WEEKEND LIFE
Patrons piling into Kelsey’s for good reason
Roadhouse rustles up great food
Kelsey’s making a splash
Kelsey’s Roadhouse 302 Kenmount Rd. St. John’s Phone (709) 722-8099
Kelsey’s Roadhouse of St. John’s is one chain restaurant that has its act together.
From the moment we entered and were greeted with a bright “Hello!” everything went perfectly. Mind you, it was 11:30 a.m. and the horde of patrons had yet to arrive.
Indeed, it was our third attempt to visit Kelsey’s. Each occasion previous there was a queue to get in. I attributed this to brand recognition, good word of mouth and location.
Inside, Kelsey’s owns its “roadhouse” moniker. There’s lots of wood panelling, upholstered booths (tables, too) and flat screens. Kelsey’s is filled with plenty of natural and artificial light, thanks to large windows and trendy fixtures, like a central one featuring a multitude of hanging wires with clear lightbulbs attached. No expense was spared to create the “look” and, more important, make it durable. Successful chains demand the best kind of startup.
Plenty of reading material was waiting for us on the table, specifically, a colourful booklet of beverage (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) menu cards fanned out to grab maximum attention. Among the “booze free bevvies” were mocktails, hand-crafted sodas, lemonades and virgin milk bottle shakes. The shakes (also available with alcohol) looked like fun. A glass milk bottle was filled with shake, topped with whipped cream rising out of the neck, which, in turn was topped with a bright red maraschino cherry or chocolate chunk.
Rolled Reuben
Kelsey’s Reuben spring rolls (yep, that’s right, Reuben Schwartz meets Martin Yan) were a fusion too wild to pass up. This feast of grease was delicious. (Complete bliss would have been the addition of classic accompaniments: cherry Coke, french fries, coleslaw and pickle.) Inside the crispy shell, nestled on a bed of sauerkraut and Swiss cheese was beautiful, pinky red, medium fatty Montreal smoked meat. I loved the unscripted crunch of the fried wrapper and only missed my rye bread a tiny bit. Kudos for the horseradish beer mustard, an outstanding dip.
Spouse’s fish tacos arrived open faced (only requiring a bit of folding). It made a more eye-catching presentation and allowed us to clearly see the ingredients against the white background provided by the tortillas. The star ingredient was battered, deep fried cod. Although there seemed to be more batter than cod in the one I tasted, overall I liked the combination of fish, apple slaw and zippy habanero aioli in corn tortilla.
I cannot imagine broccoli soup being especially palatable without including a little cream or other dairy product. No doubt there’s one out there. Kelsey’s did include cream and cheddar cheese in its aptly named broccoli cheddar soup. Instead of being smothered by the cream and cheddar (grated on top), surprisingly, the taste of the broccoli came through quite forcefully. It’s a trite term but still applies — comfort food is how I’d describe Kelsey’s broccoli cheddar soup.
Tame Thai
Chain restaurants don’t always produce a great take on ethnic recipes. Kelsey’s Thai shrimp curry bowl was pretty good. It was made by using succulent shrimp, steamed vegetables and green curry paste over noodles.
What impressive vegetables. They were exquisitely fresh and had some real flavour, as did the dish in its entirety. Perhaps some coconut milk and a droplet of fish sauce might have ginned it up a little. It was a tame curry. No fear of burning the roof of your mouth off with this number.
It was called “messy fish sandwich,” not because it looked messy but rather because it was a challenge to keep from making a mess while consuming it. It was the tallest sandwich I have ever tried to wrap my gob around, just barely managing to take a bite by squeezing the contents together. Ah, and there’s the messy bit, you see. What’s that — for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction? The battered cod, coleslaw and every other ingredient inside the “rustic” bun began to slide out the side. I ended up using a knife and fork to eat it, but, I cannot deny that it was a delicious sandwich.
Most, not all, chain restaurants are run efficiently and provide patrons with an attractive environment in which to spend their time. But you must make a leap of faith that the food will be as good as it looks in the chain’s marketing photos. Based on my experience, Kelsey’s is a sure bet for reasonably priced, very good tasting food, with an element of fun. Despite having made several attempts to visit, in the end, the wait was definitely worth it.
Karl Wells is an accredited personal chef, author of “Cooking with One Chef One Critic” and recipient of awards from the national body of the Canadian Culinary
Federation and the Restaurant Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Contact him through his website, www.karlwells.com. Follow him on Twitter: @karl_wells