Macado’s

Passing through Blacksburg on another road trip landed us at another chain, albeit another small regional chain I’ve found litters much of the state of Virginia. Because it’s by VA Tech, Macado’s had a fairly young crowd. We’d never been to one before, and were not quite prepared for the over-stimulating visual clutter: it was a TGI Fridays on steroids. It was every piece of flair at an amusement park. It was all of the decor you’ve ever bumped into at a Bennigan’s, Applebee’s, or TGI Friday’s swirled into a black hole that entraps passing children’s toys (a giant Superman, person-sized gorilla), moose, man riding a pterodactyl… it is an eclectic emporium of imagination run amok. 

Weirdly, it was quite dark where we sat, so we had to squint at the decor to find more things – because the longer you look, the more you see each time, and the more random it gets.

We were also in a very tiny booth built for two. It would have been cozy and quaint but for the question of how we were going to cram multiple plates on it. Realistically, it fit about one and a half plates and one drink.

But the most frustrating aspect of Mr. Magoo’s Wonder Emporium of Where Chain Restaurants go to Die, was the preternaturally slow service. Apparently, all the manic panic energy went into the inanimate objects, because the live ones were non-existent. Now, thankfully we got our potato skins at a reasonable time (which was good, so they weren’t cold and thusly affected for the review), but our regular food just… never came. It was approaching an hour after we were done with the skins that we decided we would let the front hosting table know we were leaving (but not the first time we had brought up the strange delay). So, despite the pretty tasty potato skins, the whole experience left a less than magical taste in my mouth. 

Six potato skins come typically (bacon and cheddar) for $9.85 or Spicy for $9.75 (I can’t explain the dime difference at all). I ordered the spicy, which have no bacon, but onions, jalapenos, black olives, and with a blend of monterey and cheddar cheese, served with ranch. The spicy toppings were really the oddball choice and really stood out, so let’s get into it…

Skin: Only one, the runt of the litter, was really crispy, and I think that was because it had less cheese than the others so it wasn’t as overloaded.

Cheese n’ Bacon (In this case, Cheese n’ Jalapenos n’ Onions n’ Olives): The jalapenos took center stage here. There were lots of them, and they gave a surprisingly delicious kick, as did the onions, which were smothered and small enough that you weren’t as aware of them and simply added to the flavor. The olives were the same way – lots of them, but drowned out by the plentiful cheese and jalapenos. The skins were really more like a loaded potato with all the ingredients – and there was lots of potato meat.

Proportionality: I love a lot cheese, and this had tons of it, but I think it’s possible it was too much, since it affected the crispity cronchity skin jacket from making its mouthfeel appearance. The other toppings were in good supply, but a little heavy on the potato meat side for some.

Value: It’s a mystery why the extra toppinged potato skins would cost more (and by a dime) than ones simply with bacon, but since they come out to around $1.60 per skin, that’s a pretty good value. As long as you get them in a timely manner where they are still warm and you still want an appetizer, that is.

I thought I would miss the sour cream, but I really only used the ranch to cut the jalapeno taste after a while. It suited more than I expected, and that’s likely because of the toppings used. Certainly if you’re already at a Macado’s, the potato skins are a good choice, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find one if you’re craving potato skins… unless you have a love affair with jalapenos. And we never judge what someone loves.

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