Hooter's

Hooter's
2100 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386)238-0650
www.hooters.com

If you don't live in Florida, you probably did not hear about the guy arrested for DUI last week while riding naked on his motorcycle. When stopped by Melbourne police, he was asked where he was going. His reply to the officer was, "Hooter's!" Now I don't condone drinking while driving, nor do I condone driving while naked, but given that I have not been to a Hooter's in close to three years, I felt I needed to go to see what they were now cooking to cause such behavior.

It should be noted that I go to Hooter's for the wings just like some guys buy Playboy for the articles. I mean c'mon, you can get wings just about anywhere nowadays and in many cases you can find wings better than Hooter's. The main reason to go there is for the scenery. Hooter's has developed a business model to serve good food delivered by beautiful women and it seems to be working.

I met a buddy of mine there and got there a little bit before he did. I already knew I was going to have wings, so I didn't bother with the menu. However, after he arrived and the waitress asked what we would be having, I decided to take a quick peek at the menu. I have to tell you I was quite surprised. Their menu has really changed since my last visit. They have added a couple of new burgers, steamed clams, new salads, a rib appetizer and I even noticed they now sell fried pickles as an appetizer. If you have been reading this blog, I think you know where I stand on the fried pickles.

My buddy Ryan ordered the cheeseburger, I ordered 10 wings hot and breaded, though in hindsight I should have gotten them naked in homage to the motorcycle rider from Melbourne. We decided to split an order of fries. As we sat there waiting for our order to arrive I couldn't help but notice that our waitress was being shadowed by what I assume was a new employee. I noticed that the shadower was not as, how should I say this, "well endowed" as the shadowee. That got me to thinking. As part of their benefit package, does Hooter's offer employees partial payment if they decide to get some body enhancements? I told Ryan that I bet if you come back to the restaurant in about a year, our second waitress would probably look very different than she did that day.

There was also a young lady that came in and asked for a job application. The bartender told her they were out of applications, but were expecting to get some more in next week. I found this to be funny as I thought a potential employee probably came in, the manager checked her out and said, "Yeah, you're hot. When can you start?" How complicated can it be? "Bambi, wings are up! Pick'em up!" Given how tough our economy is right now, I felt bad for the young lady not being able to apply for a position that day. Let's just say, she seemed to be well qualified.

Anyway, we got our food in a timely manner and I have to give them props, it was good. My wings were very hot and tasty, and the fries were crisp and hot as well. I asked Ryan how his burger was and he stated, "It's great!" I have had their burgers before and have always found them to be pretty tasty. At the end of the day, Hooter's does pretty good bar food. They have also gone on to add a full bar for people wanting something more than beer. It is one of those places where you know what you are going to get when you get there. There aren't a whole lot of surprises. Since they have a lot of televisions, I wonder how big their crowds are on Saturdays and Sundays during football season. Maybe I'll go there and check them out sometime.

I liked my wings and Ryan liked his burger. For our visit to Hooter's last week, I'll have to give them a solid three Stiffy's. If you don't like wings or burgers, I strongly suggest you try the hot dog.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry