Dinner Report: Good Time Charlie's...

Mark another one off the list... and get me to a cardiologist, Stat!I have been wanting to try Good Time Charlie's for years but just never made it for whatever reason, and since we were in the area anyway, decided to pop-in for a quick dinner.I liked the place as soon as we walked in, what with the well worn look of a diner that hasn't been made over by consultants every few years. Lots of stuff on walls (a requirement for me to be able to eat, for inexplicable reasons), but nothing that was distracting. We weren't sure how the place worked so we sort of stood in the door way for a minute or so and finally my wife grabbed a few menus and we found a table.

Right away, I was pleased that the waitstaff was made up of normal, non-uniformed folks with pleasant attitudes and fast! No sooner had we sat down and our waitress was taking our drink order. I also observed that the waitresses helped one another out with filling water and tea glasses, and removing plates. Everyone seemed to have a good flow to running the place, and I like that efficiency.We noticed a group of ladies seated across the room from us, mostly wearing purple outfits and all festooned with fancy red hats. I later asked one of the ladies what the deal was, and it turns out they are a bunch of gals who like to meet to wear hats and eat. Sounds like a plan, but I don't have any red hats, and I'm not fifty. I do have the eating part down.Anyway, to get started, we ordered what is called Nuts and Bolts. Let me save you the dictionary search. Onion rings, fried mushrooms and fried zucchini served with delicious Ranch dressing and the same gravy you put on chicken fried steak. Served piping hot directly from the vat of grease, you just know it can't be good for you. The onions rings were good, the mushrooms were good, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the fried zucchini when dipped in Ranch. If you want to go for just a snack, order up a pitcher of draft beer, get the Nuts and Bolts and you'll be set. Oh, and get something for your date.

The menu is loaded with options - chicken fried steak, catfish, burgers, salads and more, but we were trying to eat light, especially given the platter of heart disease we started with.My wife decided to order the chicken fingers and split them with me, let me have the green beans and then she would have some of my entree. Starting with the green beans; don't waste your time. There was no taste to them at all, and I left most of them sitting on the plate. So much for anything healthy coming from dinner. The potatoes were okay and the chicken fingers were simply, non-remarkable. Nothing special about them - though certainly a generous portion. When I saw the Bacon Cheese Franks on the menu, I was visualizing two hot dogs - in hot dog buns, maybe wrapped in bacon or covered in bacon bits, then covered in cheese. I was totally not expecting it to be served on a hamburger bun. But never the less, it looked pretty darn good. I liked that they are able to dress it like a regular bacon cheese burger - just hot dogs for meat.

Okay, not a good idea. My wife and I agreed that, aside from the goodness of the bacon and the fixin's, the fried hot dog taste just didn't work for us. Oh sure, we ate it...

Overall, I think Good Time Charlie's has a great atmosphere, excellent waitstaff and I'm sure we could have easily tried any of the different menu items and been totally thrilled with the place. But for this time around, we just wanted to get out and maybe go jog a few miles in hopes of putting off the inevitable triple bypass. I mean, it really is good home cooking - assuming mom is a fry chef at a truck stop.On the other hand, Rod Stewart eats there, so we could be wrong.