As you may have seen in the recent ice cream issue, Ballard’s on Broadway has lots of options when it comes to frozen treats. But did you know they’re also in the business of serving food?
And one of the featured items on their menu is fried foods – something we just can’t get enough of – at least until our wives find out.
So after our grueling three-game tennis match at Memorial Field, we were looking for something that would sit heavily in our stomachs for the rest of the day. It was a beautiful summer day and Ballard’s has some great outdoor spots to grab a bite, so it seemed like too perfect of an opportunity to pass up.
While Ballard’s also serves up sandwiches and wraps (and tacos on Tuesdays), hot dogs and daily specials, we had our heart set on something deep fried in oil. The only question was what would be the best combo to go with. Because they have both chicken nuggets and tenders, onion rings, fries (regular and sweet potato) and mozzarella sticks. Now we’re big believers that you can tell a lot about an establishment’s fried food menu by tasting the chicken tenders, so that was a given. But we needed something else. We were too old for the kids tenders and fries option, and there was a special on mozz sticks, so that would be our lunch for the day – a half pound of chicken tenders and eight, three-cheese mozz sticks. Our doctor would be so proud.
We were a little disappointed to learn there was no buffalo sauce as a dipping sauce option, so we opted to enjoy the chicken tenders as is – in all their fried glory. The order came with three large tenders and some odds and ends. They were nice and crispy, but not dried out at all. In the end, we were actually glad we didn’t opt for another sauce because these things were perfect plain.
The mozzarella sticks had a great crunch on the outside and were super gooey on the inside – exactly how you want a cheese stick to be. The only complaint this food snob would have is that when we took that golden brown and hot mozz stick and dipped it in the marinara sauce for the first time, it was cold. The key to a great mozz stick-sauce pairing is a warm sauce, but that’s just our opinion. And by the time we got back to the office and finished off our lunch (there was no way all that food was going to be eaten in one sitting) the sauce had warmed up due to the high 80 degree temps.
It cost us a little over $11 for the two orders, which really turned into a lunch and mid-afternoon snack, so not too bad if you think of it spread over two meals.
At some point we’ll have to get back there to try out a sandwich or tacos, but there are many other local spots that we must try out first.
But if you like fried food eaten at a picnic table next to a wooden train, Ballard’s is a good spot for that.
