McGreevys- Back Bay

My friends and I decided that we need to start doing something active and fun during the week when we get together. Typically, this might involve a nice dinner and yoga night or cocktails and a trendy spot in the city- but no. We decided to get a little simpler and chic, for lack of better words, and ventured to trivia night at McGreevys in Back Bay for the past two Wednesday nights.

McGreevys is a fun Irish bar on Boylston, full of day drinkers on the weekend and professionals looking for a relaxed environment after work to grab a beer. My friends and I wanted to break up our weekly repetitive schedule and headed to the bar to challenge others in our trivia knowledge. I met a few of my friends there and walked to the back where trivia is held.

McGreevys has a great setting for trivia. Huge booths and long tables are set back from the bar located on the street. This gives trivia a more intimate feel, as we dont have to listen to loud T.V.s and guys cheering during Celtics games.

Both of the trivia nights I have attended, we decided that Hoegaarden would be our beer of choice, and trivia team name, for our stream of pitchers throughout the night. Reminding all of us of the fun nights we spend abroad in Europe, drinking a golden Hoegaarden really set the mood.

Hungry, happy, and ready to have a good time, we decided to order some food. McGreevys is definitely not an upscale restaurant by any means. If you are looking for a place with good bar food and not alot of jazz to your entree, this place is a good spot. Normally, my friends and I would love a fresh salad or truffle fries, but trivia and Hoegaardens call for some good grub to really bring it full circle.

So far, I have tried the Pulled Chicken Quesadilla. full of tomatoes and accompanied by a cilantro salsa, these were a delicious indulgence. This dish is typical to any bar food spot, but I enjoyed the crispiness of the tortilla and the cool salsa combination. I am a cilantro fan and would put it in everything if I could. If you are not a big cilantro person, I would skip the salsa. We split these between three people and I would suggest one order for a group that size.

We have also ordered the Macaroni & Cheese. This is one of those surprisingly amazing dishes that keeps tempting you to eat more. I love mac and cheese, and this particular version only supported my feelings of delight for such a comfort food. Served in a small deep bowl, this mac and cheese was filled with brocolli and smoked bacon. The perfect bite of the vegatable, meet, cheese, and noodle was sublime. I literally could not stop eating this oven baked meal. Two people could easily split an order. It looks small but the richness of the dish fills you up very quickly.

Lastly, the loaded nachos were ordered at one point. This pub food favorite was the standard nacho dish. The group I was with wanted to get the works on the side so that we could make our own. Although I am not a fan of this nacho making technique, I still enjoyed the dish. The ingredients were fresh, the cheese was plentiful, and the chips were crisp and delicious. We have a large group of 5 or 6 that shares one order. This paired with my Hoegaarden set a great mood for a brain wracking night of trivia.

The one thing I will say is that McGreevys should think about sticking another waitress in the back of the bar. The waitress that has been there both nights we have gone has definitely got a lot on her plate back. Although this takes away from the overall service, she was a great waitress all the same.

In terms of trivia, the host was entertaining and the questions were actually relatively difficult. Many of them were the type of questions where the answer was right at the tip of your tongue, but those are the best type at trivia night. This is a great place for a relaxing, fun night with friends. We are now making it a weekly event, so you will probably see me if you take this advice and go!