The Critical Consumer

From the first moment you see McDougal’s you know it is a cool place. The large deck is creatively adorned with license plates from all over the US and makes for a colorful presentation. On the warm summer nights, they put up a large covering and provide deck-diners with misters to keep things cool.

The inside is just as festive is outside, with big screen TV’s to top it off. In addition to the license plates that continue inside, there’s a multitude of pictures (of patrons mostly, I’m guessing) and dollar bills with fun notes written on them. I took some photos with my Blackberry. As you can see, it has a very “college” feel.

Last night, St. Patrick’s Day, was the second time I’ve been to McDougal’s Village Tavern (no website, but they’re working on it) after a co-worker recommended it to me. They consider themselves a chicken-finger joint, but they have salads, wings, and sandwiches too. The really impressive part is that they make grilled chicken fingers, which seems somewhat of an oxymoron to me, but I’ve been told my view of chicken fingers is a bit sheltered. I just always thought they had to be fried.

Anyway, you can choose from about 6 different sauces to dip your fingers in, or you can have them tossed in the sauce for you. Everything is made fresh when you order it (including the hand-cut fries) so it is all very fresh, but does take a little time, especially when there is a crowd. Last night we showed up near the end of the Vanderbilt basketball tournament game (did I mention they have big screen TV’s showing the tournament games?) so things were a little busy. It took about 10 minutes to get my wings. The other day, I ordered a grilled chicken salad and a co-worker ordered the small chicken finger basket. Both were quite delicious.

As I mentioned above, they do not have a website yet, so I snagged a copy of the menu and scanned it in. I thought it would be worth posting here. You can see the pdf here. They also serve draft beer.
I have a feeling I’ll be going to this place more often in the summertime.

Atmosphere: A- (its a little overwhelming)
Service: B
Food Quality: B
Food Value for the money: B- (I did find it a little pricey for a chicken salad)
Food Presentation: B (everything is served in paper or styrafoam boxes or baskets)
Drink Selection: A- (pretty good for such a small place)

Overall Score: B