Fat Squirrel Pub and Grille

I'm willing to give the place another go, and give their 'pub' food a shot. The Green Chile Burger is really good, and the beer selection is OK, but it was only so-so in the ambience realm.  

We went on a weekday and sat up in the front (out of the 'bar' area) and it seemed like we were second-thoughts service-wise.  There were a lot of people in the bar watching the game (NBA Semis, I think), and we were really the only people out in the tables.

THIRD TIME IS NOT A CHARM...
a place where the service was the only thing that saved this review from a negative star rating!  (Too bad that's not yet possible)

Let me start by saying that I always give a place at least 3 tries before I tank it with a bad review (there is one exception on my list though).
The food absolutely made this visit strike 3 and a place to avoid at all high cost!  The pricing is ridiculous for the quality offered.   There are plenty of $10-$12 burgers out there, but none so dry and bland as this, despite the number of extra toppings offered (at extra cost, of course) in addition to what comes with the burger of your choice.

While my dining companion was a little more adventurous than I (she had never been)  by ordering the Monte Christo, I did applaud her for her brave selection.  I had been there twice before, and been fairly adventurous with disastrous consequences, so I stuck to something I figured NOBODY could ruin, a burger.  Oh how I was wrong.

Atmosphere so-so, the food hardly worth mentioning other than the fact that the review from my dining companion was "disappointing".  I think she is being generous, but that's just me.  

PUB - hmmm. Well since we're going there, let's go there.  Two of TMBC's "audience friendly" brews on tap, a selection of relatively common other brews "Sam Adams seasonal", and oh let's not forget the eye-roll worthy ubiquitous "Marble Red", which is apparently the Cadillac of mediocre local craft beer on offer here.  When the Red is categorized by your server as the best on tap, then perhaps it is best to get the iced tea, or stick to the more respectable bottled offerings.  This is not the place to order from the tap.  PUB, indeed.

Your money, for a comparable price and a much more delightful experience would be better spent a half mile west at TMBC.  Or even O'hare's across the street if you are in a pinch.

Service, this place's only saving grace, was standard to good.  I am the guy that likes to develop a rapport with my server in case the place is Yelp worthy I mention them and send business their way.  The guy was a professional, and not particularly devoid of a sense of humor, just not special like Evelyn at Paul's or Victoria at Perea's.  the bill was wrong, and that's when Andrew's attitude changed.  Still, his service certainly made the visit much more bearable.  So if you really feel the need to spend money, at least ask for Andrew.

We've added the Fat Squirrel to our Friday night Brew Pub rotation. While it's not a micro-brewery, it does have a good selection of craft beer, including some of the local brews. We like Turtle Mountain but on a Friday it's impossible to get a table and if you do, it's too loud to carry on conversation. FS is our fall-back. I had the build-your-own burger with the portabello cap, it was quite tasty. I added the black and tan onion rings, also good. For starters we had the fried pickles and calamari, I prefer Nexus' pickles but these are a close second. The calamari was good. We all had the Left Hand chocolate milk stout, always a good choice. For us, the Fat Squirrel is an oasis in an otherwise barren wasteland of Rio Rancho food establishments.