we’d been to the uga football game and we were tired and hungry when we got to chops & hops in watkinsville. first, no wise cracks about this tech fan going to a georgia football game. when you are married to a georgia grad, there’s such a thing as compromise. i reached into my husband’s bag of tricks and the only thing i could find was a “yes, dear”. we did have a lot of fun and we enjoyed the company of our friends. now, it was time to do what i came for – eat!
the restaurant was understandably crowded but its got great capacity and they were able to seat us right away. we soon had drinks (thankfully, because i was ready to fall out) and soon came the decision on what to order. since we’d been stomping around, what seemed to be all over athens, we were just beginning to recover from the heat and we didn’t want anything really heavy even though it was fast approaching dinner time.
i chose the wild & bleu burger and melanie went with the southern charm sandwich. we both ordered french fries but began the meal with a healthy house salad. it balances out, right? the house salad normally comes with a raspberry vinaigrette, but i went with the chipotle ranch dressing while melanie went with her regular ranch dressing. the chipotle had a mild kick so don’t be afraid of trying this unless you’re really just totally against anything spicy. the salads had a great green mix along with sundried cranberries, pecans and bleu cheese crumbles. they really hit the spot and were fresh and delicious.
i don’t really eat much red meat so it’s been a long time since i had a burger and the wild & bleu burger was really a treat. piled high with mushrooms, sprinkled with bleu cheese crumbles and some cooked-just-right thick bacon the wild & bleu was exactly what i was craving. the fries are seasoned with salt and pepper and were perfectly cooked.
melanie thought that her southern charm sandwich was also fantastic. she didn’t care for the thick bacon like i did. she would have preferred a thin, crispy bacon but i think that’s more of personal preference than anything else. the southern charm comes on sourdough bread and it’s basically a blt with pimento cheese. we’ve both been crazy for pimento cheese since our trip to phickles phun foods in athens, but nothing comes close to the awesomeness of their pimento cheese.
when our server suggested dessert, we looked at the dessert menu and were fixated on the funnel cake battered moon pie. we decided to share one among the four of us and it was light, fluffy and deelicious! it is exactly the way they described it. take a moon pie, dunk it in a funnel cake batter, fry it and then serve it with ice cream and a chocolate, raspberry and caramel drizzle and then watch four grown adults transform spoons into weapons of warfare. i don’t believe there is a superlative strong enough for the result. put this on your must try list when at chops & hops.
chops & hops was the perfect end to a long day of fun and football in athens. good food, super service and a to die for dessert are a winning combination. guten appetit!