Jimmy Mac's Roadhouse

Continuing on the theme of "restaurants that we pass by but never ate at", we ended up at Jimmy Mac's Roadhouse.  For all the times we have shopped at the Walmart in Renton and all the times we drove by on our way to Feast Buffet, it was about time we actually went inside Jimmy Mac's.  After playing mindless games at the nearby Family Fun Center (trying to collect points for useless prizes), we made our way to Jimmy Mac's for a late dinner.  The Texas-style diner encourages you to chuck your peanut shells onto the floor, so yes, the place looks like a mess, but has its charm.

Not to stand out and not fit in (although we looked like the Huangs from Fresh off the Boat at Cattleman's Ranch), we did gather a bowl of Peanuts and proceeded to throw them at each other and litter the floor.  Wait, let me rephrase that, the kids and I chucked them at each other.  Viv did her best Jessica Huang impression and played no-fun mom.  Also complimentary, we were served their sweet and warm Yeast Buns with enough butter to rub onto Kramer (check the turkey episode).  We couldn't stop eating them!  Onto our first actual appie, we got the Hot Wings that were surprisingly served with skinny fries.  I'm not sure where they get their wings from, but they were gigantic.  Beyond the slightly thick batter, the meat was tender and juicy.  We thought that the wings weren't hot enough where the glaze was more butter than hot sauce.  Loved the ample amount of blue cheese dip on the side, they didn't skimp!

For my main, I went for the Campfire Cheeseburger with Swiss, cheddar & Jack cheeses, bacon and a crispy onion ring slathered in BBQ sauce.  Again, this was pretty large as well and even the amount of pickles and lettuce was excessive.  No matter, I enjoyed the combination of ingredients as it was hearty and definitely not lacking flavour.  The well-charred patty was a little dry though, but the rest of the stuff inside did help alleviate that.  The bun was soft, but held everything together.  I liked the steak fries as they were meaty with lots of potato texture.  Oh and serving in on a hubcap was pure awesomeness!  My son decided on the Pulled Pork Sandwich that was of course, large.  He could only finish half of it.  The pork was on the drier side though, but flavourful from their top secret pig pucker sauce.  It was more of a sweet vinegar glaze rather than a BBQ sauce per se.  It actually helped lighten up the heaviness of the pork.

For Viv, she was disgusted with all this gluttony and decided on the small size of the Boulder Grilled Chicken Salad.  This sported greens tossed with cheese & chili-lime vinaigrette, tomato, avocado, onions, sliced chicken breast, black bean corn salsa and sour cream.  She was shocked that this was a small as she didn't finish it either.  It was definitely hearty while the flavours were a bit conflicting in her opinion.  The sweet and vinegariness of the dressing was fine, but didn't seem to go with the random splashes of BBQ sauce.  Otherwise, things were fresh and the chicken was tender.  For my daughter, she wasn't very hungry and ended up with the Kid's Fish & Chips.  This was not bad since the cod was fairly moist and flaky.  However, the batter was a bit thick and parts of the fish touching that was a bit dry.  Alright, the food ain't refined nor was it particularly healthy, but for me, the place has charm.  Big portions and reasonable prices, I would go back.

The Good:
- Big portions
- Reasonable prices
- Peanut shells on the floor!

The Bad:
- Greasy