Best Eats in the ‘Burg – Elite 8

Well, the polls are closed and we’re ready to move on to the Elite 8 in the Best Eats in the ‘Burg bracket. That’s right, we’re actually seeing this thing all the way through. And you thought we were kidding when we said we were grasping for content until football season. Ha! If you need a refresher, you’ll find it here and here. Now let’s take a look at the match-ups.

Match-up 1: Dave’s/Gus’s vs 8. Mr. J’s

[polldaddy poll=2952126]

Gus’s took care of business like you’d expect a #1 seed to in the opening round, collecting 97% of the votes. Smokin’ Pig has decent ‘cue, but obviously not good enough to overcome powerful memories of $1.85 pitchers, pizza, and gyros. Mr. J’s had a surprisingly convincing decision over JM’s, winning 67%-33%. This one busted my bracket, as I was riding the home of the Jerky Turkey and Jo Jo Dog much deeper into the tournament.

Match-up 2: 12. Blimpie vs 13. Double Punch @ Dukes

[polldaddy poll=2952133]

Every tournament has a 5-12 upset and Blimpie came through this year, knocking off Jess’s Quick Lunch. This might be more a case of the selection committee disrespecting the chain’s gas station roots and underseeding them, than it is a statement against Jess’s. As a 13 seed Dukes is the longest of long shots left in the bracket. It’s victory over The Little Grill in round one seems to indicate that JMU Sports Blog readers hate hippies. That makes me happy. If we could find some way to verify that you also hate hipsters it would warm my heart.

Match-up 3: 3. Luigi’s vs 11. Waffle House

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Luigi’s cruised to an easy win over El Charro, but Waffle House should provide a more worthy opponent. Does anyone else feel like if the old Luigi’s was still around, the staff would actually be pretty pumped to win a completely random poll like this? I picture the waiter obsessively reminding me to “vote for Luigi’s on the web thing man” as they made one of the 314 trips it always required to get the check. Can’t you just picture that? No. I guess it’s just me then.

Match-up 4: 2. Spanky’s vs 10. Mr. Gatti’s

[polldaddy poll=2952143]

Spanky’s absolutely embarrassed Finnegan’s Cove in round one, winning with 100% of the vote! That’s just wrong. It’s also an indication that Todd and I might have mailed it in when were choosing the low seeds to fill out the field. Our bad. I’m predicting another dominating victory over Mr. Gatti’s which probably has that “just happy to be here” vibe, considering that well, its pizza kind of sucks. I mean air hockey and a bad big screen tv might get you one win, but that’s about it.

That’s about it for now. Vote early and vote often! We’ll be back with big Final Four late next week.