I once tried to eat at every restaurant on Broadway, starting at Taco Guaymas near Pike and working past The Mongolian Grill until running smack into The Hollywood Hamburger Company or something to that effect. This was in my pre-vegetarian days, but I still couldn’t muster the courage to eat here. First, there was the awful decor- awkward high cocktail tables overlooked by purple walls splashed here or there with fake film memorabilia. The space was cramped, and the menu hung menacingly low. Second, the place was only a few blocks from Dick’s; I’m rarely one to pass up cheaper and better. The end result was my complete failure to complete the Broadway eating challenge. Hollywood Burgers has since gone out of business, but has been replaced by a Thai restaurant which features a life size rickshaw thing. I can’t stomach that either, and I think by now I’ve eaten at all the good places Broadway can boast. The Bell and Pike challenge would be a fresh slate, without the taint of past failure, and I’m always up for a taintless challenge.
