New Ice House by UT Tyler

3,943 Views | 8 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by buy_dont_lease
Owlagdad
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Wonder if it will truly be an icehouse? Do not imagine Soccer Moms coming out of the Woods or going to private schools would like to see the painters in their whites having a cold one at 7:00 a.m. and again at 3:00 p.m.
RockOn
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I'm sure that is owners target audience with a new building across from a university.
easttexasaggie04
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AG
What exactly is an "Ice House"?
Dro07
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AG
Went to it the other day. Food sucked and the talent was terrible.
Dro07
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AG
quote:
What exactly is an "Ice House"?
Icehouse
Josepi
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AG
I lived in Houston for about 2 years, and our friends met at the West Alabama Ice House nearly every Friday after work. Loved that place
Josepi
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AG
Alright, I went to this place over the weekend, so i thought I would post my review:

Even though the location is across the street from UT Tyler, I don't think I saw a single college student in the place. There were probably 50-60 people in there and most were in their 30's or 40's. I found that kind of odd, so if you are trolling for college girls, you will need to keep going to Where's Rufus for now. It was probably a 70/30 split between blue collar and white collar guests. Definitely not a fancy place.

I actually though the food was pretty decent. I got some pulled port tacos that were good. The onion rings were good, and the queso was pretty good too. It's sort of a weird menu, as they have a ton of salads, and pizza. We stuck to bar food, and it was all pretty decent. It's not a place I would go grab dinner, but if you are having a few beers, It's better than average bar food.

The drinks were semi-cheap (or maybe I'm just used to being overcharged). Domestic bottles were $3. Mixed drinks were $4.25. We were there to watch a game on Saturday afternoon and the total for 9 drinks, and several appetizers was $50. Not bad for a 4 hour stay.

It's not really an ice house in the traditional sense of the word. The layout is fine, but 75% of the seating is indoors. They do have the garage doors that can open up between the indoor and outdoor seating which is nice on a good day. There are probably 15 outdoor tables which is good considering Tyler has a severe lack of good outdoor drinking spots. The outdoor tables aren't anything special, but on a nice fall or spring afternoon, they work.

Here is the reason I would go back: Hands down, the best place to watch a game from a TV standpoint (in town). They probably have 30 tvs mounted around the place instead of one miserable cluster like BJ's. They had the sound on for the largest TV so you could actually hear the game. Their projection TV actually had a great picture as opposed to some places. I was basically sitting under one tv, but even from that horrible viewing angle I could still see the picture easily (It wasn't one of those tv's where if you aren't perpendicular to it, the picture is horrible.) There really isn't a seat in the place where you couldn't easily see 3-4 TV's. Their were probably 20-30 people actively watching and cheering which made it kind of fun. I actually like the bar at Lagos del Pinos for watching games, but I don't really like the drive there (especially if I'm going to have some drinks). However, this place is night and day better than Sports Zone, BW3's and BJ's for watching a football game. The wife and I typically get a babysitter 2-3 times a year to go watch a college game somewhere, and I would absolutely pick this place next time.
buy_dont_lease
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AG
quote:
We were there to watch a game on Saturday afternoon
I may have been there the same time as you... were you there during the SEC championship game?

I agree this is a place I would visit again. TV setup is excellent. Food was all pretty decent. Over the time we were there, my group had an order of nachos (good), jalapeno poppers (good), club sandwich (good), and shrimp po boy (only disappointment, oddly had red cocktail sauce, not mayo). Domestic drafts were $3 each. Service was quite good, which I was surprised by, considering the feedback in this thread and Yelp reviews. I guess they've either got their issues worked out, or we got their two best waitresses.

The crowd was a bit old considering the proximity to the university, but I bet that evolves over time. But even if it doesn't, it wasn't anything that would keep me from going back. Now, some might take issue with it being called an "ice house," but if you go there expecting it to be an very good sports bar with typical bar food, you won't be disappointed at all.
Josepi
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AG
quote:
I may have been there the same time as you... were you there during the SEC championship game?

Yes, we were there to watch the SEC championship. I was sitting at a table of Alabama fans of which two of the women were screaming obnoxiously for Bama (one being my wife)
buy_dont_lease
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AG
quote:
quote:
I may have been there the same time as you... were you there during the SEC championship game?
Yes, we were there to watch the SEC championship. I was sitting at a table of Alabama fans of which two of the women were screaming obnoxiously for Bama (one being my wife)
Haha, well I'm glad I didn't use the vocal Bama fans as a point of reference! I was there with my wife and father-in-law (who insisted we wear santa hats because we were celebrating an early Christmas with him). Small world.
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