Raceway Bar and Grill

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CLOSED NOW - Opens atTomorrow 11:00am

I walked into the Raceway on a sunday afternoon in pretty bad shape. I asked Rita if she knew what a bloody Mary was.She looked at me as if I was a moron. I know she knows what a bloody Mary is. I just wanted to see her reaction,and I did. The drink was good,real good. In about 5 minutes I started to stabilize. Then the beer started flowing. Rita saw when I was getting low and kept them coming. This went on for a few hours, people. Then Lexi shows up. She picks up where Rita left off. The service started to get a little too good. The sun is starting to go down. It was time to get something to eat, spaghetti and meat balls. Very good, Rita recommend this. Lexi brings me a tall 32oz glass of water. She is really sharp. These people that work at the Race way are concerned about their customers and the community around them. Rand one time gave me a small container of the red peppers they make their crushed red pepper seasoning from. It seems no detail is overlooked. I like the Race way bar and grill.

Within a couple of minutes we were greeted by a very pleasant waitress who gave us menus and took our drink and appetizer orders. The menu choices proved to be more than we had anticipated. There an array of appetizers followed by American, Italian, Mexican, and other selections. If you can’t find something to satisfy you on this menu, you’re just not hungry.



When she quickly returned with our drinks, mine an icy cold pint of their house draft ale and a frozen margarita for my wife, our she took our appetizer order. We were just beginning to savor our drinks and discussing the wonderful collection of artifacts when our starters arrived at the table. We had settled for the jalapeño poppers. These little delights were not just your run-of-the-mill poppers. They were fried to a nice light brown and wrapped in a crisp strip of bacon with a shrimp to top it off. The peppers were locally grown and quite fresh. The chef had taken care to remove all the seeds and webs before stuffing them with cream cheese so they were just right. We’ve had poppers at other places where they failed to prep the peppers properly and they just come out way too hot. These were perfect and went well with the beer and margarita.



We had placed our main course order when the poppers were served and just as we were finishing them our waitress was at the table with our meal. I had ordered the patty melt with fries and my wife got the gyro plate with deep fried onion rings and a glass of Chardonnay. Both were attractively served in baskets and appeared to be enough food to satisfy our appetites. The golden fries were piping hot, tenderly crisp on the outside and steaming moist on the inside just the way you would expect good fries to be. The patty melt was on marble rye bread grilled to a delicate crispness on the surface and sheltering a moist and tasty patty of flavorful ground beef. The gyro contained a generous portion of meat wrapped in a warm pita and surrounded with the freshest of tomato and red onion pieces. When topped with the tangy yogurt sauce it provided juicy mouthfuls of eating enjoyment that played well with the wine.



During the course of our meal we were fortunate to receive a tableside visit from one of the owners. We had a nice chat as she told us of her hope and plans for the restaurant. She made us feel quite at home and very welcomed. It really added to the overall enjoyment of our afternoon. We finished our delicious and filling meals and headed for the car for our long ride home. We had driven 113 miles from the Tucson area to eat here. That’s quite a way to go for a mid-afternoon Sunday meal, but we feel it was well worth it.



When this place was featured on TV the owner had expressed a wish that the restaurant would someday become a destination place rather than just something you came across by accident. Well we hope we contributed to making that come true since our sole purpose for the ride was to arrive there and eat. We were not disappointed and as we cruised along the highway we recalled the highlights of our day. The atmosphere was terrific. The food was great, well prepared and reasonably priced. The service was excellent and the people friendly. We’re really glad we made the trip and will do so again. If you’re ever in the mood to take a nice ride in the Arizona country side and get a refreshing drink and a bite to eat, you can’t do much better than to make this your destination. Stop in and enjoy a fine eating experience.