A Slice of Fried Gold

Fancy Bracket: (2) Marx Brothers vs. (7) Mixx Grill

Thursday, March 4, 2010
This matchup is a showdown between one of the most renowned names in classy dining in Anchorage and some small, upscale restaurant in the Inlet Towers hotel. Odds are it should be a blowout, with Marx Brothers long earning the esteem of the Anchorage Illuminati and Mixx Grill being a bit of an unknown quantity. Let's take a look at the two contenders.

Marx Brothers: The classy of the classy, this restaurant is located on 3rd in a quaint house that has resided in that same spot for a long time. Fabled for their brilliant individual displays of entree arts and their renowned-by-everyone Caesar salad that is made in front of you, this is the Kentucky Wildcats of the tournament. A sleeping giant, and one that is a permanent contender. Just like Kentucky though, I posit this question about Marx Brothers: what have you done for me lately? Kentucky hasn't won anything in 12 years, while Marx Brothers has been a disappointment in my recent experiences. Over-priced (but well made) entrees, overrated specialties (really, that was the best Caesar salad in town?), and stodgy, oppressive atmosphere. You go in there as a young person and they look at you like you showed up to the wrong restaurant, as if their face says "you do know this isn't Humpy's, don't you?" Can we start an overrated chant now?

OVER-RATED, clap, clap, clap clap clap. OVER-RATED, clap, clap, clap clap clap.

I do want to note, this analogy is flawed because Marx Brothers has nothing on their menu that matches the transcendant skills of John Wall.


Mixx Grill: This restaurant is small, unassuming, and for the most part hidden. In fact, I had no idea it even existed until my good friend Amy moved into the neighborhood it exists at. Within this restaurant is a small but well crafted menu, an oddly hip atmosphere, entertaining servers, and a quality bar. Perhaps it is the company I always share there, but I've yet to have a bad experience at Mixx. It even earned the catchphrase "want to Mixx it up?" between Amy and I whenever we wanted to go back. They're like Princeton's 90's squads who were entirely designed around back screening the living hell out of everyone: we've got one move and it's an old one, but it works because you don't expect it. Mixx Grill: it works because you don't expect it.
 
The Showdown: Marx Brothers would come into the showdown puffing their chests out and fully ready to wipe the floor with Mixx, but they'd leave in tears. They're like the old powerhouse who forgot how to care, while Mixx is a place that understands that sometimes effort and being fundamentally sound is all that matters in a match up. The biggest shocker to date, assuredly.

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