Saturday, May 25, 2013
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Food & Drink Peekaboo at BooDad's
Posted by Matthew Schniper on Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 3:50 PM
If you've had time to check out this week's Side Dish column — on that oh-so-awesome, day-earlier distribution cycle we just launched — then you already know the scoop on BooDad's Beach House Grill.
- Matthew Schniper
- You can find a wide beer list at this nice, wide central bar inside BooDad's.
The former Sand Pits Beach Volleybar & Grill opens officially tomorrow, on Friday the 13th.
But owner Todd Dorman invited me to attend a soft opening Wednesday night for a handful of media guests and other community members. Much like my visit to the newly opened Tucanos Brazilian Grill last week, my fellow guests and I were essentially serving as warm bodies on which to help the staff train and work out the final kinks.
I'll hold off making any critical comments on the food until an appropriate amount of time has passed and our food team returns for a formal review, given to almost all new indie openings in town.
- Matthew Schniper
- Volleyball league season approaches, with a facility ready to please.
So here, I'll share some photos from last night that should help illustrate the massive, quarter-million-dollar-overhaul to the space. And I'll share some peripheral observations that will again be sensitive to the soft opening.
First, I'll say that there's a respectable beer list at the bar, starting with gluten-free Angry Orchard Hard Cider on tap, plus GF Redbridge and GF Bard's sorghum beer in bottles.
Also on tap: Firestone Walker's Union Jack IPA; and in bottles, that same brewery's excellent DBA double barrel ale.
- Matthew Schniper
- At soft openings, which are basically staff trainings, the employees almost outnumber the guests. This young swarm greeted arrivals just inside the new front entry.
I also sampled an enjoyable 22-ounce bomber of Louisiana-based Abita Brewing Co.'s Andygator Helles Doppelbock, an 8 percent ABV beast, fitting on the menu since a good portion of it is Cajun-influenced.
I confess that I hadn't visited the location prior to last night, when it was Sharkey's, Porky's or Oscar's East. So I can't compare and contrast the new decor with the prior. But Dorman did give me a quick spin around the property, pointing out the new dining room addition, expanded kitchen and new front entryway.
Everything's looking sharp, new and bright, with lots of late-day sun pouring into the outdoor, upstairs bar and patio; dining-level patio with fire pits; and into the main dining area at the interior bar. There's plenty of flat-screens for game viewing and of course the five volleyball courts outside for game playing.
- Matthew Schniper
- It's scenes like these that make us pine for cool summer evenings, where adirondack chairs and fire pits make such nice companions for beers and cocktails.
If you do happen to be interested in playing volleyball past grabbing a meal or drink, visit the Sand Pits Beach Volleyball area of BooDad's website, here, which outlines the league's structure. Registration deadlines for that are in eight days, on April 20, so get movin'.
Otherwise, Dorman says it is possible to hang out and get into pick-up games with strangers, or to bring enough friends to fill a court at the $20 per hour rate.
