Every worthwhile sports bar appetizer, ranked by pure personal preference

Credit: TGI Fridays / Facebook

16. Hummus

I truly love hummus and on another list, perhaps a list of general appetizers, it would be ranked much, much higher.

(One time, in college, I went as red pepper hummus for Halloween. [It was supposed to be a group costume, but the other members of the Hummus Club bailed. {Also in college, I was in a Hummus Club. We had t-shirts.}]).

But this is a list of best sports bar appetizers and while hummus is quickly establishing itself as the Healthy Option on the app menu, my ruling is such: Unless you have it on experience or good authority that the sports bar you’re in serves excellent hummus, there are generally better orders to be made.

15. Potato skins

People like potato skins, semi-hollowed out baked potatoes loaded with the toppings with which you normally load appetizers: cheese, bacon and green onion.

Some people love potato skins. Were you to order potato skins at a sports bar, you more likely than not would not regret your decision. It’s a fine, if forgettable, inclusion on a sample platter. But they are not an elite appetizer.

14. Fries (for the table)

The perfect french fry is one of the great joys in this godforsaken world, but the problem is we all have such different ideas of what the perfect fry should be.

Generally speaking, fries are delicious, easy to munch on, total crowd pleasers and will only semi-ruin your appetite for an actual meal. Plus, they typically come with your choice of dipping side: ranch, cheese, blue cheese, one of the million variations of chipotle mayo that bars are so fond of these days. (As you will see, dipping sauce compatibility is a strong indicator of a good appetizer.)

And yet, the range in quality (and also form) of fries is astounding and sometimes scary, and that’s why I can’t, in good conscience, rank classic fries any higher. Also because they are perhaps first and foremost a side.