Peter advises to use your Red Rooster to get bread

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis, who has authored “The Friday Feast” since November, is reviewing 30 locally-owned and/or operated restaurants across five categories: American, Asian, BBQ, Mexican and Date (establishments to impress your date, spouse or both). Each Wednesday through late August, The City Wire will post Lewis’ review of two restaurants. That’s a review of 30 restaurants in 16 weeks for those keeping score at home.

Week 1: Taqueria la Guadalupana, and Las Americas Too
Week 2: The Cuban Grill and El Rodeo
Week 3: El Milagro and Restaurante Salvadoreno Norita
Week 4: Green Papaya and Pho Vietnam
Week 5: Fried Rice and Pho King
Week 6: Diamond Head 2 and Tran’s
Week 7: Yellow Umbrella and Goodson’s

review by Peter Lewis

The traveling road show continues.

This week we head down the highway to the sparkling community of Alma to taste the treats of the Red Rooster. Situated just off Interstate 40 at 221 U.S. 71 N., in Alma, the folks at Red Rooster seem to know that they are serving up some delectable treats because the service is a bit on the frosty side. It isn’t overtly bad by any means, there just seems to be a general air of haughtiness. That they are doing us, the diner, a favor by allowing us to sit down in their kitschy restaurant for dinner. While it is a bit unfortunate, the discerning diners and the undiscerning, but ravenous among us will most certainly put up with a certain level of frostiness if it means we get to chow down at this fine establishment.

Over a year ago and half a world away, I vainly established a “theory of accoutrement.”
At some point I realized that there are two types of folks, those that place the most weight on the various accoutrements of a dish and those that place it on the meat. While it is unnecessary to get into the minor details of the matter, it is necessary to note that the folks at the Red Rooster excel in both regards. First, their bread is downright amazing. Advertised as homemade and with a slight dash of sweetness detectable, taste buds all across the land can agree that the recipe is quite close to the lofty heights of perfection.

Bread aside, there is of course the patty. Plump and juicy, it a far sight from those waifish and flaky imitations of meat offered at many other establishments. If I were to place a complaint, it would be the presence of miracle whip. If I were a super hero, this awful concoction would certainly be my nemesis. Fortunately, Mayo-Man does not need to rescue you. Simply ask for the white abomination to be left off your delightful bun. Problem solved and no loss of life.

If you aren’t in the mood for red meat, but still ravenous there are a multitude of sandwiches at the Red Rooster from which to choose. There is the Dagwood, a heaping mound of meat, cheese, veggies and condiments. And while the comic strip has grown a bit stale over the year, this eponymous sandwich is still a treat … especially on that homemade bread.

Though it seems impossible that a restaurant could top such a wondrous sandwich, Red Rooster certainly does. Thankfully it comes in the form of dessert and we, the diners, aren’t left to choose between equally delicious dinner options. Pies galore. Gobs of them. They’re made each day. And they are all written up there on the board, plain as day. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s like being in Heaven and having all the different wonderful things you can do in Heaven on a sign above St. Peter (no relation) and it’s great because you’re in heaven, but everything sounds so wonderful that you can’t really make a decision. So, you just ask your server (or that St. Peter fella) to pick out their favorite pie (Grandmother Lucy’s Tollhouse) and be overly content with the heavenly choice. Praise be to Allah, indeed.

BOOM-A-RANG
Our next stop is the Boom-a-Rang Diner. Located at 915 Garrison Ave,, I was very much anticipating their opening last year. At the time, I was still a downtown area resident. Though it’s a bit different for folks who live in “regular” neighborhoods, an eatery opening in one’s neighborhood is always an exciting prospect. 

My first visit was during breakfast and in this regard, Boom-a-Rang is a decent, albeit greasy, addition to the morning dining scene in the river valley area. My initial excitement further deepened into disappointment upon my second visit, this time for dinner. While the service was admirable overall, I was not too keen on the food quality.  There seemed to be a large disparity between menu items, with no overall consistency in the finished products. For instance, the beans and cornbread featured on the menu were fairly good. And at $3.99, it is a cheap, hearty meal for those of us that are “born for pickin’ things and eatin’ beans.” However, with or without a Billy Joe Shaver lyric, there is nothing overtly special about the dish … it’s just beans and cornbread. Though I suppose there is something to be said for comforting simplicity.

Contrasting this decent dish are the burgers being served at Boom-a-Rang. With a base price of $3.49 for a one-quarter pound hamburger and $4.69 for a one-half pounder, they are most certainly reasonably priced for a sit down restaurant. There are also a wide range of options for your burger like cheese, bacon, jalepenos and chili. This grants a further impression that you will be receiving a well made meal. It is, however, upon that first bite that you realize exactly why you are only paying a few dollars for that burger. They are quite uninspiring on the whole. While there is nothing overtly wrong with the accoutrements, the patty itself is of noticeably poor quality and overly greasy to boot.

My few experiences there have left me with the impression that Boom-a-Rang is a fairly mediocre operation, more concerned with their bottom line than the taste buds of their patrons.

An explainer note from Peter
Having such cultural diversity within easy reach is one of the many dining pleasures in the River Valley. As we continue to explore the different cooking styles throughout the area, I hope it will spur you into trying something new. Broadening horizons is as old as time itself.

You can reach Peter at [email protected]