Now That's Good Eatin'

I have a new favorite restaurant. It took me a long time to go in; I was suspicious of it based on the name alone. I felt like it was ripping off Sticky Fingers. Plus, it's on Rivers Avenue by the mall, and there just aren't that many tasty treats up that way. My new fave is Smokey Bones.

We've only been a few times, but this is what I can say about it: This place has terrific atmosphere. There are TVs all around the restaurant, with different shows playing on different screens, and each table has a voice box that you can have as low or as low as you choose, playing whatever you (or your kids) might be watching. The last 2 times we went in, we asked them to change the channel so the boys wouldn't have to watch "girl shows" and they graciously obliged. Very nice.

The staff at Smokey Bones is tremendously friendly. From the minute you walk through the door, everyone is asking if this is your first visit, blah blah blah, and they make sure you're taken care of immediately, rather than waiting for your server to get to you when they darn well please. That's always nice.

On our most recent visit, I ordered a salad with no lettuce. Yep, you read that right. And I'm sure I'll get a lot of grief for that -- I certainly did that night. But the grief was from SuperHubby, not our waiter. Oh, he laughed a little, said he'd enjoy telling the kitchen about my request, but THEY DID IT. The manager even came over to make sure that my lettuceless salad was to my liking. (In my defense, they have this awesome salad but it's so huge you can't finish it, and I really would rather eat the yummy stuff and forget about the lettuce). So while I'm sure the entire wait staff of Smokey Bones was laughing at me from the kitchen, they were kind enough to not walk by and point while I ate my crunchies in sheer bliss.

I highly recommend Smoky Bones, but only if (1) you haven't eaten in a couple of days - the portions are huge and (2) you're ready to hand over your firstborn (Spanky, we miss you). It's expensive, but worth it, especially if you don't go often. Truly a culinary delight. And that's some compliment, when you have a trained chef and a trained eater saying it!