A High Risk Menu

Whether the menu of Rickybobby, a casual neighborhood eatery, is terrific or terrible depends on one’s point of view.  But there is no doubt that most items on it are high cholesterol, high fat and high calorie food.  Here are some examples: “Beef and Bacon Burger” with two patties of ground bacon and beef glued together by melted American cheese, “Pork Fries” of curly fries and pull pork with cheese sauce and buffalo sauce drizzled all over, meaty “Spicy BBQ Pork Ribs” with country bacon potato salad, and “Duck Confit Potato Skins” with Manchego cheese and ranch dressing.  Arteries, beware!  With this sort of food, it is amazing that the restaurant has been packed since its opening.  

On a recent evening, Mr. & Mrs. A felt brave enough to eat dinner there, carrying along some baby aspirin with them as a precaution.  It was a relief that they did not need to ingest the pills after all.

Mrs. A loved her “Lobster Mac n Cheese”.  Bathing in the bubbly hot béchamel sauce were farfalle (a.k.a. “bow-tie” pasta), lobster meat, corn and spinach.   The sauce was slightly over-salted but it went well with her beer.  The dish would be even better if it was made with macaroni. 

Lobster Mac n Cheese

The aroma of Mr. A’s “Crawshrimp Grits” captured his attention when it arrived.  Inside the bowl was a pile of crawfish and shrimp meat and shredded pork belly in a spicy broth.  Hidden underneath was a generous portion of creamy cheesy grits.  Every spoon of grits, mixed with broth and meats, delivered a rich flavor so delicious that Mr. A kept on eating until the bowl was empty.  

"Crawshrimp" grits

As an attempt for a balanced meal, Mrs. A ordered sweet potato and broccoli.  The kitchen turned the two healthy vegetables into something otherwise.  The sweet potato tots were deep fried and served with a ranch dressing, and the broccoli crowns were covered with a Welsh cheddar cheese sauce.  

Sweet potato tots

Broccoli

Mr. A ordered something good for his heart – a glass of red from the wine list that could not be any shorter.  It had just three words: house red/white. 

The four dishes were both satisfying and filling, so filling that there was plenty of food to take home.  That did not prevent Mrs. A from ordering a piece of pumpkin pie with maple whipped cream to go.

They like to return to sample the rest of the menu.  But it won’t be any time soon as they reckon that a “de-tox” period is absolutely necessary.