Hard Times Cafe, Clarendon

Hard Times has been able to recreate the type of seediness you expect in a chili/barbeque joint, much in the same way that Sonny’s Real Pit BBQ does. I think a lot of it comes from over-stained pinewood booths and being a cheap chain, but that’s just me.

The menu itself is pretty spartan. Monkey decided on a chilimac 5 way, and I went with the treyftastic Frito chili pie. From here, we had the option to choose one of 4 different chilis ranging from traditional to hot, mild, or vegetarian. Monkey went with hot; I went with mild, only because the spices sounded more interesting. If not for that and the fact that the beef is finely-ground, I would have opted traditional.

Service was quick, and only after we both proclaimed “that was fast” did it occur to us the sort of idiots that we are. Of course it would be fast. The chili’s already made, so it was just a matter of putting it on top of something and garnishing it with cheese, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, etc. I was a little disappointed by the size, but soon found myself struggling to eat the last of my pie. Fritos are filling, and in conjunction with some tasty, heavy chili, I found I filled up fast. Because of the fritos, it was pretty salty, but I had expected that, knowing the nature of Frito-Lay’s signature scoop. Monkey’s seemed to suit him, his only real complaint being that the hot wasn’t hot ENOUGH, even with the addition of hot sauces on the table, but he could not deny the comfort-food-factor. The next time, though, Monk will bring his powdered habanero.

The consensus seems to be that we will return whenever we get our butts out to Clarendon again – or when Monk finds himself craving some barbecue. For chili cravings, we’ll most likely keep going to good ole’ Ben’s, but I should point out that Ben’s is a brown chili, while Hard Times has a tomato-based chili, and these are usually my favorite. We might occasionally head over when I find myself thinking about the merits of a frito chili pie, too.

I don’t really have a lot to say about this experience other than the food was good. We ate a late lunch, but it was still early – not late enough to start tapping into the regulars and characters. Because the service was so fast, we also didn’t really have a lot of time to take in the décor or settle in. We were so hungry that we ate quickly and split. I did notice however, that they frequently have drink specials and happy hours. Also, the music was some indiscriminate country, which, as Monkey pointed out, gave it the feeling of a jukebox. (Or maybe they DID have a jukebox.) This did however, provide a fun game for about three minutes, where we would listen to a few bars and then try to be the first to name the pop song that was being ripped off.

Fun times.

Er, I mean, Hard Times.