Hungover? Let a UCSB Grad Help

by Brian

Hey everybody,

With all the eating (and drinking) that I’ve been doing lately, I thought I would dip into my well of knowledge and share a couple things about man’s greatest affliction.  I’m not talking Cancer, Heart Disease or anything like that.  I’m talking hangovers, people.  The hangover is a menace that has plagued society from the time of the ancient Egyptians and the sad thing is that we are no closer to curing it today, than we were so many thousands of years ago.

I know some of you will say that the only cure for a hangover is to not drink.  To those people I say, “Shut it!”  Why should we avoid the greatness that is booze.  I mean, even Benjamin Franklin considered beer to be a gift from God and if it’s good enough for Ben, it’s good enough for me.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.  What can you eat or drink to make that hangover less pronounced?  What will stop your head from pounding, settle your stomach and return you to sanity?  I’d really like to get your feedback on this issue, so please leave your experiences below in the comments section.  As for me, I say “Bring on the Nachos!”

Manny’s – Avenida De Los Arboles Between the 23 FWY and Moorpark Rd.

So I have learned that, for me, nachos are an excellent hangover cure.  Maybe it’s because they have the perfect balance of carbs, protein, fat, crunch and grease.  Maybe it’s because I load them up with spicy salsa which helps me sweat out the toxins from the night before.  I have no earthly idea why it works.  It just does.

Manny’s is a little hole in the wall near my house.  It has received a mini facelift over the past couple of years and is not nearly as ghetto as it once was.  I’m glad to see that the owner actually took this step because Manny’s always seemed a bit dirty to me, which made me only eat their once in a blue moon.  Now that the place is cleaned up, I might be making this place my go-to spot for quick, cheap, Mexican food.

The best nachos in the world are at Freebird’s in Isla Vista, at 3am, when you’re so hammered that you can barely stand and you’re on the verge of making some very poor life decisions.  The nachos I had today are not those nachos.  But they were pretty darn good.  They give you a big container with enough nachos to comfortably feed two people.  Other places make you pay extra for sides like sour cream and guac, but Manny’s just throws it all in.  Here’s a picture of the madness:

Since I was hungover, I really wasn’t being too picky.  These nachos were grub.  There was plenty of everything.  My only complaint, if I had one, was that the carne asada was a little fatty in spots.  They don’t do big chucks of steak like some places.  They do the standard, thin, nicely seasoned carne.  The beans and cheese were copious.  The guac was smooth and the salsa was packing some serious heat. (They do 3 kinds and I took the hottest.)

I was out the door for under 8 bucks.  The staff was friendly and worked quickly to fill my order and like I said before, they got the place cleaned up and looking presentable.  In fact, I wouldn’t mind sitting down there for a meal now.  There’s a lot of good Mexican food in T.O., but if you’re looking for good Mexican food that’s cheap and easy, then you’ll definitely get your value at Manny’s.

Plus, after getting down on those nachos, I feel 1000% better.  I’m telling you, the nachos work everytime.  Just avoid Taco Bell and Del Taco.  Got your own ideas on what cures a hangover?  Let us know in the comments.  I hear that Pho works pretty good, too.