Review: Hooters in Boca Raton
By John Tanasychuk, Sun Sentinel
Important: This article was last updated on June 10, 2010. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.
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 Commons at Town Center, 2240 NW 19th Ave., Boca Raton 561-391-8903 Hootersflorida.com Cuisine: American Cost: inexpensive Hours: lunch, dinner daily Reservations: not taken Credit cards: AE, MC, V Bar: full service Sound level: moderate Outside smoking: yes For kids: high chairs, boosters, menu Wheelchair accessible: yes  |
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First impression: What's a restaurant critic doing at Hooters? Once or twice a year, I need a chicken wing fix and a break from white tablecloths and the pressure to order food in three courses. All pretensions are off at Hooters. How could they not be when the waitresses wear orange shorts and what might be called Hooters leggings?Ambience: Bar comfortable, even if the table in our booth was set too far from the bench seating.
Background: I have been intrigued with the Boca Hooters ever since reading that it left more than six years ago when the landlord decided to look for a more upscale tenant. Hooters returned last October just in time to salve our recession-weary wallets. Judging by the young crowd gathered here on a weekday night, the timing couldn't have been better.
Starters: If you're going to serve Curley Fries ($2.49), I say salt them before sending them out. Same goes for onion rings ($4.29). The salt-conscious crowd will ask for unsalted or not eat here. Buffalo shrimp ($7.49/ 10 piece, $13.99/ 20 piece) are deep fried and then shaken in sauce, but these were the most anemic looking shrimp I've every seen. They needed both more time in the fryer and much more sauce.
Entree excellence: I came for the chicken wings ($7.79/10-pieces, $14.99/20-piece, $29.99/50-piece) and they weren't up the Hooters standards. I ordered them breaded with medium sauce. What we received tasted like classic fried chicken wings without any heat or noticeable sauce. When we pointed this out to our waitress, she suggested we order them "extra wet." She took our order back and half came back with the much better extra wet treatment. The sauce, however, seemed to sit on the wings instead of being basted throughout. The Big Fish Sandwich ($8.49), made with fried or grilled mahi mahi, needed something. Some wasabi mayo? A bit of lemon tartar sauce? The Hooters Burger ($6.49) is a classic one that tasted more fast food than sit-down restaurant. Cheese was 69 cents extra, as was bacon. All sandwiches are served with cole slaw, baked beans or potato salad. The baked beans were very good, but the coleslaw tasted more like sweet pickles than vinegar. The sandwich lineup also includes a boneless buffalo sandwich ($7.79) and a Philly Cheese Steak made with either beef ($7.79) or chicken ($7.49).
Side issues: Blue cheese or ranch dressing and celery cost 69 cents. Extra sauce is also 69 cents.
On the lighter side: While not the place to be watching your nutritional intake, there's a grilled chicken garden salad ($7.29), Caesar ($7.99) and Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad ($7.99).
Sweet!: Dessert might have been the highlight of the meal, from Peanut Butter Pie ($3.99) to Chocolate Mousse Cake ($3.99). Not homemade tasting, but they hit the sweet spot.
Liquid assets: Sam Adams ($5/pint) and Blue Moon ($5/pint) are among the wonderfully cold draft list that includes all of the typical American brews.
Service: Extremely attentive. We didn't have to ask for anything.
Dining deals: Cheeseburger and fries are $5.99 on Mondays. Boneless wings and fries are $5.99 on Wednesdays.
Contact dining correspondent John Tanasychuk at jtanasychuk@sunsentinel.com or write to him in care of Sun Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.