A Checkered Experience (A Thirsty Dice Review)

July 6th, 2022

Authored By Nina Wilson and Dynisha Murray

*Pictured above, Tot of the Morning( $11), High Roller ($16), a Breakfast Burrito ($14), and Biscuits and Gravy ($13).Photo Courtesy of the Brunch Besties.*

Have you ever wanted to go to a place where you could play some old school board games and have a bite to eat? That is the Schick behind the restaurant we visited this week, Thirsty Dice.

Located in the Fairmount neighborhood of the city, by Eastern State Penitentiary, Thirsty Dice opened on October 19th, 2018 (Philly Mag). The owner, Matt Hendricks, got inspired to open the restaurant after visiting a board game cafe in Canada with his wife. His idea with Thirsty Dice was to create a space in which people could bond and connect over nostalgic games, while also grabbing a quick bite to eat. Having seen reviews of the restaurant circulate on social media, we decided to give it a try and see if it was worth the hype.

We visited on Saturday, May 21st, 2022. We made a reservation, as is the recommendation of the restaurant. We did arrive a bit late, but we were still seated soon after our arrival. When you first walked in there was a small mini ice cream parlor that led out into the main dining area. There were shelves that were stacked with tons of board games. The restaurant had an open and industrial style.There was a lot of exposed brick and piping which was paired with tables that had a more rustic and vintage feel to them. The tables were nice and big, so that you could play and eat at the same time.

Couple things to note about our visit, there was an automatic 18 percent gratuity added to our bill. Additionally, If you were interested in playing some of the games, you could pay 5 dollars which would allow you access to all of the games in their inventory for two hours. Or if you wanted to pair the library pass with brunch, for 36 dollars you can get what is called their “Best Brunch Ever” which includes an entree, two mimosas, and a library pass. Both options are available upon request of the staff. However, we were not there to play games, and really were interested in the food.

We ordered two lattes, a vanilla oat milk latte and the other mocha, Tot of the Morning( $11), High Roller ($16), a Breakfast Burrito ($14), and Biscuits and Gravy ($13).

Tot of the Morning

Soon after we ordered this item. We were told that they actually didn’t have tater tots, and would have to use french fries in lieu of the tots. Which we did not think was going to be that big of a problem. But we were sorely mistaken.

This dish was meant to be tater tots, with onions and peppers and a red-eye BBQ Sauce. In retrospect, we should have probably just not ordered this dish, because between the sauce, peppers and onions the fries became extremely soggy. The sauce was nothing special, and reminded us both of barbeque chips. The presentation was decent, but did not add to the appeal. This is also an offering that is no longer on their menu as of 7/5/22. Perhaps that was for the best. Overall, the dish just fell flat and wasn’t quite the pick me up that we were expecting it to be. Thus why we rated this dish 2.5 out of 5 stars.

High Roller

This dish, per the menu, is described as “ Two eggs your way, bacon, and hollandaise sauce.” I think based on this extremely detailed description, we assumed it would be a play on an eggs benedict. What it turned out to be was a moment in which we got played. The presentation of this dish was not good. There was something very elementary about it, and not in a good way. We requested our eggs sunny side up which was probably a mistake.

There were some pros about this dish. The waffles were cooked well and were a bit fluffy, and the bacon was crispy and not greasy. However the waffles were a bit bland, and the hollandaise and sunny side up egg combo with the waffles was a bit nauseating. So perhaps that was a bad choice on our part. Overall, we gave this dish 2 out of 5 stars.

Breakfast Burrito

Per the menu, this dish is described as “ Cuban Mojo chicken, Spanish Rice, Pico de Gallo, Queso and Scrambled eggs.” Which also comes with a side of salsa and tortilla chips. Presentation wasn’t anything special. It’s the standard way most restaurants plate a burrito.

In terms of flavor, it was not all there. The rice was crunchy, most likely because it was under cooked. The contents of the burrito were a little unseasoned. The salsa that came on the side was good, and ditto was the queso, which was probably the only thing that had seasoning. The tortilla chips tasted like they were Doritos lite, which if that’s a taste you like then great, but for us it was not good. Based on this, we rated this dish 2 out of 5 stars.

Biscuits and Gravy

This was a menu item that I reserved some hope for. It is described as “Vegan Herbed Biscuits, Savory Mushroom Gravy, and Sauteed Spinach.” It didn’t look great, and guess what? It didn’t taste great either. The gravy was bland and tasted generic and was salty. The biscuit was drier than a Popeye’s biscuit. It could have made the strongest individual cry.

It could have been improved if the biscuits were moist and the gravy was seasoned. But on this front, it's definitely a no. It was bad, we would have given it a zero, but instead we gave it a 1 out of 5 stars.

Closing Thoughts

If you like board games, and maybe having a drink, then going to Thirsty Dice may be the move for you. However don’t go for brunch expecting a mind-blowing culinary experience. Or edible food. There is a possibility that potentially their lunch and dinner menus could have better offerings. But if you manage to mess up something like brunch, which we think is relatively simple. I wouldn’t trust to get anything else from a kitchen like that. Overall, just in terms of the food and experience with that we rate this place 2 out of 5 stars.

As always, thanks for reading our review. Please follow us on our social media to get the latest updates on when we post, and until next time….

XOXO,

The Brunch Besties.