Wait. Mad Mex serves food?

Mad Mex, 240 S. Pugh St., is home to the charmingly named "Big Azz" margarita.

If you've never had one of these monstrosities, let me just say this: they're big (rumors of 40 shots of liquor are greatly exaggerated, although all stories of post-happy hour headaches are, regrettably, the stuff of truth).

What quite a few fans of these highly popular tequila slushies may not realize, however, is that Mad Mex is actually one of the better restaurants in town, no matter how liquored up you are.

For a chain Tex-Mex joint in the middle of Pennsylvania, it's got great food, atmosphere to spare and even a bit of a secret weapon up its sleeve. Too bad nobody ever goes there to eat.

First, the food. I'm not sure about you, but I tend to think Mexican food is the best food there is. State College, however, isn't exactly the taco capital of the world (although there's a Qdoba going up downtown, and those aren't bad).

The food at Mad Mex isn't especially authentic, but there's a nice eclectic flavor to a lot of it, with some fairly interesting ingredients showing up in just about everything on the menu.

The wings are excellent, the burritos are huge, and since there are about a million different things to pick from, chances are you'll find something that sounds good.

The tangy tomatillo salsa could be the best I've ever had, and that's saying something. It's cheap, too; getting a bowl of soup and sharing an appetizer (which is plenty of food, particularly if you're going to be drinking, ahem) is well advised, particularly since it'll cost you around $6.

It's one of the best menus in town for vegetarians, too, with a pretty wide array of meatless things to choose from.

Then, the atmosphere.

Decked out in a sinister rust-red paint, Mad Mex is home to quite a bit of cool folk art (or, at least, nice knockoffs), giving it a lot more style than, say, an Applebee's.

Whoever's picking the music is doing a good job, too; during my trip there Monday, my dining companion and I were treated to Bob Dylan, Jackson 5 and Ben Folds.

It does, however, get unbelievably loud in the evening, what with the dinnertime happy hour and the ever-increasing music volume. You kids don't like conversation when you drink, do you? Cell phones don't count.

But the secret weapon is where it's at; if you're a student, there's at least an hour every day where practically all the food on the Mad Mex menu is half price.

Remember that bowl of soup I told you about earlier? That'll run you less than two bucks during these so-called "Student Halfsies" specials.

If you played your cards right, Mad Mex might even be cheaper than eating at Taco Bell, not to mention way less disgusting. What in God's name is a Border Bowl anyway?

And yeah, Mad Mex is a bar, so there's plenty of potent potables (if you're not a margarita drinker, they do have one of the best beer menus in town) to go along with the cheap food.

But maybe just this one time you'll go out and have a nice quesadilla among friends?

Make your mama proud, and eat at Mad Mex.