Mrs. Boomer’s doesn’t disappoint

It’s been a couple months since Mrs. Boomer’s, a venerable Dothan institution, moved from its warehouse-feeling location on the Circle to Montgomery Highway across from Target.

Full disclosure here: My wife and I fondly remember the establishment’s downtown location on North Foster Street. The new spot is a step closer to its roots. Two large dining areas separated by a bar make it seem more intimate than its last location, a change for the better, we agreed.

The menu remains broad and appealing, ranging from pub-fare appetizers to burgers and a variety of sandwiches, smoked barbecue, steaks and seafood.

Our first visit to the new place was on a recent Friday night. We both started with soup. Boomer’s has a good selection on the menu — cream of potato, camp stew, French onion and chili each caught our attention. I went with the potato soup, and it was excellent. Layers of flavors here and a nice texture of potato, which I prefer over a more “soupy” version I’ve had at other places. Carrots and celery were flavorful without upstaging the potato. This was the surprise of the night. I’d order this one again and recommend it.

My wife’s French onion soup, not so much. It did have the impressive-looking melted provolone topping, but the soup itself was too salty and lacked depth of flavor. She said it tasted like they followed the directions right on the can. She was right.

For dinner, I went straight for Southern comfort — well, a Famous Boomer Burger ($8.99). It had been a while since the last time I had one of these. Like I said, it’s comfort food — and a lot of it. A 10-ounce patty loaded with everything, including cheddar cheese and bacon. All on a wonderful bakery bun. Two hands are mandatory. This was the best burger I’ve had in a while.

Oh, instead of fries, I ordered homemade potato chips. Again, a nice surprise. They were nicely (not overly) seasoned, really crunchy and very light. Give these a try if you’re not sure you can handle the burger and the fries.

While I opted for comfort, my wife tried something new, the fried grouper filet ($10.99). A delicious side salad with a nice mix of cold, crisp romaine and dark greens preceded the entrée. When the main course came, she was nice enough to share. We were both impressed that the fish was perfectly cooked. It was very lightly coated on the outside and hot and moist inside. The grouper itself would have been better if had been seasoned before it was breaded. Under the coating, the fish was bland. A little squirt of lemon helped at the table.

Our server was friendly. Service was quick on this early Friday evening. My burger came out with fries instead of the homemade chips. She apologized and the glitch was quickly fixed. In fact, I didn’t have to give back the fries.

After the soup and meal, we didn’t leave room for dessert. Next time. And there will be a next time. I noticed on the menu that Boomer’s offers its burgers and several sandwiches and a variety of other items at lunch for $6.99. For that burger, it’s a bargain.

Ken Rogers can be reached at .

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Mrs. Boomer’s
Location: 4630 Montgomery Highway, Dothan
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to midnight
Phone: (334) 699-8530
Fax: (334) 699-8531
Internet: http://www.MrsBoomers.com
Rating: Three out of four stars