Even in the tumultuous times of 2017, there are things that make anyone proud to be an American. Life, liberty and the pursuit of irresponsibly huge cheesy potatoes.
Enter Spectacular Tubers, a restaurant built entirely around a single menu item: stuffed, baked, buttery, cheesy potatoes. (Sure, you can get sandwiches, quesadillas, burgers and salads there too, but the name of the game is literally Tubers.) You can get them stuffed with pulled pork and drizzled in barbecue sauce, packed with crawfish tails and topped with an étouffée sauce, filled with charbroiled hamburger meat and onions and splashed with gravy. As someone with a deep and abiding love of cheesy potatoes, discovering a place like Spectacular Tubers is both a blessing and a curse. The carb struggle is real, guys.
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With tipping and delivery fees, the search for a to-go lunch when there’s no time to leave the office usually centers on finding the most filling midday boost for the lowest price. I opted for the Wisconsin Tuber (a buttery baked potato topped with gooey cheddar and mozzarella, chives and bacon bits) at $7—perhaps a basic choice, but I wanted to see if Spectacular Tubers had mastered the basics before moving on to buffalo chicken or Cajun cream sauces. Good news: It has.
If you order in from Spectacular Tubers, it’s going to arrive literally filling an entire to-go box, which may leak cheese grease onto your desk. It’s fine. It’s all part of the Tubers experience. The smell of cheese and potato and bacon is so intoxicating that the receptionist who accepts the Waitr delivery may glare at you in jealousy. And it’s so massive, decadent and filling that you can easily stretch this $7 potato over two meals (or force your photographer to help you eat it, like I did).
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Unlike some lackluster potatoes out there on the potato market (That’s a thing, right?), this tuber meal avoids the two major pitfalls of a baked potato. 1. The bacon bits are definitely not the pre-packaged, dusty kind you shake out of a can, but real bacon cooked and chopped for your potato. 2. The underlying potato base—the potato foundation, if you will—is not just plain, neglected potato but buttery and flavorful. And of course, the cheese is both melty and generous. You’re probably going to find yourself peeling the broiled vestiges off the bottom of the box to eat that too. No shame in the tuber game.
If you’re looking for a cheap and filling to-go lunch, Spectacular Tubers is a definite contender. They’re at 14241 Coursey Blvd. (and on Waitr) and open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. every day but Sunday. 