First Taste: Double OT Grille added to E.V. sports bar roster
August 6th, 2008, 11:30 am · Post a Comment · posted by Jess Harter
August. The month of two-a-days. The time of year when football players of all ages — from Pop Warner to the NFL — strap on their helmets and pads to prepare for the fall season.
The time when veteran players begin glancing over their shoulders to see who among the latest crop of newcomers might challenge for a starting position.
The same might be said for sports bars, those television-laden watering holes that vie for East Valley football fans on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, a competition no less fierce than that on the field.
The newest rookie on the East Valley’s roster: The Double Overtime Sports Grille, a promising player that made its debut two weeks ago on Power Road, just south of Baseline Road, in east Mesa.
Like any heralded rookie, Double Overtime, the younger sibling of a Fountain Hills sports bar by the same name, boasts some impressive stats, most notably 35 high-definition TVs.
The sports bar’s physical appearance also can turn heads. The cavernous square room features brick walls and a basketball-court-like wood floor. Two dozen high-top tables display the emblems of NFL or Major League Baseball teams, as do matching bar stools.
Each table is equipped with its own speaker box (pictured at left). Fans can tune into any of eight audio channels, depending on which of the screens they’re watching at the moment.
Of course, many a football player has looked good on paper. The true test is how he performs on game day. So a couple friends and I use our lunch hour to put Double Overtime through a preseason workout.
We start with that most standard of drills: chicken wings ($8.95 per dozen, pictured below). The scouting report describes them as “large,” and they are indeed good-sized. The heat level of the “hot” variety underwhelms, but the wings are tender and dripping with tasty sauce.
Moving on to burgers and sandwiches, a half-pound Grand Slam Burger ($8.95, pictured at top with Double OT owner Dave Gage), decked out with thick slices of bacon and sauteed mushrooms and onions, scores high on the greasy-goodness scale.
Two quarter-pound chili dogs ($7.95) and a French dip sandwich with provolone ($8.95) also easily make the cut, but a patty melt ($6.95) is a bit dry and bland.
We rank the accompanying sides in this order, starting with our favorite: tater tots, onion rings, French fries and sweet potato fries.
We wash down everything with heavy 32-ounce mugs of soda, marveling at how our server carries three in one hand. On game day, of course, they’d be filled with one of Double Overtime’s 11 beers on tap.
Unfortunately, our clock management skills prove to be as bad as the Cardinals’ and we’re unable to try the chocolate chip cookie dough skillet with ice cream ($6).
I guess we need a little practice of own before the football season starts.
Double Overtime Sports Grille
Where: 2235 S. Power Road, Mesa (just south of Baseline Road)
strong>Open: 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday
Prices: Appetizers $4.95-$9.95, salads $$5.95-$8.95, burgers/sandwiches $6.95-$8.95, entrees $8.99-$19.99
Info: (480) 287-5900 or dotgrille.com.
First Tastes offer first impressions of new East Valley restaurants. Full reviews, based on multiple visits, aren’t written until restaurants have been open at least a couple months.
