are about to make another Top Ten list, one of my own:
Top Ten coaches that aren't coming to IU but idiot posters on peegs (who aren't even IU grads) still think are coming...
10) Billy Donovan
9) Bob Knight
8) Tom Izzo
7) John Calipari
6) Bob Knight
5) Rick Pitino
4) Steve Alford
3) Ben Howland (yes I saw that one)
2) Isiah Thomas
1) Bob Knight
I'd even be willing to write a guest post one day on the idiocy of IU "fans" for you guys. Enjoy it now, Boilers.
/just had to get that off my chest
Terry Hutchens keeps mentioning Tom Izzo, too.... kind of ridiculous.
I like the Knight reference being there three times.
And please... please please please!! Hire Isiah!!!
And no, Kender, I don't think I knew that. Not good at all. First Utopia Diner, then La Bambas.
Give me a Chicago-style dog or philly cheesesteak from Frank's hot dog stand any Thursday-Saturday night.
Well, technically, La Bamba didn't close; they just left that location. According to the website, there is a La Bamba restaurant on the other side of the river on Sagamore Parkway. But, well, yeah, they're not on State Street anymore.
However, the one down in the cesspool 100 miles to the south did close. What a shame. :-P
Personally, I would rather go to either of these two specialists in San Francisco burritos whose owners are acutally (surprise!) Japanese. The food's still great, though. Oh, that's right, I am talking about local here. ;-)
--Eric
-Beeper's Pizza
-Macri's philly steak
-Eutopia burger
-Garcia's Pepperoni Pizza
Still love Triple XXX...Now go to Route 66 instead; cleaner...but still get the awful service.
MJS- I'm praying for Zeke to steer the ship down in Bloomington. He's the right guy for the job...good recruiter, sound coach, great business mind.
While La Bamba is closed, we do have Qdoba for a late night burrito fix. Personally, my favorite drunk food is Lovshack. It is conveniently located right across from Brother's and next to Jake's. Give it a try next time you're on campus.
I would gladly kill a man if Garcia's would return to West Lafayette. That place was a wet dream on a crust.
Right now I am fond of Lovshack in the village. Any place that has 30+ style of Calzones is good for me!
Another vote for Lovshack... I had totally forgot about that place until I read these comments. Probably something to do with the state of mind I was in every time I ordered it.
... looking for an edit post button to fix my grammar...
i remember when Kevin & messmer told me about the Peanutbutter burger- i thought they were crazy- but now i'm the one telling people about it. man, that sounds good right now...
i kinda miss utopia too.
Remeber after Tim's wedding and we ate so much and Dowd still wanted to go to Qdoba - he was like an 8 year old... i loved it!
Boilerdowd,
You are a Mr. Garcia's Suck Ass!!!
I always the loved the biscuits and gravy from Triple XXX that came in a large styrofoam cup when you ordered them to go. The large scary guy in the corner with handcuffs was a nice addition to the late night atmosphere.
Jimmy John's has to be a close second to La Bambas, especially when that line was too long!
My favorite at Triple XXX was what my buddies and I referred to as the "Triple Fat Boy Special" - we would get the full order of Biscuits and Gravy, put a couple of fried eggs on top and then have them serve it on top of an order of hash browns. Along with about a gallon of their coffee, it was perfect at 3AM after a night at Harry's - plus, you wouldnt need to eat the next day.
Thinking back on it, it's a wonder I didnt have a cardiac arrest prior to graduation
What about Alfono's Stuffed Breadsticks? Come on people! If you never had one, you truly missed out on one of the greatest grease fests in history. Basically you had to bite the bottom end so that the grease would come out. Essentially, their "breadstick" was just an entire pizza rolled up.
Few people could eat an entire one, but I'm proud to say, that I was one of those few.
And don't like a little tax evasion mess up their legacy.
On the other side of quality town is Grogs. Those "pizzas" that were made with spaghetti-o sauce instead of pizza sauce. The original home of the large pizza for $5.
haha great post. i only went to triple XXX once and thought it was kinda nasty, but to each his/her own.
my collegiate post-drinking "mexican" food fix usually involved a trip to the taco bell in chauncey. the line was always close to out the door but part of the fun was laughing at the other drunks in line. don't think i ever had la bamba though (sorry kender), and the only time i ever had qdoba was at penn state, which was awesome, but doesn't count.
whoever mentioned the dog stand there now, that place is also very very awesome.
BTW, your link to the list is messed up... it just goes to the earlier BS post.
one thing i forgot: alcohol + mad mushroom cheese sticks + ranch dressing = an orgasm of greasy happy goodness
1) Taco Bell
2) Jimmy John's
3) Chipotle
J-Money, I too have been to Rutgers. I think I had a Fat Koko. It was glorious. New Brunswick is a terrible town though.
I've sampled many a drunk food before, and I'd have to say, Weiner Circle in Chicago is top notch. They will say to you, "Give me your f'in order, right now" It's almost like a rated "R" version of the Soup Nazi.
The hot dogs are great, and don't forget the cheese fries, the cheese is very gritty and good.
*Note: Last time I was there, some dudes tried to bust out the Michigan fight song in line... and some chick sitting near me decided to sing IU's song... So naturally I sing Purdue's... the Chick decided she didn't not like that very much and smashed her hot dog in my face. Stunned, I returned the favor, actually suffocating her for about 15 seconds. That truly felt great (although she got the last laugh because the mustard she got on my shirt did not come out).
Mookie- It was Chipotle...and it was delicious...and free!!!!
I loved eating LaBambas after Harry's closed! Only food that you can use mouthwash, brush your teeth...and still taste it the next morning! I pretty much alternated between that and the breakfast special at Triple X. I believe it was $2.35 for bacon, toast, hashbrowns and two eggs. I usually went for that after penny beer night. For other cheap grease fests..there was the Mega Meal at Mad mushroom. An xtra large pizza and large cheese sticks for 15 bucks. Me and my two roomates would get grease drunk for 5 bucks each. mmmmmmmm...now time to go eat my whole wheat bread sandwhich with stawberries and a banana. Damn 30 year old metabolism!!
Just read up on these comments... and it saddens me that there are so many votes for places that weren't even there when we went to Purdue.
Lovshack's that place right across from the bars, right? (I almost said "Kazoos" but none of you will remember Kazoos... I think it's still Where Else? now...) Loveshak used to be a laundromat, I think, right guys? And yeah, I saw that hot dog cart... solid. And ingenious. Any of us could have opened that and been rich.
Also, Tim, solid comment on the Alfano's stuffed breadsticks... best college food I ever ate, I think. And yes, I too eventually got fat enough to finish one.
This is all making me very hungry.
yeah, that's lovshack - the building between von's and jake's. when i started at purdue in '99, it was the comic book/video portion of von's. don't ever remember it as a laundromat.
did anyone ever actually eat at the parthenon restaurant? it was there the whole time i was in school (and still is, i think) yet i never went there once. i'd think gyros would go well with beer, but i dunno if they were ever open late enough.
I leave for a few days and look what I miss.
Took my fiancee to XXX - she loved it. I miss Beepers a great deal. I couldn't eat at La Bamba now if I wanted to. I probably miss the Flying Tomato pizza from Garcia's most of all. Al and I like the eye-ballin' booth at the corner window.
J - I have a glass from Kazoos that says "Purdue, IN" on it.
Mad Mushroom pizza was the worst.
Frozen Bear's custard stand by Mackey.
Loveshack is great. My roommate's girlfriend works there...so we frequent it. Taco Bell is a staple, Hot Box is pretty good (breadsticks are cheap), and you can fill up on the hot dogs from Jake's pretty quickly.
mo -
Parthenon has some good eats, but they close at 9.
I think Lovshack opened their main location down the hill next to the Wabash when I was there, but they would sell them out of a little window next to the bars at night. Has this changed?
I definitely took advantage of their late night delivery quite a bit...
I think I will go to Loveshak during Spring Game weekend...my brother-in-law swears by the place.
I ate the daylights out of Snowbear too...
Hotbox pizza's breadsticks are pretty great; there's one in Fishers in a gas station that I go to and then I get gas. (see, it's funny because gas has two meanings)
Alfonso's, I think that place closed during/right after my freshman year ~97/98 though I remember watching (in amazement)a few people attempt to eat those stuffed breadsticks... somebody was right about it being a rolled up pizza. If I recall, they were relatively inexpensive, too.
For we of the '88-'93 vintage, nothing could really beat Taco Hell or XXX. La Bamba came on the scene in '93 (I think) so I never really got a chance to enjoy a 4am burrito until I was an alum.
I'm with T-Mill though; murder was the case if only it brought Garcia's back. That pizza, with the crackly, bubbly crust, was straight money.
Lovshack is great. It is a required stop on the way home from every football game. Also, since I get to cover quite a few high school games in Lafayette I have to stop and bring some home for the Mrs.
Allgedly they are going to open on in Broad Ripple.
How could I forget Mad Mushroom! $5 for a large pizza on Wednesday provided three meals. Then $5 and some quarters was a good night at hte Cactus and I still had about $20 left over from working int he production studio!
It's no wonder I lost 20 pounds when I moved away.
I was at Purdue 1980-1988. In those days we called Triple XXX "Tri Chi" (as in the Greek letter "Chi", rhyming [incorrectly] with "eye") because it was so popular with the drinking Greek crowd. (Sororities and fraternities, not Hellenes.)
I work for Purduegear.com here in West Lafayette and we are currently working on designing a t-shirt with the names and logos of former Purdue-area bars and hangouts.
I came across this blog as I was searching online for a logo for Kazoo's; and #25 Long's post popped up in my Google search. Kazoo's is one of the last bars on our list that we do not have a logo for.
I realize this blog is over 2 years old...but it's worth a shot for me to ask if anyone out there has any logos they are willing to contribute, please contact me at internet@uspurdue.com.
We will happily give a free t-shirt to anyone who submits a usable logo to us. Again, I am very interested in a photo of the Kazoo's glass that #25 Long mentioned...but we will be happy to look at any other logos anyone is willing to contribute.
Thank you!
Boiler Up!
What ever happened to alfonos? I’ve been craving those stuffed breadsticks for 25 years.
What ever happened to alfonos? I’ve been craving those stuffed breadsticks for 25 years.
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