Recently I had the opportunity to eat at Boo-Ray’s of New Orleans, which has two locations; one in Lake Worth and one in Weatherford, Texas. I ate at the Lake Worth location, which is the newest of the two.
1. The restaurant was clean and had a pleasant atmosphere. It was tastefully decorated with a Cajun touch, but not over done.
I haven’t been to the Weatherford location, which is older and allows smoking, and I’ve been told is more confined. So, in Weatherford, expect the influence of those factors on your dining experience. However, I’ve also been told, Boo-Ray’s Weatherford is in the beginning stages of building a new building behind the current location, which I expect will be similar to the Lake Worth location.
2. The wait staff was very good and it was nice to see them help each other by refilling drinks at other servers’ tables.
3. The prices were comparable to similar restaurants, but the servings were larger than I’ve had at Razoo’s, for example. In fact, the lunch portions at Boo-Ray’s are the same as the dinner portions, just cheaper. So, if you are looking for more bang for your buck, the lunch menu (11am-5pm) is what you are looking for. Whether dinner or lunch, though, it is unlikely you will leave hungry; the owner is committed to giving his customers their money’s worth, and it shows.
4. The food: I finally had the chance to eat fried alligator and I’m glad I did! My daughter said, “It tastes like chicken.” The fried alligator appetizer was fresh, hot, not oily, and served with fresh, delicious cocktail sauce and french fries. Boo-Ray’s french fries are batter dipped, served fresh, crisp and hot, and like the alligator, are not oily.
Among our party, we had the shrimp plate (6 fried shrimp, fries and freshly made house salad, and hush puppies), Andouille Sausage and Red Beans over white rice, the fried catfish plate (fresh catfish filets, fries, hush puppies and salad), the kid’s cheeseburger (1/4 lb cheeseburger and fries or salad), and a kid’s corn dog and fries.
Everybody in our group was satisfied with the taste and amount of food we were served. My daughter appreciated being able to substitute a fresh salad for her french fries. The salad wasn’t a mini kid’s-size salad either. It was the same as the adult size, which is unusual. We never had the impression that Boo-Ray’s cuts corners in any way. They have a generous substitution policy, seemingly allowing anything for anything, though there must be some limit. My mom was allowed to substitute one of her catfish filets for some fried shrimp, and I substituted a house salad for the standard vegetable, which is green beans.
5. The menu: I’ve listed above what we had, but there is so much more to choose from, including, but not limited to mesquite grilled steak, a variety of chicken dishes (stuffed, grilled, blackened) a variety of fish (catfish, salmon, tilapia, gulf red fish, and mahi-mahi), fettucini, and oysters.
Without reservation, I can say I want to return to Boo-Ray’s and I hope it isn’t a long time before that happens. Furthermore, I’m comfortable recommending that you give Boo-Ray’s a try; I think you will be happy you did.
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