Howling Rabbits in McAllen: A perfect spot for the highs and lows of being a sports fan

McALLEN — With the football season halfway done, you probably can tell if your team is a contender or pretender and Howling Rabbits, a restaurant and brewery is the perfect place to celebrate your team’s success or at least have some good craft beer made on-site to forget about the terrible season.

After the 34-6 beat down by the Philadelphia Eagles, this might be a great spot for any Dallas Cowboys fans to drink away another ringless season.

Located at 1200 Auburn Ave in McAllen, it is in the corner of a new area with a handful of other bars and restaurants around.

Having an indoor and outdoor seating area, it can seat a lot of people but it probably does get packed on game or fight nights. TVs are located all around the restaurants so anywhere you sit, you’ll have a good view of whatever is going on.

Going on a semi fresh Sunday night to watch the Texans-Lions game, the outdoor seating area was best since it wasn’t scorching hot and the big fans overhead kept it cool.

Overall the layout is good to bring a friend or a big group to watch something or just have a drink and talk.

The main attraction to the restaurant in my opinion is the craft beer brewed on-site. You can even see the brewery system behind the bar area.

By no way am I a beer expert, but maybe that’s a good thing if you’ve met a IPA beer bro from Austin.

To be honest I used to not like beer in college but it was probably because it was the cheapest beer we could afford and the taste wasn’t great.

The brewery system behind the bar area at Howling Rabbits in McAllen. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)

About a little more than a year ago is when I started liking beer and specifically craft beer. Something just happens to a guy when he turns 25 that makes him just want to drink some beer and watch some football.

The drink menu is massive which looks a bit overwhelming at first if someone is not sure what they want or like to drink yet but all the items have a description.

The drink menu offers signature cocktails, shots, house beers, seltzer and also classic cocktails and normal craft and bottled or canned beer. Some of the signature drinks they offer are the Howling “Honey Deuce” that has vodka, raspberry, lemonade and melon ball garnish and the We Dem Boyzenberry beer, a fruit lagered Ale, perfect for Cowboy fans that have given up on the season.

Since it’s turkey season, I decided to try out two seasonal drinks. I usually go for any type of blondies that bars have so this was me trying something new.

I got the Pumpkin Red Hare, a red ale and the Cinnamon Bun Quad, a belgian quad. I ordered the 7 ounce options but they also have 16 and 32 ounce options. The price range depending on the amount and the beer ranges from $4 to $17.

I was cautious with these drinks because anything pumpkin or cinnamon flavored is always a hit or miss.

To my surprise, the Pumpkin Red Hare was good. The drink wasn’t overwhelmingly too pumpkin flavored, which is good and was very smooth to drink. I would probably get it again if for some reason I’m craving pumpkin.

The cinnamon drink though, let’s say you need an acquired taste for it but that’s just me having trauma from drinking Fireball Cinnamon Whisky in college. The drink is on the stronger side at 9.5% but it does still go down smooth and is perfect for a cinnamon lover.

The Palm City Blonde, a house brewed blonde ale, at Howling Rabbits in McAllen. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)

I topped it off with their Palm City Blonde, their signature blonde ale. It is great and was exactly what I wanted an in-house brewed blondie to taste like. The beer goes down smooth and has a lot of flavor. I would highly recommend this beer for anyone not sure what to start off with.

Also checking out the mood menu, it is also huge and has something for everyone. The menu has starters like fried pickles to tacos, pastas, chicken tenders, lots of pizzas, burgers and some desserts.

I got the Tavern Burger which has a potato bun, brisket/short-rib patty, american, greens, onion, tomato and smash sauce. It comes with your choice of fries or tater tots. The burger was about $14 and most food items range from $8 to $18.

The Tavern Burger at Howling Rabbits has a potato bun, brisket/short-rib patty, american, greens, onion, tomato and smash sauce and comes with your choice of fries or tater tots. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)

A burger at a bar is also always hit or miss but this hit the spot after some beers. The burger is pretty big and with tater tots, I couldn’t even finish it.

The bun, having a slight crisp to it paired with the patty, being soft and tender were good. I would have tried the pizza since they have unique toppings on them like elote con pollo but my two friends had eaten before coming out.

To end it all, we ate some fried oreos which are great if you’re craving something sweet or just want to snack on something that is sharable.

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Fried Oreos at Howling Rabbits. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)

The brewery system behind the bar area at Howling Rabbits in McAllen. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)

The Palm City Blonde, a house brewed blonde ale, at Howling Rabbits in McAllen. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)

The Tavern Burger at Howling Rabbits has a potato bun, brisket/short-rib patty, american, greens, onion, tomato and smash sauce and comes with your choice of fries or tater tots. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)

Overall, Howling Rabbits with its big outside and indoor seating area, huge menus, in-house made drinks and just a friendly atmosphere is an enjoyable place to take a friend or friends to watch a game or drink and eat dinner.

It is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day.

Maybe, you’ll have a wonderful experience, like seeing your Houston Texan fan friend in utter shock. Or, you’ll see Cowboys fans disappointed every gameday. Go Birds!

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