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Don't worry, eat happy at Hard Times

At Hard Times, the sounds of billiards and the haze of cigarette smoke are just part of the place's appeal. Grab a chili dog and don't worry, be happy.

By LAURA MOYER

Date published: 4/1/2004

By LAURA MOYER

THE FREE LANCE-STAR

hARD TIMES is no place for a worrywart.

Secondhand smoke? Fatty meats? Calories run rampant? You bet.

This place would send shivers through the Vegan Brotherhood of the Sprout. But for folks who like to walk, eat and play pool on the wild side, Hard Times is a lot of fun.

Fredericksburg's incarnation of this chain restaurant has been around for a few years--long enough for lots of us to acquaint ourselves with its famed chili.

So we'll be brief. There's Cincinnati, with finely ground beef in a cinnamon-spiked tomato base. Terlingua red, a zesty brew with a balanced tomato-beef flavor. Texas, a mix of chunky beef and spices in the meat's seasoned juices. And vegetarian, with soy crumbles for texture and tomato, onion and peppers for flavor.

Each has its devotees, so I will add only that Hard Times doesn't spare the salt in any of it.

The chili itself is only a starting point. You can get it in a bowl, in a bowl over beans, in a bowl over spaghetti, in a bowl over Fritos, on a hot dog, on a footlong hot dog, on a burger, on cornbread, on a baked potato, over a lettuce salad or in a chimichanga. You can add cheese, onions, sour cream, jalapeños or diced tomatoes or (if you live alone) all of the above.

But for a restaurant review, a further exploration of Hard Times' garden of guilty delights was necessary, and this one started with cheese fries ($6).

Here's something I found out: The Center for Science in the Public Interest calls cheese fries "the single worst food ever analyzed."

OK, at Hard Times, we ordered cheese fries with bacon. Lordy.

The fries are skin-on but nondescript, the cheddar a plate-covering blanket, the bacon shredded. There's ranch dressing for those who need a little fat with that.

Tasty though they may be, the other appetizers are only a marginal step up on the wholesome-goodness scale--things like Texas wings ($7), pretty standard and not all that hot; and beer-battered onion rings ($5), a tangle of sweet fried onions in a thin, crispy coating.

Burgers at Hard Times come with fries, but the server was understanding about a request for a side-salad substitution with the cheddar cheeseburger ($7.25).

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Date published: 4/1/2004