75023 Hwy 77

Lincoln, Alabama

(205)763-1225

http://montanasaloongrill.com

Montana's Sign

Sometimes I feel like I am becoming a food snob. It seems like everything has to be perfect for me to give a review that is glowing and kind to a restaurant. With that said I am going to start my review with my complaints about Montana Saloon & Grill. When I pulled into the parking lot at the top of the hill for my dinner at Montana Saloon & Grill, it was full. Yeah, that might be the only complaint that I have about this place. As you read the rest of this review I need to let you know that this is now one of my favorite places that I have ever been to. Montana Saloon & Grill is an established restaurant that is located near the Talladega Super Speedway known for its NASCAR races. Just off exit 168 at the top of the hill sits this establishment that is becoming a bona-fide world famous grill.

Montana's Porch

After my frustration with finding a parking spot, I mosey (if I am walking into a saloon, I am gonna mosey) onto the porch area and hold the door for a couple as they walk out talking about how good their meal was. Wouldn’t you know it, they had a parking spot in the very front, I’m not gonna move now though. I am greeted by the hostess and she takes me to a table around the left side of the bar. Alabama is still one of the few places in America that you are asked at the door if you want smoking or non. Since I am a non smoker I am always curious as to how each place handles smoking sections. Montana Saloon & Grill have built a separate room that totally separate the smoking and non smoking sections, this is a nice feature for those non smokers who are always looking for a reason to complain about smokers.

Having barely had a chance to sit down I am greeted by Kaleigh, she offers me a sweet tea and that sounds good. When she returns I have had a chance to look at the menu a little bit but have yet to make a decision, I take a sip of tea and let her know it is good. Kaleigh tells me thanks, she made it herself. I pick a few appetizers to ask about whether it will be the Mountain High Cheese Fries, the mushrooms, even thought about the oysters, but the server lets me know that she made the Mountain Man Salsa served with chips. This sounds good, and it is under 3 bucks too.

Chips & Salsa

Shortly, she brings me the salsa and takes my order. Before I place my order I have to ask her what is the absolute best item on the menu, is it the sandwiches, shrimp dinner, crawfish, or maybe one of the steaks. She gives me a couple of options and I went with the Beef Tips Montana served with a salad and the garlic mashed ‘taters’. She smiles and leaves me with my salsa and the basketball games that were being played on 5 screens visible from my table. Now I am a fan of salsa and love it when it is really fresh, this salsa may very well be the top salsa of any restaurant ever. The chips were good, but this salsa was absolutely fantastic. As Kaleigh walked by to help another table I asked her to tell me what was in it that gave it that perfect kick, she giggled and said it was a secret. If the tea and salsa is any indication of the meal to come I am not on the edge of my seat for the main course.

Main Course

The salad comes and I had decided to try the tomato based dressing, since I had been notified that none of the dressings were made in house I thought I would at least try something different. To be on the safe side I ordered a little bit of ranch dressing too, but it was not needed. I started with dipping a cracker in the tomato dressing before I decided to just pour the whole cup on the salad. While I ate my salad the main course arrives. It looks fantastic, with the Monterey Jack cheese melting over the onions, mushrooms, and beef tips that had been cooked just a little bit longer than I like but were wonderful. If a meal arrives and is great, I am not going to complain about the preparation just to complain. If it is good food, then it is good food. The server continues to fill my tea, water, and brings me extra napkins, she must know my kind.

After this grand meal I sit there as she takes the empty plates and offers dessert. Looking at her I say no, but tell me if any of the desserts are made on property and not out of a frozen box. Then she tells me that she made the cheesecake herself. After the experience with her sweet tea and her salsa I tell her that I will get the cheesecake. Now I ask her what she recommends to put on the cheesecake and she lets me know that it is perfect with no topping but the whipped cream. She takes off to the back to return with the cheesecake, whipped cream, and a side cup of strawberries. After tasting the cheesecake and seeing how light and fluffy yet so full of flavor I think to myself that this waitress is going to make someone very happy. Hell, I am just a customer in the Montana Saloon & Grill and I have been swept away by her sweet tea, salsa, and cheesecake. (But my heart belongs to Rhonette)

Cheesecake

My recommendation for you is to make Montana Saloon & Grill in Lincoln, Alabama a special stop. When you are traveling through from Atlanta to Birmingham this is a must for any individual or family, even though the name has saloon in it they are a family friendly restaurant. However they do not have a kids menu they certainly have options that will make kids happy from the sandwiches to the flatbreads. Most items on the menu are under ten dollars, and my meal with the dessert and all was under twenty bucks before tip. As good as it is these guys are worth a special trip at any cost.

Review by Pie, email: pie@piesplate.com

230 Spring Branch Drive

Oxford, Alabama 36203

(256)835-5858

www.jeffersonsrestaurant.com

Jefferson's Store Front

In the city of Oxford, Alabama there is a fairly new chain restaurant that has appeared. This place is basically a sports bar that is really well lit. Not having gone to any of the 7 other restaurants in the chain that spans 5 states, I do not know if that is the norm for Jefferson’s. As you look to the signs or banners that advertise this place they pride themselves in wings, oysters, and burgers. When you walk in you can see the bar there and a fairly wide open seating area, with booths around the perimeter and tables in the center. Another thing that is quite obvious is the amount of dollar bills that have been written on and tacked up on the walls, there is a story telling you why in the menu.

Jefferson's Dining Room

After visiting the fairly clean facilities I grab a chair near the rear of the restaurant. After waiting a few minutes I have a waitress appear with a menu and the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her body language and upcoming manners tell me that she does not want to be there. She takes my drink order and I decide to get an unsweet tea. When she brings it to my table I realize that they do not have a single name brand sweetener. They offer pink stuff, blue stuff, and yellow stuff. My personal belief is that when you are running a restaurant you should offer the best that you can to you customers. When you offer knock off brand sweeteners it looks to me like you are being cheap. That is a personal opinion of mine. I decided to go with just a water.

 My server (who never introduced herself) has now returned to my table twice wanting to take my order. Some may think that she was being efficient but I found it annoying. This being my first time here and having to look through a very lengthy menu I wanted to see what all they have. Since I rarely go with the salads I decide once again to forego the salad options here, even though they have almost 10 different options including BBQ, Oriental, Cajun Chicken and various Caesar options too. It is nice to see a place that does not charge too much for their salads, as the salads here are reasonable and start in the $3 range and go up to just over $7.50. The other items that you can choose from are sandwiches, wings, and Jefferson’s Seafood Festival. Most of the items on the menu are in the 6-7 dollar range and the most expensive item is the crab legs and they aren’t even that expensive at just under 13 bucks.

Condiments

I finally settle on the 10 wings with chips for $6.95. I ask the server which way is the best way to get the wings, wither BBQ, Teriyaki, Lemon Pepper, Hot, Turbo, and she lets me know that the best way is ‘Double Dipped’. When she takes off I notice the ketchup bottle is a mess, I mean gross and needs a wipe down. Thankfully I don’t need ketchup. The food arrives quickly and looks pretty good. The chips were, honestly not good. They were stale and very plain. The wings were hot to the touch as to the fact that they must have just come out of the deep fryer. As I start to eat the wings I realize, these things are good, I mean really good. If I were to be in the area of Oxford, Alabama I would definitely make my way to Jefferson’s for the wings.

Jefferson's Wings

Now I am nearing the end of my visit, and the server stops by to drop off the bill, but not to refill my drink. As I sit there she comes back by to take the money, the money that I have yet had a chance to put on the table. I still would like another drink. Sitting there realizing that she must be about to go home or be ‘cut’ for the day I decide to stand. She quickly shows up and reminds me that she can take my money, which I have still yet to count out. So, I start to count it out and she just stands there like I am taking up the best years of her life. When I asked for a copy of the check I have now even hindered her day even more. As I wait for her to get my copy I decide that this would be a great place for carry out. I get the copy of my bill and notice that not only do they list her name on the bill they list her full name. So if you find yourself at Jefferson’s and Kara Y. is your server then I hope you have a better experience than I did with her.

 Remember, Jefferson’s of Oxford, Alabama for take out…

 Review by Pie, email:  pie@piesplate.com

401 South Quintard Ave

Anniston, AL 36201

(256) 237-1411 

Betty's Logo

Alabama is one of those places that takes great pride in their own style of BBQ. Growing up in Florida I am a fan of sliced BBQ and not so much on the shredded. But the people at Betty’s Bar-B-Q do have a good product. On this particular day, I was craving a good meal. My lunch had been disappointing and I was hungry.

Betty's Sign

My server let me pick my table and left a card on the table telling me that her name is Shala. She stepped away to bring me a sweet tea that she recommended. The tea was good, not great though, little bit bitter. She asked me if I knew what I wanted and I told her I needed to look at the menu, but would love to start with some hushpuppies. She smiled and disappeared to put in my order. For the next few moments I sat there, and the next few minutes turned into close to 10 minutes and I was actually in the process of standing up to leave when I heard the cook yell “HUSHPUPPIES UP”! I decided to wait for a few more seconds. Shala came back to my table and dropped off 5 large hushpuppies and in her sweet southern drawl asked if I was ready to order. Being torn on 3 or 4 different items I went with the sampler platter. But I did have a little modification to the order. Instead of the catfish I asked if they would trade it for the special of the day which was chicken croquettes. Shala let me know that this would not be a problem. She left me with my hushpuppies and a bottle of BBQ sauce. The HPs were extremely dry on the inside and fried too long on the outside. Maybe it is a personal preference, but I do not like my HPs to be deep brown.

Hushpuppies

I sat there watching the weather channel with the volume off and waited for my sampler. When it got there it did look good. My disappointment started as I ate. The cornbread was so hard that I could not break it with my teeth. The okra was good, but cold. The chicken croquettes were also very good, but cold. The green beans were good and not cold but not hot. The shredded pork with the sauce already on the top of it was good, but cold. The item that was not cold was the one fresh chicken strip. They make the strips fresh each day and they are never frozen. Not only was the chicken strip hot, it was fantastic. When I visit Betty’s BBQ in the future I will be back specifically for the chicken strips.

Sampler Platter

Most of the items are very reasonably priced, with sandwiches in the 3 dollar range and the plates around 6. My hushpuppies order was under 1 dollar. The sampler platter was just over $10 and the tea was about 1.50. Even though I was not offered a dessert they claim that all of them are homemade, lemon, peanut butter, chocolate fudge pies and cobbler. They do have a special menu for both the kids and the seniors. The sign outside and on the back of the menu tells you that the home cooking meals change daily. Also they want you to know that they are ready from 4pm till gone. The staff of Betty’s Bar-B-Q encourage you to call for the daily specials. So, overall I was under impressed, but will go back if only for the chicken strips.

Review by Pie, email:  pie@piesplate.com