Quality Inn
949 Blowing Rock Road
Boone, NC 28607(828) 262-0020
We ate here for our second review, in July of 2003. While this was a lunch outing, we hope to return soon for dinner. This place closed when ASU bought the hotel for a dorm.
Ray: I had the special of the day, a “Crawlfish” Po Boy sandwich ($9), with side salad (banana-jalapeno dressing) and a cup of chicken gumbo ($2).
The salad was a basic lettuce/purple cabbage/crouton salad, with two cherry tomatoes and two slices of cucumber. The veggies and croutons were crisp, and the dressing was tasty. The banana-jalapeno dressing was slightly spicy with a nice balance of the sweet banana flavor. Overall, a good but not outstanding salad.
Tom: I had the same salad but with sweet garlic dressing.
Ray: The chicken gumbo was good, but not spicy at all. I was quite surprised at the lack of spice, in fact. Again, good but not outstanding in any way.
Tom: Agreed. It tried to be gumbo–I sighted a slice of sausage and a couple of pieces of okra to make it genuine, but the portion was small, even for a cup.
Ray: The “Crawlfish” (their spelling) po boy (topped with lettuce and tomato) was not at all what I expected. The crayfish were not spicy in the least, and were a bit gamy for my taste. Having had good crayfish in Austin, I’d have to say this special was a failure, especially given its price, although I doubt I’d have this one again at any price.
Finally, the presentation of the dishes was just average. Nothing fancy, nothing eye-catching.
Tom: Yeah, and I was not distracted by the Cajun decor, either–there wasn’t any! My Chicken sandwich was uninspired, too. A sort of sauce-covered chicken breast that was not spicy enough, either. A couple of slices of tomato, red onion and lettuce, served open-face but eaten by hand.
Ray: While the Bourbon Street Grill purports to “specialize” in Cajun cuisine, less than half of their lunch items can even remotely be called Cajun. The dinner menu does have more Cajun items listed, and I look forward to trying those in a later review. Most importantly, Cajun food is supposed to be spicy, but none of the dishes I tried were even remotely spicy.
The service was prompt and pleasant without being intrusive, with only 7 minutes elapsing until our salads were delivered, and further five minutes until our meals arrived. However, there were only a few people in the restaurant at the time, so it’s not clear how speedy the service would be on a busy day. If you’re looking for a quiet place to eat workmanlike dishes, the Bourbon Street Grill would be a decent choice, although the prices seem a tad high. However, if you are looking for true Cajun food (at least for lunch), this is not a good choice.
Tom: Yup–nothing exciting here. But, to be fair, we will return at dinner hour some night to try the full menu.
GPS Coordinates
Lat: 36° 12.404′
Lon: 81° 40.159′
Menu (prices may change)
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