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R&O's
West End & Bucktown: 216 Old Hammond Hwy. 504-831-1248. Map. WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY WHAT'S GOOD BACKSTORY DINING ROOM ESSENTIAL DISHES FOR BEST RESULTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Very Casual
DS MC V
A restaurant will never go too far wrong with enormous servings at lower-than-normal prices. That has always been the hallmark of R&O's food--but it's good, too. Now that nearby West End Park is bereft of its restaurants, R&O and its neighbors in Bucktown are even more important to the casual dining scene, even without a view of the nearby lake.
The three specialties have always shown some distinction. The thin-crust pizza is the best item on the menu, followed closely by the poor boy sandwiches, made with a light, seeded, Italian-French bread. The fried and boiled seafood come in third, but they're far from bad. For many people the quantities of seafood serve make up for a certain dullness in the coating.
R&O (it stands for Roland and Ora, the founders) began in 1980 as a tiny cafe in the back of an ancient Bucktown grocery store. It served then most of what it does now: poor boys, pizza, and seafood. It drew crowds so large that it since moved twice, each time to a bigger spot. It still remains full at all hours. In 2007, they opened a second location in Covington, but it never took off, and is now closed.
One enormous room with a high ceiling, the walls decorated with mounted fish and other standard lakefront touches. On the noisy side, largely because of the number of people who jam in. The service staff squeezes between the tables to deliver a rushed service that doesn't seem to upset the hungry customers.
Starters
»Hot tamales
Barbecue shrimp
French fries
Sweet potato fries
»Stuffed artichoke
Boiled shrimp
Shrimp remoulade
Crawfish pie
»Seafood gumbo
Vegetable soup
Shrimp salad
Italian tossed salad
Artichoke salad
Entrees
»Pizza (all kinds, but especially garlic)
Spaghetti and red sauce
»Meatballs and spaghetti
»Italian sausage and spaghetti
Chicken or veal parmesan
»Fried shrimp plate
»Fried fish plate
»Fried oyster plate
»Fried soft shell plate
Stuffed crab plate
Seafood platter
Sandwiches
»R and O special (ham and roast beef)
»Roast beef
»Meatball with mozzarella
Chicken or veal parmesan poor boy
»Ham
Turkey
Shrimp
Fish
»Oyster
Soft shell crab
Stuffed crab
»Hot sausage
Italian sausage
Muffuletta
Desserts
»Hot bread pudding
Cheesecake
Show up later in the evening rather than the busy early hours. Have one person with a cellphone wait in the restaurant while the others with you (one of whom also has a phone) hangs on the levee across the street. Avoid Fridays.
Except for the pizza, which is genuinely terrific, the food at R&O is lacking in the finer points. The gravy on the poor boys, the crispness of the seafood, and the boil of the shrimp is a shade below excellent. However, the low prices keep it all a fair deal.
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Good view
- Open Sunday lunch and dinner
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Open all afternoon
- Unusually large servings
- Good for children
- Easy, nearby parking
- No reservations
