Thursday, June 18, 2009
B.T.'s is good for townies, students
Tom Angleberger knows what he likes. So we've asked him to eat at NRV restaurants and write about them. If you have a restaurant to recommend,
e-mail him. Tom Angleberger
Recent columns
There are some restaurants that only townies go to. There are others where only college students dare to tread.
In between lies a special kind of restaurant that dares to be creative both with its menu and its decor. Radford legend B.T.'s is such a place.
Practically on campus, the restaurant makes its mission clear by giving the servers fraternity-style T-shirts with "B.T.'s" spelled out in Greek letters. It's a creatively reconfigured old house with a cigar store Indian, kitschy posters, a ski-lodge-style fireplace and a patio dining area.
But none of this means that locals of any age, even kids and grandmothers, won't enjoy a visit.
We arrived with our boys in tow and were whisked through the bar area and taken upstairs. Our booth, which seemed to be sitting atop the heating and cooling system, vibrated, but was otherwise very nice.
Our fellow diners appeared to be college students having a nice, but not rowdy, time. Later, a large family arrived for a celebration of some sort. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, including our energetic waitress.
The quality of the food certainly kept spirits high. Everything we ordered was very good, especially the boys' chicken tenders meal. The quality of chicken tenders varies substantially from restaurant to restaurant. B.T.'s are homemade and it shows.
The menu is packed with cutely named sandwiches, burgers, salads and steaks. The "Radford Godfather" is an Italian sub. The "Claytor Lake" is a catfish hoagie. "Muse Hall" is a turkey and ham affair, billed as "the tallest sandwich in town." They've got ribs, pitas, pasta and two styles of chicken wings -- buffalo and fried.
Waftos -- french-fried, waffle-cut potatoes -- come with many meals, but you can supplement these by ordering a basket of assorted fried things. Mmmm, that's something that locals and college students can always agree on.
Similarly, I hardly need add that beverage options are many -- from a bucket of beers to a vodka-spiked strawberry lemonade.
Bottom line: B.T.'s bridges the town-gown divide, offering tasty collegiate food to all.
