The End Zone
10/21/2008 - By By Trent Rowe By Trent Rowe
Sausage gravy, strip steak breakfast, corned beef hash, chicken and dumplin’s, grouper sandwich, chicken wings,
You could eat for days without a regular menu, choosing what you want from specials on chalkboard high up on one wall.
Scott and Colleen Wade took over The End Zone on U.S. 98 North last December.
They changed the carpet, the paint, the look of the kitchen and the menu. The couple changed the menu again last week.
You could eat for days without a regular menu, choosing what you want from specials on chalkboard high up on one wall.
A co-worker and I dropped in for breakfast after being impressed at lunch.
Our cheery server greeted us with the special — 8-ounce strip steak, two eggs, grits or potatoes, toast or biscuit for the grand sum of $4.95.
If you want raisin toast, it’s 15 cents extra.
If you want the same meal when it’s not a special, it costs $7.95.
Two eggs, corned beef hash, potatoes or grits, and toast or biscuit also cost $4.95.
My companion headed for the corned beef, eggs, grits and a biscuit, and, to get close to biscuits and gravy, added a side of sausage gravy for $1.50.
His eggs — over medium — had been cooked in a small pan until just medium and flipped expertly.
Frying in too much oil can almost make corned beef hash slide down without chewing. High heat on the griddle — and not flipping too often — made the ample portion hot and slightly crisp, just the way corned beef hash should be to be tasty.
Real grits take time to cook to make them taste real. These had substance and long-cooked
flavor.
Thick and chunky gravy made the fluffy biscuit special and whet my appetite for a full order another time ($3.95). My guest, somewhat of a gravy gourmet, called The End Zone version great and super.
Lately, I have had steaks that are not thrilling. A couple have been tough.
The 8-ounce sirloin served with eggs, potatoes or grits and toast or biscuit is a good deal at $7.95 and a steal as a $4.95 special, and an enjoyable piece of beef, too.
Cooked medium rare as ordered, the beef barely needed a knife.
Poached eggs, served in a small bowl, could have been drained better.
Much of the plate was covered by fine home fries, like the hash, left on the grill to brown and develop flavor.
Even the raisin toast was above average, with cinnamon swirled into the dough by the bakery.
Three pancakes, thin and not very fluffy, with three sausage, fat and sassy, cost $4.15.
And coffee is a bargain at $1.
Lunch is as special as breakfast, and we were lucky to land on a day featuring chicken and dumplings for $5.95. The stick-to-your-ribs soup-bowl-full featured thick and sagey dumplings and plenty of lean chicken in a substantial broth-sauce that had no shortage of chicken flavor — or salt.
Hot fried okra was teeth-sticking good.
Make sure you find out the specials for the day. They are bargains.
A grouper sandwich for $4.95 included crinkle cut fries and a pickle. For that reasonable price, you might expect a thin slice of fish on a short bun. Not at The End Zone. My fried grouper (I could have had grilled) hung over a sub-size roll with so much pickle, lettuce, onion and tomato on the other half of bun that I couldn’t see the bread.
If you fold the fish to close the bun, you can’t get it into a normal size mouth. Try a knife and fork or go open face. With fish this moist and flaky, it’s a shame to waste any.
Ten wings for $6.96 is the least you can order, but if you’re really in the mood you can have 50 for $22.95, and the choices are mild, medium, hot, garlic, chipotle, BBQ, nuclear or plain and mixed.
We asked for medium and got a mixture of nicely cooked drums and flappers with flavor in the coating. Next time I would go hot.
Chicken Cord-On-Bleu ($5.95) is a fried or grilled chicken breast topped with hot ham and melted cheese on a kaiser roll with burger-style toppings and mayo on the side. The thin slice of chicken balanced nicely with the ham and cheese.
Dessert on both visits was Heath Crunch Pie for $3.59.
“When it’s done, we order a new one,’’ our smiling server said.
The new menu is five chock-full pages of goodies, with a bunch of new items and a few new prices, but still reasonable.
According to the latest health inspection by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, on May 31, no violations (not even a tiny one) was found. Congratulations.
A few things the restaurant could do to improve include:
A little lighter on the salt some places.
A couple of desserts, even a homemade rice pudding, would be nice.
Add some onion to the home fries.
Make the pancakes a little thicker.
The menu says Not Your Average Sports Restaurant. And it’s right.
My friend waddled off into the sunset.
For price, variety, quality and smiles, The End Zone earns three 1⁄2 stars.
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