The Best (and almost only) Mexican Food in BG

El Zarape is located just east of campus on Wooster, which isn't the only thing that makes it especially "college friendly." However, this restaurant can be enjoyable for just about anyone, including the whole family.

Don't be confused, though, because El Zarape used to occupy a different location a bit further west. That building became another Mexican restaurant called Cinco de Mayo 5 when El Zarape moved down the road in June of 2008. Cinco de Mayo has a cheaper menu, but in my experience you usually get what you pay for, and I'll always choose El Zarape.

It has the feel of a family-run place with friendly service and a terrific menu that has to be made mostly from scratch. Every so often there's entertainment, usually mariachi bands, which aren't particularly my thing. As far as the food goes, I normally order a Fajita Burrito, but switch it up by alternating chicken and steak. The peppers and onions are excellent, and the platter comes with plenty of food, including beans and rice. If it doesn't sound like your thing, I'm not an authority on too many other items, but check out the link above. There's all kinds of combos and whatnot.

All these qualities of El Zarape aside, the thing they are most famous (or infamous) for is their margaritas. They're powerful enough to rival those of any of the out-of-town Mexican restaurants in Toledo, Perrysburg or Maumee, and come in many flavors. They'll even mix different kinds for you. There is also a pretty good selection of imported and domestic beers, and wine available as well. But come prepared, most likely with a designated driver, when you visit El Zarape to drink. You have been warned.

BG=Bar Goers?

The student population of BGSU makes up a substantial portion of Bowling Green. If there's one thing college students have in common, it's a desire to party, and many do it downtown. BG is definitely a bar town. There's a dozen in the area covered by our map in the post below, and more spread across the city.

The place I go most often is probably Uptown/Downtown. This is misleading because I love Downtown but hate Uptown. I've only even gone upstairs a handful of times. I'm not into the dance scene usually present up there. But Downtown is much more laid back, and has a lot of tvs for my sports-watching pleasure. There are also some good weekly specials, including what I consider to be the best one in town. On Thursdays you can get cheap beers and Captain and Cokes, as well as any shot for $2. I think they take some of the top shelf stuff off the table, but it's a great chance to try different stuff for cheap or have a lot of your favorite. A buddy of mine has lost multiple jobs for missing work Friday morning after a night of Irish car bombs.

Another bar I frequent is Nate and Wally's Fish Bowl. There isn't too much that makes it a great place, but it's usually a good spot to get a drink rather than wade through crowds and wait in lines. Other than that, the best part is probably the namesake, a drink called a Fish Bowl. It's usually available in two flavors, and is served in a plastic fish bowl.

These are the bars I usually go to, but head downtown and check them out for yourself. Each has characteristics that makes it different from the others. Need some help? Check out Raising the Bar in BG. It's a blog that won't be updated, but it contains articles written by myself and other journalism students that classify the downtown bars. Cheers!

Downtown BG Bars

Below is a map of the various bars downtown Bowling Green has to offer. There are others in town, but this focuses on the downtown area, which is highlighted in orange. Click on each location to find out more, like contact information, websites and images. I took most of the pictures myself.


View BG Bars in a larger map

Campus Pollyeyes

The website for Pagliai's Pizza and Campus Pollyeyes tells the "legend" of the opening of the restaurants in Bowling Green. I'm going to open with a selection from that history:

"...our story begins, in 1967, with a nineteen year old Missouri born pizza maker named George Nicholson. George had spent his early years mastering his trade under the tutelage of the Pagliai's brothers, Salvatori, Armond and Haldo, who had built a chain of pizzerias which stretched across Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. One day, after having passed through a college town in Northwest Ohio called Bowling Green, Salvatori thought, rightfully so, that this town would be an ideal location for the first (and to this day the only) Pagliai's Pizza in Ohio. When George was given the opportunity to relocate from their location in Iowa City to Bowling Green to open up the pizza house, he jumped at it.

Pagliai's opened for business at 1004 South Main in 1967, across the street from the present location, with George and a handful of employees under him. Cheese pizzas for ninety cents and bottles of pop for a dime caught on... in a big way. In 1969, hot subs and the first salad bar in town were added. In 1976, having outgrown its current location, the business moved across the street to its current location at 945 South Main. In 1978, a second pizzeria was established at 440 East Court Street and named Campus Pollyeyes. The name changed to a more phonetic spelling to avoid confusion."

I included this story because I found it to be interesting, and also because this is the first time I have seen an explanation of why the names of the two restaurants are spelled differently. I've pondered this all my life, and the answer has been waiting in plain sight for who knows how long.

Campus Polleyes, in my opinion, is quite different than its predecessor. Pagliai's has a pizza, soup and salad buffet, and a bunch of Italian recipes on their menu. I had to look to see what else the Campus joint sells, because I've only ordered one thing from them, ever, and that's stuffed breadsticks.

They're kind of pricey, but the stuffed breadsticks are worth it. There's nothing else like them in town. They'll take pretty much anything they have in the restaurant and bake them in some dough with cheese and top it with garlic butter. Six come in a full order, but if it's just you, I'd advise three unless you want leftovers. Three breadsticks has always been considered a full meal by anyone I know.  That whole order will run you around $14, but there's coupons on their website that can bring it down to $11 or $12. I always get chicken and cheese with ranch (you choose a dipping sauce), but there's all kinds of other stuff to get, like steak or roast beef.

I don't visit Campus Pollyeyes in person very often, but it seems like a decent enough place. They have beer on tap (a nice selection, too), and it's close to campus at 440 East Court Street. They also serve pizza, sandwiches, salads, and more. Check out the rest of their menu with these PDF  links to the Carryout and Dine-In menus. Call for delivery at 419-352-9638.

Mr. Spots

Everyone loves Spots. I'm not sure how else to say that. Their menu (.pdf link) features some of the best sandwiches and buffalo wings you'll find in Bowling Green, as well as salads and quite a few drinks, juices and sodas. And they deliver beer. Let me repeat that: with proper ID, they deliver beer. Been drinking, need more, and don't live near a store? DON'T DRIVE. Call Spots and let them help you out.

If you're still reading after that, let's get back to the food at Spots. Their Philadelphia style cheesesteak sandwiches are great, and probably the signature menu item. I like the Fire Steak, which has all the meat, cheese, onions and stuff and a bunch of hot sauce. There's other sandwiches, salads and hoagies as well. Get them with a bag of waffle fries. Call 419-353-SPOT, or visit them on East Court Street near downtown.

If you're from the Bowling Green you may or may not know that there is also a Mr. Spots in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Each location has been around for more than twenty years. I don't know how old this is, but here's a tv commercial I've seen from time to time...

Clazel: Theater to Bar

The video below gives a brief look at the Clazel, a former movie theater on Main Street that was renovated several years ago into a nightclub. I'll do a full length post on the Clazel at a later date, but the video will give you a view of what it looks like now. You can see some of the old architecture and movie theater style left intact, but I assure you the historic building looks much different than it used to. However the video is a promotion created for the Clazel and is accompanied by some loud music, so I'd watch it on mute if I were you.