Arts/Music New restaurant impresses guests; Rodeo Grill offers wide variety to accommodate unique tastes
New restaurant impresses guests; Rodeo Grill offers wide variety to accommodate unique tastes
by Patrick Hibbard, Staff Reporter
Volume 15, Issue 4
September 22, 2009
Just South of Montgomery on Wyoming, tucked back in a little strip mall, lies the Rodeo Grill. The newest creation from the Midases of the restaurant biz responsible for the Range Cafés and Standard Diner, this concept restaurant presents the soon-to-be-famous Burgríto, other Southwestern and Latin American delights, sinful boutique shakes made with Haagen Dazs® ice cream, cold beer and a comprehensive wine list.
Walking up to the storefront, a customer experiences a sense of excitement seeing all the neon in warm red. Inside, warm reds also abound with Southwestern cowboy paraphernalia artfully placed. With echoes of ambiance present at all the Range Cafés, the owners have honed their decorative talents and this place proves that there is more to a dining experience than just good food – of which it also delivers.
The Cowboy Calamari started things off right with a little kick in the breading and even more in the “Marinara Azteca” sauce. This menu was designed with the fan of hot Southwestern food in mind.
The Burgríto is a novel dining experience for the thoughtful diner; you choose either an Angus beef burger, a marinated chicken breast, mahi-mahi, or a “house-made vaquero veggie patty,” and decide whether you want a white or wheat tortilla. Then the hard decision is what extras you want – from Campfire and All-American to Nuevo Mexicano and Cubano. Each order comes with Pecos Pickles and a choice of side, which are exquisite themselves: sweet potato fries, jicama slaw, chipotle creamed corn, seasoned black beans, Rodeo tots, cowboy caviar (vinaigrette marinated black-eyed pea salad), cauliflower mash (with roasted Hatch green chile), and cilantro lime rice and black beans. The Burgríto Nuevo Mexicano with Angus beef impressed on every level; it looked good, it smelled sumptuous, it tasted like heaven, and the thing was HUGE!
The Vaquero Veggie Rellenos were equally impressive and innovative. Roasted Hatch green chiles were stuffed with creamy mushroom risotto, topped with queso fresco and mozzarella and came with black beans and chipotle creamed corn.
The wait staff was friendly and efficient, but the growing pains of a new restaurant manifested themselves in the 45 minutes it took the kitchen to cook the food. This can be expected, however, with any new restaurant as less and less cooking times come with a kitchen that has more and more experience with the new menu and serving options.
The Burgríto rings up at $9.95, but plan on spending $15-20 per person (getting out of the place without an appetizer or one of those shakes is all but impossible). Though this price range may preclude many a student from dining here, it’s worth saving a few bucks here and there for a special night out at the Rodeo Grill.
