By Lance Brashear
[email protected]
Many of you sports fans subscribe to the Sunday NFL ticket on Direct TV - every single pro football game played on Sundays. So does Mulligan’s Pub & Grill in Quito.
Many of you turn on your high-definition TV for Monday night football and Thursday night NFL. So does Mulligan’s. They turn on all 11 screens.
And a lot of you probably curse Direct TV and TV Cable for not showing Saturday NCAA football. Mulligan’s does not. They show it on those 11 screens via Internet feed.
So, is there any doubt as to the best – perhaps only – true, American (and sort-of Irish) sports bar in Quito? No. It’s Mulligan’s.
And we say it is “sort of Irish” because it has that great Irish name, it broadcasts those Notre Dame games on Saturday, and it serves a dark, Irish, micro-brewed stout beer. (The stout, along with their Abbey Ale called Belgium Triple, is actually made by Americans in the Ecuadoran coastal town of Canoa, but you’d never know it).
Mulligan’s also has something that even the local Irish pubs don’t have: Green beer. Come in on Friday night and get warmed up for your sports weekend with a “Buy 1, Get 3” happy-hour special from 4-8pm; three green beers for the price of one.
Then, come back on the weekend to enjoy the game. And if you have to bring the kids, Mulligan’s understands. Children eat free Saturday and Sunday.
If by now you’re thinking, “There is a god,” we caution you to slow down. All of this sports mania combined with drinking and eating is the work of Mario Adler. When he returned to Quito after graduating from the University of Miami he could never get over the atmosphere of the neighborhood bar where people go to hang out for the big game. So he created his own.
"There were not many places where you could watch American football,” he says. "What I wanted to do was recreate the atmosphere of a bar in the States, where you could have some food, a drink, and watch sports."
Mulligan’s is decked out with all manner of sports and pop culture paraphernalia. Jerseys, concert posters and neon beer signs fill in the gaps around the televisions as Betty Boop keeps watch over the pool table (which is also near the foosball table, the dart board, and table games).
If you need a WIFI connection, you can get that anywhere along with a menu.
Mulligan’s food is for the sports fan with an appetite. Meat-eaters get ready. The offensive line includes the Jack Daniel’s Pepper steak (tenderloin covered in an original pepper sauce and cooked in the finest Tennessee whisky), Mulligan’s Burger (two half-pound patties stacked between three buns, cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and onions) and the classic Philly cheese steak sandwich. They are the eternal, top-three favorites.
But new this year and gaining ground are three other menu items: The Southwest Steak (grilled filet with house spices and condiments), the Border Chicken (Grilled chicken breast on a bed of nachos with Buffalo sauce, ham, cheese, guacamole, and tomato), and the Nachos with chicken featuring an amazing dip of cream cheese, beans, “pico de gallo,” salsa, cheddar cheese, and guacamole.
If you are the kind of person who likes specials, then hang on. Throughout the week Mulligan’s offers something every day:
Monday, all sandwiches and burgers are 50% off. Tuesday they have live music. Wednesday night they sell 19-cent chicken wings. Thursday is 2x1 cocktails (they rotate the cocktails every week, so keep coming back). Friday is three for one GREEN beer from 4-8pm. And you know what happens on the weekend…game after game after game.
In recognition that sporting events happen somewhere every day, Mulligans maintains an attractive offer for all: “2x1 Budweiser” and “Buy 3, Get 4 Miller beer” seven days a week.
Mulligan's Pub and Grill is located at Calama E5-44 & Juan Leon Mera. They are open from 12pm-12am Monday-Saturday and until 11pm on Sundays. Meals average $12. Call them at 254-0876 or visit the website at www.mulligans.com.ec.
Mulligan’s Trivia, Did you know…
The Mulligan burger weighs more than a regulation American football.
Mulligan Burger: 16 ounces
American football: 14-15 ounces
Mulligan’s Every Day of the Week
Every day: 2 x 1 Budweiser (Sunday 12-4pm) / Buy 3, get 4 Miller beer
Monday: 50% off burgers & sandwiches
Tuesday: Live music starts at 8pm
Wednesday: Hot wings night, 19 cents each
Thursday: 2x1 cocktails
Friday: 3 for 1 GREEN beer, 4-8pm
Saturday & Sunday: Kids eat free!
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Ciudad Quito