Don’t be a snob, try the food at West Park Lanes

I really try not to be, but I think that, maybe, I am drifting into food snobbery. I have found excellent food in the oddest, most unlikely places, and I have the most fun when a place genuinely surprises me. But these places usually surprise me exactly because I expect not to be impressed, because of some preconceived notion I may have about an establishment, or maybe because of the way a restaurant looks. I try not to, but I am undeniably being judgmental.

I’m ashamed to say that that was the case this week in foodie questing. I was asking a friend if they had heard of anywhere new to eat, anywhere I may not have been, and almost with embarrassment, she said, “Have you gone to the bowling alley?” I raised my eyebrows and said with a lift of my chin, “Really?” Translation: “You can’t be serious. The bowling alley?”

I had a terrible experience with bowling alley food more than a decade ago at a place that is no longer open. For sure, the burnt pizza, scanty cheese and stale crust was coloring my opinion of food served while bowling, and this prejudice was hard to overcome. But I value people’s opinions, and she made a good case for bowling alley food.

So I headed to West Park Lanes at 354 S. Silver Springs Road No. 6386 in Cape Girardeau. I ordered a bit of everything my friend and reviewers online said was yummy — bone-in wings, a pizza, and a burger and curly fries, and sat at a table to wait. I enjoyed watching the children come in after school, dragging their newfangled bowling bags that had wheels. I really enjoyed watching the woman working the food counter interact with these kids. She treated them as adults, and they replied as such, but perhaps even a tad more politely. I watched a pretty nifty machine go down the lane all by itself to clean and, I’m assuming, wax the lanes, leaving them mirror bright. And then my food came to me.

Let me apologize, profusely. West Park Lanes, you make good food. I am sorry for my preconceived notions based on another bowling alley’s poor food, but your's, your's was delicious.

We ordered a pizza with beef because I can’t stomach pepperoni anymore, unfortunately. The crust was very soft and yeasty, like fresh-baked bread is yeasty. The cheese was thick, gooey and toasted perfectly golden brown. This was the pizza I had wanted all those years ago at the other place, and here it was, done as well as I could’ve hoped.

Then I tried the double cheeseburger. It was topped with lettuce, tomato, pickle, two slices of cheese and surrounded with a toasted bun. You know I love a toasty bun. This burger was no joke. The patties were large, and it looked lovely nestled in its basket with a mound of curly fries. The meat was nicely seasoned, and reminded me of the way my pan-fried burgers tasted when I made them at home. This is a solid, delicious burger. Its curly fry companions were standard fare, but they were cooked right — not too limp and wonderfully crunchy without being burned.

My husband is the chicken wing fan (he approved), though I did try a drumstick. The wings had been deep fried and tossed in our choice of garlic parmesan sauce. My drumstick had a little crunch on the outside, and the inside was still juicy. There are few things in this world better than a well-fried piece of chicken, and few things worse than a poorly fried one. This one was one of the former, and I made sure to get every piece of meat off of the bone.

The prices of these items were surprisingly reasonable, equivalent to a sit-down restaurant with similar food. This was surprising, because the bowling alley kind of has a captive audience who must buy the food there if hunger strikes, but it does not take advantage of this fact. There is also a full bar there, off to the side and separate from where the food tables are, if you so choose. I didn’t partake this time but noted it.

So go eat at the bowling alley. Heck, throw the ball for a game or two if you like. This place has been around for a long time, and if the current quality holds true, it will be going strong in the future, too.

Rebecca LaClair travels to a new place every week to try food from a trendy restaurant or one she hasn’t been to yet.