Logan’s portions, prices welcome diners
By Colleen Coffield Sachs
Daily News Columnist
MARY ESTHER – One of my favorite food-related Web sites is Chowhound.com.
It’s a great tool for finding the best places to eat (and which ones to avoid). Recently I stumbled across a thread on the site that discussed the huge portions served at many restaurants.
The discussion focused on two schools of thought. One was that people like big portions so they have leftovers to take home. The second was that leftover food is rarely as good as what was served and eaten at the restaurant, and that neither overeating nor leaving a large amount of food behind are good alternatives.
Whichever philosophy you subscribed to, it seems that most restaurants are banking on people liking huge portions. Logan’s Roadhouse was one of the restaurants mentioned in the thread, and when we visited, large portions were definitely the rule.
Logan’s, part of CBRL Group Inc., which also owns Cracker Barrel, serves hearty food, lots of beer, and peanuts.
The first thing you notice when you arrive are peanut shells on the floor. A bucket of peanuts was waiting on the table when we were seated. It is all part of the atmosphere, which is meant to resemble a classic roadhouse, a la the 1989 Patrick Swayze movie.
Most of the food at Logan’s tasted good, and there were a few things that were particularly good. The best thing we tried was an appetizer called Lightnin’ Hot Shrimp Bucket. The shrimp were firm but tender, with a moderate amount of spiciness. They were served chilled in a bucket filled with ice.
We also liked the fried mushrooms, which were served with horseradish sauce; and the thick, creamy Loaded Baked Potato Soup as starters.
Among the entrees, fried catfish with a crisp cornmeal crust was easily my favorite. Other seafood entrees included mesquite-grilled salmon, fried shrimp and a Southwestern-style tilapia.
As for the meats, I liked the flavorful sirloin better than the filet (which had been very undercooked). Grilled meatloaf was homey and good (and enough for three diners to share).
Both the sirloin and meatloaf were topped with Brewski Onions, which are braised in Amberbock. They were still a bit crisp, and didn’t have much beer flavor. Simple caramelized onions would have been better. On a ribs-and-chicken combo the ribs proved to be good, but the grilled chicken breast was too dry and lacked flavor.
Nearly everything we ordered came with side dishes. The baked sweet potato is excellent with or without butter. Another good option was an order of sweet cinnamon apples.
Logan’s version of baked beans tastes more like chili than the typical sweet molasses variety, and mashed potatoes could be ordered plain or topped with everything you would find on a loaded baked potato.
The only side dish that I would avoid would be the grilled vegetable skewer, which was inordinately salty.
Getting back to the oversizedportion issue, the area of the menu where I usually find huge portions is among the desserts. And often these big portions are desserts that are too rich or dense or gooey.
At Logan’s, the desserts are definitely big, and can be shared by two or more without a problem. But I was happy to find that they were balanced.
There was a good fudgy brownie served warm with vanilla ice cream, and a moderately sweet cheesecake with a nice creamy texture.
The kid’s menu at this familyfriendly restaurant includes burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese and steak tips.
There is also an express lunch menu featuring salads, sandwiches, fried catfish, grilled salmon and meatloaf. Items from the express menu are ready in less than 15 minutes.
Logan’s serves big portions of food and prices are reasonable. While service had some missteps, it was friendly and our server tried hard. We were made to feel welcome, and had a comfortable meal in a relaxed setting.
Colleen Coffield Sachs is restaurant reviewer for the Daily News. She dines unannounced at area restaurants for this column. You may write to her in care of the newspaper at P.O. Box 2949, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549.
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