A Natural Rivalry

Rivalry’s

Months ago, when Rivalry’s shut down, they took a little piece of my heart with them. It had been my only oasis in North Macon, my kind of dive, a place where I not only got wasted, but did so in the company of good people. Every so often, I’d stroll in there during daylight hours for some grub. It never failed me. Nothing gourmet, just solid eats.

Then David Poole, who I suspiciously watched like a hawk for about six or seven minutes, bought Rivalry’s, and like he had done with his Shurlington establishment, The Hole Thang, he renovated so that the finished product was a classier dive with a longer bar and more nice TVs. He brought most of the old staff back, which brought back old regulars. So, aside from the improvements, nothing much changed about Rivalry’s, at least not in a bad way. They’ve even started the live music back up.

The only thing that was missing was the food, which they were still serving, albeit on an oft-passed around sheet of notebook paper. The menu, early on, was pretty basic. No steak, which had been my favorite in the old incarnation—just burgers, wings… bar food, that sort of thing.

Talking about the new menu, David mentioned including something he called “Atomic Buffalo Turds”. Given the somewhat unconventional name, he was reluctant to call it that, though the concept has survived as “A.B.T’s”. (Basically, they’re Jalapeño Peppers stuffed with sausage and cream cheese, wrapped in bacon and served with maple syrup. Even though I don’t like peppers, it sounds good—it is, after all, wrapped in bacon.) I didn’t “go there” on this trip because I’m genuinely concerned about the safety of my officemates and other loved ones who might have to be in small, enclosed spaces with me throughout the day. Having an Atomic Buffalo Turd (or several) seems like an unnecessarily cruel way to begin the New Year, so I went with the steak because the paper is picking up the tab and I like steak.

Besides, I’ve already eaten the burger, which is incredibly well-seasoned, hand-patted and can be served with a number of interesting toppings, like sauerkraut, chili or cole slaw (in addition to normal stuff like Swiss cheese, bacon, mustard, etc). And after hearing the rants and raves about Stephen’s fabled Bourbon wings, I had a bunch of those one night. Though they have about two dozen different flavors, including chipotle and garlic parmesan, the Bourbon sauce is a clear favorite.

Anyway, so the steak. It wasn’t prepared the same way I remembered it, which may or may not be intentional, so after having tasted the improvements on some of my other favorites from Rivalry’s, I was let down by it. Not that it was bad though. It just didn’t have the same kick. Regardless, I got tater tots with it, and that made my day because I haven’t ordered Tater Tots at a place since I was a kid. Now I think I’m going to buy a bag of them from Kroger’s and watch football in my underwear, which is about the only thing I don’t feel comfortable enough to do at Rivalry’s… yet. -- Chris Horne